Oppo Reno2 Z with multiple cameras

The Oppo Reno2 Z penetrated the market just a few months after the debut of Oppo Reno series in India. The spec-sheet and the price, both indicate that the smartphone is not an updated version of the Reno or Reno 10X Zoom. Instead, the Reno2 Z becomes the entry point into the Reno series.

Oppo has maintained consistency in the series with bezel-less displays, unique colour finishes, and multiple cameras. Only, instead of a Qualcomm chipset, the Reno2 Z is powered by a MediaTek Helio P90 SoC.

Let us get straight down to the performance of the smartphone first. The MediaTek Helio P90 powering the Reno2 Z is MediaTek's flagship chipset for the first half of the year.

The chipset's performance is comparable to the Snapdragon 710, but price-wise, the Reno2 Z competes with the Redmi K20 Pro and the Asus 6z among others, both of which tout the Snapdragon 855 SoC. As a result, the benchmark scores are way behind these products, but that should not be a cause for worry.

The bezel-less display is a delight to play games on. Games like Asphalt 9 and PUBG Mobile take up the entire screen and at full brightness, it is quite an experience. The quality of graphics on these games are also of high quality, making full use of the PowerVR GPU inside.

The Reno2 Z runs on ColorOS 6.1, the same operating system that powers smartphones from Realme. It is fast and even offers an app drawer. The UI design suits the full-screen experience with spaced-out icons, punchy colours, and slick animations.

Oppo has its suite of apps that are alternatives to Google apps like Chrome, Play Store, and the likes. More than that, there are apps like WPS Office, ORoaming, Helo, and Soloop.

The camera setup on Reno2 Z is one of the reasons to get this smartphone. The 48MP quad-camera setup is unique in the sense that apart from the primary 48MP wide sensor and the 8MP ultra-wide lens, there is a 2MP monochrome sensor and a 2MP depth sensor and the camera "intelligently" decides which to use when.

It also does not have the 10X hybrid zoom from the Reno 10X Zoom or the 5X hybrid zoom from the R0eno2. Instead, you only get 5X digital zoom, partly why it is the most affordable in the Reno lineup.

The Reno2 Z looks quite different from the other premium offerings in its price range. Where most tend to go overboard with the gradient design, the Reno2 Z's gradient design is more muted, and I found it quite premium-looking.

The Sky White variant plays varying shades of blue highlighted along a central strip (where it is written Designed for Reno) and along the edges.

The camera module is completely flushed to the body and there is a tiny dot that keeps them from getting scratched on a flat surface.

Rounded edges help in improving the ergonomics and it is quite easy to use while on the go. It is also well protected with Gorilla Glass 5 on both the front and the back. You even get a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a single speaker housed on the edge of the screen on top.