We have seen many smartphone brands that are continuously working to provide new technologies to the masses and it is safe to say that Oppo has become one of them. The company recently introduced its flagship smartphone, the Oppo Reno 10X Zoom in India that comes with multiple new technologies.
The smartphone comes with a price tag of Rs 39,990 for the 6GB RAM with 128GB storage version, and the 8GB RAM with 256GB storage variant is priced at Rs 49,990. With this, the brand has introduced a new Shark Fin Rising camera along with 10x hybrid technology and flagship-level specifications. So, does it actually make any sense to opt for this flagship device? Let’s find out.
Attractive design, immersive display
Oppo has always been known for creating some beautifully designed smartphones in the past and the new phone from Oppo is the end result of this experience. The Oppo Reno 10x Zoom is one of the best-designed smartphones we have seen in the smartphone segment. The back panel of the smartphone features a glass finish and the company has done a clever job in hiding smudges by adding a matte finish. Furthermore, the back features a seamless design as the camera module is flushed with the body, which is a rarity at this price point. Oppo has also added a little nub just beneath the camera module, which prevents them from getting scratched when laid on a flat surface. However, this also makes it rock from side to side. The good thing here is that the company has added a premium cover, which is a welcome move.
However, this is not all. The front comes with a notch-free design and you thanks to the all-new Shark Fin Rising camera mechanism for that. The mechanism houses the front-facing camera, earpiece, an LED illuminator, a secondary microphone and rear LED flash. The Shark Fin pops-up whenever you open the front camera or use it for face unlock and the company claims that it can use roughly 110 times per day every day for five years. That said, the downside here is that the device is a bit bulky in nature and it is heavy as well.
Coming to the display, the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom is equipped with a 6.6-inch Full HD+ AMOLED Display with a screen Resolution of 2560 x 1080 pixels. The phone comes with an immersive 93.1 per cent screen-to-body ratio, which makes it an immersive when you are consuming content on this smartphone. The colours are quite vibrant in nature and you get good level contrast levels. The display comes with two modes and the company has also given an option to adjust the colour temperature manually.
The screen is quite bright in nature and the viewing angles are decent. For the down points, the screen is a bit reflective in nature, though, with the brightness level, you are still able to read some texts. The phone also features the Blue Light filter, which makes it a comfortable experience when you are using the phone during bedtime. The only thing missing here is the 90Hz screen refresh rate, which is present in its cousin, the OnePlus 7 Pro.
Top-notch performance, Software has come a long way!
Coming to the performance, the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom is powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Processor along with Adreno 640 GPU. The phone is paired with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. The performance of the smartphone is quite impressive. The device manages all the daily task like a Pro and multitasking is a breeze.
On the gaming front, the device handles most of the graphics-intensive game PUBG Mobile without breaking a sweat. We played the game the maxed out settings and did not encounter any lag or frame drop. Furthermore, the company has added a Game Space mode, which optimises the whole gaming experience.
Coming to the software, the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom runs on Android 9.0 Pie with company’s own ColorOS running on top of it. It is safe to say that with the ColorOS 6.0, Oppo has finally improved and optimised the user interface. The noticeable thing here is the inclusion of the App drawer, which makes it easier to find the app. The company has also added a search bar, which can be accessed with a simple swipe down from both home screen and app drawer. The drop-down settings have been revamped as well and now you get big square tiles, which looks nice. There are a host of interesting features present in the user interface. Features like app cloning, Smart Assistant screen, navigation gesture support and more.
However, the UI still comes loaded with lots of bloatware and the Browser app is probably one of the most irritating applications as it continuously spam us with notification. There are also some add-oriented folder like Hot Apps, Hot Games and more, which prompts to download new apps and one simply cannot uninstall it or disable it.
In terms of security, the company has added some good features like the ability to blacklist a contact, message, improved notification management and more. The face unlock feature is fast and so is the in-display fingerprint sensor.
Cameras are probably the best thing about this phone!
Coming to the major highlight of the smartphone, the triple rear cameras and new Shark Fin Rising pop-up selfie camera. The phone has a primary sensor of 48MP rear camera with LED flash, 1/2.25″ Sony IMX586 sensor, f/1.7 aperture, 0.8um Pixel size, OIS, Laser AF, PDAF, CAF, 13MP periscope telephoto lens, f/3.0 Aperture and an 8MP 120-degree Ultra Wide lens with f/2.2 aperture, 10x Hybrid Optical Zoom.
The camera performance of the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom is simply outstanding in our opinion. The photos clicked in broad daylight comes with sharp details and the colours are quite close to the source. The macro shots were equally good in nature. Coming to the portraits, the phone rightly blurs out the background and highlight the subject whether be it daylight or low light conditions. The ultra-wide angle mode comes in handy when you want to click a broader area. Interestingly, there is no barrel distortion or fish-eye like effect in the photos and the detailing is quite decent in our opinion.
That said, let’s move to its major highlight, the zooming capabilities. The Oppo Reno 10x Zoom uses multiple glass elements in the phone, aligned horizontally along with a right-angled prism that directs the light towards the sensor. The working is similar to what we have seen in Huawei P30 Pro. This basically enables get much longer Optical Zoom as compared to other smartphones.
With Oppo Reno 10x Zoom, you get an option to choose between 1x, 2x, 6x and 10x by just clicking on the icon in the viewfinder. You can digitally zoom an image up to 60x, which is pretty amazing. We took lots of shots using the zoom capabilities. Starting with some daylight shots, the camera does a good job in retaining some details even it is zoomed up to 60x, however, in low light we noticed a change in white balance and the detailing was not that great. This is primarily because of the varied focal length, which makes a bit difficult to maintain the proper white balance. Lastly, coming to the low light performance, it is decent as the images came out to be good and the company has added a dedicated Night Mode, which allows you to better low light photos.
Battery is dependable
Coming to the battery, the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom is backed by a 4065mAh battery. The battery can easily last one full day under normal usage, which includes randomly checking emails, WhatsApp, streaming some music, using GPS and more. The company has also added VOOC 3.0 Fast charging solution, which can fully charge the smartphone in less than 1.5 hours, which is again a good thing. Bonus point here is that you can also fast charge your OnePlus 6T with the charger.