OPPO Reno3 review - a smartphone with artificial intelligence for 30 thousand rubles

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The manufacturer of the novelty has focused on cameras and neural networks. The life hacker checked what came of it.

At the end of March, OPPO showed off two new smartphones: Reno3 and Reno3 Pro. We already wrote about the latter, but the standard Reno3 also deserves a mention. We will tell you how the novelty with five cameras and a MediaTek processor with an eye to AI-capabilities proved to be.

Table of contents

• Specifications
• Design and ergonomics
• Screen
• Software and performance
• Sound and vibration
• Camera
• Autonomy
• Outcomes

Specifications

Platform	Android 10, Firmware Color OS 7.1
Display	6.4 inches, 2,400 x 1,080 pixels, AMOLED, 60 Hz, 411 ppi, Always On
Chipset	MediaTek Helio P90, PowerVR GM9446 video accelerator
Memory	RAM - 8 GB, ROM - 128 GB UFS 2.1, microSD
Cameras	Primary: 48 MP, 1/2, 0 ″, f / 1, 8, 26 mm, PDAF; 13 MP, 1/3, 4 ″, f / 2, 4, 52 mm (2x zoom), PDAF; 8 MP, 1/4.0 ″, f / 2, 2, 13 mm (wide angle); depth sensor 2 Mp Front: 44 MP, 1/2, 8 ″, f / 2, 4, 26 mm
Connection	2 × nanoSIM, Wi-Fi 5, GPS, GLONASS, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, GSM / GPRS / EDGE / LTE
Sound	3.5mm Dolby Atmos
Battery	4025 mAh, fast charging VOOC 3.0
Dimensions (edit)	160, 2 × 73, 3 × 7, 9 mm
The weight	170 g

Design and ergonomics

The smartphone is made in a typical glass-metal sandwich design, but the manufacturer has done a lot of work on the colors. The gold-tone aluminum frame matches well with the mother-of-pearl backdrop.

90.8% of the front panel area is occupied by a screen with a teardrop notch for the front camera and rounded corners. All this is covered with protective glass with an oleophobic coating, fingerprints and dirt can be easily removed. Also, an optical fingerprint scanner is built into the display, which is triggered in 0.3 seconds.

Power and volume buttons are located on the right and left sides. On the left there is also a tray for two SIM cards and microSD. The bottom end is reserved for a 3.5 mm audio jack, a multimedia speaker and a USB Type-C port.

The smartphone fits comfortably in the palm of your hand thanks to the rounded corners and edges, although the dimensions do not allow using it with one hand.

The manufacturer did not stint and included a silicone case in the kit. It enlarges the gadget a little more, but protects it when it falls. This is especially important when the body is glass on both sides.

Screen

OPPO Reno3 received a 6, 4-inch screen, made using AMOLED technology. The matrix resolution is Full HD +, which in terms of the diagonal gives a pixel density of 411 ppi. The indicator is typical for a model of this class, the clarity is sufficient in most cases.

However, you can see grain in the small print. The reason is in the structure of the Diamond pixels (there are twice as many green diodes as there are red and blue ones). This is why IPS screens with a similar pixel density appear sharper than AMOLED.

Unlike the Reno3 Pro, the smartphone's screen operates at 60Hz and its edges are not curved. If the former can be attributed to the minuses, then we welcome the last point. While displays with curved edges look impressive, they are much easier to break and harder to replace.

The matrix itself is of high quality: the color rendition is close to natural, the viewing angles are wide, the margin of brightness and the level of contrast are also not satisfactory. Flicker suppression mode is provided in the settings. It reduces eye strain at low brightness settings.

Software and performance

OPPO Reno3 runs Android 10 with a proprietary shell Color OS 7.1, which significantly changes the interface of the "green robot". Nevertheless, the control logic here is common with other Android smartphones. In addition, you can include a Material theme to make the skin match Google's design code and blend well with system apps and services.

The novelty is based on the MediaTek Helio P90 chipset, made according to a 12-nanometer process technology. It includes eight processor cores: two high-performance Cortex ‑ A75 clocked at 2.2 GHz and six energy efficient Cortex ‑ A55 clocked at 2 GHz. It also includes the PowerVR GM9446 video accelerator.

The power of the latter is enough for World of Tanks: Blitz with medium settings to run at a stable 60 fps. At maximum quality in loaded scenes, drawdowns of up to 30 fps occur, which significantly degrades the gaming experience.

The smartphone is equipped with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of permanent memory. This will be enough for most users, and especially demanding ones will be able to expand the storage capacity using memory cards.

OPPO has also worked on optimizations. Reno3 received an AI-based Anti-lag Engine internal memory manager. It prevents the system from cluttering up and slowing down over time.

Sound and vibration

The smartphone doesn't boast powerful stereo speakers like the Reno3 Pro. The multimedia speaker is located at the bottom and easily overlaps in games. And although the sound is good by the standards of monaural speakers, in 2020 you want to have stereo sound.

The earpiece and microphones are quite decent, there are no problems during a conversation on both sides. It is also pleasing that the model is equipped with a 3.5 mm audio jack - you can connect any headphones or system via AUX. There are also Dolby Atmos surround sound presets.

The vibration motor is standard by the standards of Android-smartphones. The tactile response is not clear enough, but at least there is no rattling like in cheaper models.

Camera

OPPO Reno3 received a four-camera system. It includes a 48-megapixel standard module, a 13-megapixel telephoto lens with 2x zoom, an 8 megapixel shirik and an additional module for determining the depth.

Many camera functions are tied to artificial intelligence. So, the smartphone is able to take 108-megapixel images using smart interpolation. In addition, neural networks recognize the shooting scenario and adjust the color rendering for it.

In good lighting, the photo quality is decent, but at night everything is not so rosy. The camera aggressively suppresses noise, making the image look like a watercolor sketch. The 44MP front camera takes clear and detailed selfies.

Standard camera

Standard camera

Standard camera

Standard camera

Standard camera

Standard camera

Wide-angle camera

Wide-angle camera

Wide-angle camera

2x zoom

Standard camera

Standard camera

Standard camera

Standard camera

108MP mode

Standard camera

Night mode

Standard camera

Night mode

Standard camera

Night mode

Selfie

Video is recorded in maximum 4K resolution at 30 fps.

Of the interesting things - advanced stabilization, which compensates for even strong shaking while running.

Autonomy

Inside the OPPO Reno3, a 4,025 mAh battery is installed. By modern standards, the capacity is not the largest, but in practice, the smartphone can easily withstand a day of active use with social networks, web surfing and YouTube. Recharging is needed only if you play a lot or shoot with the camera.

So that you do not waste a lot of time at the outlet, the smartphone is equipped with VOOC 3.0 technology, which charges the battery in about 1.5 hours. For this, a 20 W adapter is included in the kit.

Outcomes

OPPO Reno3 offers a versatile camera with its own chips, convenient firmware optimized by AI, and a decent battery life. Among the shortcomings, one can note not the highest gaming performance - competitors at Qualcomm are ahead in this regard. Otherwise, this is a sturdy smartphone that can be considered for purchase.

In general, the choice of a model up to 30 thousand has become even a little more difficult, which we are only glad to see. Still, competition is the key to progress.