OPPO Reno8 Z 5G Review – An Affordable Approach

I still remember freshly just 2 weeks ago, we had just review the OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G which is a really attractive device in the premium mid tier segment and now OPPO came out with a tuned down version in terms of certain specifications but still retain some of its feature to the Reno8 which is a lighter in size, but looks slightly different.

Unboxing Contents

The OPPO Reno8 Z 5G came with the following

• OPPO Reno8 Z 5G Phone
• Translucent case
• SIM Pin Ejector
• 33W SuperVOOC Charger
• USB A to C Cable
• User Manual/QSG

Design

The OPPO Reno8 Z 5G design uses the same flat edged based from the Reno7 Z which OPPO uses their method of multi texture and coating process which gave more shines over the phone while maintaining the body durability.

The approach and target remains the same as the affordable version of the Reno8 series. The premium feel is still there with not much of changes or compromised being made to and it is appreciated especially there is no fingerprint smudges making it easy to clean if there is dirt or dust on it. The overall texture coating looks nice when placed over bright environment, the color does change like rainbow with some shining crystal sparkles added to it. The camera portion is placement of bump consisting of 3 camera sensors and a flash.

Gone is the island grouping on the camera but it made the two main lens heighten up a bit. When putting it flat on a table, it definitely doesn’t sit flat, but since it comes with a soft case, fitting it on the OPPO Reno8 Z 5G will be just nice and protects it just fine.

Dual Orbit Lights is the star of the show where there is upgraded RGB lights hidden around the rings of the lens, which function as a notification reminder, new notifications, charging, and it will light its breathing notification mode if you have any unread messages or missed calls. When you are launching games on the phone, the LED will light up as well.

Over to the right, there is a power button, while the top houses a noise cancelling microphone. On the left side there is a pair of volume button and the SIM/MicroSDXC card slot that supports up to 1TB storage while below there is a speaker, microphone, USB C Port for data/charging and a 3.5mm headphone jack. All of the phone sides are made of slim sized aluminum chassis. Over to the camera design, the same color applies to the side of the phone and the bottom/top part as well with smooth glitter touch to it with the slightly glossy portion surrounding the camera.

The OPPO Reno8 Z 5G weighs around 180 Grams and comes in 2 colors, Starlight Black and the Dawnlight Gold color that we are currently reviewing it

Display & Audio

Over the display portion, the OPPO Reno8 Z 5G is powered by a compact 6.43 Inch FHD+ 60Hz AMOLED screen that supports HDR10 and a maximum peak brightness of 600nits. Display is good on with visible color accuracy and contrast level with average bright surrounding environments tested. Other features include a 180Hz touch sampling rate which is an advantage when it comes to the accuracy and sensitivity over the touchscreen when gaming with the phone while it will go down to 120Hz touch sensitivity on normal application usage, this is to optimize the battery usage.

On top of that with the density of 409PPI, you will enjoy it with its compact form factor with good experience with front glass protection from Schott Xensation Up, a brand that specialized on chemically strengthened lithium aluminosilicate (LAS) cover glass.

While the phone only has loudspeaker audio on the bottom portion, it is fairly loud on most environment and furthermore HD playback is fully supported on Netflix with its Widewine L1 certification.

Camera

Over to the camera side, the OPPO Reno8 Z 5G rear camera consists of one 64MP wide camera with PDAF, one 2MP Depth camera and a 2MP macro lens, followed by a LED flash. Pictures taken is close to accurate with clarity and details captured well and portrait mode the shots can be easily taken without much of adjustments done to it with a good amount of light. Night shots outcome are well and good amount of shadows can be seen and identified. The selfie images are bright during day time as well which is powered by a 16MP wide angle lens which also portrait mode capable.

A few shots were taken over different modes as above and the result works as it is. A sample of 6x zoom, normal, HiRes, Bokeh Flare and automatic shots taken were balanced and works well.

On video recording you get support up to 1080P at 30FPS only with stutters are visible while recording but it’s very minor with good details during recording. Dual video mode is also supported which you can capture both front and rear recording at the same time that is ideal for VLoggers and casual video takers that be able to take the advantage.

Performance

Performance wise, the OPPO Reno8 Z 5G is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G Octa-Core Processor, 256GB of internal storage and 8GB RAM.

Operating system side is run on Android 12 with its new ColorOS 12 that bring several improvement toward UI fluidity, Game Focus Mode, fast app switching, OMOJI and RAM extension up to 5GB as long you have enough internal space remaining. Task app switching between games and apps are able to resume in an instant within seconds without much effort of reloading which is excellent. Other hardware features includes 5G support, WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC and multi band GPS.

Over to the gaming side, this phone can take it on par with most of the mid range tiered phones recently released with good framerate with still some occasional stutter, however this can be resolved with lowering some of the graphic settings to keep games like Call Of Duty to maintain around 60FPS. Flagship games such as Genshin Impact will just work fine with app switching constantly and load times were pretty fast as well.

Above is the Benchmark performance, which delivers an quite good scores on its category between its graphics, and processor performance. The OPPO Reno8 Z 5G is suitable for those seeking for a medium tier range performing phones.

Battery performance wise, you will get around 9 hours of it, a mix of calls, surfing, email, streaming, and a few Mobile Legend matches. Turning on the battery saving mode under 20% will get you around extra 2.5 to 3 hours of conservative usage. The OPPO Reno8 Z 5G comes with a 33W SUPERVOOC fast charger, which will charge up the phone to 100% from 10% in around 1 hour average. 

Specifications

Verdict & Conclusion 

The OPPO Reno8 Z 5G is a phone that is attracting the youth market segment with those seeking for simple content creation with good set of camera setup with simplified mobile photography features in mind, eSports and casual gaming with a AMOLED screen, social media uploads while just paying for a fraction under the affordable segment and definitely priced lower than the higher end Reno8 series. This also open up a choice to consumers seeking for a productive phone for light multi tasking.

Pros

• Fairly good AMOLED display
• Portrait capture with Bokeh effects
• MicroSD card Expansion

Cons

• Runs on 60Hz Screen only

Pricing and availability

Starting from now, OPPO Reno8 Z 5G will be available in two colors at RM1799 for the 8GB+256GB variant can be purchased at any OPPO Online store and it’s dealers

For more information on the phone, Click HERE