OPPO Reno6 Z 5G Review

Introduction

There were a lot of things to like about the OPPO Reno6 5G, and now, we’re taking a look at its more affordable sibling, the Reno6 Z 5G, to see whether what it offers to the table is worth its PhP19,990 price tag.

On paper, the two share some elements, but there are notable differences such as the display, and the processing package, but how does that affect the overall experience? Let’s find out.

Specifications

Design and Build Quality

Contrary to the flat design of the Reno6 5G, the more affordable Reno6 Z 5G uses a typical curved design with sides that are glossy compared to matte on its more premium sibling. It also uses the Reno Glow design which gives it a nice glittery look while also protecting the surface from fingerprints.

Apart from the OPPO branding, the camera module also bears the the word 5G under the flash unit. It’s got a USB-C port at the bottom, along with a speaker grille, microphone, and while Reno6 Z 5G has completely ditched the headphone jack, the Reno 6Z 5G retains it, to the delight of wired headphone users like me.

Another notable difference between the two devices is the display. Reno6 Z 5G has a 6.4-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a standard 60Hz refresh rate and up to 180Hz touch sampling rate. While you don’t get the fluidity of the 90Hz screen on the Reno6 5G, it still delivers the lively and punchy colors that AMOLED screens are known for.

Performance

Reno6 Z 5G is powered by a Dimensity 800U processor, along with 8GB or RAM and 128GB of storage, with support for use of a MicroSD card. As expected, daily performance was great, with no major issues. As far as gaming performance is concerned, here are the numbers.

For settings, Genshin Impact was set to to Low and 60 FPS, Wild Rift in Performance Mode, Asphalt 9 at default settings, and Call of Duty Mobile at Medium Graphics and High FPS, as that was the highest setting available.

Camera

At the back of the phone is a 64MP main camera, along with an 8MP ultra-wide unit, and a 2MP macro lens, making for a very flexible setup that should work well with most shooting conditions, though personally, I would’ve traded the macro lens for a depth sensor.

Sample shots showcase plenty of detail, good sharpness, and a bokeh effect that looks refined and accurate. The 32MP front snapper also does a good job of capturing good looking selfies with good levels of detail and exposure.

The phone has the Ultra Steady feature to reduce shakes in videos. Unfortunately, this is only available on up to 1080p video quality, though you can record videos at up to 4K resolution.

Software

At the time of writing, the phone runs ColorOS 11.1 on top of Android 11. I like the minimal approach to aesthetics in this UI, and the performance is snappy and smooth. It does come with some pre-installed apps, which fortunately, can be removed if you don’t need them.

While that’s good and all, it does throw a lot of unneeded notifications, and that almost ruins the experience. You still get the familiar features like Smart Sidebar for quickly taking screenshots, screen recordings, or opening specific apps, and of course, Game Space, which lets you set performance profiles and activate game enhancements like locking the brightness, and even apply filters to enhance the look of your games.

Apart from the traditional methods, you also get both fingerprint and face unlock for securing the device. Both work well and fast.

You also get an Always-On-Display, which is personally one of the features that I always look for in a phone. The UI also offers a good amount of options to personalize the device.

Battery

Since we ran into some problems with the battery benchmarking tool that we typically use for smartphones, we resorted to the video playback test. Using a 1080p video playing on loop at 50% volume and 80% volume, Reno6 Z 5G managed to run continuously for more than a full day, which is quite impressive.

Verdict

The OPPO Reno6 Z 5G offers decent mid-range performance, a flexible and capable set of cameras, and great battery life, plus you still get the headphone jack.

On the flipside, the amount of unneeded notifications can be annoying, and for PhP19,999, we at least expected a high refresh rate on its display, and perhaps, a better processing package to go along.

Emman Tortoza

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Emman has been writing technical and feature articles since 2010. Prior to this, he became one of the instructors at Asia Pacific College in 2008, and eventually landed a job as Business Analyst and Technical Writer at Integrated Open Source Solutions for almost 3 years.