Hands-On

OPPO Reno4Z 5G Hands-On: Standard midranger

Kind of the Reno4 but make it 5G

Published

December 21, 2020

Smartphone manufacturers are racing to put 5G phones in the market. Rightfully so since there’s been an aggressive push to roll out the next generation of mobile connectivity. As such, we get phones like the OPPO Reno4Z 5G. It’s really not much different from the Reno4. All you really need to know is that it has 5G.

But for the sake of the curious, we’re going to unpack it a little further.

It has a 6.57-inch IPS LCD Display with 120Hz refresh rate.

You might run into some minor trouble using this under direct sunlight, but if you squint enough you should still see what’s on the screen. Then there’s the 120Hz screen refresh rate which is just a darling to the eyes.

To make the 5G thing possible, it’s equipped with the MediaTek Dimensity 800 5G.

That’s flanked by 8GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage, and 4000mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging.

On the bottom you’ll find the 3.5mm jack, a USB-C port, and speaker-grilles.

On the left side are the sim card tray and volume buttons.

And on its right, the power button/ side-mounted fingerprint sensor.

Up front in the dual punch hole camera — a 16MP shooter and another 2MP lens for depth.

Flip it over and you’ll see its 48MP quad-camera setup.

To be more precise, it has a 48MP main camera flanked by an 8MP ultra-wide camera and a pair of 2MP cameras for macro and depth. It also carries over some signature Reno4 features like 960fps AI Slow Motion and AI Color Portrait.

Sample photo from the Reno4

The back is made of plastic and its smudgy AF.

It was pretty hard to get a decent photo of its back even after wiping it furiously. Buying a case, in this specific instance, is a must.

Standard midranger

Like most midranges today, the OPPO Reno4Z 5G has neither standout strengths nor glaring weaknesses. It’s equipped with a chip that, other than letting you connect to 5G, can handle most daily tasks with ease.

It can play mobile games

And watching videos on it is generally an okay experience.

It’s the kind of solid-not-stellar smartphone that typifies what you would normally find in the upper echelon of the lower midrange segment.

It’s running on Android 10 with ColorOS 7.2 on top which, while it still has a fair amount of bloat, runs generally smoothly and is nowhere near as offensive to the senses as the ColorOS from years past.

Is this your GadgetMatch?

At 20,990, it has the fair level of specs you can expect at its price point. You can argue that OPPO could have slapped on an AMOLED display and a 64MP main camera here, but those do little to improve the experience while jacking up the price more than it has to.

Given its pricing and the combination of general useability, it’s a fine choice. Additionally, the peace of mind it gives that as 5G expands, you can sit back calmly knowing you’re equipped for next gen mobile connectivity is a nice bonus.

The only real differentiators here are image quality — which OPPO is no slouch at — and if you’re open to expanding to the rest of OPPO’s AIoT devices for a seamless connection.

Hands-On

OPPO Reno15 F 5G hands-on

More question marks than exclamation points?

Published

March 6, 2026

Manila Connoisseur

The OPPO Reno15 Series 5G made its way to the Philippines last month, and reception has been pretty great so far.

With a powerful camera package, AI, and a slew of upgrades, there’s a lot to love and not much negative to say. But that’s with both the standard and Pro models.

On the other hand, with the Reno15 F 5G — the series’ supposed budget-friendly “lite” variant —there were more question marks than exclamation points.

I attack this piece once more from a consumer standpoint: shelling out PhP 23,000 to PhP 26,000 for a midrange smartphone that feels and performs like it’s a few notches below its segment doesn’t sound too pleasant.

Performance

With a Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 processor, the OPPO Reno15 F performs pretty much like any sub PhP 20,000 mid-ranger. It’s acceptable, but does not punch above its weight as expected.

No major hiccups for light and casual usage. But performance struggles a lot for demanding video games.

It also heats up significantly just 10 minutes into a title like Honkai: Star Rail. This is a stark contrast to the marketed 25℃ and up to 10 hours straight of smooth gameplay.

Although, the experience was still enjoyable with several wins and MVP runs in Call of Duty Mobile. It only means the F variant remains a more camera-centric phone rather than an a hard-hitting all-arounder.

As with other devices, the 7000mAh battery with 80W SUPERVOOC is a strong suit. You’re fueled from dawn ’til dusk, with much to spare. Recharging takes a breeze, too.

Display

The OPPO Reno15 F has a 6.57-inch 120Hz display, with a 92.8% screen-to-body ratio. At least, that allows you to focus on content on the screen.

Content leans more towards the cooler tone, so you’ll have to adjust it manually if you want a warmer or more vivid look.

The 397ppi pixel density is fine to ensure sharper visuals, while the 1400 nits peak brightness is helpful outdoors.

Camera

The device’s 50MP main camera captures decent quality. The color science leans on being natural anew, without being too dull nor washed out. You can pull off smooth portraits too.

I hardly used the phone for stills as I focused on videos, but here are some samples, on the occasions I was able to take the handset with me:

The 50MP front camera is an intriguing add-on, as it is capable of up to 4K video and a wide 100° field of view.

What this does is it essentially removes the need to flip your phone for the popular “0.5” shots. And the quality doesn’t get compromised given the pixel count.

Here are some selfies from different focal lengths:

To its credit, filming with the back camera at 60fps does look and feel smooth, although it can be improved.

Same with the front camera; and the zoom range can be switched from 0.6 to 2x without cutting the recording.

Although, it’s still best to use a selfie stick or small tripod if you’re just after talking head videos.

Speaking of which, here are a few I’ve made with just this device:

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♬ original sound – Manila Connoisseur – Manila Connoisseur

But for travel and on-the-go captures, as OPPO markets for the series in general, even the Reno15 F can cover a lot of background along with your or your groups’ faces.

Make no mistake, there are some useful AI editing features here. In particular, AI Portrait Glow gives your raw capture an effect to make it look it was taken with flash.

I do not recall the device heating up as well when taking many photos or videos, so you can say it’s more optimized for that task rather than gaming.

Connectivity issues

Meanwhile, AI LinkBoost 3.0, as in the case of the OPPO A6 Pro, doesn’t seem to punch above its weight either.

Once, I also played Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and the session opened to a jittery start despite being on Wi-Fi and having a stable connection. I don’t know what triggered this.

Design, feel

We got the Aurora Blue variant which does kind of resemble the northern lights when you tilt the phone a certain way and when light hits its back panel.

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The cursive “Reno” on the large, protruding camera island gives it more style.

However, it’s all just aesthetics. On the downside, the phone is all sorts of slippery.

I couldn’t hold it properly without think of it slipping away from my hands; nor could I put it on my lap with confidence.

So I guess it’s good that it has structural integrity and waterproofing, because you’ll need that.

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The 6.57-inch body does have a good balance between being too compact and too large, like ultras and pro maxes.

It has a squarish body and has already adapted to the premium, aluminum frame look from the sides.

Is this your GadgetMatch?

Sadly, the OPPO Reno15 F 5G is a Swipe Left unlike its bigger, more capable siblings. There are plenty of plus points for the camera package but take that away, and I don’t see much difference between the Reno15 F and something like the A6 Pro.

Granted, the asking price of this phone will drop significantly in a few months. But throw in a little more, and you’ve got a legitimate mid-ranger that’s more on the premium side rather than the cheap end of the spectrum.