The competition in this segment is not very tough. Samsung is currently at the top of this segment with its Galaxy S20 FE 5G. Apart from this, there is also OnePlus 9RT. At the same time, there are also many options from Xiaomi and Realme, in which many premium features can be seen. Apart from looking good, it is important to have other things on Oppo Reno 7 Pro that can draw the attention of customers. Do you have those qualities? Find out in this review.
Oppo Reno 7 Pro price in India
The Oppo Reno 7 Pro comes in a single configuration in India with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Its price is 39,999 rupees. Interestingly, its price is less than the launch price of the Oppo Reno 6 Pro. You get the Reno 7 Pro in Starlight Black and Startrail Blue color variants.
Oppo Reno 7 Pro design
The design in the Reno series phones is a point that is always up for debate. The same goes for the Reno 7 Pro. However, instead of the curved screen and glossy finish, this time the company took the design of the Oppo Reno 6. The phone has a flat aluminum frame and a flat screen. The bezels around the screen are very thin, and the bezels near the hole-punch cutout are also very thin. The look of the phone at the front is great. I personally like this design because I prefer the flat screen to the curved screen. Typing and swiping becomes a bit tricky on the curved screen.
The glass back of the Oppo Reno 7 Pro has been given a new finish. Oppo says it has used a new laser process to create hundreds of intricate etchings on its panel. These are visible when the phone is held at a particular angle. The finish looks great and doesn’t catch fingerprints either. A multi-layer design has also been given to the camera module. A strip of light flashes when the phone has a notification or is charging. Although its color can’t be changed (if you could, it would have been twice the fun), but you can choose which apps and events it should light up on.
Like the Oppo Reno 7, the Oppo Reno 7 Pro does not include the headphone jack and does not support expandable storage either. It has been given stereo speakers. Color and contrast are very good on the 6.5-inch AMOLED display. The display is a FullHD panel with a maximum refresh rate of 90Hz and a touch sampling rate of 180Hz. Alongside this, Corning Gorilla 5 protection is also available to protect it from scratches. It would have been better if it had a 120Hz refresh rate.
The company has not skimped on the accessories available with the phone. A 65W charger, case, USB cable, and SIM eject tool are also available in the phone’s box. Overall, Oppo has given the phone a good design. The phone is quite slim as it measures just 7.45mm thick and weighs just 180g.
Oppo Reno 7 Pro Specifications and Software
The new MediaTek Dimensity 1200-Max processor has been delivered in Oppo Reno 7 Pro. Actually, this is the standard Dimensity 1200 chip, in which two special optimizations for Reno 7 Pro have been given, the first of which is AI Deblur , which works to improve the quality of selfies. At the same time, the second is AI-PQ, which can give HDR-like effect to normal videos. There will be no difference in its performance compared to the Max version. The phone’s 12 GB of RAM can be expanded with the use of 7 GB of storage thanks to the RAM expansion feature in its software.
Connectivity options on the Oppo Reno 7 Pro include Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, and the usual suite of sat-nav systems. The phone packs a 4500mAh battery with the company’s own SuperVOOC charger feature that supports 65W fast charging. In terms of premium features, you may miss the IP rating for waterproofing and wireless charging on Oppo Reno 7 Pro Although these features are not common in this segment, if they were on the phone, they could have created more heat in the market.
Talking about the operating system of Oppo Reno 7 Pro, you get ColorOS 12 based on Android 11. While the latest smartphones today come pre-loaded with Android 12. Many apps come pre-installed with the phone. Most of these are third-party apps and can be removed. Inspired by Apple’s Memoji avatar, it has been given a new Omoji feature. This allows you to create a digital avatar of your face or choose from pre-existing avatars. But it is only limited to Always On Display and your phone account profile picture.
Oppo Reno 7 Pro performance and battery life
I used the Oppo Reno 7 Pro with its affordable Reno 7 alternative for a week. I found the Reno 7 Pro quite smooth. The shape of the phone makes it easy and safe to use. The power and volume buttons have good feedback. The screen is responsive and easy to read even in direct sunlight. The in-display fingerprint sensor is fast and so is facial recognition. Other than gaming, the phone never felt unwanted heat. The metal sides and back panel got a bit warm while gaming. Some pre-installed apps were seen to send unnecessary notifications, but as I mentioned above, you can also uninstall them.
Watching videos on the Reno 7 Pro’s screen was a pleasure. Viewing angles are good. HDR videos looked great. Standard videos also look good with the AI-PQ feature, but I can’t say how well this feature works, as this effect can also be caused by the AMOLED screen.
I tried PUBG: New State on the phone. I played it at the highest settings the phone could have and the gaming experience was quite smooth. The screen response was accurate. The phone did get warm after half an hour of continuous gaming, but there was no frame rate drop. Even in terms of benchmark numbers, Reno 7 Pro did well, but you can’t expect performance with Snapdragon 888 processor. The device scored 6,28,794 points on AnTuTu, which is pretty decent.
The battery life of the phone also affects. In our HD video loop test, the phone ran for 22 hours before shutting down. It’s a good runtime. In daily use, you can expect it to last a day and a half. With medium to light use, I was able to use it for two full days, which is a very good runtime. With the help of the fast charger, the phone is 66 percent charged in half an hour and fully charged in an hour.
Oppo Reno 7 Pro cameras
The phone has a 32-megapixel selfie camera with Sony IMX709 sensor. It has an RGBW pixel layout for better light sensitivity. It also supports DOL-HDR. There’s no autofocus, and video recording is limited to 1080p. The second update was seen in the main camera, in which the popular Sony IMX766 sensor has been incorporated. The company has not provided optical stabilization, which is disappointing. The phone has an 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera and a 2-megapixel macro camera.
Instead of focusing on the camera sensors, the company focused more on adding features to the camera app. These also include AI Highlight Video and Bokeh Flare Portrait filters. We also got these features on the Reno 6 series. One new feature is that the aperture can be adjusted while shooting video from the front and rear cameras. Apart from this, many shooting modes like Dual Video, Expert, and Slow Motion are also available.
The phone captured detailed daylight photos from the main rear camera. The colors are good. However, in extreme HDR conditions, the phone struggled to get the proper exposure. In this case, the ultra-wide camera worked well, but details were lacking. Close-ups of the main camera were also good, but the phone struggled in terms of exposure and color in too much light. The macro shooter was also able to deliver decent clicks in good lighting conditions.
The main camera’s performance was better in low-light conditions. Close-ups were sharp and clear, too, and color held up well. Sharpness came through more in some landscape shots, and low-light photos couldn’t appeal. However, the situation improved in night mode. Selfies taken with the new front camera sensor were impressive. After turning off the beauty filter, I was able to capture the correct skin tone during the day. Selfies were decent even in low light, but I had to hold still to capture sharp images.
The Bokeh filter did a good job during the day. It kept a slight depth of field effect and turned bright spots into smaller colored spheres. This effect also looked great in the video.
Speaking of video recording, the Oppo Reno 7 Pro can record up to 4k video with the main rear camera, but only at 30fps. If you want 60fps quality, only up to 1080p can be found. And, if you use AI filters or effects, or even shoot with the ultra-wide camera, the resolution is limited to 1080p. The phone becomes quite limited at this price level. 4K video quality in daylight was average. Stabilization was good, but bright areas were overexposed. The ultra-wide camera does a good job of shooting video, cropping the frame to avoid fisheye. Video wasn’t as good in low light. His footage looked quite grainy and sparse, which wasn’t ideal in quality.
Verdict
The Oppo Reno 7 Pro smartphone is a nice upgrade to the Reno 6 Pro. Oppo has made a smart move by keeping the price low. Its flat screen, stereo speakers and better camera sensor make it special. Battery life is good and super fast charging is good too. The AI features and filters in the camera are a lot of fun and if you want to create social media worthy photos or videos without the help of any app then the phone is perfect for this one.
There is still a lot of room for improvement on the phone. In terms of screen and processor, I expected more improvements. I didn’t notice much improvement in video recording. Despite the low price, I feel that its competitors are better value for money than this one. Smartphones like Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G, Moto Edge 20 Pro, Realme GT, and Xiaomi 11T Pro come equipped with more powerful processors and displays with higher refresh rates. You also get a telephoto camera in this price range.
If you like the modern look and cool camera features of the phone more than the performance, then you will be happy with this phone. This smartphone is obviously a better option than the Reno 6 Pro, but there are more feature-packed options on the market.