The Oppo Reno 6 Pro is the Chinese giant’s new high-end smartphone for the second half of 2021. It is a device that hits the shelves to conquer the festive season, betting on a very interesting design philosophy, because let’s be honest, visually, little changed. But being honest again… Was it really necessary to change? In a team that wins, you don’t move, right?
However, despite the fact that the Reno 6 Pro is just an iterative update rather than a revolutionary one, the truth is that the device feels more premium in our hands. Which raises the traditional question… After all, what has changed? It is worth it? Let’s find out!
(Analysis) Oppo Reno 6 Pro: A very curious bet!
Quick-Review
The Reno 6 Pro is a beautiful phone that feels very premium in our hands. Its performance is almost always very good, especially in the camera department (thanks to the 50MP Sony IMX766 sensor), both in capturing photographs as well as in video. It is also a phone that impresses strong and ugly in low-light environments, always with a great help from the AI.
But truth be told, the Reno 4 Pro that we had the opportunity to test last year, already did all this with one leg behind its back.
So the Oppo Reno 6 Pro is a very interesting machine, being obviously very focused on the multimedia experience. However, you really need to go into the details to understand what has changed from last year’s model.
Especially when we look at the price of the device, which in my most honest opinion, seems inadequate considering some rivals already on the market.
We go in parts.
Design
It is undeniable that the Reno 6 Pro is a very beautiful phone, and super comfortable in the hand. Oppo knows how to make a mobile phone, this is becoming more and more obvious, especially when we look at the finishes of the device, such as the “Reno Glow” on the back. (It is a microscopic texture capable of improving the grip of the device! In other words, in addition to being beautiful, it also brings some functionality to the table.)
That said, as I said above, in addition to being beautiful, it is a very comfortable device thanks to its 188g weight and 7.99mm thickness. The buttons are all in the right place too, which is always a plus for those with smaller hands.
However, in terms of extras, we have a camera module a bit out, which is normal these days, we have a USB-C port, slot for sim cards (Dual), and little else.
Simple but beautiful.
Screen
Here we have an enviable quality curved AMOLED display (20:9, 6.5”, 1080 x 2400) as well as a well-placed fingerprint sensor mounted under this very panel.
The screen is capable of reaching 90Hz with a touch response of 180Hz, which disappoints me a little, since in the second half of 2021, it was expected that a “top of the range” would already be able to reach 120Hz without major difficulties. . Especially after the Find X3 Pro, released earlier this year, which for me remains the best Android smartphone money can buy in 2021, offering simply enviable fluidity.
Still, it’s a screen that seems to have been created for multimedia consumption, we didn’t have HDR10+ certification here, and the possibility of reaching 1100 nits of brightness.
By the way, Oppo even offers a visualization mode with the great mission of transforming SDR content into HDR, called “O1 Ultra Vision Engine”, an interesting feature, which most of the time, even works well.
Camera
This is where Oppo is betting strong and ugly on the Reno 6 Pro with its 4-camera module, backed by AI, and led by the 50MP Sony IMX766 sensor. (50MP + 16MP ultra-wide + 13MP telefoto + 2MP Macro)
Very briefly, here we have a mobile phone capable of transforming the world’s biggest turnip into a photography genius. You just need to point and take the photo you want. Sony’s main sensor rarely fails in its mission to give you excellent image captures, even in the most challenging environments.
However, the supporting lenses are not as good as Sony’s IMX sensor, especially when comparing color capture between lenses, but they are still competent at their mission.
In short, the Oppo Reno 6 Pro impresses with its ‘low-light’ performance, both in photos and video. After all, in the field of video capture, we have here a machine capable of recording 4K videos at 60FPS without any problem, with stabilization to the mixture, with the possibility of taking advantage of the “Ultra Stable” mode, which despite limiting recording to 1080p 60FPS , will ensure that nothing shakes during capture.
However, the front camera doesn’t impress, but it doesn’t disappoint either. You have to deal with the usual beauty algorithms, which are sometimes interesting, but sometimes too aggressive.
Performance
In the field of performance, we found a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 5G SoC, which let’s be completely honest, is a Snapdragon 865 with steroids on top. This is where the confusion begins… This smartphone deserved a Snapdragon 888, especially at the asking price.
It’s true that we never have performance issues, the SD870 is an excellent processor that I’ve even had the opportunity to test in POCO F3. But it looks like there was room for more.
In terms of RAM, we have 12GB of RAM supporting Oppo’s memory expansion feature, so it’s possible to add up to a maximum of 7GB more RAM to the device, which against my expectations, even made a difference in the field of multitasking! You can leave everything open that the Reno 6 Pro can handle! In the field of storage, we have 256GB UFS 3.1,
However, on the battery side, we have a 4500mAh cell, supporting 65W SuperVOOC 2.0 charging, which in exchange for kids means charging from 0 to 100% in just 29 minutes! However, in another disappointment for me, the wireless charging was left in the drawer.
The autonomy is good, guaranteeing 1 day of intensive use, or 1 day and a half of “normal use”.
Conclusion
The Oppo Reno 6 Pro is a good phone, which unfortunately disappoints me in some fields due to its exaggeratedly high price. After all, we are talking about a ‘top of the range’ smartphone at ~820€, without the top of the range Android SoC, without support for the increasingly essential 120Hz, and of course, without wireless charging.
It’s a device that should be on your radar if you like a beautiful, thin and light device. If you like fast loading. And of course, a lot of weight is given to the performance of the rear cameras.
But again, it’s expensive!
