Reviews

OPPO Reno 3: Our Three favourite Features


The OPPO Reno 3 is already selling in the Kenyan market. OPPO officially launched the phone on April 22 and it is retailing at Ksh. 39,999. 

At that price, the OPPO Reno 3 comes with some pretty interesting specs making it a really competitive device in the local market. The phone has many things right -, great design,  a good screen, an amazing battery life with great charging speeds, really good cameras, the software is fast just to  just a few. 

The OPPO Reno 3 features a 6.40-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1080×2400 pixels and an aspect ratio of 20:9. It is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Helio P90 (MT6779) processor and comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. 

OPPO Reno 3 Kenya Review

The OPPO Reno 3 runs on Android 10 and is powered by a 4025mAh non-removable battery that supports VOOC fast charging.

For the cameras, the OPPO Reno 3  packs a 48-megapixel primary camera on the rear with an f/1.8 aperture; a second 13-megapixel camera with an f/2.4 aperture; a third 8-megapixel camera with an f/2.2 aperture and a fourth 2-megapixel camera with an f/2.4 aperture. This rear camera setup has autofocus. The selfie camera on the other hand is 44-megapixel with an f/2.4 aperture.

OPPO Reno 3 runs ColorOS 7 based on Android 10, The 128GB inbuilt storage can also be expanded via microSD card (up to 256GB). 

OPPO sent us a review unit which we have been using for about two weeks now. You can watch our unboxing video below. 

As earlier mentioned the Reno 3 comes with some interesting features and in this review article we will be highlighting the top 4. These features are based on our interaction with the device. This is the phone we have also been using as our main driver for the last few weeks.

The Camera

OPPO Reno 3 cameras

One of the things that should actually make you buy the OPPO Reno 3 is the camera. The phone features a quad camera setup consisting of a  48-megapixel primary camera with an f/1.8 aperture; a second 13-megapixel camera with an f/2.4 aperture; a third 8-megapixel camera with an f/2.2 aperture and a fourth 2-megapixel camera with an f/2.4 aperture. which produces some decent photos. 

With this setup, the phone delivers 4K video shoots but at only 30 frames per second(fps). Camera modes on the OPPO Reno 3 include Night, Portrait, Time-Lapse, Pano and Slo-Mo modes. 

The AI Scene recognition on the Reno 3 is on by default and you can quickly detect what we were shooting. The camera also also allows you to take macros using the ultra-wide-angle camera as it has autofocus. We need to mention that the camera app has shortcuts for different filters that you can apply before taking a shot. See sample shots below: (Click on them to expand)

More photos are available on our official TechTrendsKe Instagram page.

Battery

The battery is a very important consideration for most smartphone users. In fact, among the top queries we get in our inbox about the smartphones we have reviewed, the battery life and performance is always the top. 

No one wants a smartphone that keeps juice for just hours and goes off. Everyone wants a battery life that can take them an entire day and even push them until the next day. Does the OPPO Reno 3 deliver that? 

The Reno 3 battery does a pretty good job and  is capable of delivering about a day and a half worth of usage from a single charge. 

The phone also supports VOOC v3.0 fast charging which fills up the battery really fast. Should take you about an hour and 10 minutes to fill up your battery from 0-100%, impressive. 

Color OS

OPPO Reno 3 runs a newly redesigned ColorOS 7 based on Android 10. The UI is clean and very easy to use. Swiping left for example takes you to the Smart Assistant tab that has shortcuts to let you do things like capturing screenshots, screen recording, check your messages among other things. You can also use on-screen buttons for navigation or switch to swipe gestures. 

It also has features like smart driving and riding modes which you can use to reduce distraction by blocking notifications and incoming calls. I also loved the fact that you can tweak the driving mode and calls from specific people will be automatically answered and routed to the loudspeaker. 

Digital Wellbeing will also help you monitor the amount of time you spend on the phone. It also includes wind-down and focus mode. 

To ensure your personal information is also safe OPPO can just show dummy information to apps that ask for access to your contacts and messages. This is interesting. 

Other features include the multi-user that lets you define guest profiles as well as other user profiles.If you share your phone with children, this is a more than practical option.

Some of our other favorite practical features on the Reno 3 are dark mode and live wallpapers. 

OPPO Reno 3 availability in Kenya

Reno3 Kenya

OPPO Reno 3 can be purchased from OPPO-branded stores available countrywide or via Jumia. The recommended retail price is Ksh.39,999 and comes in Midnight Black, or Aurora Blue color. 

Check a summary of the specs below.

Display Type AMOLED
Size 6.40 inches (~90.8% screen-to-body ratio)
Resolution 1080 x 2400 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~411ppi density)
Protection N/A
Platform OS Android 10.0 with ColorOS 7 UI
Chipset Mediatek MT6779 Helio P90 (12 nm)
CPU Octa-core (2×2.2 GHz Cortex-A75 & 6×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55)
GPU PowerVR GM9446
Network Technology 2G,3G, 4G LTE
Memory RAM 8GB
ROM 128GB
MicroSD card Slot Hybrid SIM slot, up to 256GB
Camera Selfie 44 MP, f/2.4, wide lens with HDR (waterdrop notch)
Rear 48 MP Quad Camera Setup (48MP f/1.8 wide angle lens, PDAF + 13 MP, f/2.4 telephoto, 2x optical zoom, 5x hybrid zoom, 20x digital zoom, PDAF + 8 MP, f/2.2, ultrawide + 2MP mono-lens, f/2.4 )
Video Up to 4K (4K/30fps; 1080P@60fps/30fps; 720P@60fps/30fps)
Battery 4025 mAh (Non-removable Li-Po) Fast Charging 30W
Other features USB Type C, Bluetooth 5.0,
Colors Midnight Black, Aurora Blue
Sensors Fingerprint (under display, optical), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
Price Ksh 39,999 Buy on Jumia here.
Availability Launched on April 16

 

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Nixon Kanali

Tech journalist based in Nairobi. I track and report on tech and African startups. Founder and Editor of TechTrends Media. Nixon is also the East African tech editor for Africa Business Communities. Send tips to nkanali@techtrendske.co.ke.

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