Oppo Reno 6 test: the angular smartphone with original photo / video functions

Oppo Reno 6

From a strictly technical point of view, and given its price, the Oppo Reno6 is struggling to win against competitors like the OnePlus Nord 2 or the realme GT Master Edition, both of which have a faster processor, and even a 120 Hz screen for the realme. Its two main assets lie rather in its sophisticated and attractive design, with a matte back that hardly retains fingerprints, and its photo and video faculties, which rely on effective Sony sensors (despite the absence of zoom optical) and video filters that make it easy to achieve convincing effects (Bokeh or IA Color).

Officially announced today, the Reno6 is Oppo's latest "top-of-the-range" smartphone. Remember that the manufacturer has more sophisticated models in its catalog, which represent the top of the range of the brand. These are the Oppo Find X, whose Pro model displays top technical characteristics, with in particular a 120 Hz and very high definition display, i.e. 3216 x 1440 pixels (read our Oppo Find X3 Pro test). For the entry level, the manufacturer offers its A series (read our test of the Oppo A94 5G, currently offered at 319 € and which in this case constitutes the “top of the range of the entry level”).

As for the Reno6, only one model is offered. Sold for €499, it is equipped with 8 GB of memory and 128 GB of storage space. It is available immediately.

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To make its new smartphone even more interesting, the manufacturer has set up an introductory offer. Thus, until September 30, the Oppo Enco Free 2 Bluetooth headphones are offered (value of €100), as well as a Luminous protective shell. If (and only if) we were considering buying Bluetooth headphones, the Reno6's value for money therefore appears to be quite good. Otherwise, it is less obvious. Because competition is fierce in the €350-450 price range, as shown by the following two recent models:

The Oppo Reno6 is therefore the least well off of the three smartphones in terms of processor (a detail that may be important if you are an inveterate gamer). On the other hand, in terms of display, its screen is on the same level as that of the OnePlus Nord 2, but less fluid than the realme GT Master Edition. In photo, it looks this time at the height of realme and a little more efficient than the OnePlus. Finally, its battery has almost the same capacity as that of the other two smartphones (4300 and 4500 mAh) and it also supports 65 watt charging…

Finally, there remains the design, on which the manufacturer is betting heavily, as well as certain original photo/video functions put forward by Oppo (see photo section). Will this be enough to attract a large number of users?

A downright sweet design

If the technical characteristics of the Oppo Reno6 do not really hold any big surprises, compared to the other models that have been launched in recent months at around 500 €, its appearance – on the other hand – can be a serious asset to attract potential buyers. Indeed, the smartphone stands out from the competition with its very square edges (with an aluminum frame). This gives it a false air of iPhone 12, which should please no doubt. Especially since the top of the screen is not flanked by a huge opening like the Apple smartphone! Instead, the Reno6's OLED panel has only a small punch, where the front photo sensor is housed.

With its 6.43-inch screen, the smartphone displays a format perfectly in line with the current average. It measures 15.7 × 7.2 × 0.76 cm, for a weight of 182 grams. The back of the Reno6 sports the Oppo Glow coating, already used on the Find X3 Neo (read the Oppo Find X3 Neo test from our colleagues at Phonandroid). This results in a matte and glittery appearance of the most beautiful effect. To avoid spoiling anything, this texture is particularly soft and has the advantage of absolutely not retaining fingerprints!

The Oppo Reno6 is available in two colors: Arctic Blue and Stellar Black. The advantage of this last model, which we tested, lies in the fact that the small black inscriptions, present next to the brand logo, are hardly visible. They are much more so on the blue model, which turns out to be less attractive…

As usual, the fingerprint reader is placed under the OLED display panel. It offers fast and efficient recognition. Practical, the latter can be used to display a quick access menu to 5 functions or applications. After setting these in the system settings, just keep your finger on the fingerprint reader icon and then drag it to the icon of the desired application. We can thus unlock and launch an application almost simultaneously.

For the rest, the Oppo Reno6 is equipped with three buttons. In addition to the two volume control keys, placed on the left, there is the start button on the right, which has a green border. On the other hand, if two 5G SIM slots are present, neither of them can accommodate a microSD memory card. It's a shame, because it would have made it easy to expand the storage capacity.

On the audio side, the Oppo Reno6 does not offer two options that we encounter more and more often. First of all, it is equipped with only one speaker, placed next to the USB port and which therefore reproduces mono sound. In this case, the quality delivered is quite correct, with a good reserve of power. But, as always, the lack of bass is sorely felt.

On the other hand, the headphone jack is conspicuous by its absence. We are therefore unable to immediately use our favorite headphones. You either have to invest in a Bluetooth headset or earphones, or use a USB/3.5mm jack adapter, which is not included. As a consolation prize, the manufacturer provides USB C wired headphones, which deliver fairly good sound quality, but without noise reduction of course.

For the rest, Oppo indicates that its Reno6 is IP 54 certified. This means that the smartphone has protection against dust (but not completely, as IP6X certified devices are) and against splashing water , like rain. However, there is no question here of total waterproofing, like IPX7 or IPX8 certified smartphones. In short, you should not drop the Reno6 in your bathtub or a swimming pool…

A well-controlled display, in 90 Hz

The display of the Oppo Reno6 is based on an OLED screen, now essential in this price range. As expected, it delivers excellent display quality, with superb colors and – above all – extremely deep blacks. On the other hand, the screen is protected from scratches by a Gorilla Glass 5 type coating.

Like almost all smartphones sold under €900, the Reno6 displays images in Full HD+ definition, i.e. 2400 x 1080 pixels, and supports a maximum refresh rate of 90 Hz. Of course, it is possible to switch to 60 Hz mode at any time to save energy. On the other hand, there is no adaptive mode in the display settings, which would have allowed the operating system to choose the frequency best suited to the application in use.

Two display modes can be activated: Vivid and Soft. And if you don't really like either of them, it's always possible to manually adjust the color temperature. As usual, we screened these two modes using our X-Rite i1Display Pro Plus probe.

In this way, we have been able to observe that if the maximum brightness announced by Oppo is – depending on the situation – between 430 and 600 nits, according to our measurements we are roughly in the middle, since the brightness recorded is 490 and 500 nits, depending on the display mode selected. This result is quite good, since it is quite in the average of smartphones under 600 €.

To judge color fidelity, the Delta E measurement shows that the screen is well calibrated in Soft mode. Indeed, the average Delta E is then measured at 2.4. It is therefore less than 3, the value from which it is considered that the difference between the theoretical colors and those displayed on the screen is no longer visible to the naked eye. In the Vivid mode, the average Delta E is 3.4, which is less good, without being catastrophic however!

On the other hand, the average color temperature measured is quite cold, regardless of the display mode. It is indeed 7200 K, which reflects a slight tendency to display somewhat bluish whites. However, we are not very far from the often sought-after neutral value of 6500 K.

Note that Oppo's ColorOS11 software overlay, which complements Android 11, offers - in addition to complete and easy-to-use functions - many original functions, some of which involve the screen.

This is the case, for example, of the Always On Display (AOD) mode, which can be embellished by the silhouette of one of your loved ones. Just ask the operating system to analyze one of your photos so that it can produce a stylized image taking up the contours of the person. The original image is then displayed in several ways on the different Android screens: the clipped version in black and white on the AOD screen, in color with Bokeh effect on the lock page, then the image of origin in wallpaper.

On the other hand, it is possible to activate a function that automatically illuminates the edges of the screen when you receive notifications.

Reduced performance

For the Reno6, Oppo opted for the Mediatek Dimensity 900 processor, which is assisted by the Mali G68 graphics chip. The whole is completed by 8 GB of RAM. Given the price of the smartphone, this choice is a little confusing, insofar as its main competitors – realme and OnePlus in this case – have chosen components that are a little faster (the Snapdragon 778G of the realme GT Master Edition ), or even much more efficient (the Dimensity 1200).

Indeed, as its reference suggests, the Dimensity 900 chip is between the Dimensity 800U, found in the Oppo A94 (and equivalent to the Snapdragon 765G chip), and the Dimensity 1200 which equips the recent OnePlus Nord 2 which we recently tested and which offers performance equivalent to that of a Snapdragon 870.

The various bench applications (3D Mark, PC Mark, GeekBench, etc.) show that the 3D performance of the Mali G68 chip is around 20% lower than that of the Adreno 642L present in the Snapdragon 778G processor . The G77 graphics chip of the Dimensity 1200 processor evolves in a very superior category, as shown by the scores in the table below…

In practice, this slight lack of fishing is felt when it comes to playing. For example, the game Fortnite is automatically placed on the lowest possible graphics quality (Low). We therefore obtain animations that are certainly not very detailed, but nevertheless sufficiently fluid to play in very good conditions, since the counter is always blocked at the maximum, or 30 frames per second, whatever the situation. Remember that the realme GT Master Edition and OnePlus Nord 2 could run Fornite under the same conditions, but with an optimal graphics level (Epic quality!).

It provides photos and videos

For photos and videos, Oppo has ensured the blow by retaining three rear sensors which have the same characteristics as those of the OnePlus Nord 2 and realme GT Master Edition :

They are complemented by a front sensor for selfies. This is the 32-megapixel Sony IMX615 model, which offers a 23mm focal length. It is the same one found for example on the OnePlus Nord 2.

The main sensor has a focal length of 25mm. His shots are captured by default in 16 megapixels. Indeed, the sensor automatically combines four pixels (a square of two pixels by two pixels) into one, in order to capture more light and thus offer brighter shots, which is advantageous when the ambient light is low. This is the Quad Pixel Binning technique.

For photos taken during the day, this prevents the storage space from being saturated by files that are too large, while allowing the activation of a digital zoom, in the absence of a real zoom optical. Moreover, in the interface of the photo module, three digital magnification factors are offered: 2x, 5x and 10x (it is however possible to use a more powerful zoom, up to 20x).

The wide-angle sensor, meanwhile, has a definition of 8 megapixels, with a focal length equivalent to 15 mm. This is the Sony IMX355 sensor.

As can be seen in these two series of shots, these two sensors produce good quality images in broad daylight. They appear precise, contrasting, bright and colorful without exaggeration.

During the day, the digital zoom can provide some interesting services, as long as it is not abused. Thus, the 2x digital zoom appears surprisingly precise, with fairly high-contrast images. And even the 5x zoom is quite convincing!

Beyond the 5x zoom, for example with a 10x digital zoom, the images have a strong tendency to lose a lot of precision. Sometimes it feels like looking at an image from a stylized comic book (when looking closely at certain details).

Nevertheless, most of the time, the quality is sufficient to post the photos on social networks to be viewed on a smartphone screen. Beyond a magnification factor of 10x (up to 20x), the phenomenon is amplified. The quality – and the tolerance that we will have in the face of the loss of precision – then depends on the complexity of the scene photographed.

At night, with the mode of the same name, it is easy to distinguish the photos taken with the main sensor from those captured by the wide angle, because they turn out to be slightly brighter, thanks to Quad Pixel Binning. In both cases, the images produced are of fairly good quality. Even the 2x digital zoom can be the illusion most of the time, as long as a light source is nearby. However, it is preferable to stick to this magnification factor because with a 5x zoom, the photos drop very significantly in quality. Moreover, the interface no longer offers 10x digital zoom, as in broad daylight…

Sony's 32-megapixel front sensor captures detailed, color-accurate images. In addition to the "classic" selfies and the now Portrait mode with Bokeh effect, you can activate a filter called IA Color, which generates interesting shots. Indeed, the main subject is the only element that remains in color while the rest of the image is automatically switched to black and white, with or without Bokeh effect that can be applied to the background. The photographed subject is then well highlighted.

The third and last sensor allows you to take photos in macro mode. While this might appeal to some users (a minority!), its 2 megapixel definition is too limited (the images only have 1600 x 1200 pixels). However, it is possible to obtain fairly good quality shots, if you are at the right distance (about 4 cm) and if the photographed object does not move too much. We can then distinguish tiny details, which would be very difficult to see in normal times.

Finally, for videos, 4K footage can be achieved with only 30 frames per second. Among the various options, we find the Dual View mode (which allows filming simultaneously with the front sensor and the rear sensor) and an ultra stability mode (electronic stabilization, or EIS) (but in Full HD only).

In addition, the Reno6 prides itself on integrating two exclusive functions. The first allows you to film in slow motion with no less than 960 frames per second (in 720p of course!). The second is the video version of the photo filter called AI Colors. We can only regret that this last mode can only be used in 720p mode and with 30 frames per second with the rear sensor. Note that the manufacturer has decided to reserve these two original functions for the Reno6 alone, since the Reno6 Pro (more efficient and more expensive) does not have them…

Another option also allows you to benefit from the Bokeh effect while filming. The entire image then remains in color, but with the background blurred while the filmed subject remains sharp. This time, if this mode is only available in 720p / 30 fps with the 64 megapixel rear sensor, we can exploit this possibility in Full HD (1080p) with the front sensor (!).

Satisfactory autonomy

The Reno6 has a medium capacity battery (4300 mAh). Remember that the best-off smartphones in this area have a 5000 mAh battery.

In default mode, 60Hz, battery life measured using the PC Mark app is 12 hours and 48 minutes. It is therefore half an hour more than the autonomy observed on the OnePlus Nord 2 (which, let us recall, incorporates a slightly faster processor but also – to compensate – a 4500 mAh battery). We can therefore consider that the two smartphones are able to offer more or less the same autonomy at 60 Hz, which varies between one and two days, depending on the intensity of use of multimedia applications and social networks.

If your end of the day is a little strained in terms of battery life, you can activate the Super energy saving mode, which limits the use of the smartphone to essential functions: telephone, SMS, clock, which are add three applications that you consider indispensable.

In any case, be aware that if you like to play on your smartphone, the autonomy will of course be quite limited. For example, a half hour of manhunt in Fortnite consumes 8% of the battery charge. We can therefore expect to play a little more than 6 hours (6h15min) with a full charge.

The OnePlus Nord 2 and realme GT Master Edition have a respective in-game battery life of around 4 hours and 5 hours and 33 minutes…

On the other hand, if you prefer to watch a lot of streaming videos, the total autonomy should exceed 15 hours (15h23min according to our tests). Indeed, playing a two-hour Netflix movie over Wi-Fi lowers the battery level by 13%. This therefore almost corresponds to the data indicated by the manufacturer (up to 16 hours). This is also the autonomy that we checked on the OnePlus Nord 2 and realme GT Master Edition.

Let's conclude this test with one last very positive aspect of the Oppo Reno6: its battery recharges very quickly thanks to a 65-watt power adapter compatible with Super VOOC 2.0 technology.

The manufacturer announces that it takes less than half an hour for the battery to regain a full charge. In practice, we regain 40% of the maximum capacity after only 10 minutes and 71% after 20 minutes of recharging. After half an hour, the battery is recharged to 97%. The promise is thus once again almost respected!