Initial verdict: While the Reno7 Z does get features like the LED lights on the camera modules and a bigger battery, it feels like the new mid-range phone from OPPO is a slight downgrade from last year’s Reno6 Z. The biggest question for the Reno7 Z will be how much OPPO plans to price it in the Philippines.
Pros
- Unique LED notification light
- Bigger battery
Cons
- No ultra-wide-angle camera
- Can’t shoot 4K video
OPPO Reno7 Z Philippines Specs
- Snapdragon 695 processor
- 8GB RAM
- 128GB storage
- 6.43-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display, 20:9 aspect ratio
- 64-megapixel f/1.7 main camera with PDAF, 2-megapixel f/2.4 depth sensor, 2-megapixel f/2.4 macro camera
- 16-megapixel selfie camera
- 4G, LTE, 5G
- WiFi, Bluetooth 5.1, in-display fingerprint scanner
- 4500mAh battery
- 33w fast charging
- Android 11, ColorOS 11.3
Aside from the Reno7, OPPO is also bringing over the more affordable Reno7 Z to the Philippines as well. It does have the unique LED notification light found on the Reno7, while keeping most of the core basics like most Reno Z series phones.
Unboxing and packaging contents
Like the Reno7, you get the same design for the packaging on the Reno7 Z with a mint green outer box and black inner box. The contents are the same: you get the phone itself, a TPU case, USB-C cable, documentation, SIM ejector tool, and a 33w charger.
Design
The Reno7 Z has a similar design language as the Reno6 with its boxy, squared-off look for the frame. The camera module has a similar design language as the more premium Reno7, though you have the two large camera modules representing the bump. Like its more premium sibling, the bumps house an LED notification light to add a unique design aspect to the Reno7 Z.
Button and port selection on the Reno7 Z consists of a USB-C port, headphone jack, and loudspeaker at the bottom, volume controls and SIM card tray on the right, and the power button/fingerprint scanner on the left.
Display
Compared to its predecessor, the Reno7 Z also has an AMOLED panel, though it is a smidge bigger at 6.43-inches. The refresh rate is still at 60hz, and the Reno7 Z still uses an in-display fingerprint scanner.
Those changes aside, OPPO has been consistent with the quality of the AMOLED panels it uses for the Reno series, and the one on the Reno7 Z is just as good with those vibrant colors and deep blacks, along with a decent brightness range–especially when viewing HDR content.
Cameras
The Reno7 Z does have a triple rear camera setup, but we find it strange that OPPO omitted the ultra-wide-angle camera and swapped it with an underwhelming depth sensor. That limits the versatility of the Reno7 Z in terms of camera performance–but we remain confident that the main camera can deliver with most shooting scenarios.
Another limiting factor of the Reno7 Z is that it can only shoot at up to Full HD resolution (the Reno6 Z can shoot 4K) due to the limitations of the Snapdragon 695 processor.
Internals
The Reno 7 Z does have the same 8GB RAM and 128GB internal storage as its predecessor, though goes for team Qualcomm this time with its use of a Snapdragon 695 processor. Synthetic benchmarks from various outlets do report that the Snapdragon 695 performs better than the Dimensity 800U, but it remains to be seen if OPPO has properly optimized the processor with ColorOS.
We will do our usual round of tests–gaming included–to see if the Snapdragon 695 offers better performance over the Dimensity 800U despite removing the ability to shoot 4K video.
Aside from the bump in processing power, the Reno7 Z has a bigger battery capacity at 4500mAh, along with a 33w wired charging solution that uses USB-PD. While it is not the usual VOOC variety found on most OPPO phones, which means that you can be more lenient with the charger you use and still enjoy those fast speeds.
Wrap up and initial conclusions
Unlike the Reno7, the OPPO Reno7 Z feels underwhelming compared to its predecessor on paper in the Philippines. The omission of the ultra-wide-angle camera, along with the absence of 4K video recording, are the biggest weaknesses of the Reno7 Z so far. However, its processor and bigger battery might be good enough to justify it as a reasonable upgrade to the Reno6 Z.
