OPPO Reno 4 Pro 5G review: A solid performer with a sleek design

2020 was an important year for OPPO as it moved to snare some of the market share lost by Huawei due to its ongoing issues with the US government. Having enjoyed my time with the Find X2 Pro immensely, I jumped at the chance of taking OPPO’s new mid-range flagship, the Reno 4 Pro 5G, for a spin. Sporting the mid-range chip of choice, the Snapdragon 765G, a ton of RAM, speedy flagship charging, AMOLED display, and a trio of rear cameras, the Reno 4 Pro 5G has a lot to live up to when you consider its £699 price tag.

So how does the OPPO Reno 4 Pro 5G shape up in the real world? Join us after the break to find out.

Design

The curved metal and glass design helps the Reno 4 Pro sit comfortably in the hand with just enough heft to it without feeling like you have a brick in your pocket. The rear panel has a matte finish which means it’s got more grip than most phones with glass posteriors, and thanks to the tall aspect ratio of the display, it’s quite narrow but you might still want to slap the included clear case on it to make sure it doesn’t slip out of your hand.

There’s a punch-hole cutout on the top left of the display, with slim-ish bezels going all the way around.

There’s a camera housing on the rear panel where the trio of sensors sit proud, with each lens individually still raised above slightly even when you have the included case on.

Hardware

Performance

The 90Hz AMOLED display is bright and colorful with good viewing angles and deep blacks, which is just what you would hope for from an OLED panel. While the display is sharp enough, for £699 I would have liked a few extra pixels on board, but FHD+ resolution will be fine for most people.

Sound is actually quite decent on the Reno 4 Pro 5G thanks to the dual speakers and the presence of Dolby Atmos support for enhanced audio. These are smartphone speakers, though, which means if you want a great audio experience, you’ll need to connect a pair of quality headphones.

The Snapdragon 765G processor from Qualcomm runs pretty slickly, and it’s only when you really push the phone with intensive graphics (PUGB Mobile at Ultra HDR graphics) that you realize it’s a mid-range chip. Well, that and the start-up that takes a couple of seconds longer to propagate the app drawer than you would find on a phone with the Snapdragon 865 under the hood.

The 12GB of RAM helps multi-tasking to no end, with very little in the way of redrawing apps to be seen while browsing is also a good experience even if you are using Chrome with the usual 60 tabs open. We’ve run it through the usual benchmarking apps with the results embedded below for your perusal.

Battery

A 4,000mAh battery isn’t considered a huge capacity these days but it still gets the Reno 4 Pro 5G through the day with a bit to spare. And if you do manage to reach empty, the 65W SuperVOOC 2.0 Flash Charge will top the battery back to 100% in around 30 minutes, and from 0-50% in under 12 minutes, which is just incredible. When I say battery, I’m referring to the pair of 1,999mAh batteries that are present in the Reno 4 Pro 5G, which allow the ultra-fast recharging times. Wireless charging isn’t included with the Reno 4 Pro 5G, unfortunately.

Software

ColorOS has come on tremendously since the days of the Reno 10x Zoom Edition that we reviewed back in 2019. The Reno 4 Pro 5G is running version 7.2 which is cleaner, flatter, brighter, and also features the much-needed Dark Mode. Bloat is kept to a minimum while there are a ton of valuable features included in OPPO’s skin.

The Floating Bar is a smart bar that is located on the side of the display, bringing up a range of apps and tools when you slide it open. You can customize it with your favorite apps and apps, which makes it somewhat useful.

Always-on-Display is present, which means you can check out the time, date, and notifications without unlocking the phone. Just like on the Find X2 Pro, Edge lighting will illuminate the sides of the display to show that you have notifications that need checking and is visible even when the phone is laid face down.

ColorOS isn’t quite where Samsung is with its One UI skin, but it’s not far behind and certainly not to be sniffed at. It’s slick, modern, and generally a pleasure to use, which is a tag line that could be applied to the phone itself.

Camera

With a 48MP main camera, a 12MP ultra-wide lens, and a 13MP telephoto camera that supports 4x hybrid optical zoom and 20x digital zoom, the Reno 4 Pro 5G has a handy collection of sensors that produce reliable results. The absence of those 2MP sensors that you see on other handsets that are there to make the numbers up is refreshing. While the main 48MP camera defaults to 12MP, images are generally detailed enough for most purposes but manually switching to the full number of megapixels will produce shots with far more detail, which is important if you plan on zooming or enlarging the image for printing.

The camera app is pretty much the same as on the Find X2 Pro, which is no bad thing. There are multiple modes such as Google Lens, Panorama, Time-Lapse, Stickers, Pro Mode, Slo-Mo, Extra HD, and Text Scanner hiding under the More button. For the vast majority of your time, you’ll be in Auto Mode which, with the help of the AI enhancer, will give you solid results every time.

You can check out the image slider above to see exactly how Night Mode brings about a brighter image with far more detail on show. Where the photo taken on auto mode offers a cleaner, cooler appearance, Night Mode adds a fair amount of yellow into the mix. You can’t help but think that the optimal image lies somewhere between the two modes.

I’ve included a bunch of sample pics below with the camera being held in my slightly shaky hands that usually results in a spot of blur when using some other handsets, but not so on the Reno 4 Pro 5G. It’s smack bang where you want a £699 smartphone camera to be, which isn’t always the case.

Should you buy it?

Having such a tall, narrow display can make it difficult to stretch to the upper reaches of the phone, and while the SuperVOOC 2.0 Flash Charge is stupendously quick and totally removes any hint of battery anxiety, wireless charging is a feature that would be expected at this price point. Although having said that, it’s more of an expectation for the price rather than something I missed having.

If you are in the market for a smartphone that has a premium build, looks good, and is comfortable to hold with many of the features associated with more expensive handsets, the Reno 4 Pro 5G is certainly worth splashing the cash. The AMOLED display shines and the cameras produce good results, reliably, and the phone is pretty to look at too.

OPPO’s Reno 4 Pro 5G is a well-rounded smartphone that does everything well and is worth picking up during one of the seasonal sales where it’s usually reduced down to £650 from £699.

OPPO Reno 4 Pro 5G | £699 | Amazon

Other phones to consider:

You’ll find Samsung’s Galaxy S20 FE and the OnePlus 8T at a similar price with the Pixel 5 for £100 less, all offering similar capabilities as the OPPO Reno 4 Pro

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He’s been an Android fan ever since owning an HTC Hero, with the Dell Streak being his first phablet. He currently carries an OPPO Find X2 Pro in his pockets, a Galaxy Tab S5e in his backpack, and thinks nothing of lugging a 17-inch laptop around the world. When not immersed in the world of Android and gadgets, he’s an avid sports fan, and like all South Africans, he loves a good Braai (BBQ).

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