The OPPO Reno 3 Pro is a powerful smartphone featuring a capable 64MP Zoom Quad-camera at the back and super clear 44MP Dual Punch-hole Camera at the front.
In this review, we will be testing its ability to shoot far and near objects, its performance and a couple of other things that make the Reno 3 Pro a device of choice.
Design and Display
When it comes to mobile phone aesthetics, needless to say, that OPPO takes the lead. This is evident in the design of the Reno 3 Pro which is inspired by natural lights and is remarkably light in the hands. It measures 8.1mm in visual thickness and weighs just 175grams.
The OPPO Reno3 Pro comes in just one beautiful colour of Auroral Blue while the Reno 3 comes in Auroral Blue & Midnight Black. It quite a looker, to be honest. The revolutionary 44MP Dual Punch-hole Super AMOLED Display marks another milestone of OPPO’s consistent pursuit of bringing the aesthetic of technology to its users.
When it comes to placement of buttons, you have the Volume controllers on the left side of the phone, while the right side holds a power button that also activates Google Assistant.
We’re pleased to see a physical headphone jack, which sits next to the USB-C port and remains as useful as ever. The phone also sports a combination SIM/microSD slot, which allows you to put in two SIM cards or a SIM card and a storage card, a feature that some higher-end phones inexplicably lack.
In terms of display the Reno 3 Pro sports a 6.4-inch screen on the front with a 44MP Dual Punch-hole Camera for selfie, which is quite similar to that of the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus.
The device comes with a very bright panel which according to OPPO it can go up to 500 nits at maximum brightness, and in a really bright environment, the screen can boost up to 800 nits.
It has a resolution of 2400 by 1080 pixel with a tall 20:9 Super AMOLED screen. The screen is quite good and the colour comes out really well, especially when watching 4k and 1080P contents on YouTube.
The Reno 3 Pro uses an under-screen fingerprint sensor and Facial recognition is also available for unlocking the device.
Performance and Software
When it comes to performance, the Reno 3 Pro is not a slouch. It is a gaming beast that is being powered by the MediaTek’s Helio P95 chip. This is aided by 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The MediaTek Helio P95 Soc is a gaming processor, hence it is not surprising that the Reno 3 Pro comes with a Hyper Boost that takes your gaming experience to a whole new level. This feature makes it such as breeze when playing games and responding to messages at the same time.
The device has no issue loading and navigating through apps and games. During our time with the Reno 3 Pro, it handled even more resource-intensive games smoothly.
We rank a couple of benchmark tools on the phone, below are the results.
On the software side, the phone runs Android 10 with OPPO’s ColorOS 7.1 layered on top, which is a refresh of ColorOS 7.0. It is OPPO best Color OS yet as it is well refined though still comes with couples of bloatware. Thankfully, they can be uninstalled.
Cameras [ Reno 3 vs Reno Pro ]
One of the key features of the Reno series’ is its camera. The Series was one of the first to introduce 10x hybrid zoom and the Reno Series has always been innovating with new tricks, hence it is no surprise that the Reno 3 Series inherits some of the defining traits of its predecessors
We have a total of four cameras on the back of the Reno 3 and 3 Pro. On the Pro variants, there is a 64MP f/1.8 “ultra-clear” main camera, a 13MP f/2.4 telephoto lens, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens, and a 2MP mono lens. The major difference between the Reno 3 and 3 Pro is that the Reno3 comes with a 48MP f/1.8 “ultra-clear” main camera and single 44MP selfie shooter as against 64MP main and dual 44MP punch-hole on the Pro version. All other camera features on the Pro version are available on the standard version.
At the front is the 44MP main selfie camera which is aided with a 2MP bokeh sensor.
Images captured by the Reno 3 Pro appeared very bright as compared to the Reno 3. We are impressed with the images from the Portrait and the ultra-wide shots from both devices.
Below are couples of images from both of them. You can judge for yourself.
Reno 3 and 3 Pro Selfie images
The Reno 3 in our comparison produces more colourful selfies with better white balance than the Pro. But we can exactly say why this so but the units we have are review units.
However, when it comes to the rear camera, the Reno 3 Pro with 64MP captured more detailed and well- balanced images compared to the Reno 3.
Images on the Reno 3 Pro
One of the key highlights of the Reno 3 Pro camera is its zooming capability.
Both devices come with AI beauty modes, designed to smooth the face and make your eyes bigger or your nose smaller. It’s up to you to decide if to use it or not.
Battery and Charging
OPPO has always been proud of the Reno line’s battery life and the Reno 3 Pro isn’t about to break tradition in that regard. Granted, the 4,025 mAh battery inside is becoming more common so OPPO will have to step up its game soon. For now, however, it’s just about enough to get you through the day and then some, especially given the less taxing hardware inside.
As always, gauging battery life isn’t an exact science considering how many variables can be at play at any given time. With “average” daily use of an hour of YouTube, an hour and a half or so of gaming, and even more hours of browsing in total, the Reno 3 Pro left us with around 20% life left.
OPPO claims the included 30W charger will juice the Reno’s 4,025mAh battery up to 50 percent in 20 minutes, which we’ll be putting to the test. So far the phone has made it through a day and a half of intense use without running out of power, which is encouraging.
Conclusion
If you are in the market for a capable camera phone, the OPPO Reno 3 Series is for you. With features such as MediaTek P95 processor coupled with 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage and the 64MP quad-camera, the OPPO Reno 3 Series is yet another quality mid-range Android smartphone from OPPO.
The OPPO Reno 3 Series was unveiled in Nigeria on the 15th of May. As far as pricing and availability are concerned, both the OPPO Reno 3 and Reno 3 Pro are now available for pre-order in Nigeria. The OPPO Reno is priced at N159,000 while the Reno 3 Pro will set you back N209,000.
OPPO Reno 3 and 3 Pro Full Specifications
Specs Details | Oppo Reno 3 | Oppo Reno 3 Pro |
---|---|---|
Screen Type | AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors | AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors |
Display | 6.4 inches, (~84.2% screen-to-body ratio) | 6.4 inches, (~84.2% screen-to-body ratio) |
Resolution | 1080 x 2400 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~405 ppi density) | 1080 x 2400 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~405 ppi density) |
Body | Glass front (Gorilla Glass 5), plastic back, plastic frame | Glass front (Gorilla Glass 5), plastic back, plastic frame |
Dimension/Weight | 160.2 x 73.3 x 7.9 mm/170g | 158.8 x 73.4 x 8.1 mm/175g |
Operating System | Android 10 layered with ColorOS 7 | Android 10 layered with ColorOS 7 |
CPU | Mediatek MT6779 Helio P90 octa-core (12 nm) | Mediatek MT6779 Helio P95 Octa-core (12 nm) |
GPU | PowerVR GM9446 | PowerVR GM9446 |
Storage | 128GB expandable via SD card | 256GB expandable via SD Card |
RAM | 8GB | 8GB |
Rear Camera | 48 MP main f/1.8 +13 MP f/2.4 telephoto) + 8 MP ultrawide) + 2 MP B/W | 64 MP main f/1.8 +13 MP f/2.4 telephoto) + 8 MP ultrawide) + 2 MP B/W |
Front Camera | 44 MP f/2.4 selfie shooter | Dual 44 MP f/2.4 +2MP f/2.4 depth sensor |
Internet Connection | 2G/3G/4G LTE Connection, support Glo 4G | 2G/3G/4G LTE-4G LTE Connection with support for Glo 4G |
Battery | Non-removable Li-Po 4025 mAh battery with Fast charging 30W, 50% in 30 min, 100% in 73 min (advertised) VOOC 3.0 | Non-removable Li-Po 4025 mAh battery with Fast charging 30W, 50% in 30 min, 100% in 73 min (advertised) VOOC 3.0 |
Colour | Midnight Black | Midnight Blue |
Price |