The Oppo Reno 7 is a mid-range smartphone that aims to offer a refined design and a dependable daily usage experience. Though it’s positioned as the smaller sibling of the Reno 7 Pro, the Reno 7 mostly focuses on design improvements, with minimal upgrades to its features and specifications compared to its predecessor, the Reno 6. This might leave some potential buyers wondering if the Reno 7 truly offers enough value to justify its price tag, especially considering the competitive landscape of other mid-range phones. In this comprehensive review, we’ll delve into the details and explore whether the Oppo Reno 7 holds its own in the crowded smartphone market.
Oppo Reno 7 Price in India
Oppo has launched the Reno 7 in India with a single configuration: 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, priced at Rs. 28,999. This marks a welcome increase in storage compared to the Reno 6, and the inclusion of a dedicated microSD card slot allows for even further expansion. The Reno 7 is available in two color options: Startrails Blue and Stary Black.
Oppo Reno 7 Design
The Oppo Reno 7 showcases a revamped design with a rounded frame and curved edges on the back, contributing to a sleek aesthetic. The laser-etched pattern, similar to the Reno 7 Pro, adds visual appeal while subtly repelling fingerprints. Its slim and lightweight design, tipping the scales at just 173g, ensures comfortable holding and one-handed use.
However, the pursuit of a sleek profile comes with trade-offs. The glossy frame and back panel are crafted from plastic instead of the metal and glass combination found in the Reno 7 Pro. This marks a downgrade even from the Reno 6, which featured an aluminum frame.
Despite the plastic construction, the Reno 7 retains a headphone jack, a feature becoming increasingly rare. The 6.4-inch AMOLED display echoes the previous model, boasting a full-HD+ resolution, 90Hz maximum refresh rate, and protection from Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The bezels surrounding the display, with the exception of the chin, are relatively thin. Further enhancing user experience is an in-display fingerprint sensor and face recognition, enabled by the selfie camera housed in a hole-punch cutout.
Oppo Reno 7 Specifications and Software
Oppo opted to stick with the same MediaTek Dimensity 900 processor as the Reno 6, despite it not being the latest and greatest. While still a capable 5G SoC built upon a power-efficient 6nm fabrication process, the inclusion of a newer chipset, such as the Dimensity 920, would have made the Reno 7 more competitive, especially against rivals powered by Qualcomm’s offerings like the Snapdragon 778G. It’s worth noting that the Reno 7 does boast respectable connectivity, featuring Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi 6, NFC, and support for major satellite navigation systems. However, the omission of stereo speakers is disappointing, given their increasing prevalence in the smartphone market.
The software on the Reno 7 mirrors the ColorOS 12 experience found on the Reno 7 Pro. Based on Android 11, it’s likely to receive a stable update to Android 12 soon. The software offers a vast array of shortcuts and gestures, a theme store for personalization, extensive customisations for the always-on display (including new Omoji avatars), a feature directly inspired by Apple, and a plethora of third-party apps (bloatware) that might clutter your notification shade with unwanted alerts. Fortunately, these apps are mostly uninstallable.
Oppo Reno 7 Performance and Battery Life
The Oppo Reno 7 delivers solid performance in everyday usage scenarios. Its capable SoC handles a wide range of productivity and social media applications with ease. The fluid 90Hz interface exhibits smooth animations without noticeable lag or slowdowns. The phone’s slim and lightweight design further enhances user comfort by reducing pocket burden and facilitating comfortable one-handed use.
The Reno 7 excels in video and gaming performance. While unable to install the Netflix app during our testing, videos streamed through Amazon Prime Video and YouTube displayed high quality. Audio quality was generally adequate but could have been richer with the inclusion of stereo speakers. Heavy games, such as PUBG: New State, ran smoothly with graphics quality cranked up, showcasing comfortable gameplay with no excessive heating, even after prolonged gaming sessions. Benchmarks further reinforce the phone’s performance capabilities, with the Reno 7 achieving a respectable 4,35,227 points in AnTuTu.
The 4,500mAh battery (a bump from the Reno 6’s 4,300mAh battery) translates into noticeable improvements in battery life. The Reno 7 achieved an impressive 19 hours and 25 minutes in our HD video loop test, a remarkable three-hour improvement over the Reno 6. Under regular usage patterns, two full days of battery life were comfortably attainable. Charging is equally rapid; the supplied charger fully charged the phone in well under an hour.
Oppo Reno 7 Cameras
Similar to the SoC, the Reno 7’s camera system remains largely unchanged. AI capabilities have been tweaked, allowing users to digitally widen the aperture for a shallower depth of field in videos, mirroring the Reno 7 Pro’s functionality. However, these enhancements are minimal, and the Reno 7’s cameras largely resemble those already seen on the Reno 6.
Video stabilisation remains limited to 1080p resolution, with the phone capable of shooting at a maximum of 4K 30fps. Enabling filters or AI features during video recording unfortunately defaults the resolution to 1080p.
The sensor lineup echoes its predecessor. The Reno 7 features a 64-megapixel primary camera with an f/1.7 aperture, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera, and a 2-megapixel macro camera. Selfies are captured by a 32-megapixel front camera.
Daylight landscapes and close-up shots captured with the primary rear camera exhibited good detail, and colors were fairly accurate. As expected, the ultra-wide camera yielded somewhat weaker detail but delivered a broader perspective. Macro photography performed adequately in daylight scenarios. When AI was activated, colors were artificially boosted, particularly in pictures of flora and food. Low-light shots were decent, and Night mode effectively enhanced exposure while minimizing noise.
Selfies taken during the day displayed excellent detail. Skin tones appeared natural after disabling beautification effects. The Bokeh Flare Portrait filter is included, providing a cool background effect. Selfies captured in low light also showed good detail. A screen flash can be employed to compensate for the lack of ambient light, proving helpful in such scenarios.
Recorded videos suffered from the same shortcomings encountered with the Reno 6. 4K videos offered decent quality under good lighting conditions, but the lack of stabilisation was a significant drawback. Stabilization is available at 1080p, but this comes at the cost of reduced quality, with the effects becoming more pronounced in low light. Although the adjustable aperture feature adds a touch of fun and the bokeh filter can create captivating videos, the overall video experience falls short of its potential.
Verdict
Given that the Oppo Reno 6 was launched less than a year ago, it’s understandable why Oppo opted for a less drastic overhaul in the Reno 7. However, unless the company plans to introduce a Reno 8 within the year, the Reno 7 might struggle to make its mark in a fiercely competitive market. The Reno 6 faced stiff competition from phones like the OnePlus Nord 2 and the Poco F3 GT, and the Reno 7 now must contend with those same rivals and newer contenders such as the Motorola Edge 20, Realme GT Master Edition, and the Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge, all of which offer more robust features and performance at comparable or even lower prices.
The Oppo Reno 7 is a reliably capable daily driver. Its overall system and gaming performance are commendable, battery life is excellent, and the phone’s lightweight design is a comfortable companion. The cameras capture satisfactory still photos. The addition of expandable storage is a welcome feature for this model. However, its downsides include the lack of stereo speakers, weak video recording performance, and a downgrade in material quality from plastic to the more desirable metal and glass combination found in the Reno 6.
For those considering the purchase of an Oppo Reno 7, the same advice given in the Reno 7 Pro review applies: it is a good phone without major flaws, but it’s important to recognize that other, more feature-rich options exist. Some of these alternatives, as listed above, provide greater value for your investment. Ultimately, the decision boils down to your priorities and budget. If you value a refined design, a lightweight and comfortable experience, and solid everyday performance, the Oppo Reno 7 could be a compelling choice. However, if a wider range of features, stronger camera capabilities, or a more robust hardware experience are your top priorities, the competition offers more compelling alternatives.