Friends+Design
- Simply stunning, premium glass design, especially with the Luminous Black option - easily one of the best-looking phones out there, at present (along with its predecessor the Reno 10x Zoom) - it offers a masterclass in how to craft a premium smartphone at a not-so-premium price point - in fact, half of the experience of the Reno 2 is in its looks and that's the part that satisfies you the most
- The curved Gorilla Glass 5 rear panel is smooth and feels solid to the touch - the best thing about the back of the Reno 2 is that it is one seamless piece of glass without any camera bump - the vertical quad camera system sits underneath the glass, offering a clean and visually attractive look
- The curved edges on the back also offer a nice grip
- Much lighter and more manageable than the original Reno 10x Zoom
- The iconic shark-fin rising selfie camera previously seen on the Reno 10x Zoom also returns on the Reno 2 (the pivot rising structure moves fast initially so that the camera is out in about 0.8 seconds, allowing you to unlock the phone using face scan quickly)
- The on-screen fingerprint sensor is extremely snappy and slightly faster than the face unlock method, but both are equally reliable
- The glass however, is glossy this time around rather than matt finish, so expect to see some fingerprints and smudges as you go about your day, especially on the Luminous Black option
Display
- Beautiful, bright 6.55-inch Dynamic AMOLED display - the screen-to-body ratio is 93.1, which means what you get is practically all screen and no bezels except for a very slim chin that is almost non-existent
- The display itself looks spectacular with vivid colours, deep blacks and excellent viewing angles - brightness levels on the Reno 2 are fantastic as it can max out at 800 nits when outdoors, which is quite impressive
- The display is also great for watching videos and playing games - the edge-to-edge display offers a distraction-free experience - the phone also supports the Widevine L1 standard so you can stream content on platforms like Netflix and Prime Video in HD
Software
- ColorOS continues to get more streamlined, and lighter, but still continues to offer some neat features such as a lockscreen magazine, Night Shield, Game Space and smart battery saving options
Performance
- Very good performance backed by a 2.2GHz Snapdragon 730G processor (a slightly faster GPU compared to the Snapdragon 730) - the Reno 2 breezes through pretty much any task you throw at it, and is also an excellent smartphone to game on - even heavy games run consistently smooth
- Having said that, it's not the fastest phone in the price bracket though, with Snapdragon 855 phones available at even lower price brackets (OnePlus 7, and Zenfone 6Z, for instance)
Camera
- Excellent set of quad cameras - in addition to a 48-megapixel Sony IMX586 sensor that supports OIS and EIS, the Reno 2 also offers a 13-megapixel telephoto lens, an 8-megapixel wide-angle camera and a 2-megapixel monochrome lens
- The Reno 2's telephoto lens can offer 5x hybrid zoom, which offers some really crisp and detailed zoomed shots with the help of EIS (it also offers up to 20x digital zoom, but that predictably leads to more soft, noisy images)
- The 48MP main camera can take stunning shots in daylight via its default 12MP pixel binning mode - Photos look sharp and colourful, and when HDR kicks in the dynamic range can get pretty wide, offering good contrast in tricky lighting conditions - AI scene detection does well too
- The Night Mode ('Ultra Dark mode') works reasonably well - this long-exposure mode requires you to keep your hands still for a few seconds, allowing you to capture brighter shots with low noise - though you shouldn't expect Pixel 3 level performance here
- The wide-angle lens also comes in handy if you want a different perspective - it not only lets you capture a wide area, but you can also use it for close-up macro shots as well
- The phone also holds up well in the video department with the ultra steady mode kicking in to offer good stabilisation
- The Reno 2 can also capture live bokeh videos, which works pretty well - arguably better than even the Galaxy Note 10+
- The 16-megapixel front camera will get you some nice-looking selfies in daylight (but not the sharpest or most-detailed) - and in addition to portrait stills, the selfie camera can also record real-time bokeh videos
- Overall, the Reno 2 cameras are easily above par for this price bracket - and only a shade below the best cameraphones out there like the Pixel 3, and the Galaxy Note 10+
Battery
- Good battery life with a 4000mAh battery and a 1080p screen - you can expect up to 1.5 days of use
- Also comes with VOOC 3.0 fast charging support and a 20W charging brick in the box - charge the device for an hour, and you'll be good to go for the day
Verdict
- If you are not too picky about having the best raw performance for your buck, the Oppo 2 is an excellent, all-round flagship smartphone that especially impresses with its stunning looks and great cameras - if you do care about having the best performance however, you can look at the OnePlus 7, the Asus 6Z, or the Redmi K20 Pro
