Oppo Reno2 review

Android Pie with Color 6.1

The software setup on the Reno2 is a pretty standard Oppo affair. You get ColorOS 6 on top of an Android Pie core. It's Color OS 6.1, to be exact.

Color OS 6 is based on a light color scheme, mainly mixing a white backdrop with light color gradients. Oppo says the choice of white is meant to create an airy atmosphere.

A major part of Color OS 6 is the new universal font - Oppo Sans - which Oppo has developed in cooperation with known Chinese typeface firm Hanyi.

Finally, with this version, Color OS has gained an app drawer. You can switch between it and and the all homescreen design in the launcher settings.

ColorOS launcher settings

ColorOS 6.0 utilizes built-in machine learning to selectively freeze apps in the background, instead of closing them. The so-called AI application quick freeze will analyze your app activity for 2 weeks to learn your habits. You can configure/opt out of this behavior from the battery settings.

You can use both fingerprint and face recognition for screen unlock, with the under-display optical fingerprint scanner taking a priority. It's quite fast, almost as fast and accurate as the conventional ones and we had excellent experience with it. The Face Unlock activates if the finger recognition fails, and while it's super fast on its own, you need to wait for the selfie camera to pop-up, so you still need about a second.

Setting up fingerprints

The Color OS lets you enable an always-on clock and has the usual homescreens with a widget pane - a rather standard affair.

Lock and home screens, the app drawer

As any other Oppo, you can spruce up the UI with Themes. The Theme Store features both whole themes and just wallpapers, sorted into categories (including free and paid ones). Oppo still doesn't offer advanced customization features like only applying icon packs or colors from themes and mixing and matching.

Themes

The notification shade features notifications, quick toggles, and a brightness scrubber and has a modern flat look. The task switcher is akin to Apple's, though it has an End All button. And split screen is available for all compatible apps.

Notifications • Toggles • Task Switcher • Split screen • Split screen

You get a choice of three navigation methods on the Reno2. There are two different kinds of gesture systems as well as the conventional navigation keys. With full customizability, so everyone should be covered regardless of preference.

By the way, if you are keen on launching the Google Assistant with a hardware key instead of a virtual one, you can assign a short press on the Power Key to summon it.

Navigation settings

Clone apps and file safe functions are on board, as well as real-time translation thanks to an improved voice assistant.

There is a Phone Manager quite similar to what Huawei and Xiaomi have on their phones under the same name. It handles memory cleaner functions, app permissions and encryption, and virus scanning.

Game Space allows you to handpick which notifications pass through when you are playing games and you don't want to be interrupted. There are also different performance modes and an option to lock the brightness only for certain games.

Game Space

Oppo still provides some of its proprietary apps even on international units with Google Play Services and the Play Store and G Suite. These are pretty clean and functional, though, so we can't really complain too much.

Phone Manager • Gallery • Videos • Music • Files

Last, but not least, we would be remiss if we didn't mention Oppo's powerful bundled video editor app.

It is called SOLOOP and actually offers a ton of editing features, surprisingly well optimized for touch screen operation. Among its party tricks is the ability to automatically add music to match the timing, transitions and cuts in your video. Pretty nifty!

Performance and benchmarks

The Oppo Realme2 is built on a rather exotic Snapdragon 730G chipset. While we didn't really go into the "G" suffix in the battery section, this seems like the perfect place to explain why it is there and what it denotes.

Hardware-wise, the Snapdragon 730G is pretty much identical to its vanilla sibling. On the CPU side of things it has two Kryo 470 Gold (Cortex-A76) cores, clocked at 2.2 GHz and another six Kryo 470 Silver (Cortex-A55) ones, working at 1.8 GHz. They are all built on an 8nm LPP node and hence pretty power efficient. Both also have the same Adreno 618 DSP. But the one on the 730G is clocked 50 MHz higher and sits at 550 MHz.

GeekBench 4.1 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Redmi K20 Pro/Mi 9T Pro
  10684
• Oppo Reno 10x zoom
  10395
• Huawei Mate 20 Pro
  9712
• Oppo Reno2
  7001
• Samsung Galaxy A80
  6934
• Oppo Reno2 (High performance mode)
  6881
• Xiaomi Mi 9T
  6863
• Samsung Galaxy A70
  6584
• vivo V15 Pro
  6527
• Realme 5 Pro
  6106
• Realme XT
  6102
• Xiaomi Mi 9 SE
  6017
• Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018)
  5763
• Realme 5
  5707
• Xiaomi Mi A3
  5686
• Google Pixel 3a XL
  5176
• Sony Xperia 10 Plus
  4780
• Samsung Galaxy A30
  4146

That is the only real hardware difference between the pair of chips and looking at pure CPU performance and GeekBench, we can definitely see just how similar the two chips are in raw CPU computation.

GeekBench 4.1 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Oppo Reno 10x zoom
  3424
• Huawei Mate 20 Pro
  3291
• Redmi K20 Pro/Mi 9T Pro
  3000
• Oppo Reno2
  2547
• Xiaomi Mi 9T
  2537
• Oppo Reno2 (High performance mode)
  2536
• Samsung Galaxy A80
  2516
• Samsung Galaxy A70
  2391
• vivo V15 Pro
  2386
• Realme 5 Pro
  1913
• Xiaomi Mi 9 SE
  1905
• Realme XT
  1899
• Google Pixel 3a XL
  1615
• Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018)
  1611
• Realme 5
  1537
• Xiaomi Mi A3
  1531
• Sony Xperia 10 Plus
  1340
• Samsung Galaxy A30
  1319

Qualcomm is actually marketing the SD730G as a Gaming chipset and when you dig a bit deeper it does seems that there is more to that title than a mere 50 MHz GPU clock boost. Looking at AnTuTu and its compound performance analysis we can definitely see the "G" in action.

AnTuTu 7

Higher is better

• Redmi K20 Pro/Mi 9T Pro
  368846
• Oppo Reno 10x zoom
  364220
• Huawei Mate 20 Pro
  273913
• Oppo Reno2 (High performance mode)
  217008
• Oppo Reno2
  214097
• Xiaomi Mi 9T
  211915
• Samsung Galaxy A80
  207502
• Realme XT
  185193
• Realme 5 Pro
  182765
• vivo V15 Pro
  180774
• Xiaomi Mi 9 SE
  180057
• Samsung Galaxy A70
  167750
• Google Pixel 3a XL
  159110
• Xiaomi Mi A3
  140633
• Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018)
  140500
• Realme 5
  139516
• Sony Xperia 10 Plus
  120573
• Samsung Galaxy A30
  96550

Before we get more into that, we should clarify where the Snapdragon 730G stands in Qualcomm's current and overall lineup since it is technically the fourth chip in the rather new 700 series. But, in reality, just like the SD712 was nothing more than a beefed-up SD710, the same is true with the base SD730 and the 730G. Even so, Qualcomm is sticking to its plan for the 700 series as a more affordable option for people that care about the latest features and good performance, but don't necessarily want to commit to a full-on flagship. Mind you, there are more than a few reasons to do so as well. If you really care about battery endurance, for instance, 8nm with a tamer CPU setup can really go a long way.

As for the advanced features we just mentioned, there are more than a few noteworthy examples. For one, the Snapdragon 730 pair get a faster X15 LTE modem, 2x2 (MU-MIMO) Wi-Fi up to 867 Mbit/s. Then there is the Hexagon 688 DSP. It is a Qualcomm 4th Gen. AI Engine with Hexagon Vector and Tensor accelerator. This is the first time when Tensor accelerators are used in a 700 series SoC. And leaning quite heavily on the new AI prowess, Qualcomm has its Snapdragon Elite Gaming features loaded on to the SD730G in particular. These features are Anti Cheat Extensions, Junk Reducer & HDR Gaming support.

Aztek Vulkan Normal (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Huawei Mate 20 Pro
  24
• Oppo Reno2
  18
• Oppo Reno2 (High performance mode)
  18
• Samsung Galaxy A80
  18
• Google Pixel 3a XL
  11
• Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018)
  8
• Sony Xperia 10 Plus
  5.6

Aztek Vulkan Normal (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Oppo Reno2
  15
• Oppo Reno2 (High performance mode)
  15
• Samsung Galaxy A80
  15
• Huawei Mate 20 Pro
  9.9
• Google Pixel 3a XL
  9.3
• Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018)
  7.5
• vivo V15 Pro
  7.4
• Sony Xperia 10 Plus
  4.6

The overclocked Adreno 618 GPU, leverages all of this to bring HDR Gaming capabilities to the SD730G. Also, thanks Vulkan 1.1 and all of the various optimizations, the chip should be up to 15% better in some rendering tasks compared to the regular SD730. And while the difference is pretty small and only limited to certain loads, the Aztek High profile on GFXBench did register some difference between the Samsung Galaxy A80 (SD730) and the Oppo Reno2 (SD730G). So, Qualcomm definitely isn't just blowing smoke on this one.

Aztek Vulkan High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Oppo Reno2
  10
• Oppo Reno2 (High performance mode)
  10
• Samsung Galaxy A80
  9.7
• Huawei Mate 20 Pro
  7.5
• Google Pixel 3a XL
  6.3
• Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018)
  4.8
• Sony Xperia 10 Plus
  2.9

The same differences appear to be visible in our 3DMark runs as well so it's not really limited to Vulkan.

3DMark SSE 3.1 Unlimited

Higher is better

• Oppo Reno 10x zoom
  6052
• Redmi K20 Pro/Mi 9T Pro
  4850
• Oppo Reno2
  2573
• Oppo Reno2 (High performance mode)
  2556
• Samsung Galaxy A80
  2543
• Xiaomi Mi 9T
  2329
• Realme XT
  2284
• Realme 5 Pro
  2253
• Xiaomi Mi 9 SE
  2218
• Google Pixel 3a XL
  1748
• vivo V15 Pro
  1206
• Realme 5
  1136
• Xiaomi Mi A3
  1131
• Samsung Galaxy A70
  1112
• Sony Xperia 10 Plus
  1002
• Samsung Galaxy A30
  587

3DMark SSE 3.1

Higher is better

• Oppo Reno 10x zoom
  5518
• Redmi K20 Pro/Mi 9T Pro
  4450
• Oppo Reno2
  2403
• Oppo Reno2 (High performance mode)
  2383
• Samsung Galaxy A80
  2381
• Xiaomi Mi 9T
  2182
• Realme XT
  2128
• Realme 5 Pro
  2112
• Xiaomi Mi 9 SE
  2082
• Google Pixel 3a XL
  1630
• vivo V15 Pro
  1083
• Samsung Galaxy A70
  974
• Sony Xperia 10 Plus
  946
• Samsung Galaxy A30
  625

3DMark SSE Vulkan

Higher is better

• Oppo Reno 10x zoom
  4840
• Redmi K20 Pro/Mi 9T Pro
  3973
• Oppo Reno2
  2262
• Oppo Reno2 (High performance mode)
  2248
• Samsung Galaxy A80
  2233
• Xiaomi Mi 9T
  2035
• Realme XT
  2023
• Realme 5 Pro
  2012
• Xiaomi Mi 9 SE
  1989
• Google Pixel 3a XL
  1544
• vivo V15 Pro
  1163
• Samsung Galaxy A70
  1061
• Sony Xperia 10 Plus
  939
• Samsung Galaxy A30
  529

Frankly speaking, users won't really notice such a slight bump up in synthetic performance in real world use. However, all the extra bits and pieces that come with the added "Gaming" pedigree of the SD730G do add up to a marginally better experience. If nothing else, all the optimization should have a positive effect on battery endurance while gaming, which is a welcome perk.

Basemark X

Higher is better

• Oppo Reno 10x zoom
  46636
• Redmi K20 Pro/Mi 9T Pro
  45788
• Huawei Mate 20 Pro
  40269
• Oppo Reno2 (High performance mode)
  34764
• Oppo Reno2
  34503
• Samsung Galaxy A80
  33811
• Realme XT
  32519
• Realme 5 Pro
  32402
• Xiaomi Mi 9T
  31318
• Xiaomi Mi 9 SE
  30100
• Google Pixel 3a XL
  25962
• vivo V15 Pro
  21104
• Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018)
  20322
• Samsung Galaxy A70
  19341
• Realme 5
  18084
• Xiaomi Mi A3
  17948
• Sony Xperia 10 Plus
  15035
• Samsung Galaxy A30
  11270

And finally, rounding the performance section off, it is worth noting that the Oppo Reno2 has a dedicated performance mode. However, as you can see from the various posted results, it doesn't really do much, with performance mode scores often even ending up lower than regular ones. Again, synthetic tests never really reflect real-world performance, but they are a good way to judge relative performance. And it is pretty clear that even at its best, the performance mode on the Reno2 is kind of useless.

Basemark OS 2.0

Higher is better

• Redmi K20 Pro/Mi 9T Pro
  5012
• Oppo Reno 10x zoom
  4867
• Huawei Mate 20 Pro
  3939
• Google Pixel 3a XL
  3328
• Oppo Reno2 (High performance mode)
  3274
• Samsung Galaxy A80
  3268
• Oppo Reno2
  3256
• Realme 5 Pro
  3116
• Xiaomi Mi 9T
  3102
• Realme XT
  3036
• vivo V15 Pro
  2936
• Xiaomi Mi 9 SE
  2841
• Samsung Galaxy A70
  2737
• Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018)
  2353
• Xiaomi Mi A3
  2345
• Realme 5
  2342
• Sony Xperia 10 Plus
  1764
• Samsung Galaxy A30
  1388

Performance mode or not, we have little complaints about the Reno2 in this regard. Qualcomm definitely delivers on its promise to bring fancy new features and above-average performance without breaking the bank with its series 700 chipsets.