Oppo Reno7/F21 Pro review

ColorOS 12.1 on top of Android 12

The Reno7 proper is the odd one out of the whole Reno7 family - in a good way. It launched on Android 12, unlike the rest of them, though that difference is largely offset by a consistent layer of ColorOS on top. Admittedly, however, the new core OS version means a few new core features that you don't get on Android 11-based builds.

Key among those are Android 12's new privacy features. Privacy dashboard is your hub for gaining insight on which permissions have been granted to which apps and when they have been used. Precise or approximate location is another of the new privacy-focused options you get for apps that use that permission. Toggles for limiting camera and mic access across the board can be placed in the quick toggles area too, and you get an icon in the status bar when either of the two is actively being used.

Privacy

A feature specific to the Reno7 and a couple of other models in the lineup (though implemented slightly differently from model to model) is the breathing light on the back. It's another use of the ring light around the microscope camera and serves as a notification and status indicator for active charging, calls and notifications. Most of us aren't ones to keep phones face-down, though, so the feature may be lost on us.

Breathing light

On the surface, the UI is the same as what we saw on other ColorOS 12 phones. We got an app drawer pre-enabled, but you can opt for the single-tiered, everything-on-the-homescreen layout too. The notification shade is presented in a standard way, and the quick toggles have the Oppo green accent color by default (there's an auto-brightness switch in there too). The recent apps menu is a regular implementation, in the sense that you get side-scrollable vertical cards. The main Settings menu features Oppo's colorful icons for easier navigation.

Homescreen • App drawer • Recent apps • Notification shade • Quick toggles • Settings

Most of the UI elements on ColorOS can be customized. We are talking deep customization of app icons, accent colors, quick toggles and their shape, font, fingerprint reader animation, Edge lighting for incoming notifications, the Always-on display - the lot. We couldn't find a theme store, though.

UI customizations

Granular notification customization is a thing we really like on ColorOS 12. The system allows for advanced notification handling in the drop-down menu, such as instant replies or other suggested actions. Incoming notifications when the phone is in use will arrive with a quieter sound and milder vibration. Notification snoozing is another neat feature that lets you attend to conversations or other apps later without having to keep them in the notification shade and clutter up.

For enhanced privacy, the system can hide the contents of the notification once the front-facing camera detects someone other than you. This requires the facial unlocking feature to be enabled and uses that data to match with your face.

Notification options

Speaking of, the Reno7 supports face unlock, but you'd be better off using the fingerprint reader for extra security. It's the optical variety and worked great in our experience.

Biometrics and security

The Icon pull-down gesture is here to make it way easier to operate with one hand on an overcrowded home screen with plenty of app icons. Just swipe down alongside the edge of the display to bring down the icons close to your thumb and select an app to launch.

Icon-pull down gesture • Icon-pull down gesture

The Special features tab holds the familiar Smart Sidebar and Flexible windows functions. They are both tailored toward better multitasking. When turned on, the sidebar offers quick access to some of your favorite apps. The system allows you to adjust the position of the sidebar, which is crucial because it might interfere with the back gesture if you are using the standard Android gestures. Anyway, tap and hold on an app icon enters split-screen mode while a single tap opens up the app in a floating window. The supported apps can be opened in small, draggable and size-adjustable windows.

The Quick launch function allows you to set up to three apps that can be launched as soon as the display is unlocked. Tap and hold on the fingerprint reader from a locked screen to open up the Quick launch menu.

The good old screen-off gestures that allow you to launch certain apps or the flashlight by drawing letters on a locked screen are here to stay.

Special features

A bunch of proprietary apps are also included, often alongside alternatives from Google in the international version of phones. You get first-party apps like Photos, Phone Manager, My Files, Music, and Games (game launcher with various settings).

Performance and benchmarks

The Reno7 is powered by the Snapdragon 680 chipset - a modest midrange SoC with a focus on endurance more so than performance. It features an octa-core CPU in a 4+4 configuration, its Kryo-branded cores being based on Cortex-A73 and Cortex A53 designs (4x2.4GHz + 4x1.9GHz). The GPU is Adreno 610. Oppo is quite generous on the memory front, and the Reno7 has 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage (our unit is the higher spec).

The Reno7 is quick to reveal its lack of ambition in the performance department showing particularly low results in the single-core test in GeekBench - essentially, all competing chipsets have more powerful cores in their performance clusters, even if it's just two of them.

There's a more even distribution under multi-core loads, but the Reno7 remains towards the bottom of the charts.

GeekBench 5 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Oppo Reno7 Pro 5G
  815
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  743
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  742
• Oppo Reno7 5G
  738
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  736
• Samsung Galaxy M53
  730
• OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G
  728
• OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G
  694
• Realme 9 Pro
  694
• Oppo Reno7 Lite 5G
  688
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  688
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  687
• OnePlus Nord N20 5G
  676
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  666
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  662
• Realme 9 5G
  610
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  588
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
  511
• Oppo Reno7
  380
• Samsung Galaxy A23
  380
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  376
• Samsung Galaxy A13
  153

GeekBench 5 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Oppo Reno7 Pro 5G
  2691
• Oppo Reno7 5G
  2276
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  2225
• OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G
  2157
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  2063
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  2063
• Samsung Galaxy M53
  2037
• Realme 9 Pro
  2020
• Oppo Reno7 Lite 5G
  1996
• OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G
  1956
• OnePlus Nord N20 5G
  1945
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  1908
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  1906
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  1900
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  1891
• Realme 9 5G
  1823
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  1820
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
  1729
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  1662
• Oppo Reno7
  1653
• Samsung Galaxy A23
  1632
• Samsung Galaxy A13
  588

The Reno7 places similarly low in an Antutu comparison, though it does claim a victory here over the Galaxy A23, for what that's worth.

AnTuTu 9

Higher is better

• Oppo Reno7 5G
  479608
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  437872
• OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G
  436640
• Samsung Galaxy M53
  436197
• Realme 9 Pro
  401894
• OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G
  399306
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  396008
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  394918
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  387218
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  384646
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  382902
• OnePlus Nord N20 5G
  380672
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  379313
• Oppo Reno7 Lite 5G
  376819
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  360255
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
  319093
• Oppo Reno7
  289250
• Samsung Galaxy A23
  273554
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  244526
• Samsung Galaxy A13
  136286

The Adreno 610 is a fine match for that unassuming CPU and graphics benchmarks reveal a similar distribution of forces - the Reno7 isn't threatening any serious competitor with its oomph.

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  22
• Samsung Galaxy M53
  21
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  20
• Oppo Reno7 5G
  20
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  19
• OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G
  19
• Oppo Reno7 Lite 5G
  17
• OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G
  17
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  17
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  17
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  17
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  16
• OnePlus Nord N20 5G
  16
• Realme 9 Pro
  16
• Realme 9 5G
  14
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  13
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
  12
• Oppo Reno7
  7.2
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  6.8
• Samsung Galaxy A23
  6.7
• Samsung Galaxy A13
  5.2

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy M53
  26
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  25
• Oppo Reno7 5G
  24
• OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G
  24
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  23
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  23
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  21
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  20
• OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G
  20
• OnePlus Nord N20 5G
  20
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  20
• Oppo Reno7 Lite 5G
  19
• Realme 9 Pro
  19
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  19
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  16
• Realme 9 5G
  16
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
  14
• Samsung Galaxy A23
  8.3
• Oppo Reno7
  8.1
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  8
• Samsung Galaxy A13
  6.2

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy M53
  38
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  38
• Oppo Reno7 5G
  36
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  35
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  35
• OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G
  35
• Oppo Reno7 Lite 5G
  31
• OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G
  30
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  30
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  30
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  29
• OnePlus Nord N20 5G
  29
• Realme 9 Pro
  29
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  28
• Realme 9 5G
  25
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  23
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
  22
• Oppo Reno7
  14
• Samsung Galaxy A23
  12
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  12
• Samsung Galaxy A13
  8.3

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  43
• Oppo Reno7 5G
  42
• Samsung Galaxy M53
  42
• OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G
  40
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  38
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  38
• Oppo Reno7 Lite 5G
  35
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  35
• OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G
  35
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  35
• OnePlus Nord N20 5G
  35
• Realme 9 Pro
  35
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  34
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  34
• Realme 9 5G
  27
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  26
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
  24
• Oppo Reno7
  20
• Samsung Galaxy A23
  15
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  15
• Samsung Galaxy A13
  9.4

GFX Manhattan ES 3.0 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  57
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  56
• Samsung Galaxy M53
  56
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  55
• Oppo Reno7 5G
  52
• OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G
  51
• Oppo Reno7 Lite 5G
  43
• OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G
  43
• OnePlus Nord N20 5G
  42
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  42
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  41
• Realme 9 Pro
  41
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  41
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  39
• Realme 9 5G
  39
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  36
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
  34
• Oppo Reno7
  20
• Samsung Galaxy A23
  18
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  18
• Samsung Galaxy A13
  14

GFX Manhattan ES 3.0 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy M53
  64
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  64
• Oppo Reno7 5G
  61
• OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G
  61
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  60
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  60
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  50
• Oppo Reno7 Lite 5G
  48
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  48
• OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G
  48
• OnePlus Nord N20 5G
  48
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  47
• Realme 9 Pro
  47
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  47
• Realme 9 5G
  41
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  40
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
  37
• Oppo Reno7
  22
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  21
• Samsung Galaxy A23
  20
• Samsung Galaxy A13
  16

3DMark Wild Life Vulkan 1.1 (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Oppo Reno7 Pro 5G
  4219
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  2292
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  2260
• Samsung Galaxy M53
  2203
• Oppo Reno7 5G
  2037
• OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G
  2036
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  2014
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  1231
• Realme 9 5G
  1228
• Oppo Reno7 Lite 5G
  1217
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  1213
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  1211
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  1211
• Realme 9 Pro
  1211
• OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G
  1209
• OnePlus Nord N20 5G
  1205
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  1204
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
  1101
• Samsung Galaxy A13
  510
• Oppo Reno7
  450
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  439
• Samsung Galaxy A23
  429

Another good thing about lower-end chipsets besides their frugal battery consumption is sustained performance. The Reno7 may not be a powerhouse, but it's consistent in its output. For the most part, that is - 50 minutes into a full-power CPU throttling test, we observed a bit of a hiccup, but hardly something to worry about.