OPPO Reno4 Z 5G 6.5" Full HD+ Smartphone MTK MT6873V CPU 8GB RAM 128GB Storage

Design and screen

Combining a 6.57-inch screen size and 1080 x 2400 resolution, the first thing youll notice about the Reno 4 Z is its bright, smooth display. 

Despite the fact its the most entry-level phone in the line, the 4 Z packs the highest screen refresh rate of the three. The Reno 4 Pros screen is 90Hz, while the vanilla Reno 4 sports an old school 60Hz display. Theres a reason for this madness the display technology. The pricier Reno screens are AMOLEDs, while the more affordable 4 Z packs an IPS panel. In turn, blacks arent as deep on the 4 Z colors arent as zingy and pictures just look a little more muted. 

Despite these IPS traits though, the Reno 4Z still competes at its price, with ample brightness, responsive interaction, and a clear picture, not to mention great viewing angles. 

Measuring 8.1mm thick and weighing 184g, Oppos 4Zs size is about on-par with an iPhone 11 Pro Max in terms of surface area definitely not a small phone, however, its much lighter. The lightweight body is made of plastic around the sides, plastic around the back and a Gorilla Glass 3 screen. In addition to not feeling particularly expensive, the Reno4 Z is a total fingerprint magnet, so brace yourself for smudges aplenty if you pick one up. 

As far as ports and highlights go, theres a mono-speaker at the base alongside a USB-C port and a headphone jack. The power button, which is nuzzled into the phones right side is also a fingerprint scanner, and the SIM tray and volume buttons are on the left of the Reno4 Z. 

Cameras

The Oppo Reno4 Zs cameras are slightly different in the east and west. Originally launching for Chinese markets, the Reno 4 Z sports a tertiary macro camera in China, however Oppos ditched this for the global version, swapping it for a black and white camera (which you cant independently access). In turn, calling this a quad-camera smartphone feels like a stretch, given only two of the sensors actually take pictures. 

On the plus side though, the Reno 4 Zs main sensor is an old faithful camera module, the Sony IMX 586, matched with a 26mm wide-angle, f/1.7 aperture lens complete with phase detection autofocus. Theres also an 8MP ultrawide camera, which sports an f/2.2 aperture lens and a 119 field of view. 

With a front camera resolution of 16 MP and an f/2.4 aperture, the Reno 4 Z shoots crisp selfies complete with portrait effects, helped along by a secondary depth sensor. 

Shooting modes beyond Photo and Video include Expert (manual mode), Night, Panoramic, Portrait, Slow-motion, and Time-lapse. 

Camera performance

The Oppo Reno 4 Z is one of those camera phones thats great in a bubble. When you compare photo taken on it to the actual scene or a picture snapped on a pricier smartphone, cracks start to surface. 

Detail is reliably strong provided both photographer and subject are nice and steady. The lack of optical image stabilization is felt when the lights go down, but in well-lit scenes, you can get some beautifully crisp photos.

Pinch in and a combination of sharpening and noise reduction mottle the finer details, but at face value and cropped up to 50%, shots captured on the Reno 4 Z can look compelling. In bright scenes, the phone boosts shadows aggressively. Many will like this, and it does help the phone along with challenging subjects like black cats when theres enough light. 

 

The Reno 4 Pros still able to keep shadows down then the lights drop though, so isnt completely allergic to shadows. Handheld photos taken in medium to low light can struggle with white balance in automatic mode, even with a steadied hand, and generally speaking, colors can end up looking a bit lackluster in certain scenes.

The Reno 4 Z continues the Oppo theme of dialing back over the top saturation, which is actually welcome for anyone who likes the idea of editing photos after taking them. Pictures also have significantly reduced contrast when compared to the OnePlus Nord, which in many scenes, sees the inferiorly specced Reno 4 Z edge ahead. That said, when shooting subjects like flowers, which should be beautifully punchy, this muting can actually work against 4 Z, with dull colors that dont match the brilliance of the real thing ending up in your shot. 

In automatic mode, dimly lit scenes can look fine with a steadied hand, however for anything too dark, Night Mode is your best bet. There are two varieties standard Night mode and Tripod mode. Handheld photos in standard mode look boosted, brighter, and a touch more color accurate. If you really want the best from the Oppo Reno 4 Z though, youll want a surface to rest it on for exposure times of up to 30 seconds. This extra window makes a huge difference to color fidelity. 

As for the Ultrawide camera, at 8MP its bound to be softer than the main camera, and unsurprisingly, it really is. You wont have much room to crop into photos taken on it, and it doesnt support autofocus, so wont focus closer than around a meter. In turn, it does the job at a rudimentary level, but fails to impress.

The Reno 4 Z shoots 4K and 1080p video at up to 30fps, no 60fps capture in sight, and the phone employs digital stabilization to keep things steady - but it doesnt do a great job of it. To really hold things together, youll need to ramp up Ultra Steady mode, which reduces picture quality significantly and is pretty unusable in all but the best lit scenes. In turn, if you need a smartphone for video, get the cheaper Realme X50 5G, which shoots steadier 1080p video and climbs up to 60fps. 

Oppo Reno 4 Z: Additional specs

Powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 800 5G paired with 8GB RAM, while were not about to call the Oppo Reno 4 Z a powerhouse, its as powerful as it needs to be for the price. Benchmarking in the same league as the Snapdragon 765G, which powers the eye wateringly expensive MOTOROLA RAZER 5G, the Reno delivers a smooth day-to-day experience complete with that 120Hz refresh rate. 

Running Android Android 10 with Oppos custom UI, Color OS 7 over the top, app support is plentiful and the interface inside the phone is clean, logical, and stable, making it instantly familiar and intuitive for seasoned Android users. 

With 128GB storage onboard, there will likely be enough to see you through your time with the Reno 4 Z. If it isnt, youll be a bit stuck Oppo hasnt loaded it up with a microSD card slot. Definitely not the end of the world, but equally a point worth noting. 

Rounding off, the Reno 4 Zs 4000mAh battery is just big enough to get through a comfortable day with standard use. Heavy bouts of gaming, photography, or videography will all play their part in depleting it before the days out, and you can definitely get better battery life for less. However, if youre a moderate user, the Reno 4 Z should be fine, and with 18W charging, it powers up in around 90 minutes.