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  • OPPO Reno Series is making history. Its own.

OPPO Reno Series is making history. Its own.

Buying a product unlocks a special ripple where a relationship between the phone and the user is forged.

Johannesburg, 25 Oct 2023
Reno over the years.
Reno over the years.

With almost 100 million devices sold since its debut in 2019, the OPPO Reno Series is present in the lives of more than 67 million people around the world daily. The series is a versatile all-rounder, but bringing flagship photography to the segment has always been its forte. This is the device for people who want to capture and immortalise the world around them.

Mobile photography doesn’t exist to exclude people from the present but to make the most important moments live in memory’s arms. This extended commitment got the Reno Series the designation of “Portrait Expert”. Daily, more than 2 million portrait photos are shot with a Reno device, a dazzling number that shows the trust so many people place in the capabilities of their OPPO devices.

The team of engineers at OPPO experimented with different designs and configurations throughout the years, but always with the same commitment to cameras and what they could and should do when it was time to make everlasting moments. Since the Reno Series's inception, its history is synonymous with purposeful innovation.

Charismatic origin

The Reno Series started with an iconic design that allowed for a screen with no interruptions. For the first two models, the 16MP selfie camera was housed inside the devices, popping up from the top whenever a photo was needed.

With the Reno3 Series, OPPO improved the selfie camera, and its design evolved. Thanks to its 44MP sensor, moments were transformed into sharp memories. And with the Reno3 Pro, it boasted a Dual Punch-hole Camera that housed a 2MP Depth of Field Lens.

Turn the device around, and there is a 64MP main lens capable of producing 108MP photos thanks to the Ultra Clear feature. This was possible with multi-frame composition, and the results were shots that kept the quality without sacrificing clarity and precision.

(AI) colour me impressed

Hardware is important, but the greatest products need to fuse it with software. OPPO knows that, and with the Reno4 Series, the Portrait Mode was the focus of two new features – AI Color Portrait and Night Flare Portrait – that allowed people to take advantage of the selfie camera in different conditions.

This happened because the AI Color Portrait was capable of separating the main objects from the background when it came to their colour. It was able to make the background black and white, feeding the creativity of many. The other feature, Night Flare Portrait, was created to brighten the photos in low-light environments, adding a neon effect. It was a Series where video was also looked after, with Ultra Night Wide-Angle Video and Ultra Steady Video 3.0 being some of the marquee features.

Going back to the hardware side of things, there are two points worth mentioning. When we talk about the Reno4 Series, we are talking about a trio of devices – the regular one, the Pro variant and the Reno4 Z.

While the Pro model had one selfie camera and three cameras on the back, the Z presented a duo of cameras in the front and a quad-camera array on the other side. It wasn't a device aimed at all tastes or for all audiences, but it showed once again OPPO’s attempt at something different.

Looking back, a trio of devices homogeneously sat side-by-side on the line-up.

Simultaneously incredible

With the Reno5 Series, OPPO delivered two devices and a tagline that extracted their essence with precision. “Picture Life Together” doesn’t say much, but it’s a different story after discovering that, for the very first time, the Reno Series could shoot from both front and rear cameras at the same time.

In practice, users could record what was happening and their reactions simultaneously. The name of the feature? Dual-view Video. And it was not only that – Portrait Beautification Video was capable of identifying age, gender and other details about the subject of the video. It was supported by Smart AI Recognition and introduced a beauty effect that, instead of being generic, was tailored to the face of the subject in the videos.

Bokeh effect? Yes, in video too

The specs of the Reno Series naturally evolved with time. But more interesting than the amalgamation of spec sheets is the understanding of what OPPO did for mobile photography during these years. Looking at the Reno6 Series is a clear example of that. Yet again, one of the biggest highlights was camera-related. Introducing the Bokeh Flare Portrait Video feature.

The power of this feature came from artificial intelligence; with it, the device could run thousands of computations per second. That was under the hood, but the background was shifting and transforming into a more sophisticated look. This was particularly interesting when it could find bright lights in the background.

To give just an example, however, of the natural ambition to provide some of the best components, the Reno6 Series also came equipped with the IMX766, the flagship sensor co-developed with Sony, in the main camera of the Pro model.

More aperture levels than hours in a day

Looking back at the Reno7 Series is discovering yet another bet on the Portrait Mode, this time capable of letting the users experiment with 25-level aperture settings. The already mentioned Bokeh Flare Portrait Video in the previous model was improved, too, continuing the bet on the bokeh effects for its video capabilities.

The Pro model introduced a first: the IMX709 sensor as its front camera. Once again co-developed with Sony, it was OPPO showing that these devices can focus on different sides of photography, including the beloved portraits.

Smartphones and DSLRs belong to two different realms, but OPPO is bridging a gap, progressively making it more and more reachable. “The best camera is the one that’s with you,” photographer Chase Jarvis once said. And sometimes that camera cannot be a heavy piece of kit. OPPO is invested in giving users the best camera always with them.

The Reno Series is not just about photography, so the camera users have with them is blended with the organiser, the communicator, the internet window and the gaming machine users carry in their pockets or in their hands. Smartphones are catching up with DSLRs, and the Reno Series continues to get better and better.

Design with matching performance

Intentional design, powerful cameras and an industry-leading NPU. The Reno8 Series was not afraid to show its presence because it knew what it could do. More importantly, those who have one knew what it could do.

Not one, but two flagship-level Sony sensors, the IMX709 and the IMX766, in the Pro model showcased photographs that could still be captured after the sun went down. 50MP as the main camera in the back and 32MP in the front. More than numbers on paper, clarity in the memories shot with it.

Doubling down on the photography department, another highlight: the imaging processor NPU. Advanced AI performance that helped with the 4K Ultra Night Video and the 4K Ultra HDR Video.

Numbers to match ambitions

OPPO is celebrating the release of the latest series in the Reno line-up. The Reno10 Series brings to the market two new devices in the South African market, the Reno10 Pro+ 5G and the Reno10 5G.

We started this piece by mentioning that the Reno Series was the “Portrait Expert”, and we’ll end by underlining it: the Reno10 Pro+ has a 64MP Telephoto Portrait Camera.

It’s incredible to see – and experience – this kind of power waiting to be explored in a pocketable device. To complement the industry-leading image resolution in portrait focal lengths, the sensor also has an optical coating to help keep the clarity in different conditions.

The main camera is a 50MP sensor that, just like the telephoto, also includes OIS. Even before turning the device around to find the 32MP selfie camera, there is an ultra-wide-angle sensor on its back. Its well-balanced system of cameras makes the Reno10 Pro+ a trusty companion, whatever the situation.

Different consumers have different needs. The telephoto lenses on the Reno10 are 32MP. And, for example, while the main lens on the Reno10 Pro Plus is 50MP, the whole family of devices packs a punch when it comes to photography, with OPPO making sure there’s a device for all types of consumers.

A synchronised leap

When choosing a device, users are taking a leap of faith. Even with all the opinions and reviews online, that ripple will always be personal.

The Reno Series evolved and matured, tested the waters, and broke preconceptions. The specs and features mentioned were evolving with it. It’s a crescendo done with an audience of tech-savvy people who want and deserve more.

The Reno Series is making history. Its own.


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OPPO

OPPO is a leading global smart device brand. Since launching its first smartphone - Smiley Face - in 2008, OPPO has been in relentless pursuit of the synergy of aesthetic satisfaction and innovative technology, Today, OPPO provides customers with a wide range of smart devices spearheaded by the Find and Reno Series, ColorOS operating system, as well as internet services such as OPPO Cloud and OPPO+. OPPO operates in more than 40 countries and regions, with 6 research institutes and 5 R&D centers worldwide and an international design center in London, OPPO’s more than 40,000 employees are dedicated to creating a better life for customers around the world.