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By Daniel Ominde
On Monday evening we witnessed the official unveiling of the OPPO Reno7 in Kenya at a YouTube Virtual launch attended by among others, local celebrities, Bahati, Diana Murua, Wabosha Maxine and Shaffie Weru who looked stunning in the Sunset Orange themed event.
The unveiling which was the first for the African region also marked the official opening of the pre-order season before the gadgets hit the shelves on 5th May 2022. For in-shop orders, the OPPO Reno7 can be purchased from Safaricom Stores and OPPO branded shops countrywide.
The #OPPOReno7 4G will be retailing for Ksh.42,999/- and the 5G variant is Ksh.59,999/-
The phones start selling officially on 5th May but pre-orders are open on Jumia, Kilimall, Skygarden and @OPPOKenya stores.
— Daniel Ominde (@IamOminde) April 26, 2022
I have now had the OPPO Reno7 4G for a week now and like I said before, it’s a stunner in all aspects of design, performance and experience along with offering state-of-the-art portrait photography and videography capabilities.
This is the second OPPO phone I am having after the OPPO A11 which I had quite a while back. Even though it measures pale in comparison to my current gadget, I loved its performance at the time. OPPO has since evolved and is producing devices with advanced features that enhance the results, especially with photography and videography, but also deliver great performance in other aspects.
I am literally struggling to pick what I love most between the camera features, and the stylish design of my Sunset Orange OPPO Reno7 4G (it also comes with a Cosmic Black version in the Kenyan market). I am not big on tech terms and so I won’t really bother to go into the details of CPU speed and all that yadda yadda. Not my cup of tea.
Not to say that I am a technoidiot BTW. I know the basics of technology….for instance when going for a phone, I look out for three things – the camera, the internal memory and most importantly the RAM. I hate it when my phone hangs. I had the experience with a different brand a couple of years back and I never want to be there. I know that speeds have something to also do with CPU speeds but I am not that kind of expert and I would not like to lie to you. But often when you see a device with good RAM then you pretty much have the idea that they will have decent CPU speed.
In my case, the device runs on 8 GB RAM and has the ability to borrow up to 5GB extra RAM from unused storage capacity for smooth phone performance as you skip between your favourite apps. Did I say the device, comes with 256 GB of internal storage? I doubt. In reality, this phone has similar specs to my office computer when it comes to RAM capacity.
But let me just throw in a few technical specifications for those of you looking for that information. The device uses the new generation Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 6nm processor which is designed to deliver long-lasting superior performance while conserving power.
The device runs on OPPO’s ColorOS12 which is based on Android 11. AI System Booster based on ColorOS and Android ensures your phone is always responsive and performing at its best.
I am not that much of a gaming enthusiast, but for the purpose of testing this device’s performance, I downloaded two games yesterday and actually enjoyed playing last night without any drags or lags. The display was also perfect. I have a gamer nephew and I will also try giving him the phone over the weekend to install and try it out…probably he will try it with heavier games.
I am usually not that much of a gamer but I like how my #OPPOReno7 is handling different types of games. I have tried Sniper 3D, Real Bike Racing and Turbo Racing 3D. It handled all three so well.
Any game recommendations?#UnlimitedMeInPortrait pic.twitter.com/KstI8UOE5z
— Daniel Ominde (@IamOminde) April 25, 2022
Perhaps the usage that I enjoyed most was taking photos using the camera. For the past week, I have been taking lots of selfies just trying to see the various camera features. Got good shots with indoor lighting at night…indoor office selfies. Maybe this coming weekend I will spend more time outdoors and see how the main camera performs.
On the back of the phone, it boasts a 64 MP AI main camera, 2MP depth camera and 2MP microlens. In my video review, I erroneously stated the camera specs. The camera delivers a whole new level of clarity guaranteeing perfection with every shot. Whether Moving or still, the multi-frame capture mode ensures sharpness and reduces blurring.
At the closing ceremony of the #EquityHackathon with @SheilaWangechi pic.twitter.com/qdlVsyTRiB
— Daniel Ominde (@IamOminde) April 25, 2022
I am usually not good at taking photos, but the new #OPPOReno7 is really making me love taking photos everywhere with the 32MP selfie camera and the enhanced processing features. #UnlimitedMeInPortrait pic.twitter.com/nNRXy6zzU9
— Daniel Ominde (@IamOminde) April 26, 2022
The microlens camera with up to 30x magnification allows you to explore finer details of objects. Allowing you to discover an unprecedented micro-universe at your fingertips with the extended range of focal lens.
That was a dope performance by Bahati at the launch of the #OPPOReno7. This was the first unveiling for the whole of Africa.
See the clarity of my Reno7 despite me recording another screen.#UnlimitedMeInPortrait pic.twitter.com/vAW0x6RI6j
— Daniel Ominde (@IamOminde) April 25, 2022
The fibre-glass leather design of my Sunset Orange OPPO Reno7 gives it quite a premium, stylish and strong look. The bold colour really stands out and every time I have my phone in my hands everyone is like “what phone is that?” It literally is a head-turner.
The flat-edged frame and camera module stick to the classical aesthetic. But due attention has also been paid to the requirements of modern life, as the ultra-slim design makes hours of holding a pleasure. The device has an Orbit Light that twinkles like a galaxy when plugged in and to remind you of incoming calls, new notifications, and more.
The display is really friendly to the eye thanks to the AMOLED Eye-Care display. Interactions are a breeze with the 6.4” Punch-Hole Display, 90Hz refresh rate and 180Hz touch sampling, ensuring high responsiveness and smoother scrolling. The AMOLED FHD+ eye care display protects the eyes from harmful blue-light.
For two days now, I have been using the phone for my day-to-day activities. It’s been handling usage quite well and on both days I go back home with over 60% of my charge still intact. The OPPO Reno7 comes with a 4,500mAH battery. While this may seem smaller compared to other devices in the market, the performance is quite remarkable, perhaps due to increased efficiency and optimized operations.
Additionally, the phone comes with a 33W Supervooc charger for those moments that you need a quick boost. With only 5 minutes of charge when empty, you can give yourself 100 minutes of video viewing and gaming or streaming and up to five hours of calls.
Next week, I will be writing about the video and my experiences with the OPPO Reno7 outdoors – including the night mode features. Follow me on Twitter and IG on @IamOminde to see more reviews as I continue experiencing the device.
