Aurora Archives ~ My Mobile India

Refreshing it Reno series, Oppo has come up with the Reno 6 5G and Reno 6 Pro 5G in India. While much has been written about these phones, we had for review the former or say, the younger sibling i.e., the Oppo Reno 6, which happens to be the first smartphone to feature the MediaTek Dimensity 900, a new 5G chipset for mid-range device in India. Carrying a price tag of Rs 29,990, the handset offers a host of interesting specs and features including 8GB of RAM with the support for virtual RAM up to 3GBand 128GB of UFS 2.1 storage, besides flaunting a 64MP primary lens, a 32MP selfie shooter and 65W fast charging support, to name a few. Although it looks quite impressive on paper, it’s time to put the Oppo Reno 6 5G to test, to know how worthy it is on different parameters of excellence. Design While the smartphone comes in two colour options, Aurora and Stellar Black, we got the former for review which looks premium, somewhat akin to iPhone 12 in terms of design. It features the same box-like build and flat-edge design with metal frames and a glass back panel with the Oppo’s patented Reno Glow design that gives it a distinct look. Beginning with the rear panel, it has a smooth matte finish with a sparkling glow that changes colours as light kisses it. The back panel is also fingerprint resistant, which adds to the overall look of the phone. It houses a vertical camera module that protrudes slightly on the top left of the back that also sports a vertical Oppo branding at the right side of the bottom. While the top of the device is plain except for a single noise-cancelling mic, you get a Type-C charging port, a single speaker and a SIM tray at the bottom. The left side of the phone sports the volume rockers, whereas on the right you get a lonely power button with a green accent. The buttons are tactile and appropriately located and you do not need to shuffle your finger to press them. For security purposes, the phone houses an under-display optical fingerprint sensor, which is moderately quick and fairly accurate. You also get face unlock on this phone which works significantly faster on this phone. Overall, the Oppo Reno 6 is quite handy owing to its lightweight and slim and sleek design. You can use it for longer without experiencing any wrist fatigue. The company also offers a silicone case with this phone that gels well with it. On the flip side, there are no dual stereo speakers, which is quite disappointing at this price point. Display On the front, the smartphone features a 6.43-inch AMOLED display with Full HD+ resolution and 90Hz refresh rate support. There is smooth scrolling and flicking between apps owing to the fast refresh rate. You also get the option to adjust the refresh rate to 60Hz. However, there is no adaptive refresh rate, which is definitely unsatisfactory at this price, as even cheaper phones have this feature. There is a punch-hole cut-out for the selfie camera on the top left side of the display that is bright enough to use indoors as well as outdoors. The brightness, colours and viewing angles on the display are quite accurate. There’s a very thin bezel around, except for the chin where it’s a bit thick. Besides, there is support for HDR10 and HLG for HD streaming on supported OTT platforms, which definitely is a good thing. Platform As mentioned above, the Oppo Reno 6 5G is the first smartphone in India to house the new MediaTek Dimensity 900 octa-core SoC, which comes paired with 8GB of RAM with the support for virtual RAM up to 3GB and 128GB of ROM. The processor comes with HSR (High-Speed Rail) mode, which helps it to connect to the lowest latency tower to minimise ping for gaming. Performance-wise, the smartphone does its job commendably well. It’s super smooth in terms of daily tasks such as calling, messaging, browsing the internet and social media. It’s an outstanding device for multitasking and is able to keep several apps running without any difficulties. The 90Hz refresh rate is another advantage, which helps in offering smooth scrolling and quick switching between apps. Although I’m not much into gaming, whatever little I played, it was awe-inspiring. The Oppo Reno 6 performed very effectively. There were neither delays nor frame drops during the gaming sessions. It was altogether a great experience in the given price. In terms of the software, the smartphone comes with Android 11 on top of ColorOS 11.3, which provides ample of customisation options and a decent look. Although it has some bloatware in the form of third-party apps such as Netflix, Facebook, Amazon, Snapchat, Daily Hunt, Josh and PhonePe, to name a few, the Reno 6 5G will not let you down as these apps make sense in today’s world. The smartphone comes with a lot of goodies too, in the form of Google Discover integration on the homescreen, near-stock interface, Always-On Display, to name a few. The Oppo Reno 6 5G has all the ingredients to take on other mid-range devices in the market. Cameras Living up to the brand’s reputation of offering a great camera experience, the Oppo Reno 6 packs a 64MP primary lens, an 8MP ultrawide shooter and a 2MP macro sensor. Up front, there’s a 32MP camera for selfies and video calling. The camera UI is typical of ColorOS, as there are portrait, night, video and photo modes on the viewfinder. You’ll get some more options including dual-view video, slo-mo, timelapse, extra HD, movie, pro, macro and SOLOOP templates, under the ‘More’ section. There’s also Cinematic Bokeh Flare Portrait in photos and video. As expected, the 64MP primary lens performed well in both daylight and low-light conditions. The pictures came out vibrant with detail, good colours and dynamic range in both scenarios. Although the phone takes a long time to focus on subjects in low light, the Night Mode is brilliant as it churns out good low-light pictures with good detail and very little noise. Similarly, the 8MP ultrawide lens captures very decent pictures in daylight with good colour, although dynamic range lacks a bit on this lens. The photos taken in Night Mode on this 8MP lens lack detail in comparison to those taken on the primary shooter. The 2MP macro sensor is definitely not good, as it captures so-so pictures with bad detail. Coming to selfies, the 32MP shooter offers pretty decent performance with good detail and colours in almost all conditions, including low-light scenarios. If we talk about videos, the smartphone offers Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS) at 1080p with 60fps. You can shoot up to 4K videos at 30fps but the videos are a little shaky. The headlining AI portrait and Bokeh Flare mode in videos work really well, but the resolution will be capped at 720p and 30fps. Battery The Oppo Reno 6 5G is backed by a 4,300mAh battery with support for 65W SuperVOOC 2.0 fast charging. It is enough to last a day, if you browse internet and social media on a regular interval, love messaging quite often and watch videos with a little bit of gaming. The battery will exhaust early, if you consume a lot of video content on YouTube and OTT platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video etc. and love playing graphic-intensive games. In terms of charging, the 65W charger provided with the handset was able to charge fully from zero per cent in around 35 minutes, which is quite amazing. We must say that the phone’s not-so-good battery capacity (especially in the age of 5,000-6,000mAh powerhouses) has been compensated with the fast charger. Conclusion The Oppo Reno 6 5G stands tall in every department – it offers an eye-catching design, a wonderful display, a buttery smooth processor, great cameras and a decent battery life backed by fast charging support. It’s a perfect amalgamation of looks and performance and justifies its price. It’s indeed extraordinary in the sub-30K segment. You may go for this phone without thinking twice, if you do not have budget constraints on your mind.

Aurora

Oppo Reno 6 5G Review: A premium mid-ranger that punches above its weight