Why have hamburger when you could have steak? Well, lots of reasons.
Burgers are usually cheaper than steaks, so that’s a solid reason. Or you might not be hungry enough to eat a big ol’ sirloin. Or hey, you might legitimately just prefer burgers to steak; you’re wrong, but I’m not here to judge.
Oh wait, yes I am. But not to judge you; I’m reviewing the Oppo Reno Z. And it’s the burger in this delicious analogy. Although more like a slightly smaller but still delicious steak.
God damn I’m hungry.
The Dilemma
So it’s pretty difficult to review something when you’ve just finished with the bigger, better version. Sticking with my hungry, hungry metaphor, could you go to BurgerFuel straight after you had a sweet gourmet steak? No. No you could not.
The disparity between the Oppo Reno Z and the Oppo Reno 10X Zoom I reviewed a while ago isn’t quite as pronounced as that; in fact it’s nowhere near as pronounced as that. But you still know damn well that the Oppo Reno Z is not the same as the Reno 10X Zoom, and they’re playing to different audiences.
The Camera
If you asked me a couple of years ago whether I would consider a camera to be a number one priority for a new phone. I would have said no. If you would ask me 2 months ago, I would have given the same answer. But the Oppo Reno X10 Zoom and it’s adorable little shark fin ruined me. I’ve been spoiled.
The Reno Z has a good camera. You’ve got a 48MP at the back for photos, and a 32MP on the front for all your selfie needs. The notch has returned, with that little teardrop sitting nicely at the top of the screen. And the patented ‘make you look like a ventriloquist dummy’ has hit that sweet spot of making me look SMOOTH but not CRAZY SMOOTH, which I remain a fan of since my skin started behaving like that of a much younger man.
No one will be disappointed by this camera.
The Design
Other than the camera, the differences between the 10X Zooma and the Reno Z are are really pretty minor. The Reno Z is, well, a phone. It’s got a nice feel to it, and it looks gorgeous with its iridescent purple back.
The only problem with the design is that I know Oppo can do better. The Reno Z doesn’t break the mould like it’s big brother, and the innovation of the 10X Zoom just isn’t here. What you get is a very good phone that sits unfortunately in the shadow of the best phone I’ve ever used. And I wish this didn’t matter to me so much, but it does.
The Caveat
But the caveats; oh Lord the caveats. The Reno Z is significantly cheaper than the Reno 10X Zoom, and that means this is a whole other ballgame. In the mid-tier market, I still maintain that nothing gets as much bang for your buck as an Oppo, and the Z is right here backing me up.
I don’t want anyone thinking that this isn’t a great piece of tech. The Oppo Reno Z has a phenomenal battery life (4035 mAh), a good camera, and a sleek design. The price is laughable, LAUGHABLE, at $700. You could pay a grand and still be satisfied. This is, my friends, a wonderful middle of the range option, and I don’t know why you’d want anything else.
If you have $500 more to spend on a phone, go and get the Oppo Reno 10X Zoom right now. Seriously, stop reading this and go to the phone store this very second, and thank me later. If I had reviewed these and the opposite order I would have read about both.
As it is, the Reno Z and 10X are just different experiences, and you know that right down to the notch. But with Oppo, you don’t get what you pay for, you get several times better. I love both, but I’m only IN love with one.
If you want a mid-tier phone, there’s no question that the Oppo Reno Z is the best you can get at the moment.
So… you know… get it.