From the distant territories of the Asian continent comes the Oppo Reno 10X Zoom. A high-end smartphone that makes an impact in a first approach when discovering the pop-up camera. This module has a fin shape and folds out on the top edge of the phone. We do not know if it will have arrived crossing the seas but it is inevitable that it reminds us of the fin of a shark. But don’t worry, this Oppo Reno 10X doesn’t bite. Inside it has a powerful Snapdragon 855 and 8 GB RAM. But it is not the only thing that the phone offers us and as its name suggests, it offers a hybrid zoom of up to 10 times. We review the features in our review.

Design: the shark arrived: Oppo Reno 10X Zoom, the smartphone with a shark fin

The Asian manufacturer dares to offer something different from the rest, specifically, an authentic design that is committed to an almost total use of the front (93%). To achieve this result, it has had to hide the headset and the selfie camera, all in a pop-up module that appears on the top edge of the smartphone. This module is fin shaped and rises a total of 9mm. The mechanism is prepared for a guaranteed opening of 200,000 times and with a duration of no more than one second (0.8 s). Another highlight is that the fin automatically folds when it detects a possible fall to prevent breakage.

The back also has a good aesthetic prominence by opting for a Gorilla Glass 5 glass construction. The triple camera is located under this layer, so that the manufacturer has incorporated a small ball that lifts the phone when it is on a surface. flat. This simple element prevents the optics of the cameras from being affected. This model is available in two colors with an attractive gradient. Unfortunately, the use of the pop-up camera eliminates the possibility of having water resistance.

Glass back with Gorilla Glass, smooth contours and a small element to hold the smartphone up

Oppo Reno 10X Zoom has a thickness of 9.3 mm and a weight of 210 g, figures that are noticeable when using the smartphone. However, the curved back design and flat edges favor grip, which is essential for a phone with a glass design. The fingerprint reader is located under the screen with a positive recognition as we have seen. In addition, we have facial recognition when unfolding the fin.

Technical characteristics of the Oppo Reno 10X Zoom: Oppo Reno 10X Zoom, the smartphone with a shark fin

Features: safe bet with Snapdragon 855: Oppo Reno 10X Zoom, the smartphone with a shark fin

If a smartphone wants to get on the podium drawer in performance it is essential that it has a technical sheet at the height of its rivals. The Oppo Reno 10X Zoom does not back down in its bet with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC and available with up to 8 GB of RAM (as has been our case). Nobody is missing it, nor do we believe it is necessary to delve into the capabilities of such characteristics. The smartphone does not falter at any time.It remains stable with web browsing, split screen, content playback in high resolutions, as well as with really demanding apps and video games. Reno 10x Zoom employs three different cooling technologies: Cooling Gel, Triple Layer Graphite, and Copper Tubing to effectively control the temperature of the device.

Regarding storage, the smartphone is available with 128 or 256 GB , to which must be added a slot for a microSD card. The manufacturer incorporates the ColorOS 6.0 customization based on Android 9 Pie. In this layer we have some additional functions such as a smart driving mode, video game optimizer and smart controls with quick access to apps (in the photos you can see these functions).

Security is another section that is not neglected in the Oppo Reno 10X Zoom. On the one hand we have the fingerprint identification system integrated into the screen , with good recognition as long as we place the finger in the exact place. Although the most interesting method is facial recognition with the flap deployed. To activate it, you have to slide on the screen on with a faster recognition than expected.

Display: change notch by shark

As we have commented, the screen takes all our attention by hiding the front camera, also with the almost total elimination of frames. Oppo’s smartphone mounts a great 6.6-inch AMOLED panel . A screen that wins whole with the choice of panel by displaying vivid colors, deep blacks and great viewing angles. With a FullHD + resolution of 2,340 x 1,080 pixels we cannot complain too much by offering a density of 390 dpi. However, given the dimensions of the screen, we were expecting a QHD + resolution. Likewise, reading texts and viewing multimedia content is remarkable.

6.6-inch AMOLED display

Delving into the characteristics of the screen we see that the brightness reaches 430 nits and offers a 6,000: 1 contrast ratio. The vision of the panel is outside is good but we recommend deactivating the automatic brightness and opting for manual control. In the settings section we have the possibility of calibrating the color temperature, a night filter that reduces blue light to prevent visual fatigue and an ambient screen with a display of the time and other data. Another feature is the protective glass of the screen, a bet on resistance with the choice of Gorilla Glass 6.

Sound: Dolby Atmos and stereo speakers

The peculiar design of the Oppo Reno 10X Zoom affects the sound settings to some extent. To begin with, none of its edges have a jack connector, so it will be necessary to use an adapter or Bluetooth headphones. The elimination of the notch by the folding wing implies that the earpiece for calls is placed in this element with a sound projection through a tiny slot. Still, the Oppo Reno 10X Zoom achieves a fairly clean stereo sound and an optimal volume level for outdoors or noisy environments.

Stereo sound next to the headphone but without 3.5mm jack plug

Although to take full advantage of its multimedia capabilities it will be necessary to use a USB-C adapter or headphones. Only in this way can we access the Dolby Atmos configuration section that this Oppo has , since it is not compatible with Bluetooth devices. This virtual surround sound system has different profiles to adapt to the content that we are playing on the phone.

Cameras: optical zoom to go further

Nobody escapes that the photographic section is the main point of interest of this Oppo Reno 10X Zoom. In this model we have up to three sensors to achieve a zoom of up to 10x in a hybrid, optical and digital combination. That is, the optical zoom only reaches 5x while with the hybrid we reach 10x and with the digital it shoots up to 60x. Here we specify the characteristics of the rear cameras:

• 48 MP Sony IMX586 , f / 1.7 aperture, 26 mm lens, PDAF and laser focus, optical stabilizer, 12 MP Pixel Binning and 6-element lens.
• 13 MP telephoto sensor, f / 3.0 aperture, f / 3.0 aperture and 130mm lens.
• 8 MP wide-angle sensor with f / 2.2 aperture, 16 mm lens and 120º field.

The smartphone relies on the addition of artificial intelligence to optimize photos taken with scene recognition. The camera app is quite simple with a small drawer of functions for those less used (night mode, panoramic, expert, timelapse and slow motion). Oppo has chosen photo, video and portrait mode as the main functions for the user. The other side gives access to settings, filters, HDR, dazzling color, flash, video resolution, among others.

In the case of the front camera we have a 16 MP sensor with f / 2.0 aperture and a 79º angle of view. Regarding video recording, we get 4K or 1080p resolution at 60 fps. Stabilization is only available in FHD resolution. Obviously, the zoom selection is also present in video recording, although more sharpness is lost when enlarging the image than in photographic capture.

Photographic and video test

Given its characteristics, it is time to evaluate the result obtained with its different cameras. First of all, the triple rear camera offers good performance in the vast majority of situations, especially when the light is actively collaborating on the scene. The color, sharpness and dynamic range is usually correct as long as we do not activate the zoom. When enlarging the image, photographic imbalances arise as can be seen in the gallery, something logical when playing different sensors and optics.

Here what is really interesting are the zoom possibilities to offer a framing of distant elements with a good level of sharpness with the hybrid zoom. It is important that we maintain a good pulse when taking pictures with the zoom activated. It is also possible to activate the wide angle to obtain a much wider frame with good distortion correction at the edges.

The night mode tries to brighten the images but the appearance of noise is inevitable. The portrait mode behaves quite well with the contours of the figures achieving a good bokeh blur. The dazzling color effect increases color saturation to give images more vividness, but is sometimes too artificial.

Connectivity and autonomy

The Oppo smartphone has a tray for two nanoSIM cards or a nanoSIM plus a microSD to expand the memory capacity. It also incorporates Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity , WiFi ac Dual Band and an NFC chip. Its USB-C connector has support for OTG connection. Yes, a headphone jack connector is missing, especially since it has Dolby Atmos , which forces us to use an adapter. The smartphone includes dual GPS F1 + L5 to offer greater precision in GPS location and navigation.

Good section of connections with dual GPS for better positioning, NFC chip and dual SIM

A smartphone with such a technical sheet needs a large capacity battery to support all its features. The brand incorporates a 4,065 mAh battery that offers a range of one and a half days. The trick lies in optimizing system resources to save on energy consumption with AI functions. It includes a 20W VOOC 3.0 charger that completes the charge in approximately one hour and a quarter. Although its back is made of glass, Oppo Reno 10X Zoom does not support wireless charging, a shame given that it is a high-end smartphone.