TO THE MOON! Oppo Reno 10 Pro+ Review [PART 4]

It’s been raining in Manila for quite a while now.

This is the last part of the article review of the Oppo Reno 10 Pro+ 5G. It’s been a wild ride since the beginning. We took pictures of the moon, tortured it using Yuzu, and we brought it around the city for a walk. Yep, we’re treating it like we’re giving away our pet or something. It’s a special phone with a lot of bloatware to speak of after all. Wonder how much this thing would be valued? It’s definitely not G85-at-14K expensive.

For this last part, we will tackle the speaker system, biometrics, and then finally wrap it in a silver platter. Some things needed to be left behind after all.

SPEAKERS:

The Oppo Reno10 Pro+ has a stereo speaker system with Hi-Res Audio for both wired and wireless earphones. It doesn’t have a headphone jack so we used a dongle to try and record the audio with a mic. Thankfully the dongle works and we were able to record.

Even at moderate volumes, you could already feel the immersion of the speakers. It’s rich and full of clarity and works as if you’re surrounded by sounds. However, the mids are weaker than the Nord 3 and at max volume, there is noticeable distortion. The bassline is stronger on the Reno than it is on the Nord but the Nord sounds richer to us. In other words, the Nord 3 just sounds better to us and we compared it and the Reno. The Nord also has a louder volume and this is on the same level, 5 notches lower than the maximum. This is also true at max volume.

BIOMETRICS

The Oppo Reno10 Pro+ comes with an in-display fingerprint scanner and a facial scanner. To use them, you got to set up a PIN/Password/Pattern first. The fingerprint scanner can also be used for unlocking apps like Bank apps and E-wallets.

The position of the fingerprint scanner is a little low for us. The screen is very tall and curved so I have to reposition my thumbs each time I wanna open it. Though, I got used to it after a while and so it didn’t really feel that uncomfortable.

The fingerprint sensor responds fast and accurately. It unlocks almost 90% of the time without errors. Even if you place your thumbs slightly away from where you originally scanned it, it will unlock. It takes about 0.5 seconds to actually unlock so it’s not lightning-fast speeds. The OnePlus Nord 3 unlocks much faster. It’s probably not due to the fingerprint sensor itself but rather to how unoptimized ColorOS is yet versus OxygenOS.

Just like with the Nord 3, the facial scanner actually competes against the fingerprint sensor and the facial scanning wins almost all the time. Before I could actually put my finger on the sensor, the phone would be unlocked thanks to the facial scanner. It can detect your face at almost any angle and at super-fast speeds too. It can also scan your face while you’re wearing a mask but it’s inconsistent and 90% of the time it won’t work.

CONNECTIVITY:

As a flagship device, the Reno10 Pro+ comes with VoLTE, sub-6GHz 5G, Bluetooth 5.3 LE, and Wi-Fi 6/6e connectivity. It also has a dual SIM Card tray located at the bottom frame. There is no SIM Card installed so we’re testing out its Wi-Fi capabilities instead. Also, the speed won’t be consistent because that still depends on location and ISP reliability. Weather conditions also affect how good your data would be.

For the Wi-Fi test, we’ll be using our 50Mbps plan from PLDT as the test subject. We used Ookla’s SpeedTest.net as the control. We just used the default settings for this one. To determine consistency, we repeated the test 5 times. We will also be using our experiences from playing online games, downloading apps, and watching videos to determine how good the phone’s connectivity is.

When we played Genshin Impact and Mobile Legends, we suffered no connectivity issues despite having no SIM Card. Our Wi-Fi bars remained full all throughout the day. It also managed to download important updates from games fast and consistently without lagging. There are no connectivity issues with the phone and everything ran smoothly and consistently.

CONCLUSION:

The Oppo Reno 10 Pro+ is a flagship in every regard. Right from its curved AMOLED screen, down to its frames and chipset. It’s definitely the epitome of what the Reno series is and how far it developed. When we say TO THE MOON, we mean it from both a figurative and distance-wise perspective.

The cameras are definitely the high point of the phone and its biggest strength. All four cameras, including the selfies, were able to give top-notch results that could compete against other phones of the same price just as well, if not better. We still don’t like how oversaturated the images are but the MariSilicon X NPU works super well, especially with the 64MP telephoto. It’s not the 50MP that’s the best, it’s actually the 64MP telephoto because that sensor shows how truly capable Oppo’s AI is.

The phone’s battery is also long-lasting. Sure, it may have slightly less than your average phone at 4700mAh, but even when we used it while gaming, streaming videos, and letting it run on stand-by with multiple apps open, we only need to charge it twice in a day. The 100W fast charging felt insignificant against the Nord’s 80W as it charged at almost the same timeframe but nonetheless, this speed is still very fast for your average user. However, it lacks wireless charging which the Find X6 clearly has. It also lacks the IP rating which the latter also has.

We still don’t like how bloated and unoptimized ColorOS feels when they could just make a clone of OxygenOS instead. This unoptimized software hinders the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset to its true potential. Games mostly ran fine but there will be times they will open choppily. The bloatware also gets to your notification bar as ads and they couldn’t be removed. Some built-in apps can but those from the Oppo Marketplace won’t. We do appreciate the high number of customizations available thanks to its theme store so every Oppo phone is different for every user and that would make it more personal.

Speakers are also on the weaker side. It’s definitely not the loudest but it has a rich and clear sound. The OnePlus Nord 3 sounds way louder even on maximum volume.

Overall, it’s a beautifully designed flagship phone crafted using only premium aluminium and glass and definitely worth purchasing if you need something lighter than a DSLR.

PROS:

• Well-crafted phone with a premium build, aluminium frames, curved AMOLED, and metallic back
• Comes with a grey case that also feels well-designed and luxurious.
• The non-smudge coating makes it a non-fingerprint magnet.
• Its curved AMOLED screen is very bright, have accurate colour reproduction, and does not wash out even under the sunlight
• All four cameras, including the 32MP selfie, have outstanding performance
• MariSilicon X NPU feels like a feature and greatly enhances photos, especially on the 64MP Periscope camera at greater zoom levels.
• Long-lasting battery that only needs once or twice to be charged
• Very fast charging speed at 40 minutes, tying with the OnePlus Nord 3
• Snappy chipset makes games smooth to play.
• Several customization options
• Rich and clear stereo speakers with Hi-Res Audio and a strong bassline.
• IR Blaster is available to control TVs and other appliances

CONS:

• Curved displays are more prone to breakage when dropped. It also is more challenging to apply the appropriate tempered glass on top.
• ColorOS is unoptimized and full of bloatware that prevents the chipset from performing at its fullest
• ProXDR is useless outside of the phone and feels like a gimmick
• May oversaturate and oversharpen images
• For a camera-centric phone, it lacks RAW support (but a histogram is available)
• Despite its clarity and richness, there is distortion at max volume and the speakers themselves are weak-sounding with relatively low volume, even at the maximum.
• No IP Rating
• No wireless charging