Oppo zooms into Europe with the Reno 5G smartphone

Chinese smartphone maker Oppo has joined the likes of Xiaomi in seeking its fortunes further afield.

Oppo held its official European launch yesterday, with its new Reno 5G smartphone leading the charge. As well as a 5G modem, the main USP seems to be a camera that promises ‘lossless’ 10x hybrid zoom. Digital zoom tends to result in a loss of resolution, while optical zoom requires the physical movement of the lens, something that’s difficult to achieve to any great extend in a smartphone camera. Oppo seems to be saying it has achieved the best of both worlds.

On top of that (literally) is a front camera that pings out from the upper edge of the phone, thus enabling it to provide a screen uninterrupted by holes, notches, etc. Oppo has decided to equate this gimmick to a shark’s fin for reasons best known to its marketing department. The screen is a hefty 6.6” 1080p AMOLED and it comes with 256GB storage, so this is a pretty top-specced device.

In the UK EE will be the exclusive supplier of the Oppo Reno 5G, initially at least. “EE customers with an Oppo Reno 5G will be able to get the most from our new super-fast, high capacity 5G network,” said Sharon Meadows, Director of Devices, Partnerships & Business Development at EE. “Whether they are watching 4K content, trying out AR experiences or gaming with their friends, the Reno 5G will let them tap into the game-changing speeds and connectivity that 5G will bring.”

EE hasn’t committed to a price or release date but we would expect it to cost £800-900 SIM-free. Oppo has been a top five global smartphone brand for some time but has been slower than fellow Chinese vendors Huawei and Xiaomi to expand internationally. The European launch of the Reno 5G changes that and seems like a fairly aggressive statement of intent by Oppo. Here’s a vid of the launch.