Oppo has officially taken the wraps off its latest smartphone series, the Oppo Reno7 series, in Kenya, as expected. In a first, the local unveiling of the device is also the first on the African continent, underscoring the importance of the Kenyan market in the brand’s overall plans.
The Oppo Reno7 series features the standard Oppo Reno7, the Oppo Reno7 5G and a “pro” version, the Oppo Reno7 Pro. At this point in time, we can only confirm the availability of the standard Oppo Reno7 and the 5G variant in the Kenyan market.
As we detailed when the Reno7 series was announced globally at the end of last year, there’s also an SE model which, obviously, won’t be making its way to the Kenyan market.
The Reno7 series features both significant and incremental upgrades to what we got with the Reno6 series last year. For instance, on the camera front, which Oppo is touting as a headlining feature in the country, the company is sticking with the tried and tested 64-megapixel-8-megapixel-2-megapixel camera arrangement at the back but with some changes in how the sensors operate to deliver a much better experience. The 2-megapixel complementary sensor is a Micro lens with 15x to 30x magnification.
As far as looks go, the standard Reno7 smartphone gets a Sunset Orange colour option which brings to the table a nicely textured “Fiberglass-Leather” design that provides a tactile back that makes it not only pleasurable to the touch but also adds some grip when using the device without a case. The Cosmic Black colour option, which is also available on the standard variant, goes with the glow that we have seen on Oppo devices for a while now while still keeping the fingerprint-resistant matte texture.
“The inclusion of the Micro lens on the OPPO Reno7 involves more than simply making room for an additional lens on the phone. At the structural level, OPPO has made the decision to install the Micro lens module on the back cover of the phone, rather than directly mounting it on the motherboard. As the short focal length of the Micro lens requires the phone to be placed very close to the objects being photographed, OPPO has also added a new Orbit Light underneath the Micro lens to provide additional illumination while the Micro lens is enabled,” adds a statement from Oppo.
The 4G version of the Reno7, what we are calling the standard Reno7, is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 while the 5G variant goes with the same Dimensity 900 chipset that powered its predecessor, the indefatigable Reno6 5G.
Oppo has gone with the same 6.4-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display panel with a peak high refresh rate of 90Hz, maintained the optical fingerprint sensor while, at the same time, making some minor but important adjustments to the overall design of the device. These include shifting the positioning of the SIM tray from the bottom to the side (left) to accommodate the 3.5mm headphone jack, which is making a return to the series after being omitted in the Reno6 series. In the SIM tray, which now doesn’t require users to have their SIM cards on either side, is a slot for a microSD card, providing memory expansion capabilities for the first time in the Reno series in over half a year.
We have the Oppo Reno7 (4G) in for review and we will be sharing further details and observations on the same in a detailed review later on. For now, though, enjoy our unboxing of the device:
Pricing and availability
Pricing for the Oppo Reno 7 series starts at Kshs 43,000 for the base model Reno7 and peaks at Kshs 60,000 for the Reno7 5G.
The available variants of the Reno7 series are as follows:
- Reno7 (with 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage)
- Reno7 (with 8GB RAM and 128GB internal storage)
- Reno7 (with 8GB RAM and 256GB internal storage)
- Reno7 5G (8GB RAM and 256GB internal storage)
Pre-orders for the Oppo Reno7 series opened today, 25th April, 2022, and the device will be available for direct purchase on 5th May, 2022.
