The Oppo Reno 6 Pro is a progressive upgrade over its predecessor. Its build and size is familiar with a processing refresh on the inside of the smartphone.

Design language and display

We have always seen the Oppo Reno series sport a stand-out design. And this is no different with the Reno 6 Pro. Available in either blue or grey, you will find Oppo’s Reno Glow process on the back of the smartphone. This essentially makes for an intricate and textured finish with a silky touch that also ensures fingerprint resistance. Moreover, the finish of the smartphone adds much needed grip making daily use easier. But we think the finish on the previous generation felt a bit better.

At just 7.99mm and 188g, the smartphone is also fairly sleek. It fits in your palm well thanks to its narrow design and is also comfortable to use one-handed. However, despite all of the hardware prowess, the lack of any official water or dust resistance is a big drawback. We have mentioned this for past Reno series flagships and it would have been nice for Oppo to take that into consideration for this smartphone.

Otherwise, you will find the power and volume buttons placed as usual all around the device. These compliment the premium feel of the device and are placed extremely well for comfortable usage. And the majority of this usage experience is also due to Oppo’s display. It is a 3D curved AMOLED panel allowing it to sit well in the palm at 6.5-inches and 90Hz. Thus far, multimedia has not been a problem on the smartphone especially with its stereo speakers and immersive look.

Photography prowess

Like many smartphones at this price bracket, the Oppo Reno 6 Pro is heavily focused on photography and video. You will find a quad-camera setup here made up of a 50MP Sony IMX766 main camera with optical image stabilisation, a 13MP telephoto camera with 5x hybrid zoom, a 16MP ultrawide angle camera and a 2MP macro camera. The AI camera setup also sports an in-build colour temperature sensor for optimal flash usage.

There are tons of familiar features baked into the camera experience of the Reno 6 Pro. For example, you will be able to use ‘Bokeh Flare Portrait’ for improved bokeh in portrait images or ‘AI Highlight Video’ for good video in any lighting situation. We are in the process of the testing the camera setup extensively and will detail our experience in our full review coming shortly.

Performance, software and battery life

Arguably, the largest step up on the Reno 6 Pro comes in processing power. You will find a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 5G chip inside alongside 256GB of storage and 12GB of RAM. The latter is also expandable via Oppo’s RAM expansion feature with an additional 3GB, 5GB or 7GB. Given this flexibility, the Reno 6 Pro has all the makings of a gaming smartphone. During our initial testing, it stayed extremely responsive but we will revert back with our experience in high-end games.

Other hardware includes improved thermals and a 4,500mAh battery capable of 65W SuperVOOC 2.0 charging. In theory, this allows the smartphone to go from 0-100 per-cent in just 31 minutes. Wrapping the experience up, you will find Oppo’s ColorOS 11.3 on top of Android 11. To us, this skin is a great hybrid between stock Android from Google and Oppo’s touches, which do come in handy every now and again. Thankfully, there are no advertisements or additional pieces of bloatware that take away from the experience.

Pricing and availability

The Oppo Reno 6 Pro is currently available to pre-order for Dh2,999. Pre-order customers will also be eligible for extra gifts including an Oppo Enco Air worth Dh299 and a complimentary premium service pack worth Dh599 that includes extended 2-year warrant, 6-month screen protection plans and more. The smartphone will be available to purchase in store and across Oppo’s regional websites and retail outlets starting on September 15.