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OPPO woos photography lovers with a pop-up cam
Thu, 20th Jun 2019
FYI, this story is more than a year old

New Zealand smartphone junkies can now get their hands on OPPO's Reno smartphones over the next few weeks – but expect to dish out $1300 for its priciest offering.

Announced back in April, the Reno series include the Reno 10x Zoom and the Reno Z.

“We're excited to be bringing the Reno Series to New Zealand, which we believe will bring real value to our customers and make the latest smartphone innovations accessible to all,” exclaims OPPO New Zealand managing director Kevin Cho.

“Not only does the new range promise cutting-edge technology and exceptional photography, but also provides a truly immersive experience and one we believe Kiwis will love.

The one with the highest price tag – The Reno 10x Zoom, is (unsurprisingly) named to promote its camera functionality. And this one comes with a difference – there's a pop-up (pivot rising) camera.

OPPO chose to fit three lenses (yes, three – a 48MP main lens, a 13MP periscope telephoto lens, and an 8MP wide-angle lens) for a focal length of 16-160mm in tandem.

According to OPPO, “The tri-lens adapts to all kinds of photography scenarios including wide-angle, portrait, 10x hybrid zoom and even 4K video filming. With these developments, everyone can be a professional photographer, capturing New Zealand from completely new perspectives”.

Since smartphone cameras have been getting better as technology evolves, OPPO's aspirations to be the king of smartphone cameras may end up getting crowded out as manufacturers try to outdo each other, particularly with the likes of Huawei's camera innovation (and its controversy).

The Reno 10x Zoom smartphone will also have ‘up to' 8GB RAM and 256GB of internal storage. Under the hood, the Qualcommm Snapdragon 855 processor keeps things humming.

Meanwhile, the OPPO Reno Z is half the price ($699), and with half the features – it seems. The Reno Z has just two lenses (48MP and 5MP dual rear camera), and a 32MP front-facing camera.

It's also equipped with 8GM RAM, but it only has 128GB storage. The processor is the MTK MT6779V.

The OPPO Reno 10x Zoom will go on sale from June 28 at Noel Leeming, JB Hi-fi, 2degrees, Smiths City and PB Tech.

The OPPO Reno Z will go on sale from July 12 at Noel Leeming, JB Hi-fi, 2degrees, Smiths City and PB Tech. OPPO Reno 10x Zoom purchasers will also receive 12-months of free OPPO CARE, a UE BOOM 3 speaker and four months of YouTube Music Premium. OPPO Reno Z  purchasers will receive a UE Wonderboom speaker and four months of YouTube Music Premium for the duration of the promotion.

So has OPPO's pop-up cams and photography dreams carve out a top spot in a crowded smartphone market? Smartphone lovers will no doubt be the judge of that.