OPPO South Africa officially launches the Reno5 as its first premium smartphone offering in the country, promises a '100% charge in 36 minutes'.

by Thinus Ferreira

A new international brand of smartphones, OPPO, that has expanded to the South African market in 2020 just launched a more expensive smartphone range as well, the Reno5 5G, geared towards the high-end market for South African executives that it promises can be charged to 100% in just 36 minutes.

OPPO isn't really known in South Africa at all and is now competing with established international smartphone brand names from companies like Samsung, LG, Huawei, Nokia and others.

OPPO started as a technology brand in 2004 and for the last 10 years has manufactured smartphones with camera capabilities. Oppo launched its first mobile, the Smile Phone, in 2008.

OPPO's business now covers 40 countries with 6 research institutes and 5 R&D centres worldwide.

OPPO entered the South African market in 2020 by launching 3 smartphones in late-2020: the budget OPPO A72 in October 2020 at R6 999, followed in November 2020 by the budget OPPO A15 and the mid-market targeted OPPO A53s, with both of these priced under R5 000.

OPPO has now also launched the Reno5 5G series, with a starting price of R14 999.

OPPO calls this phone "its first major release in the South African market" with the smartphones that are available through Vodacom and MTN in South Africa.

OPPO says in a press release that the Reno5 "is geared to offer an alternative option to the growing number of South Africans that are quickly adapting to an online method of working, earning and living".

OPPO says in its press release that "with a built-in output charging pin, the device gets to 100% in just 36 minutes safely, to ensure better usage and functionality over longer periods of time". 

This claim couldn't be verified and OPPO hasn't made any of these phones available for review to test this recharging claim, but if true, it would make the Reno5 one of the fastest-charging smartphones now available in the South African market.

"The Reno5 is our most ambitious smartphone model yet. Offering ultra-fast, ultra-powerful connectivity and high-end technology that works," says OPPO.

"It incorporates world-class updates into a usable device that upgrades the consumer’s daily digital efficiencies, while using humanable technology that improves everyday connection to each other, especially during these uncertain times."

"We understand that our smartphone is one of the most powerful tools we own today,” says Liam Fourie, OPPO South Africa's head of got-to-market and operations.

OPPO's Reno5 is available in Galactic Silver and Starry Black and both have what OPPO calls "a colour-changing diamond finish".

It is enabled with Android 11 and fitted with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G processing chip, as well as a 4300mAh battery and 128GB storage.

The Reno5 comes with 5G support, has a 6.44-inch OLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate, 8GB RAM and supports Dolby Atmos sound.

The Reno5 quad-camera has a 64MP main lens, 8MP ultra-wide lens, 2MP macro lens, as well as a 2MP depth lens, which is paired with a 32MP selfie camera.