The most unique feature of this phone really has to be seen in person. Unfortunately, it also doesn't make a difference to how the Reno 16 F operates. If you must see the optical illusion on the back panel, either check it out in the store or pay R17,000 (give or take a few thousand) to take one home with you. But you'll have to remember that Samsung does a bit better around this price point.
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It seems like every few months there’s a new Reno smartphone from Oppo. The newest in South Africa is the Oppo Reno 16 F, an upper-midrange device that’ll deliver everything you could want from a smartphone for about seventeen grand.
But since you can nab either the Samsung Galaxy S26 FE or the full Galaxy S26 for just a thousand rand more, you might want to think about how hard you’d like to put an Oppo phone in your pocket. There’s one very unique feature in this one that we’re quite impressed with, but it won’t make a lick of difference to the phone’s performance.
Hologram back
There’s some design wizardry on the back of this otherwise conventional smartphone. Everything is where you’d expect. The cameras live in their square island. A speaker vent, charge port, and SIM tray occupy the lower edge. There are physical buttons in the industry-approved location. A metal band circles the whole device, which is impressively lightweight at a little under 200 grams. On the lower back of the phone, though…
That’s where you’ll find Oppo’s logo. Not the brand name, which is clearly visible in the image above. Oppo’s designers have embedded an optical illusion (barely visible here) on the back panel of the Reno 16 F. It’s something called the “3D Pop Planet Design.” The remarkable thing is that it seems to jump off the phone from many angles, levitating over the phone’s rear plane.
Is it cool to look at? Absolutely? Is it a selling point? Not after those in your social circle have seen and marvelled at it. But it’s definitely a unique aspect that we haven’t seen anywhere else.
Dodge RAM
The R17,000 recommended price for the Reno 16 F stings quite a bit. Our review unit, and very likely your retail version, is the 8GB/256GB model. Yes, we’re all paying more for devices with less RAM. No, it’s not entirely Oppo’s fault. That doesn’t mean we have to like it. Elsewhere, you’re mostly getting what you’ve paid for. The 6.57in AMOLED reaches up to 1,400 nits. Oppo has included IP68/69 waterproofing. The battery is a 7,000mAh effort that’s designed to help you forget that some other aspects aren’t that great.
‘Other aspects’ means the Dimensity 7300 Energy processor. We were somewhat worried about the choice of chipset when the phone was announced in South Africa. It’s not a poor experience, but Oppo’s phone is up against stiff competition at very similar price points. Most users won’t ever push the phone so hard that it hitches or stutters. Those who would probably know enough to choose a smartphone with a beefier processor (and more RAM).
Bloat your boat
A minor, but common, annoyance with Chinese smartphones is the amount of bloatware preinstalled on devices. The Oppo Reno 16 F doesn’t escape this, lobbing a ton of extras into the phone alongside Google’s greatest hits. And a few of the search company’s not-so-great options. Basically all of the Surveillance Capitalism greats are included — there’s LinkedIn, Spotify, Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, Netflix, TikTok, and the truly awful WPS Office on board as standard. There’s also a ton of Oppo’s own apps, plus a few others we don’t know the provenance of. Most of them will, like the stock Photos app, pop up with an explainer telling you exactly what they’re collecting about you.
Many of these can be deleted outright. Some, like the shortcuts folders, are permanently jammed into the Reno 16 F. At some point, the thinking goes, you’ll get curious and download a bunch of the company’s suggestions from the App Market. Hopefully you never get that far. At least these can be removed from the home screen.
Three fifties
The Reno 16 F knows which features buyers are most likely to want, and the camera setup satisfies. Dual 50MP rear sensors are bolstered by an 8MP ultrawide. The front-facing camera is a distressingly detailed 50MP f/2.0 ultrawide designed to get you and all of your friends in the frame. AI functions will automatically jump in to smooth out your garish features. This can be turned off or turned up to suit you, but the feature is not overly aggressive by default.
The rear cameras are decent performers. We’d expect that from an almost-R20,000 smartphone, but it’s another area Oppo might have trouble. The 50/50/8 setup is competent. It’ll break down in detail quickly as you zoom in past the 3.5x optical maximum, but for casual social media and sharing with family, you’re unlikely to complain. Unless you happen to look over at what Samsung is cooking with and how little extra it would have cost to go over there instead.
Bubble tea
Also included with our review setup was the Oppo Bubble. As far as we can see, these aren’t actually on sale in South Africa. You may or may not get one with an Oppo smartphone when you buy one, but you’re unlikely to find them on sale by themselves. That’s… fair enough. The little gizmo has a magnetic back that doesn’t attach to the Reno 16 F, but it will stick to a fridge. It consists of a 1.7in circular display (466 x 466) that could have been cribbed from an oversized wearable. There’s a silicone cover in the box, as well as a little keycharm/charm attachment.
The Oppo Bubble is a fashion piece, something you carry around on your keys. It’ll show you a view of your camera sensor or act as a shutter button, but most folks will put its 4GB of storage to use by showing images. You’ll need to charge it daily — there’s a 550mAh battery inside, and it charges over USB-C — if you’ve got the screen running all day. It’s… a curiosity, rather than an essential accessory. That might well be why Oppo seems to be giving them away for free.
Oppo Reno 16 F verdict
Oppo’s newest smartphone isn’t bad for the price. It’s been slammed by the same semiconductor shortage everyone else is dealing with, and its compensation doesn’t take much away from users. Everything you’d expect from a phone priced like this is present (minus a bit of RAM). There’s a genuinely novel rear panel design, and the Reno 16 F’s box includes everything you’ll need, including a cover and charging block. You don’t get that from Samsung’s lineup. But other companies are, perhaps because of deeper pockets, dealing with the whole thing better. Better performance, better cameras, better feature retention. Oppo’s phone isn’t disappointing. It’s just that it doesn’t cost much more to find someone else who did it better.
