Tech Advisor - UK (2021-05)

MAY 2021 • TECH ADVISOR 61

DESIGN
‘Reno Glow’ – two
words that represent
the culmination of
seven dedicated patent
applications and six
months of research and
development – Oppo
wants people to know
about the surface finish
that debuts on the Reno
4 (styled as ‘Reno4’ by
theway)linein a bigway.
Whiletheinsandoutsofitssurface
finish might be a little too much a macro
detailfortheaverageconsumertocare
about,there’snoescapingthefactthat
theReno4 Pro5Gis a prettyphone.
AlthoughabsentfromtheSpace
Blackmodel(we’llgettowhythatis in a
moment)boththeposterchildcolourway

• GalacticBlue(pictured)– andthe
  PantonespecialeditionGlitterGreen
  model,featurethis uniquefinish.
  Aesthetically,thebackoftheReno 4
  Pro5Gunquestionablystandsoutin its
  GalacticBlue guise. There’sa reflected
  silver-to-dark-bluegradientrunning
  diagonallyacrossthephone’sbackthat
  hasanalmostpearlescentqualitypaired
  with a (pullingfrom Oppo’sofficial
  pressrelease)“crystaldrillingtechnique
  (that)forms millions of micron-level
  prisma [sic] crystal pits”.

Long-story-short,thisRenoGlow

finish is eye-catching,uniqueand

Oppo’spridein itscreationseems

valid(toa degree).Thecompanyalso

claims it’s “fingerprint-proof”,which

is confidenceindeed.Sure enough,

oily fingersgenerallyleave the back of

theReno4 Pro5Gunmarked,which

is whollyimpressive,againvalidating

theirconfidencein the extra effort at

workhere.

TheSpaceBlackmodeltakes

thephone’saestheticsin a different

direction,with a more conventional

polished glass surface finish that,

unfortunately, does hold onto prints.

To make up for this drawback though,

you get a reflective rainbow surface

treatment that catches the light and a

subtle repeating ‘OP’ pattern, which

feels reminiscent of Louis Vuitton’s

The Reno Glow finish repels fingerprints but also grip.