The Oppo Reno3 Pro lets you take 44MP selfies – CNET

Rear camera megapixels get all the spotlight. After Samsung launched the Galaxy S20 Ultra with a huge 108-megapixel camera on the back, expect to see more Android phones take up this feature in the coming year. But what about the front camera? Selfies should pack more pixels too — or at least, that's what Chinese company Oppo says with the Reno3 Pro.

The midrange phone offers a quad camera setup on the back, but that's not so unusual for phones in 2020. It separates itself with dual selfie shooters: one 2-megapixel depth sensor paired with a 44-megapixel main camera.

The Oppo Reno3 Pro launched in India earlier this month, where its price (29,990 rupees) converts to $390, AU$670 and £340. Oppo says it'll launch in more countries in April, though the US won't be one of those. If you're looking for an inexpensive Android, the Reno3 Pro is a solid option, even if you have to import it.

But don't buy into the megapixel hype. The Reno3 Pro's cameras, both front and back, are good, especially for a phone of its price, but not remarkable. More megapixels don't automatically translate into better photos. Arguably the niftiest thing about the front cameras is that you can do night mode selfies, a feature typically only found on premium phones like the Samsung Galaxy S20 and the Google Pixel 4.

But there's a lot to like about this affordable phone. The 6.4-inch display is sharp and the design, though it borrows heavily from Huawei's aesthetic, is snazzy. The rear cameras are feature packed thanks to an ultrawide-angle lens and a telephoto shooter that allows for 2-times optical zoom and 20-times digital.

It's powered by a MediaTek P95 processor. If you're a heavy mobile gamer and want the best possible performance, the Reno3 Pro may prove underpowered. But it'll still play demanding 3D games and provides a smooth experience for browsing YouTube and scrolling through Instagram.

The main weakness the Reno3 Pro has against the similarly-priced Google Pixel 3A is the operating system. As opposed to the Pixel 3A's delightful pure Android, the Reno3 Pro uses Oppo's ColorOS7. It's based on Android 10 and I like it more than Huawei's EMUI take on Android. But it's still a cut below Google's pure experience.

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Key specs

• 6.4-inch, 2,400×1,080-pixel display
• Octa-core MediaTek Helio P95 processor
• 64 megapixel + 13 megapixel telephoto + 8 megapixel ultrawide + 2 megapixel depth sensor quad-camera setup
• 44 megapixel + 2 megapixel depth sensor dual camera setup
• 128GB/256GB storage
• 8GB RAM
• Headphone jack
• 4,000mAh battery with fast charging

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