Oppo’s New Reno 5 Pro+ Has a Color-Changing Back Panel

oppo reno 5 pro+ color changing back launched

Teased alongside the Oppo Reno 5 and 5 Pro, the company has launched the Oppo Reno 5 Pro+ in China today. It is the top-end variant of the Reno 5 series with a new 50MP Sony IMX766 primary camera, Snapdragon 865, 65W fast-charging, and more. While the specifications are similar to most 2020 flagships, it is the Oppo Reno 5 Pro+ Artist Limited Edition that has me especially excited for this smartphone.

Oppo Reno 5 Pro+ Artist Limited Edition

Remember the OnePlus 8T Concept and its color-changing back? It may not become a reality on OnePlus phones just yet, but Oppo is already taking charge. The Oppo Reno 5 Pro+ Artist Limited Edition launched in China has a color-changing back panel.

opo reno 5 Pro+ color changing back

The Chinese giant has partnered with visual artist Joshua Vides to design the comic-style back panel of the Reno 5 Pro+. It is a surreal 2D pattern that marks the debut of Oppo’s electrochromic technology. It enables the phone body to freely change colors.

As shown in the official demo video below, you simply need to double-tap the back panel of the Reno 5 Pro+ to see it change colors. The device here switches between silver and blue – the same as the OnePlus 8T Concept. The basics of the technology remain the same. There’s a thin layer of metal oxide present in the back glass panel. It changes color based on the valence state of the metal ions inside.

Talking about the specifications, Oppo Reno 5 Pro+ features a 6.55-inch Full-HD+ OLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate and 180Hz touch sampling rate. The panel boasts a 2400 x 1080-pixels resolution and up to 1100 nits of peak brightness. The device is powered by the Snapdragon 865, paired with up to 12GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and Android 11-based ColorOS 11. There’s a 4,500mAh battery with 65W SuperVOOC charging onboard as well.

On the camera front, you will find a single 32MP selfie camera housed in a punch-hole cutout. The quad-camera island on the rear is helmed by a 50MP primary sensor (Sony IMX766 with OIS support), along with a 16MP ultra-wide lens with a 119-degree FOV, 13MP telephoto lens with 5x hybrid zoom, and a 2MP macro camera.

Price and Availability

The standard edition of the Oppo Reno 5 Pro+ is priced starting at CNY 3,999 (~Rs. 45,000) for the 8GB+128GB base variant. The Artist Limited Edition will retail at CNY 4,499 (~Rs. 50,699) in China. The pre-orders will go live on 18th January, with sales starting from 22nd January.

The electrochromic technology will be popular among phone makers next year. Nubia’s gaming-centric Red Magic 6 is also rumored to arrive with a similar color-shifting back panel. So, you can expect a lot of smartphones to change color or become see-through to give you a peek at the internals in 2021.

comment Comments 1
  • Ankit Gupta says:

    The only thing needed is a good smartphone at the low cost and Oppo should work on that. Outer appearance hardly matters if it is good inside.

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