OPPO Reno Ace Gundam 40th Anniversary Edition Hands-On

OPPO recently expanded its lineup of Reno smartphones, including one of its latest flagships, the Reno Ace. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Gundam franchise, OPPO partnered up with the beloved series and produced the Reno Ace Gundam 40th Anniversary Edition. With only 30,000 units launched worldwide, we were fortunate enough to get our hands on one. Check it out!

The Reno Ace Gundam 40th Anniversary Edition pays tribute to the iconic Gundam RX-78-2 piloted by protagonist Amuro Ray, from the very first Gundam series, Mobile Suit Gundam. The accents used in the smartphone’s design are that of the RX-78-2’s signature colors: red, blue, and yellow/gold. Mainly metallic silver in hue, the body of the Reno Ace Gundam edition is pretty reminiscent of a mobile suit’s frame.

In the hands, the Reno Ace feels robust and high-end. The handset is also comfortable in the palms, due to its slightly curved rear. Its frosted glass back is pleasing to look at and a wonder to hold among all the smartphones with smooth, slippery glass rears. Despite being frosted, fingerprint and smudges still tack onto it. Thankfully, OPPO included a case in the package. As this is the Gundam edition, OPPO included a case in the box, designed with the RX-78-2’s shield.

Housed in a gold-accented module on the rear are the smartphone’s four cameras, consisting of a 48MP f/1.7 Sony IMX586 main, 13MP f/2.4 telephoto, 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide, and 2MP f/2.4 mono cameras. The module is slightly raised from the body but it’s not bothersome, nor does it make the device wobble on a flat surface.

Placed next to the camera module is the logo of the Earth Federation Space Force (EFSF), which is the military branch of the Earth Federation in the Universal Century timeline that the series is set in.

Below the camera modules are the OPPO logo and the mobile suit’s name, Gundam RX-78-2. They’re printed in gold and highlighted with a reflective red band. A few spaces down, we have the RX-78-2’s face inscribed in gold color as well.

Up front, we get a sizeable 6.5-inch FHD+ display that has a refresh rate of 90Hz. Thin bezels surround the panel, and there’s a waterdrop notch where the 16MP f/2.0 camera resides.

The top part of the Reno Ace is dipped in blue. Apart from the noise-canceling microphone, the top is pretty bare.

The 3.5mm headphone jack, primary microphone, USB-C port, and the speaker grille take up space at the bottom part of the device that’s red in color.

On the left, we get the volume rocker with its clicky buttons. Noticeably, the blue-red hues of the top and bottom part of the device extend a bit to the sides of the Reno Ace.

Last but not least, on the right, we get the dual nano-SIM tray and the power button a few paces below it. As with most OPPO smartphones, the Reno Ace’s power button also has a green accent to it.

The OPPO Reno Ace Gundam 40th Anniversary Edition packs a Snapdragon 855+ chipset, with 8GB RAM, 256GB storage, and a 4,000mAh battery with 65W SuperVOOC 2.0 and USB-PD support. The device also features an under-display fingerprint scanner, face recognition, and NFC support. Included in the box are a 40th-anniversary collector’s medal, an RX-78-2 shield case, and the RX-78-2 themed charger. We’ll go more in-depth with the Reno Ace in the coming days to see how it fares. Stay tuned.

OPPO Reno Ace specs:
6.5-inch FHD+ (2400 x 1080), 90Hz AMOLED display, 405ppi
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ octa-core CPU
Adreno 640 GPU
8GB, 12GB RAM
128GB, 256GB UFS 3.0
48MP F1.7 Sony IMX586 main, 13MP F2.4 telephoto, 8MP F2.2 ultrawide, 2MP F2.4 mono, quad rear cameras
16MP F2.0 front camera
Dual Nano-SIM
4G LTE
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac dual-band
NFC
Bluetooth 5.0
GPS, A-GPS, BDS, GLONASS, GALILEO
Under display fingerprint scanner
3.5mm audio jack
USB Type-C
ColorOS 6.1 (Android 9 Pie)
4,000 mAh battery w/ 65W SuperVOOC 2.0, USB-PD support
161 x 75.7 x 8.7 mm
200 g