It is not uncommon to see Chinese smartphones being rebranded across different markets in the world with a different model name to cater to the specific markets. The main Chinese tech conglomerates which practice this business tactic are respectively Xiaomi (with its sub-brands Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco) and the BBK Group (with its sub-brands Oppo, Realme, Narzo, OnePlus, Vivo and iQOO).

However, what if say the next-generation smartphone had the exact same specs as the last generation release? 

This may be a first for the industry, as the latest Oppo Reno 8 Z 5G released in Southeast Asia last month, has the exact same, fully identical specifications as the previous generation Oppo Reno 7 Z 5G which was also released in the Southeast Asia market as well. 

Don’t believe it? Here’s a comparison table for you to check the specs yourself.

As you can see here, the new Reno 8 Z has the same Snapdragon 695 5G SoC under the hood, the same 6.43” 60Hz screen with identical brightness specs, the same 4500 mAh battery, the same 33W SuperVOOC charging, the same triple camera setup, even the same 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM, and even the same 128GB of UFS 2.2 base storage.

The only difference between the two phones is just the back camera island, which has been extended to the plastic frame of the device. But even the camera placement on the module remains unchanged, and the phone has even gotten thicker and heavier at 181g (Oppo Reno 8 Z) compared to the 173g on the Oppo Reno 7 Z.

And the crazier fact, the Oppo Reno 7 Z (and Oppo Reno 8 Z) has been rebranded and re-released for many Asian and European markets in 2022 under many aliased names. Here is a quick rundown of what the device is named in other markets:

1. Oppo Reno 7 Z 5G – Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines), March 2022
2. Oppo F21 Pro 5G – India, April 2022
3. OnePlus Nord N20 5G – North America, April 2022
4. Oppo Reno 7 Lite – Europe, April 2022
5. Oppo Reno 8 Lite – Spain, June 2022
6. Oppo Reno 8 Z 5G – Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines), August 2022

Whether it be the chip shortage or the lack of competition in the space, it is unclear why innovation is stagnant for both Oppo and OnePlus smartphones in 2022. However, as smartphone consumers ourselves, we should be aware of the company’s practices and their device releases before purchasing a device. And this time around, the Oppo Reno 8 Z is literally just a previous generation smartphone repackaged in a new body to be sold.

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• OPPO Reno 8Z 5G with Snapdragon 695, 64MP triple cameras launched in Thailand
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• Realme reveals roadmap for Realme UI 4.0 rollout to first batch of smartphones
• Realme Pad X launched in India with Snapdragon 695 SoC, quad speakers, and more

(Source 1, Source 2)

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