Oppo has teamed up with its global partner, Barcelona football club, to produce a limited edition run of special Oppo Reno 10x Zoom units. And it's completely unlike the regular phones in the series, at least in looks. Beauty almost certainly lies in the eyes of the beholder in this case, but for the Barcelona super-fans of the world, there's likely no greater smartphone.
Just like the regular Reno 10x Zoom, the FCB edition has the pop-up shark fin style camera on the front ensuring the screen is completely notch-free, while the back features the awesome triple camera system. Inside, there's the same Snapdragon 855 processor too, so as far as hardware and performance goes, this is Oppo's flagship phone.
Unlike a few of its previous special editions, the limited run Oppo Reno is available to buy in France, Spain, the Netherlands and Russia for €899 and comes equipped with 8GB RAM and a huge 256GB built-in storage.
The Look
The most eye-catching element of the FCB edition phone is obviously on the back. Its multi-layered glass finish uses an approach we've seen in several phones in recent years, but none quite offer the effects on show here.
Barcelona's two primary colours, claret and blue, blend into each other forming a diagonal striped pattern across the back, but what's really interesting is that if you look carefully you'll see a subtle FCB logo embedded in it as well. Then of course, there's the gold FCB logo stamped on to the outside, along with the standard "Designed by Oppo" text in the middle. Again, finished in gold.
As we've seen from Oppo - and its sub-brand Realme - on a few handsets, the coloured gradient design extends to the metal edges around the phones sides as well. That means the red and blue colour blend into each other all the way around the phone, including on the metal framing around the shark fin pop-up camera, and on the physical buttons.
Theming
Boot up the phone and you'll immediately notice there's something different about the software on the FC Barcelona edition of the Oppo Reno, compared to the standard model. It still runs the ColorOS 6 system based on Android Pie, but has been themed to match the phone.
The lock screen wallpaper features a full colour image of FCB's logo, as if stitched onto the virtual striped shirt behind it. Unlock the phone, and you get a more plain striped home screen background. But it doesn't end there.
Oppo has offered theming for its software for a long time, and that includes completely changing the appearance of app icons. In this instance, all the stock apps like the phone, clock, calculator, messages, contacts and other pre-installed Oppo apps are all themed to match the gold, red and blue colouring of the device.
As for the other apps from third parties, those get a red and blue striped square icon behind theme. Perhaps, in all, it's a bit much, but for those that find it a bit too much Barcelona, you can always just download and install a more standard theme.
What's in the box?
As you'd expect, you don't just get a fancy looking smartphone, the retail packaging and included accessories have been designed to show off the collaboration with Barcelona too.
It starts with a blue and red striped package containing the usual paperwork. While classic, it doesn't match the checker-board approach Barcelona has taken with its actual football strip for the 2019/20 season. You also get a protective case included with durable silicon edges and a leather-like feel on the back. Again, this is finished with the claret and blue stripes, and stamped with the gold Barcelona logo.
The included earphones are wired, have a type-C connector and finished with a blue colour designed to match the blue of the phone and the case. Similarly, the canvas-wrapped type-C charging cable is black with blue stripes in it.