Oppo Reno 7 series is now official in China. There are three phones this time, as well, but one of them is a newcomer. Instead of a Pro Plus model, Oppo decided to go with the Reno 7 SE, which is a slightly dumbed-down version of the Reno 7. The three phones are what will take Oppo’s legacy of making some wonderful camera phones that look impressively beautiful forward. But that launch took place in China, which is also where the new phones will be sold. So, what about India?

Well, Oppo barely talks about its plans for global launch of its products at the China launch. However, as things begin to get set in motion, Oppo starts teasing the launches. That has not happened yet for the Reno 7 series and understandably so because it was just yesterday when the new phones debuted. Going by tradition, Oppo has always scheduled the launches of the global counterparts of its Chinese phones, preferably towards the new year. That tells me that the Reno 7 is not likely to arrive until after 2021.

My assumption stems from the recent rumour that Oppo is planning to launch the Reno 7 series in India in the first quarter of 2022. Although a date is not yet clear, it is still going to be more or less a part of the strategy for next year. While that is all good, the rumour also said that not three but only two phones would make their way to India, which is bad news. Reportedly, Oppo is planning to launch only the Reno 7 Pro and Reno 7 smartphones in India, much like how it launched the Reno 6 and Reno 6 Pro in India.

I am not sure at this point about how much water this rumour holds, but Oppo’s Reno 7 SE will belong to the territory of its F-series in India. Overlapping of products is not something Oppo has ever done because its phone lineups are pretty distinctive – and unambiguous. Oppo’s marquee Reno-series phones have always done well. For instance, Oppo said that its Reno 6 5G became one of its highest-selling phones in that price category. Introducing a cheaper model with nearly as many specifications as the marquee model may hamper Oppo’s business here, and since Oppo is not too bullish about selling phones online, trade-offs do not matter much.

So, if Oppo is not going to bring the Reno 7 SE and only the other two Reno 7-series phones, where does that leave you? As a customer, you should always look at all the options available for that price. In this case, Oppo will have a tough fight with Redmi, Infinix, and Motorola. According to the prices of the Reno 7 (roughly Rs 31,500) and the Reno 7 Pro (Rs 43,200) in China, Oppo will target mid-range customers again. The specifications of these phones kind of warrant those price points, but everything will depend on what other brands will have to offer for either around the same price or less.

Since everyone has their own preferences, it will be unfair to rule out Oppo phones on the basis of specifications alone just yet – even though the hardware of the phone is not bad. I am talking about looks because those are crucially important for Oppo phones. In fact, Oppo talks about its Reno Glow technology at length during launch events.

You should be looking forward to gorgeous phones in the Oppo Reno 7 series, even though they may fall a bit short in the fight on the basis of specifications. For some, that will be totally worth it.