One of the more interesting things OPPO released is the OPPO Bubble Mag E-Badge – and OPPO sent one over to check out alongside the Reno16 Pro. Priced at $189, the OPPO Bubble is, in short, a little remote display for your phone.

Compatible with the Reno16, as well as the Find X9, the OPPO Bubble also works as a remote control, camera preview, and when not in use it can go into a circular case that comes in the box and then clipped to your keys, bag or clothes where it can display a range of ‘wallpapers’ which is basically any image you upload to it from your phone.

It has a 1.7-inch AMOLED display with a circular 466×466 resolution (the corners are cut off, so it’s about there). 

The screen itself is nice and bright, enough to see it reasonably during the day – if you ramp the brightness up. There are three brightness levels, and the brightest can be seen during pretty bright sunlight, but only just. 

Spec wise, it runs a BES 2800 processor from a company called Bestechnic and comes with 4GB of storage – it seems fast enough to operate as a standalone device, and it includes 2.4GHz Wifi and Bluetooth 5.2 for connectivity.

There’s a USB port for charging the 550 mAh Lithium-ion battery on-board (though there’s no USB cable in the box), and a single button on the side. 

In terms of battery life, the 550mAh battery lasted a couple of days – so it’s something you need to charge almost daily if you use it regularly. 

It comes with a magnetic ring you can stick to the back. While the Reno16 Pro doesn’t have magnets in the back (no wireless charging), the cases you buy DO have a magnetic ring to support magnetic accessories like car mounts…and the OPPO Bubble Mag E-Badge!

It easily pops onto the back of your phone in the case, and you can check out the camera preview to line up shots. It works well indoors, and decently if you ramp the brightness up when outdoors. 

To use it with your phone you need the OPPO Bubble app – which you can only get for OPPO phones through their App market.

This is about the only downside (for me) in that it only works with OPPO phones, specifically the Reno16 series and Find X9, though OPPO says more may be compatible soon. 

The actual OPPO Bubble app is easy to use, and even easier to add in your own custom wallpapers based on photos or screenshots from your gallery. You don’t appear to be able to add in GIFs, but that would be a fun addition (if you’re reading OPPO). 

I note there’s a section for animated digital pets, which got updated to ‘Pop IP’ while I used the app, but doesn’t seem to be live in Australia unfortunately. 

Final Thoughts

A touch display that can show your favourite pics, and works as a remote and viewfinder when you need it, and only $189. That’s a bargain. 

The requirement for an OPPO phone is a big downside though, or this would be a must have accessory for a lot of people – but if you have an OPPO Reno16 or Find X9, this is a no-brainer. 

I love the simplicity, the connection works well each time. It all just works, and gets out of the way when you don’t need it around. 

If you have a Find X9, or Reno16, definitely get one of these. You can find it over on the OPPOStore now.