Vloggers will love this phone and rear screen add-on, but will anyone else?

OPPO has launched the Reno 16 Pro, a premium handset priced at £899 (discounted to £749 in some offers), equipped with a 200 MP main sensor, a 50 MP 3.5× telephoto lens, and a 50 MP ultrawide camera. To showcase the rear cameras for self‑recording, the company sells a detachable “Bubble” screen that snaps onto a magnetic case for £99, plus the case itself for £29.90. The Bubble functions as a tiny viewfinder, offering basic camera controls, wallpaper customization, and a USB‑C port, but its magnet is weak enough to detach with a tap, and it lacks advanced shooting modes or palm‑shutter support.

The Bubble follows a niche wave of rear‑display accessories that began with Xiaomi’s revived rear screen and has been echoed by third‑party magnetic modules. By releasing an iOS app for MagSafe users while restricting Android compatibility to OPPO’s own Find X9 line, the company mirrors Apple’s ecosystem lock‑in strategy, potentially alienating the majority of Android owners who might otherwise adopt the accessory. At a combined cost of roughly £130 on top of the phone, the bundle competes directly with entry‑level gimbals that already provide stabilization and richer control for vloggers, suggesting OPPO is betting on convenience over performance.

If the Bubble’s magnetism and feature set remain unchanged, adoption will likely stay confined to dedicated content creators willing to pay a premium for a built‑in viewfinder. Future risk factors include consumer pushback on the extra expense, the need for a more robust Android app to broaden the install base, and possible improvements from rivals who may offer integrated rear displays without separate accessories. Watch for OPPO’s next software update—especially any expansion of third‑party compatibility—or a price adjustment that could make the bundle competitive against compact gimbals.