{"id":658136,"date":"2026-06-25T20:56:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T20:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/658136\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T20:56:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T20:56:14","slug":"oppos-bubble-selfie-screen-is-crying-out-for-qi2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/658136\/","title":{"rendered":"Oppo\u2019s Bubble selfie screen is crying out for Qi2"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Oppo Bubble is a smart second screen for your phone, one that can be attached and detached at will, connects wirelessly, and serves as either a selfie screen or a wireless camera remote. It\u2019s the best version of this idea I\u2019ve used yet, but also a frustrating reminder that it could be even better if only Oppo and other Android OEMs would get on board with Qi2<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Bubble<\/a> is a bit like a smaller \u2014 much, much smaller \u2014 version of Insta360\u2019s Snap<\/a> or the Dockcase Selfix phone case<\/a>. It\u2019s a tiny puck, just 7mm thick and 27.5g, with a 1.73-inch circular OLED touchscreen. It has its own 550mAh battery \u2014 though Oppo won\u2019t say how long to expect that to last \u2014 and because it connects to your phone wirelessly, there\u2019s no need to worry about a cable, though there\u2019s a USB-C port for charging when you need to.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s pointedly simple. You can access the phone\u2019s camera to take photos or record video, including cycling through a few basic zoom options across the rear lenses. The screen is circular, so it\u2019s not the ideal way to frame a rectangular photo, but it works well enough. And while it\u2019s a touchscreen, there\u2019s no support for tap-to-focus.<\/p>\n

Slap the Bubble on the back of your phone with the help of a magnetic mount and it becomes an easier way to take selfies with the rear lenses. But with 33 feet of range, it can also double as a camera remote. Oppo includes a silicon bumper case and a cute star-shaped lanyard attachment in the box, suggesting it thinks this might be just as popular a use case as attaching the Bubble directly to the phone. Leaning into the cutesy aesthetic, the usual wallpaper options are joined by a few digital \u201cpets\u201d to pick from, though these merely cycle through a few animations \u2014 there\u2019s nothing interactive about them.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

The Bubble doubles as a camera remote when it\u2019s not attached.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a range of cute characters, but they don\u2019t actually do much.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

They\u2019re clearly going for \u201ccute.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

From the back, it\u2019s pretty nondescript.<\/p>\n

There are three screen brightness presets, a shortcut to lock the display, and a single button that doubles as power and an optional camera shutter. Unlike the Insta360 Snap, there\u2019s no option for a ringlight. Since it taps directly into the Oppo camera app, rather than mirroring your display, you can\u2019t use it with other imaging apps like Instagram \u2014 but you also don\u2019t risk accidentally mirroring private material to a second screen without realizing.<\/p>\n

The obvious downside to the Bubble is that it\u2019s Oppo-only. It works with the company\u2019s Reno 16 phones, also launched outside China today, along with a few other Reno and Find X phones. But you can\u2019t use this with any other Android devices, which means it won\u2019t be an option for most people. The upside of the locked-down design is that the Bubble can pair to a compatible phone in seconds and can access the camera even while the phone is locked.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

Attached to a Reno 16 Pro with stick-on magnets, the connection is fairly weak.<\/p>\n

Then there are the magnets. Oppo still hasn\u2019t released a single smartphone with Qi2 charging magnets inside, meaning to attach the Bubble to the back of your phone you\u2019ll need to either buy a magnetic phone case or stick a magnetic ring (included with the Bubble) directly to the back of your phone. It\u2019s frankly daft that this magnetic accessory works exclusively for phones that don\u2019t have any magnets, but that\u2019s the mess Android manufacturers, Google aside<\/a>, have made for themselves by stubbornly refusing to adopt Qi2 so far.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t help that the included stick-on magnetic ring is simply too weak for the job. The Bubble slides about all too easily, and I\u2019d definitely be worried about dropping it. The stronger magnets on Oppo\u2019s official Reno 16 magnetic case work better, but you still can\u2019t use the button without a second finger to brace the Bubble from the other side \u2014 just pressing it is enough to push the whole device off its magnetic mount.<\/p>\n

The Bubble isn\u2019t perfect, and its \u20ac129 price (about $150) is markedly more than the $80 Insta360 Snap. But its portability and simplicity might make it worth the extra outlay for Oppo phone owners, and I expect to see other manufacturers copying this idea before too long. But can we have Qi2 with it next time please?<\/p>\n

Photography by Dominic Preston \/ The Verge<\/p>\n

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