GADGETS

Oppo Reno8 Pro: The Mid-Range Goes To Heaven

With the Reno8 Pro, Oppo offers a smartphone with “heavy” hardware specifications, featuring an original design and a medium-range (high) price. The Reno range, compared to the Find X flagships, winks at a trendier user, dares with colors, is aimed at those who produce digital content with a smartphone but, above all, deliver to its consumers a beautiful, solid, and intriguing product. There’s a 6.7-inch 10-bit AMOLED display, 120Hz refresh rate, the Dimension 8100-MAX chipset, 8GB Ram and 256GB UFS 3.1 storage, and an excellent camera package.

The phone is powered by Android 12. One thing is sure, unlike many Android smartphones, the Oppo Reno8 Pro looks particular, unique, and even a little brave but original and tasteful. The device is available in two colors: Glazed Green and Glazed Black. We tested Reno8 Pro extensively, using it throughout the summer (it was presented at the very beginning of August) and analyzing the various updates that have taken place in recent weeks and which have brought the smartphone to maturity.

Design

As always, this is the most subjective feature to judge in a test: we, let’s say it right away, loved it because it represents a note of differentiation for the almost total approval of Android smartphones. Not only that: the back is composed of a single plate of glass, which appears so shiny that it looks like ceramic. It gives the idea of solidity, offers perfect finishes (the aluminum frame is also lovely), and premium sensations. The only flaw, the surface retains fingerprints and can be a bit slippery in some situations. The device measures 161.2 x 74.2 x 7.3 mm and is pleasantly thin. It stops the scales at 183 grams, a weight perfectly in line for a phone of this size.

The Reno8 Pro Display

The display is undoubtedly one of the strong points of the Reno8 Pro. It offers a 6.7-inch diagonal resolution of 1,080×2,412 pixels which translates into a density of 394 PPI. Large, bright (Oppo declares a peak brightness of 950 nits), and 10-bit (therefore capable of displaying 1 billion colors). The screen can be set to vivid mode (warmer and more emphasized colors) or natural mode (with more subdued colors), while the screen temperature can be set as cold, default, or warm. Two refresh rate speeds: 60 or 120Hz.

Oppo has also integrated its own optimization engine into the Reno8 Pro: the 01 Ultra Vision Engine operates on two independent fronts, improving the color and sharpness of videos and images (basically, the phone upscales the images in low definition). The result is perceptible to an expert eye. Both systems are designed to work when playing videos within Oppo’s gallery and video player apps and third-party apps, such as YouTube or Instagram.

The Hardware Of The OPPO Reno8 Pro

Oppo Reno8 Pro is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 8100-MAX processor, an octa-core produced with 5-nanometer technology with 4 Cortex-A78@2.85 GHz and 4x Cortex-A55@2.0GHz, and integrates a Mali-G610 MC6 GPU graphics card. The CPU proved to be surprisingly good and, although certainly not the most powerful on the market, capable of making the smartphone work fluidly, with slight overheating (updates have gradually resolved some thermal increases in some situations such as using the navigator) and capable of not affecting consumption too much.

Reno8 Pro 5G is also equipped with the MariSilicon X NPU, responsible for managing the imaging department. It’s the first time this AI platform has landed on a mid-range model from OPPO. The smartphone offers 8 GB of Ram and 256 GB of storage space, and as with other Oppo models, it allows you to allocate additional Ram (taking it from the storage memory) to boost the phone if needed (up to 5 GB of ram).

UI Experience

The Reno8 Pro is powered by the Color OS 12.1 interface on Android 12. OPPO’s UI has now reached full maturity and is confirmed as rich in customizations: among these, there are icons, backgrounds, colors, font sizes, various types of fingerprint sensor animation, and the possibility of choosing the color with which lights up the edges of the phone when notifications arrive. Even the sidebar can be placed in different positions, an essential option because it could interfere with some of the typical Android gestures (such as the one to return to the previous screen).

And again, split screens, quick shortcuts, and, the absolute novelty, air gestures: this is the possibility of activating or stopping certain functions (such as playing a video or a call) by moving your hands in front of the display without touching it. They are original and friendly, but you’ll only use them to try them out, have fun, and then go back to the more classic controls. Color OS 12.1 is also full of proprietary apps, such as Photos, Phone Manager, Files, Music, and Games. The system always runs fast and smoothly without any hesitation.

The Reno8 Pro Camera

OPPO Reno 8 Pro has a camera with three lenses: the main one is 50 megapixel f/1.8, with a Sony IMX766 sensor combined with an 8 Megapixel ultra-wide-angle f/2.2 lens with Sony IMX355 sensor and a 2 Megapixel f/2.4 with macro function. A suitable compartment, in line with the positioning of the phone. More surprising. However, the selfie cam uses a 32 Megapixel sensor, f / 2.4 (Sony IMX709), with autofocus. The primary camera returns excellent shots in all light situations, even in night mode. Colors are vibrant, photos rich in detail, and plenty of sharpness. The primary lens gives its best in portraits, with perfect identification of the main subject and a pleasant and never artificial bokeh effect.

However, there is no classic depth sensor seen on many devices. It lacks a dedicated telephoto lens, but the smartphone can still take shots with a digital zoom of up to 20X. But our advice is to stay within the perimeter of the 2X, where the phone offers the best performance with the slightest noise. If the 5 primary camera is promoted with flying colors, the ultra-wide angle is less precise and a little noisier. Selfies deserve a separate discussion: the shots returned by the 32 Megapixel camera are bright, with a wide dynamic range and good sharpness. The most distinctive feature of this camera is its 21mm equivalent focal length, which allows you to fit more people into the frame.

The wide-point and super wide-point cameras are balanced, just like the selfie cam. Thanks also to the presence of the MariSilicon X NPU, Oppo Reno8 Pro can shoot videos up to 4K at 30 fps with its primary camera, even in low light. It’s a real shame not to have 4K at 60 fps available (a function that appears on display but cannot be activated, except in lower resolutions). Ultrawide, on the other hand, only goes up to 1080p resolution. As referenced, exploiting the NPU, incredible 4K night recordings are shot. In any case, enact the artificial consciousness switch to actuate the mode.

Sound Smartphones

Reno8 Pro is equipped with stereo speakers that ensure good hands-free listening quality, albeit with a slight imbalance towards the main speaker, the one located in the lower part of the show, contrasted with the upper one (the telephone utilizes the ear case as a subsequent speaker). Good reception, even when the network does not offer maximum coverage. Conversely, conversations on the phone are always transparent and echo-free. There is 5G connectivity, which is starting to appear in some city areas of our country in a slightly more convincing way, with support for both SA and NSA networks.

Battery

The 4,500 mAh battery generally permits you to show up at night on account of the low utilization of the cell phone. In addition, there is the 80W SUPER VOOC recharge which enables the battery to be recharged to 50% in about 10 minutes and 100% in 30 minutes. Furthermore, according to Oppo, thanks to the Battery Health Engine, this device is intended to retain up to 80% of its original capacity even after 1,600 complete charge cycles, double the industry standard (800 cycles).

Oppo Reno8 Pro wins three Awards from Mobile Magazine: the Design Awards, which rewards the original shapes, premium materials, the use of glass and aluminum, and the excellent manufacturing of the device. The assembly is perfect. The Display Award recognizes the sharpness and brightness of the screen and its many customizations. Finally, the Audio Award underlines the goodness of the section, which convinced us both during daily conversations and when listening on speakerphones.