If you don’t know the Oppo brand, you are missing out. The Chinese company has been making a name for itself in the mobile market, turning out excellent phones with a reasonable price tag.
The company has had a good run of it with its flagship phones. The Find X5 Pro had an excellent camera and is an all-round great package, building on a similar success for the Find X3 range.
Oppo has crammed a good camera, that tries to lean heavily to the night photography, superfast charging and a premium design into the Reno 8 Pro’s package. It comes with a great quality 6.7 inch display too, and 5G support built in to make sure you phone is futureproofed.
The Reno 8 Pro isn’t quite a challenger to the flagship devices, but if your budget can’t quite stretch to the Find X5 Pro, it certainly offers a more budget-friendly priced option.
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On the aesthetic side if things, the Reno 8 is another hit for the Chinese brand. The unibody design echoes the Find X5 range, with a glossy finish and a premium feel.
At times it can be a fingerprint magnet, although it certainly held up better for me compared with other phones that have gone for a similar high-gloss finish. That shiny finish has other drawbacks in that it can be awkward to keep hold of. On more than one occasion, it slid off the table.
Given that Oppo doesn’t provide a case in the box, the first few days with this phone were nerve-racking.
The Reno 8 Pro camera set up is decent, if not quite an X5 Pro killer. The main camera is the best of the bunch, with a 50 megapixel resolution that delivers some great images. The secondary cameras — the ultra wide and the macro camera — aren’t quite as impressive, although they are usable. There’s no telephoto lens either.
Video is good, though. The Reno 8 Pro has Oppo’s own silicon inside, with the MariSilicon X self-developed imaging NPU. That brings the Ultra 4K night video mode, which uses the chip to reduce noise in dark areas while keeping the details in brighter areas of the footage.
Those benefits aren’t just limited to the Oppo native apps of course; any camera app that you download for use should be able to take advantage of the technology.
The front facing camera is quite good, with a 32 megapixel lens. That will work well for video conferencing and the odd selfie here and there, and has a wide angle option so you can take group shots. It’s the same set-up as the Find X5, which is nice to have.
Having the super fast battery charging available is a good move for Oppo. The 4500mAh battery will last the day but if you are a heavy user, you might find it falters towards the end of it. Using the 80w charger will get you back to a decent level in a remarkably short time.
The good
If you are looking for a midrange phone that punches a little above its price tag, the Reno 8 Pro 5G will fit the bill.
The low light performance of Oppo’s own silicon will ensure that your videos come out looking decent, even in poorer lighting conditions. It’s not a miracle worker though, so you have to be sensible about where you are shooting. The front-facing camera, which mirrors the Find X5‘s, is a highlight too.
The fast charging is a welcome addition, with an 80w charger giving you 50 per cent of the battery back in under 20 minutes, and a full charge in well under an hour. It makes up for the lack of wireless charging in the Reno 8 Pro, which is a nice extra but not critical.
The not so good
While the main camera is good, the secondary camera doesn’t perform as well. Not only is the resolution lower, but there is a noticeable loss of detail in the images. The macro camera feels like it’s there to fill space — a nice extra, but something that won’t be used as much as a telephoto lens would have been, for example.
Unlike other phones in its range, Oppo doesn’t provide a case in the box. Many phones don’t but, in the case of the Reno 8 Pro, it’s a little more difficult to lay your hands on one down at your local phone shop. And while it may have Gorilla Glass, there is only so many times you drop it before it starts to show the impact of the damage.
The rest
The 6.7 inch display comes with a 120Hz display, but there is no adaptive option — it’s either 60Hz or 120Hz, and all the associated battery impact.
Overall, the phone has an IP54 rating, which is a little lower than other premium smartphones, but should be enough to keep your phone safe.
The verdict
A more than decent midrange phone for a good price, but there is fierce competition in this market.
