OPPO have released some striking smartphones in the last couple of years. Find X3 Pro and Find X5 Pro introduced the morphing lens island. And most recently, OPPO Reno8 Pro took some of carefully honed company design language and created the most interesting-looking smartphone of the year. OPPO Reno8 5G brings that gorgeous, premium-level design to the midrange but it’s also competitive elsewhere.
Flagship Visual Design
OPPO Reno8 5G is almost certainly the most elegant and visually attractive device in its class. Like Reno8 Pro, it wears a carefully machined rear lens island, a striking marriage of straight lines with curves and an attention to how materials interface.
OPPO Reno8 5G is a glassy sandwich with tightly machined details to give it some identity. The chamfered edges soften the monolithic look and join with the centrepiece lens island.
Read More: OPPO Reno8 Pro long-term review – Capable, Compelling Style
Our Shimmer Black review model is the more muted of the pair. The gentle sparkle of the frosted rear adds the titular shimmer. The device almost wears a deep navy at certain angles adding more to the shy glamour of the device.
The island features a moulded micro arc that organically rises from the device rear, creating a graceful centrepiece. On Reno8 the lenses rise from the island, a slight difference to the Pro model. The large twin lenses dominate the island with the third lens and dual-LED flash ring lending some pleasing symmetry.
OPPO Reno8 5G’s balance of texture and macro detail allows the device to be understated and bold at the same time.
Feel of Premium
OPPO Reno8 5G feels slim for a 6.4″ displayed device, measuring at 7.67mm deep. It feels compact and reassuringly solid in its sandwich form surrounded by an aluminium frame. The device is not heavy by any means at 179g.
The rear panel is not glass despite the look and feel, it’s actually plastic but it takes a close inspection to discover this.
The unibody design and its surrounding frosted aluminium edge is easy to hold onto, with the textured rear adding a little to the quality of grip. As a welcome side-effect, the frosted rear also resists fingerprints admirably. OPPO Reno8 is also nicely balanced for one-handed use.
Display of Decision Making
The 6.4″ AMOLED display makes some compromises to keep the price in check, but OPPO kept the quality in the right places.
At 1,080 x 2,400 pixels, OPPO Reno8 5G’s display is sharp. The high brightness delivers not only a premium look but makes the device highly usable outdoors on sunny days. The AMOLED contrast and that flagship brightness allow the image to pop.
While the device lacks a 10-bit colour display, the default ‘Vivid’ mode really milks the palette, offering vibrancy. Like its upmarket sibling, Reno8 5G’s ‘Natural’ mode offers accurate colour though it has a slightly cool white.
OPPO Reno8 features a 90Hz refresh rate but doesn’t offer the clever LTPO tech that allows the screen to hit any frames per second figure to match any content. For scrolling and gaming, 90Hz looks amazing though premium devices have moved to 120Hz maximums.
Read More: OPPO Watch Free review – Light on Weight, Not on Function
OPPO Reno8 wears a slightly larger bezel than the Pro model, especially around the chin. While it does disturb the look of premium, it makes the device that little bit easier to use in one hand.
Hi-Tek
OPPO Reno8 5G packs a potent chipset that adds substance to the style. The MediaTek Dimensity 1300 is based on a 6nm process and can efficiently tackle everyday tasks. OPPO Reno8 feels responsive and swift in everyday use.
8GB of RAM is enough to seamlessly switch between large apps, hog tabs and multitask to your heart’s content. Should you need more, up to 5GB of RAM can added to the device from the 256GB ROM storage.
If you don’t mind a little warmth and don’t mind charging your phone, OPPO Reno8 can be an impressive mobile gaming machine for the price. PUBG runs at a fairly solid 60fps on ‘Ultra’ settings and can tip 90Hz on High meaning Reno8 has the power to get the most from the impressive display.
Read More: OPPO ColorOS 13 Launches with Rollout Plan for 60+ Devices
Those in frequent need of extra processing power aren’t likely to go with a mid-range device. But for those looking for the best performance for their money, OPPO Reno8 is a great bet.
Common Camera Class
OPPO Reno8 features the same lenses as OPPO Reno8. The triple-lens setup is led by a 50MP Sony IMX766. With that sensor OPPO Reno8 offers exceptional low-light imaging capabilities as shown in our moonlit night shot.
The freehand night shot kicks in automatically in Photo but can also be selected manually. It takes a second or two to scan for the scant photons and can produce some very artistic results.
A ‘tripod’ option is available in the Night mode menu allowing for longer exposures. You can always tinker with the ISO, shutter and exposure in Reno8’s Pro mode. Pro mode features a healthy array of advanced options, but these are available for the mains lens only
Day shots have excellent detail with good spatial consistency at this price. Colour is slightly vibrant by default but mostly accurate. Contrast is good, though higher-contrast shots test the dynamic range of the Reno8’s stills capture.
The secondary and tertiary lenses, while not poor at this price, aren’t to the same standard as the main lens. The ultra-wide lenses don’t have the detail, colour or balance of the main lens and it can very obvious.
The 2MP macro lens doesn’t have the same baseline quality as the main lens on top of being tricky to focus. The results, when you find that sweet spot in focus, are a bit underwhelming.
Read More: Eir Mobile Adds OPPO Reno8 Series to Bill and Prepay Line-Up
Selfie cam is fixed focus but the 32MP sensor delivers crisp and well-toned images. Portrait effects are generally excellent and the screenflash does a fantastic job of snapping usable selfies in low-light conditions.
Competent Video
OPPO Reno8 offers detailed and bright video across its formats. 4K video tops out at 30fps, like with Reno8 Pro. 1080p video can be captured at up to 120fps. The ultra-wide cam tops out at 1080p.
4K video from Reno8 5G is bright and clean with life-like colour. Even at 30fps, 4K capture is excellent at this price.
1080p mode offers a stabilisation mode called ‘Ultra Steady’ that offers a gyro-fed dynamic cropping that’s generally usable and often very good. This captures at 60fps.
4K Ultra night video mode is a superb feature to offer in a mid-range device. It’s a well-implemented party trick that delivers surprisingly clear and toned low-light video to a point. OPPO Reno8 lacks the MariSilicon NPU of the Pro model, and the low-light video is slightly noisier with a rawer look to it.
Reno8 Stamina and Charging
The 4,500mAh battery gives OPPO Reno8 5G enough stamina to last a moderate user the day with a few percent left over. It’s a solid figure that’s bolstered by a flagship charging solution right out of the box.
The 80W SuperVOOC wired charger is the same as seen on OPPO Find X5 and Find X5 Pro. With the supplied charger, users can charge from 0 to 50% in around 10 minutes, and from 0-100% in around 40 minutes.
Reno8 does not feature wireless charging but a 40-minute wired charge is much more convenient anyway. A user can really get used to being able to leave the phone off the charger overnight and just fill it while they get ready in the morning. Battery anxiety is much lessened with such charging performance.
Another premium innovative to find its way to the midrange is OPPO’s Battery Health Engine. The engine allows the device to retain 80% of its battery health after 1,600 charging cycles, doubling lifetime over a regular smartphone battery. At one charge per day, that’s four years with 80% of the original capacity remaining.
Read More: OPPO Find X5 long-term review – Solid Investment
Both SuperVOOC and the Battery Health Engine are flagship features that add yet more substance to the Reno8’s eye-catching exterior style.
More Than a Pretty Face
While it’s easy to admire OPPO Reno8 5G for its premium design and build quality, there is a lot more packed in for the price.
The chipset is powerful enough for flawless everyday operation and isn’t afraid of a heavier workload. OPPO Reno8 is also a mid-range gaming powerhouse. Reno8’s display could be mistaken for a higher-end panel at a glance with its detail, contrast and colour.
Stills and video capture are balanced all-rounders with some phone-selling features like superb night modes. Reno8’s solid battery life is paired with OPPO’s cutting-edge SuperVOOC 80W charging and offers a premium charger in the box.
Specifications – OPPO Reno8 5G (Global)
| Chipset: | MediaTek Dimensity 1300 (6 nm) CPU: Octa-core (1×3.0 GHz Cortex-A78, 3×2.6 GHz Cortex-A78, 4×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55) GPU: Mali-G77 MC9 |
| RAM: | 8GB |
| Storage: | 128GB, 256GB |
| Display: | 6.4 inches, 1080 x 2400 pixels, 20:9 aspect ratio, AMOLED, 90Hz |
| Camera: | – 50 MP, f/1.8, 23mm (wide), 1/1.56″, 1.0µm, multi-directional PDAF – 8 MP, f/2.2, 16mm, 112˚ (ultrawide), 1/4.0″, 1.12µm – 2 MP, f/2.4, (macro) |
| Video: | 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps, gyro-EIS |
| Selfie Cam: | 32MP, f/2.4, 23mm (wide), 1/2.74″, 0.8µm |
| OS: | Android 12, Colour OS 12.1 |
| Battery: | 4,500mAh Li-Po |
| Charging: | Wired – 80W SuperVOOC |
| Dimensions: | 160.6 x 73.4 x 7.7 mm |
| Weight: | 179 g |
| Colours: | Shimmer Gold, Shimmer Black |
OPPO Reno8 Price and Availability
Reno8 5G is available now at €529 pre-pay on Tesco Mobile or with Eir at €449.99 on pre-pay. With Eir, OPPO Reno8 5G is free on all billpay plans once you switch to the network.
Review model provided by PR
