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OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G review: Pro features at a friendly price tag

In case you’re not aware, the OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G, the top model in the OPPO Reno8 series, is now available in the Philippines, alongside the Reno8 5G and Reno8 Z 5G.

The Pro variant features premium specs, including a 120Hz Flexible OLED display, a MediaTek Dimensity 8100-Max chipset, 5G connectivity, and a 50MP camera. It also boasts OPPO’s MariSilicon X NPU which improves the quality of photos and videos, as well as boosts the overall performance of many AI-related tasks.

On paper, the OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G is as solid as any smartphone within the same range (or possibly better). But is it the right smartphone for you? Let’s find out.

OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G specs

Display6.7-inch FHD Flexible OLED Display, 2412×1080, 120Hz Refresh Rate, 100% DCI P3, 100% sRGB, HDR10+, Gorilla Glass 5
ProcessorMediaTek Dimensity 8100-Max, 5nm
MariSilicon X NPU
RAM/Storage12GB+256GB
Rear Camera50MP Main (Sony IMX766)
8MP Ultra-wide (Sony IMX355)
2MP Macro
Front Camera32MP (Sony IMX709)
Network5G, 4G LTE, Dual SIM
ConnectivityWi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, GPS, NFC
OthersIn-display Fingerprint Sensor, Face Recognition, Stereo Speakers, USB-C
OSColorOS 13, Android 13
Battery4500mAh Battery, 80W Wired Fast Charging

Design & Display

The OPPO Reno8 Pro is as pleasing in the hand as it is in the eyes. The phone is a beautiful piece of tech, thanks to a slick unibody design, metal frame, and glass front and back.

Build quality is excellent with a good hand feel. It weighs about 183g, which is solid but light enough that it’s not tiring to use. The edges are flat, making it very comfortable to hold despite the large dimensions.

OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G Review PH

On the front, there’s a spacious 6.7-inch FHD Flexible OLED flat display with a very smooth 120Hz refresh rate and up to 360Hz touch sampling rate in gaming mode. It’s an excellent screen with punchy colors, deep blacks, and a brightness of up to 950 nits, which is plenty for outdoor visibility. The front panel is protected by Gorilla Glass 5.

The display has a wide color gamut with 100% DCI P3 and 100% sRGB. It is also HDR10+ certified, which works on Netflix and YouTube. You’ll really notice the quality, especially while looking at photos or streaming videos.

OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G Review PH

The OPPO Reno8 Pro has dual speakers with the main speaker at the bottom and another one at the top. Combined with the excellent OLED panel, you have one heck of a viewing experience.

The power button is on the right side while the volume rocker is on the left. The SIM tray with dual slots can be accessed from the bottom.

The camera island is huge, taking up a large area at the back. It could be an eye-sore or an eye candy, depending on your taste. Personally, I don’t mind but because of its size and elevation, you will almost always feel the camera bump in your hand whether you’re holding it in portrait or landscape orientation. Oh, and there’s a plastic sheet that protects the island’s surface from scratches.

OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G Review PH

Cameras

The OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G features a 50MP primary camera backed by a Sony IMX766 sensor, with 8MP ultra-wide and 2MP macro secondary cameras. Selfie and video call duties are handled by a 32MP front camera with a Sony IMX709 sensor.

The phone also benefits from OPPO’s MariSilicon X NPU chip which essentially adds more computational power that aids in creating better results in portraits, low-light photos, and also videos.

OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G Review PH

In my testing, the primary camera takes excellent photos with good sharpness, details, and accurate colors, much better than many other phones in the same range. Exposure is well-controlled with good dynamic range. Portrait mode is good as well, with consistent separation and cutout.

The ultra-wide and macro cameras, on the other hand, are okay. It’s not great, but it’s not bad either. It’s usable should you need it.

Check out the camera samples below.

Zoom and Ultra-wide

Low Light

Selfies

Selfies are another area where the Reno8 Pro excels. The images came out crisp with good colors and details. Even indoor shots look good without much loss in quality.

Performance

The OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 8100-Max, an upper mid-range chip built using a 5nm architecture with eight cores and a clock speed of up to 2.85GHz. The chipset is paired with a six-core Mali-G610 MC6 GPU and the MariSilicon X NPU. It also comes with 5G, Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, Bluetooth 5.3, and NFC.

The smartphone has 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. There’s no micro SD card expansion slot here, so you make do with the storage capacity it came with. The device supports RAM expansion, a feature that converts unused storage to virtual RAM to boost performance and improve multitasking. This option is set to 8GB by default. You can change this in Settings> About Device. Tap on RAM and choose between 4GB, 8GB, and 12GB for a total of up to 24GB of RAM.

OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G Review PH

On the software side, the Reno8 Pro runs on the Android 13-based ColorOS 13. The UI has an intuitive layout and comes with colorful icons. Unfortunately, it does include a lot of bloatware. Apart from OPPO’s own apps that duplicate existing Google apps, you also get some pre-installed third-party apps, and the usual Hot Games and Hot Apps folders. At this point, I don’t get as annoyed as much as I used to because most Chinese phones do this. Again, just uninstall or disable the apps you don’t need as per usual.

Also Read Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 review: Should you get a foldable phone?

You get a basic home launcher with several customization options, including changing the color scheme, icons, layout, and transition animations. There’s no swipe down (or up) to search functionality, which I rely on heavily. You can, however, install another home launcher from the Google Play Store if you prefer.

As a daily driver, the OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G performs admirably. I found the phone to be quite snappy, smooth to use, and very responsive. And when it came to gaming, it can handle a lot as well without experiencing heat-related issues.

OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G Review PH

The fingerprint scanner and face unlock are fast and reliable. Although because of the phone’s size and with the fingerprint icon so close to the bottom of the screen, it takes a bit of a reach to unlock it.

Still, I found the Reno8 Pro 5G to be very comfortable to hold despite its size. I found that I can operate it with one hand, but I’d still need two for easier handling. Plus the phone is light enough that you won’t tire holding it over your head while watching a movie in bed.

Speaking of watching movies, I found the large display to offer a great viewing experience, especially with the stereo speakers, which are loud and sound good. It also has Widevine L1 certification, which ensures you get FHD and up quality and HDR on streaming platforms like Netflix.

As for the chipset, the Dimensity 8100-Max sits somewhere in between Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 870 and 888, offering close to or comparable performance with better power efficiency. Here are the benchmark scores.

  • AnTuTu v9.5.2: 702,077
    CPU: 170,573
    GPU: 259,660
    MEM: 143,060
    UX: 128,784
  • Geekbench 5: 836 (Single-core); 3,358(Multi-core)
  • 3DMark Wildlife: 5,618

The Reno8 Pro 5G comes with a 4500mAh battery, which is common on higher-end smartphones. OPPO could’ve crammed a 5000mAh or bigger capacity here, given the phone’s size, but that would compromise the handset’s thickness and weight.

In terms of battery life, the OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G can comfortably last a day with heavy usage that includes browsing, some calls, YouTube and Netflix use, and messaging. You can, of course, stretch that further if you tone down your usage.

An 80W charger is bundled in the box. A 30-minute charge yielded 87 percent. A full charge took around 40 minutes.

Verdict

I really enjoyed my time with the OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G, which makes me think that it deserves consideration as one of the best mid-range smartphones in the Philippines right now.

With a price of PHP 29,999, you’re getting a lot of value from the OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G. It comes with an excellent 120Hz OLED display, outstanding performance from the Dimensity 8100-Max chipset, excellent cameras, and rapid fast charging. What’s more, it comes with Android 13 out of the box and the addition of up to 12GB of virtual RAM.

See also OPPO A57 4G review: Good stereo sound, decent performance on a budget

It’s not a “flagship killer” by any means, but it’s a great option should you want flagship features and performance without the flagship price tag.

Price and Availability

The OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G is available in Globe’s GPlan 1499 with a cashout of PHP 18,000 and a 24-month contract. It comes with OPPO Enco Air 2 earbuds and an OMNI adaptor. The plan comes with 10GB of data, unlimited calls and texts to all networks, 3GB of GoWifi access per month, and an individual subscription to KonsultaMD.

You can also get the OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G on OPPO’s official stores on Shopee and Lazada, priced at PHP 29,999.

Bryan is a geek at heart and a tech enthusiast by choice. He has a strong background in corporate communications, marketing services, and customer relations having worked in the telecommunications and banking sectors for over two decades. In his spare time, he enjoys watching clips on YouTube and binge watching shows on Netflix.

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