Oppo Reno 8 Pro review: Feast for the eyes but has strong competition

Oppo has always been more focused on looks and camera when it comes to its Reno series. This time around, with Oppo Reno 8 Pro, the company has managed to polish it even more and coupled it with a hefty price tag. Oppo Reno 8 Pro has debuted in India at Rs 45,999. The company has nailed it when it comes to design and has done a good job by upping the game in the camera department as well. The question is, is that enough to stay relevant in the present, ever-changing industry trends? Is that enough to get the attention of buyers who are spoiled for choices?

Here’s our detailed review of Oppo Reno 8 Pro.

Design: Feels as premium as it looks

Although the rear camera island looks reminiscent of the OnePlus Nord 2T 5G, Oppo has made it feel more premium and stellar by giving a streamlined unibody glass design. The curved edges of the camera module spill over the back cover seamlessly making it look neat yet elegant. This means no protruding camera module! This handset is a good conversation starter, as many asked me the name of the handset after looking at the striking design and the ‘Glazed Green’ colour. 

The camera module design language is still the same as many in the market these days: two big owl eyes that seem like they are oogling at you, a small sensor and an LED flash. The flat edges of the phone makes it look more stylish and expensive. Do note that it is a big phone (6.7-inch display), for a person with tiny hands like mine cannot just stretch their thumbs all the way to the top to use the notification bar. 

It comes with an IP54 rating against splash, which means it can survive an accidental beer spill from your clumsy friends but not drop in the swimming pool. 

The smartphone is not very slippery and factors like 183 gm weight and 7.34 mm thickness make it even handier. The handset collects a few fingerprints, but they were not very visible on the green colour variant. The thin bezels and punch hole camera on the top of the display also make the smartphone look elegant and premium.  

Beautiful display

As mentioned earlier, Oppo Reno 8 Pro comes with a 120Hz refresh rate 6.7-inch AMOLED display. It shows punchy colours and deep blacks. It offers an ample amount of brightness as well so that you don’t have to squint it while using it in outdoor settings. The display comes with Amazon HDR and Netflix HD certification, and the loud dual speakers are also quite loud. Hence, a treat for all the binge-watchers out there. 

The fingerprint sensor of the handset is also quite fast and did not lag even once during my testing time. 

The display does not come with a dynamic refresh rate. You can just switch between 60 Hz or 120 Hz refresh rate which can be a turn-off to many as at 120Hz, it can drain a lot of power and at 60 Hz, it will not be as fast. 

Good camera but comes with its own quirks and flaws

Oppo Reno 8 Pro comes with a triple rear camera setup that houses a 50MP primary sensor, an 8 MP wide angle lens and a 2MP macro lens. In broad daylight, the camera captured brilliant images with sharp details and natural colours. In HDR mode, the images looked a little too processed, however, the colours stayed intact. Additionally, the image loses out on details when they are clicked by a wide-angle lens. 

Even in dim settings, the images shot were quite detailed, had reduced noise and were quite bright as well, all thanks to the company’s MarisiliconX imaging chip. 

For selfies also, the camera captures superb images with enough details and colours. Although, the portrait mode still has some room for improvement, as it did make the image look unnatural in some cases. 

Overall, the smartphone has good camera capabilities but still is a bit underwhelming. 

Here are the camera samples of Oppo Reno 8 Pro

Performance: Right on par

The smartphone is powered by MediaTek Dimensity 8100 Max chipset and offers 12 GB RAM and 256 GB internal storage, which is pretty standard for a smartphone for Rs 45,999 in India. The smartphone manages to handle day-to-day tasks effortlessly. I did not notice any lag while switching between the apps or playing games. However, I did notice that the smartphone felt warm when plugged in for charging. 

Oppo Reno 8 Pro runs on Android 12-based ColorOS 12.1 that comes with a lot of bloatware. It comes with tonnes of unnecessary pre-installed apps like HeyFun, Josh, Music Party, Moj, Soloop Cut and so on. Although, these apps can be deleted, but in a premium smartphone like this, it is not expected to be packed with such bloatware in the first place. 

Big Battery

Oppo Reno 8 Pro is fueled by a 4,500 mAh battery that supports 80W SuperVOOC charge technology. 

As promised, the smartphone did charge a dead battery to 50 percent in a matter of just 11 minutes! However, as mentioned earlier, the smartphone tends to warm up a little bit during this time.

A fully charged smartphone lasted for almost a day for me where my usage included listening to music on Spotify, Instagram scrolling, a couple of episodes of the Netflix series Dynasty and a few calls. 

Verdict

Oppo Reno 8 Pro is an eye-catching handset that has plenty of power and even supports fast charging, and good camera capabilities. However, these features at a price point of Rs 45,999 seem a bit heavy on the pocket when compared to the competitors. 

Poco F4 5G, and Samsung Galaxy A53 5G are also strong competitors here but have their own drawbacks as they come with a lower price tag. Google Pixel 6A, launched at Rs 42,999 is a good camera smartphone that you can opt for if you are looking for a camera-centric handset for under Rs 45,000. It comes with an IP67 rating and a powerful in-house Tensor chipset. However, it lacks fast charging support and a high refresh rate display, hence you will need to pick your priorities accordingly. 

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