Oppo Reno8 Pro hands-on review: Flagship features, mid-range price
With stellar camera technology, lightning-quick charging and a gorgeous display, can the Reno8 Pro bring flagship quality to the mid-range?
Oppo has today unveiled its latest trio of smartphones, the Reno8 Series. These newest iterations of the brand’s mid-range offerings slot into the market as more affordable alternatives to the flagship Oppo Find X5 that launched alongside its Pro and Lite variants earlier this year.
In the same vein as the Find X5 trio, the Reno8 Series consists of three devices: the Reno8 Lite (£319), the Reno8 (£419) and the Reno8 Pro (£599). The most premium member of the bunch, the Oppo Reno8 Pro, veers dangerously close to flagship territory, with its £599 price making it more expensive than the brand’s Find X5 Lite and only a smidgen cheaper than the now-discounted Find X5.
With that in mind, the question here is whether the Reno8 Pro justifies the expense, or whether it beaches itself in the no man’s land between the mid-range and flagship markets.
Oppo Reno8 Pro hands-on review: Key specifications, UK price and release date
- 6.7in, 120Hz FHD+ LTPS OLED 10bit display
- Mediatek Dimensity 8100-MAX processor
- 8GB of RAM
- 256GB of storage
- Triple rear camera: 50MP (f/1.8), 8MP (f/2.2) ultra-wide, 2MP (f/2.4) macro
- Selfie camera: 32MP, RGBW, AF
- 4,500mAh battery, 80W fast-charging
- IP54-rated waterproofing
- 161.2 x 74.2 x 7.3mm
- 186g
- Glazed Green, Glazed Black
- UK release date: Available from 31 August
- UK price: £599
Oppo Reno8 Pro hands-on review: Design, key features and first impressions
The Reno8 Pro’s premium-feeling build makes for a striking first impression. Available in Glazed Green and Glazed Black, the Reno8 Pro pairs an aluminium frame with panels of Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and rear. The 6.7in display is bordered by minuscule bezels – said to be the slimmest ever seen on a Reno device – with an optical fingerprint reader beneath the screen and a central hole-punch notch housing the 32MP selfie camera. As well as autofocusing, this camera is said to automatically widen the FOV if it detects a second face, making group selfies a bit easier.
Flip the Reno8 Pro on its face and you’ll see the discreet camera module tucked in the top left, comprising a 50MP (f/1.8) main lens, an 8MP (f/2.2) ultra-wide shutter and a 2MP (f/2.4) macro shooter. While the latter two are disappointingly pedestrian, the main camera is impressive enough to carry the team. Powered by the same MariSilicon X chip used in the Reno6, the camera can record 4K HDR video and, again like the Reno6, comes with the Bokeh Flare portrait video filter, which promises cinematic-looking depth of field effects.
The unibody design blends the camera module seamlessly into the back panel, stereo speakers can be found on the top and bottom edges, and the whole build is IP54-rated for dust and water resistance. Though it is the biggest of the Reno8 series, the Pro still manages to maintain a fairly slim profile, measuring 161.2 x 74.2 x 7.3mm and weighing in at 183g.
The display is an LTPS OLED affair, with a FHD+ resolution and a refresh rate of 120Hz. It’s a 10bit display capable of producing one billion colours, and first impressions are that it delivers bright, vivid colour reproduction and the perfect black level and contrast we expect from OLED screens. The display supports HDR10+ and is certified for Netflix and Amazon Prime HDR, too, so should be a great choice for streaming on the go.
Powering all of this is the latest Mediatek Dimensity 8100-MAX chipset, backed by 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage – there’s no microSD slot in the Reno8 Pro, so that’s the extent of your storage options. Initial performance is suitably nippy, easily switching between apps and scrolling endless social media pages. Our official benchmarks will give a better idea of how the Dimensity 8100-MAX stands up to the latest Snapdragon offerings.
While the 4,500 mAh battery isn’t the biggest in the world, it has a secret weapon up its battery sleeve – the 80W SUPERVOOC fast charger. This blisteringly fast charger is said to be the speediest Oppo has made yet, and promises to take the battery to 50% in just 11 minutes and replenish it in around half an hour.
On the software front, the Reno8 Pro runs on the latest ColorOS 12.1.1, based on Android 12. While not as clean as stock Android, the layout is user-friendly and attractive enough, with minimal bloatware clogging up your home page. It’s also been confirmed that both Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 will be supported, as well as the return of NFC.
Oppo Reno8 Pro hands-on review: Early verdict
The biggest concern with the Oppo Reno8 Pro is whether or not it has priced itself out of the mid-range market. I won’t know the answer for sure until I’ve run it through the Expert Reviews testing gauntlet, but my first impression is that it might just be able to forge a niche for itself without cannibalising the Find X5.
Performance should be able to go toe-to-toe with pricier competitors, the battery life is decent and made all the more so by the lightning-quick 80W fast charging, and the main and selfie cameras are fantastic – even if the supplementary ultrawide and macro lenses are the sort of filler you’d expect on a phone half this price. It’s too early to call it officially, but the Oppo Reno8 Pro is definitely one to keep your eye on.
