Slick design, but what else?
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(Pocket-lint) – Oppo is best known for its Find X flagship devices, but with budgets squeezing, its mid-range Reno devices find themselves gathering interest.
Already launched in China and India, the Reno 8 isn’t new (if you’re a smartphone fan). The big news now is that the Reno 8 family has been launched globally, so it’s coming to the UK and Europe and expanding the range of choices available for those who want a little more for their money.
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But Oppo’s line isn’t that this is a step down from the Find X: indeed, the Oppo 8 Pro has some elements that might be better than the flagship device.
The Oppo Reno 8 Pro has plenty to be excited about. This is an interesting mid-range device, with a solid design, what looks like a great display and a promising camera.
Oppo’s phones have been gaining popularity over recent years and with the overall design and build that you’re presented here, there’s nothing that makes this out as anything but top quality.
While we can’t judge the performance yet, we have high hopes for the Reno 8 Pro. We will be bringing you a full review in the near future.
- Looks great
- Promising camera specs
- Great display
- Camera bump is huge
- Edges a little sharp
Design and build
- 161.2 x 74.2 x 7.3mm, 183g
- IP54 protection
- Gorilla Glass 5 unibody design
Long gone are the days when buying a mid-range phone meant putting up with a plastic body and a poor design. The Oppo Reno 8 Pro is bold, with a quality construction, that matches what you’d expect from a flagship device.
Finished in Gorilla Glass 5 front and back, there’s a flat display, squared edges to the frame, which wraps into the camera bump with a neat chamfer: it looks like a fusion of the iPhone 13 and the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra.
The result is a positive look, but there’s no avoiding that this is a big phone, and gripping a big phone with squared edges can get a little uncomfortable over time.
There’s also no avoiding the huge camera bump on the rear of the phone. It’s so big, it’s almost impossible to hold this phone without that camera bump falling under your fingers, so you can always feel it, which some might find a little awkward.
But we like the fact it’s integrated with a single piece of glass for the back so it has a quality seamless construction. Oppo boasts that the Reno 8 Pro has the slimmest bezels of any Reno device, while the IP54 rating means there’s some water protection too.
There is some synergy with the OnePlus 10T and the OnePlus 10R models.
Display
- 6.7in, 2412 x 1080 pixels, 394ppi
- 120Hz, OLED
- HDR10+
There’s a 6.7-inch OLED display on the Reno 8 Pro, and as we said, this is a flat display with really slim bezels.
It has a full HD+ resolution and offers a 120Hz refresh rate. This isn’t adaptive, it’s either 120 or 60Hz, allowing you choose to suit your preferences.
First impressions of this display are great: it’s bright and vibrant, with plenty of options to customise the display to your preference. That will allow you to sharpen images or boost colours, thanks to a range of AI technologies.
It’s HDR compatible, so it’s going to look great with the latest streaming content, although we haven’t yet had the chance to fully test this handset.
We’ll be bringing you more on our findings once we’ve spent longer with this phone.
Hardware and performance
- MediaTek Dimensity 8100-Max, 8GB RAM
- 256GB storage
- 4500mAh, 80W SuperVOOC charging
Turning to the hardware and the uses of the Dimensity 8100-Max is rather rare for a European device. This hardware mirrors the India-focused OnePlus 10R, while most launching into Europe use Snapdragon hardware instead.
The 8100-Max, despite the big number, is a mid-range chipset based on a 5nm architecture, similar to something like the Snapdragon 870 in positioning. We’ve not had the chance to fully test this hardware, but first impressions are good – and Oppo says this is the most powerful Reno device yet.
There’s 8GB RAM with the option to virtually expand this, while storage comes in at 256GB, but there’s no microSD expansion.
There’s a 4500mAh battery with support for 80W SuperVOOC charging, with the charger in the box. We’ve not had the chance to test the overall performance of this hardware, but there’s a lot to investigate here and we’ll be diving deep in the coming weeks to bring you a full review of the performance and battery life of this phone.
Cameras
- Triple rear camera:
- Main: 50MP, Sony IMX776, 1/1.56in, f/1.8
- Ultrawide: 8MP, Sony IMX355, 1/4in, f/2.2
- Macro: 2MP, OV02B10, 1/5in, f/2.4
- Front: 32MP, Sony IMX709 RGBW, 1/2.74in, f/2.4 AF
We’ve mentioned the big camera bulge on the rear of the Oppo Reno 8 Pro, but diving into the make-up of those cameras is more interesting, as this where Oppo wants the Reno 8 Pro to stand on its own two feet.
The front camera, surprisingly, is where Oppo is putting a lot of the focus. This has been driven by the fact that a lot of mid-range phone buyers use the front camera a lot more, because they tend to be a younger, more social, buyer.
There’s a Sony IMX709 sensor in the punch hole of this phone, designed with Sony. It has an RGBW configuration, offers 32-megapixels of resolution and also features autofocus, which is rare outside of flagship phones.
The aim is to give a better front camera experience, allowing you to capture better content, be that video or photos.
The main rear camera is rather more conventional with a 50-megapixel sensor, but you’ll also find Oppo’s MariSilicon X hardware in this device – something that separates the camera experience on the Pro from that on the regular Reno 8.
The addition of that MariSilicon hardware means there’s more power, so there can be more processing to deliver better overall results in areas like low light photography, videography and portraiture.
The main camera is supported by an ultrawide and a macro lens. We’ve not had the opportunity to full examine all these cameras, but we’ll update to a full review as soon as we can.
Software
- Android 12 with ColorOS 12.1
- 2 Android OS updates, 3-years security update
The Oppo Reno 8 Pro launched on Android 12 with ColorOS 12.1. This is a heavily customised Android skin, providing a lot of customisation for Android.
That also means there’s plenty of duplication and pre-installed apps, like Facebook and TikTok, through to Oppo’s own music app, photo gallery and a wide range of tools.
Oppo has confirmed that the Reno 8 Pro will be in line to get two Android OS version updates, while there will be 3-years of security updates too. We’ll be bringing a deeper dive into the software experience with our full review of this device.
The Oppo Reno 8 Pro has plenty to be excited about. This is an interesting mid-range device, with a solid design, what looks like a great display and a promising camera.
Writing by Chris Hall.
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