Oppo Reno 8 Pro review

Price When Reviewed

Not available in the US

Oppo recently brought its Reno 8 line to the UK and Europe – a series of mid-range phones with a focus on night videography and fast charging. The line-up is led by the Reno 8 Pro, which has the same camera tech found in Oppo’s flagship Find X5 series.  

I’ve spent time with the Reno 8 Pro to see how this £599/€799 mid-range model holds up in day-to-day life.

Design & Build 

• Sleek and premium build
• IP54 rating
• No case included in the box

The Oppo Reno 8 Pro follows Oppo’s typical design language of looking premium, clean and distinctive. The phone comes with a glass back and curved edges, so it feels premium and has a glossy sheen that catches the light from all angles.  

However, the material does have a few issues. Not only is it prone to picking up grubby fingerprints, but it’s also slippery, and tends to slide off surfaces if it is not propped up properly.   

The Reno 8 Pro comes in two colour options: green and black. We tested the latter, but the pastel green finish is the standout option of the two.  

The camera module takes up a good portion of rear of the phone but it fits in well with the overall look. The phone is slim and light, at a width of 7.34mm and a weight of 183g. It has an IP54 rating, meaning that it is protected from the odd splash and some dust particles but you won’t be able to completely submerge it without some damage.  

You get a USB-C port on the bottom of the phone, and a dual-SIM slot. There is no headphone jack on the Reno 8 Pro, but Oppo does include an adapter in the box. The same can’t be said for a case – Oppo has ditched including one, allegedly to reduce waste. But the Reno 8 Pro isn’t exactly the most common phone on the market, so getting hold of a case might prove tricky.

Screen & Speakers 

• 6.7in FHD display
• 120Hz refresh rate
• Stereo speakers

The screen on the Reno 8 Pro is bright, big and bold. It comes with a 6.7in 120Hz FHD AMOLED display with Gorilla Glass 5. The bezels are also some of the slimmest seen on a Reno so far, delivering a 93.4% screen-to-body ratio.  

The phone doesn’t come with a variable refresh rate, so you can only choose between the higher 120Hz option and the more battery-saving 60Hz option. Overall, the screen looks silky smooth and is super responsive to the touch. It encounters little glare, and very rarely needs whacking up to full brightness in order to be readable.  

There is an under-display fingerprint sensor on the Reno 8 Pro, which is responsive to the touch. Haptics are adjustable, so you can toggle the intensity of the touch vibrations to suit your preferences. The default option feels snappy and not too overpowering – practically identical to what is found on the Find X5 Pro.

The Reno 8 Pro comes with dual stereo speakers. There’s no sound processing software, so whilst audio is loud and even from both ends of the device, it lacks the colour and depth that other pricier phones can offer.  

Specs & Performance 

• 8GB RAM with 256GB storage
• MediaTek Dimensity 8100-Max

The Reno 8 Pro comes with 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage, and this is the only configuration that you can get it in. This is paired with a MediaTek Dimensity 8100-Max, the same processor seen in the OnePlus 10R.  

This means quick and efficient performance, even when running numerous applications side-by-side. The phone is even capable of some light gaming – I was able to play Genshin Impact on medium settings with only a bit of lag, though the phone did heat up a fair bit. 

The phone achieved similar benchmarking scores to other premium mid-rangers, and even some flagships. Take a look at these below: 

Battery Life & Charging 

• Day and half battery life
• 80W fast-charging

Under the hood, the Reno 8 Pro has a 4,500mAh battery. Whilst this isn’t the biggest out there, the phone is more durable than what I expected it to be. It manages around a day and a half running on max refresh rate – that includes browsing social media, streaming and more. In our battery test, it managed a respectable 10 hours and 42 minutes.  

You can enable the battery saving mode, as well as the 60Hz refresh rate, to help conserve things even further.  

The Reno 8 Pro boasts Oppo’s fast-charging SuperVooc technology. In the box, you get an 80W brick and accompanying USB-C cable. This can charge the phone to 98% in 30 minutes. Pleasingly, the phone doesn’t get that hot – often a common issue in devices with charging speeds such as this.  

The phone doesn’t have any support for wireless charging. Whilst that is expected on some cheaper mid-range devices, there are other phones close to the cost of the Reno 8 Pro that do have this available.  

Cameras & Video 

• 50Mp main lens
• Marisilicon X NPU

The Oppo Reno 8 Pro has a triple camera set-up, made up of a 50Mp main lens, an 8Mp ultrawide lens and a 2Mp macro lens. This is all backed up by the Marisilicon X NPU, Oppo’s dedicated image processor that previously has only been seen on the flagship Find X5 series.  

The main 50Mp lens is paired with a Sony IMX766 sensor. It gives out bright and lively colours without the oversaturation that is typically found on some mid-range phones. Textures pop well and are still retained in low-light environments.

At night, colours still contrast well, though some details aren’t quite as sharp as during the day. The time it takes for an image to process is also on the longer side but it’s not a huge deal.

With no telephoto lens, the zoom on the Oppo Reno 8 Pro sadly isn’t anything to shout about. Details are still good up to X2 zoom, but as you increase this there is a noticeable drop in the quality, with colours becoming much more washed out.   

The secondary lenses don’t quite match up with the standard set by the hero snapper. The ultrawide lens seems to struggle with glare, and details appear less refined. It is possible to get a relatively okay close-up shot with the macro lens – but again, it’s nothing to go wild about.  

You can record in 4K up to 30fps, and 1080p up to 60fps. An ultra-steady mode at 1080p minimises handshake but the overall effect looks quite superficial.

The NPU comes into play mostly when shooting video at night. Colours are suitably lifted with the AI mode on – though you won’t quite replicate the level of detail that you’d get when recording during the daytime.  

The 32Mp self-shooter is rather impressive. Oppo has said that this is the same one seen on the Find X5, and you’ll see that the colours are nice and bold, and the bokeh effect on portrait mode hits the sweet spot with the amount of blur. It also has a wide-angle mode, making it ideal for group selfies.

Software & Updates 

• ColorOS 12.1
• Two years of OS updates
• Three years of security updates

The Reno 8 Pro ships with ColorOS 12.1, Oppo’s skin of Android 12. Whilst not stock Android, this OS is clean and easy to use – customising the icons and widgets to suit your preferences in a breeze. There are a few annoying pre-installed apps, but nowhere near the same level as what you will find on phone brands such as Xiaomi or Huawei.

For multitaskers, the Oppo Reno 8 comes with split screen mode, flexible windows, quick launch functions when unlocking the phone, and a sidebar to open apps faster.

The Reno 8 Pro will get Android 13 running on ColorOS 13, but this won’t be until the end of this year, or the beginning of 2023. This new OS comes with a redesign for folders, new features dedicated to digital wellbeing and more.

You get two years of guaranteed OS updates and three years of security updates with the Reno 8 Pro. This isn’t as generous as Samsung, which offers four years of the first and five years of the second. Oppo should consider the longevity of its devices if it wants to entice customers more, especially with the cost of living going up.

For more Oppo news, you can also read up on the new tablet, the Oppo Pad Air, and why the next Find N foldable may come to Europe.  

Price & Availability 

The Oppo Reno 8 costs £599/€799 and is available to buy in the UK from Oppo, Amazon, Carphone Warehouse and more. You can also get the phone on contract from the likes of O2, Vodafone, EE and more.  

Oppo doesn’t typically sell its phones in America, and the Reno 8 Pro is no different. However, you can still get it imported from AliExpress.  

The price of this phone isn’t the most competitive in the mid-range space. For the same price in the UK and a little less in Europe, you could opt for the Pixel 6, which offers wireless charging and a brilliant set of cameras. 

Our favourite midrange phone at the time of writing, the Pixel 6a, comes in £200 cheaper and has better waterproofing. However, the performance isn’t quite as good as the Reno, and the charging speeds are much slower. The OnePlus Nord 2T is also a great option that has a similar design and retains the fast-charging tech.  

You can find further options in our list of the best mid-range phones.  

Verdict

The Oppo Reno 8 Pro offers near flagship-level performance, a sleek design and speedy charging, making it a tempting choice. The main 50Mp camera performs extremely well, but it is a pity that the secondary cameras don’t match that standard.

In addition, the short security update promise mean that customers will be less likely to hold onto this device for years to come, and there is fierce competition from rivals when it comes to price. Regardless, Oppo has once again delivered a reliable mid-ranger.

Specs

Android 12 with ColorOS 12.1
6.7in 120Hz Full HD (2412×1080) AMOLED display
In-display fingerprint sensor
MediaTek Dimensity 8100-Max
8 RAM
256 storage
50Mp main camera, f/1.8
8Mp ultrawide camera, f/2.2
2Mp macro camera, f/2.4
32Mp hole-punch front camera, f/2.4
USB-C
Dual SIM
WiFi 6
Bluetooth 5.2
NFC
4500mAh battery
Wired charging up to 80W
183g
161.2 x 74.2 x 7.34mm