The OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G (Review) which I reviewed several months ago was easily one of my favorite mid-range model that checks all the boxes when it comes to the requirements for an all-rounder phone. Fast forward four months, OPPO Singapore is now back with an even more affordable Reno8 5G which shares a lot of similarities as the Pro model, but cutback on certain areas such as performance and screen refresh rate to name a few.
Design & Display
Let’s start off with the good news. The Reno8 5G comes with a completely identical design as the Reno8 Pro 5G which in my honest opinion, is one of the best-looking smartphone in the market even though it’s larger-than-usual camera housing admittedly takes me some time to get use to.
On the outside, the Reno8 5G looks extremely sleek thanks to it’s super slim profile of 7.7mm which makes it even slimmer than the company’s Find X5 Pro (Review). Just like the Reno8 Pro 5G, the phone adopts a flat edge design which undeniably offers better grip than other models with curve edges especially when using the phone single-handedly.
Contrary to most other smartphones within it’s price range, the Reno8 5G is equipped with Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and back which explain it’s premium and robust construction that’s unmatchable by most other devices in the segment which tend to settle with a plastic build to keep cost down.
Durability-wise, the OPPO Reno8 5G is also IP54 rated for dust and splash resistance. That basically means you wouldn’t need to worry about the phone being exposed to light drizzle.
The model I had for review comes in a Shimmer Gold colorway that gives the phone an elegant and lavish outlook which really stands out from the crowd. Otherwise, the phone is also available in Sunkissed Beige and Shimmer Black which certainly have their own charm as well.
Moving on to the front side of the phone, the OPPO Reno8 5G flaunts a 6.4” AMOLED display featuring a sharp-looking FHD+ screen resolution which puts aplenty details on the screen when viewing photos or streaming your favorite video contents.
On top of that, the display itself is also packed with other advanced features such as a fast 90Hz refresh rate, wide DCI-P3 color gamut coverage as well as a deep color contrast that promises a more enjoyable viewing experience.
More importantly, the phone also has no issue getting sufficiently bright whenever I use it in outdoor environment courtesy of it’s impressive peak brightness that goes up to 800 nits if you set the screen to auto brightness. This is crucial for those who tends to stay outdoor most of the time.
Performance
Under the hood, the OPPO Reno8 5G is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 1080 chipset which offers slight performance gain over the Dimensity 900 chipset that was used on the Reno7 5G. In day-to-day usage, the Dimensity 1080 is no doubt a capable mid-range chip which never disappoints me whenever I was multi-tasking or gaming on the phone.
Also, I hardly encountered any heating issue even during long hours gaming session even though the phone wasn’t equipped with a dedicated cooling system like other gaming-centric smartphones such as the ASUS ROG Phone 6 (Review).
Memory-wise, the Reno8 5G is available in a single configuration featuring 12GB RAM and 256GB onboard storage which is certainly more than sufficient for majority of the users.
Cameras
Coming to what matters most, the OPPO Reno8 5G shares the same triple rear camera system as the Reno8 Pro 5G starting with a 50 megapixels Sony IMX766 main camera that will be joined by an 8 megapixels ultra-wide and 2 megapixels macro camera for close-up photography. Hence, we can expect pretty much the same impressive result as the Reno8 Pro 5G as far as photography is concerned.
In bright daylight, the main camera is able to click pleasant-looking photos with excellent dynamic range and aplenty details thanks to the adoption of a high quality imaging sensor which features a large 1/1.56″ sensor size behind a 7p lens. Likewise, it also scores highly in terms of white balance and color reproduction, allowing photos to look more realistic – just like what we see with our own eyes.
Low-light photos also turns out well when shot using it’s advanced night mode feature which uses computational photography to minimize image noise and enhance shadow details in darker regions of the photo. And for those who loves to take portrait photos, it’s good to know that the Reno8 5G also has a capable Night Portrait feature which relies on OPPO’s industry-leading Turbo RAW algorithm that supports AI noise reduction to keep every face well-lit and background details crisp.
As for landscape photography, the 8 megapixels ultra-wide camera is actually able to capture some pretty flattering photos despite a slightly tighter dynamic range and more noticeable image noise especially in poorly-lit scenes. However, the lack of OIS stabilization means the ultra-wide camera will not be feasible for taking close-up photography.
To make up for that, the Reno8 5G features a dedicated 2 megapixels macro camera specifically designed for close-up photography. But like any other 2 megapixels shooters on other mid-range models, the photos taken by the camera often yield poorer result than those digitally cropped photos via it’s main camera which benefits from the presence of an autofocusing system.
Battery & Charging
At the helm, the OPPO Reno8 5G is backed by a respectable 4,500mAh battery just like the Reno7 5G. Under normal usage, you can expect the battery to last more than a day on a single charge, and up to 1.5 days with the help of power saving features.
What really changes here is the improved wired charging speed from 65W to 80W which is now able to deliver in full charge in around 40 minutes. As usual, wireless charging will be absent on the Reno8 5G but that shouldn’t be a game changer for a phone of it’s price.
Verdict
The OPPO Reno8 5G might not share the same impressive specs as it’s Pro counterpart but it still packs a punch in many aspects from it’s vibrant-looking display to it’s groundbreaking camera hardware.
Hence, the Reno8 5G is fantastic option for those looking for a reliable smartphone with great content creation capabilities that doesn’t cost you a bomb. That’s not forgetting that the phone also serves remarkably well as an entertainment companion for mobile gaming and binge watching.
In Singapore, the OPPO Reno8 5G is offered in both Shimmer Gold and Shimmer Black colorways. Those who’re interested can purchase the phone at just S$799 via OPPO’s Amazon, Lazada, Qoo10, Shopee, TikTok flagship stores as well as partner consumer electronic stores.
