A Deep Look Into The OPPO Reno 8

Oppo recently launched another addition to its Reno series of smartphones, the Reno 8. One thing that stands out about the Oppo Reno devices is how well built they are, both in hardware and software.

The phone is stylish, well done, and feels good on the hand. The power button has an accented green finish. Both the power button and the volume rockers are very tactile and fun to click on. At the back next to the camera – whose bump is part of the single metallic finish – there’s an LED flashlight that stands out. The design is definitely better than the Reno 7 series, especially with its LED strip that was lighting up with notifications.

There’s also dual microphones at the top and the bottom of the device.

Performance is the one big thing that will help this phone sell. The dimensity 1300 SoC clocked at 3GHz used here is efficient, both in pushing performance of apps and in battery life. The 8GB of RAM supports RAM virtualization allowing you to use internal storage to expand RAM. There’s also 256GB of space which you can seldom fill up.

The phone also supports WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, dual 5G -standby, and dual 4G VoLTE.

In terms of software, there’s no significant bloatware to complain about except the fact that you cannot un-install the included apps that you don’t need. Also, Oppo’s ColorOS software remains one of the most customizable Android UIs.

With the ColorOS, you can change a lot from the battery icon, notifications bar, Always ON display, fingerprint animations and much more. Such power allows you to quickly and very easily make your phone uniquely yours.

Oppo has promised 2 years of System Updates and 4 years of Security Updates for their Reno Series of devices. So with the Reno 8 5G, you can expect both Android 13 and Android 14 updates when those become available.

The Reno 8 has a 80W charger which is an upgrade to the usual 65W charger that has been with the series since the Oppo Reno 5. It charges the phone fast allowing it to get to 50% in just 11 minutes. Oppo has made significant progress with battery degradation this time too.

The company promises 1600 charge cycles with peak battery performance. This translates to about 2 years of use. Normally, this has been 800 cycles, which is also what most phone companies promise for their batteries.

For many years, Oppo has been known for its cameras and the company has not disappointed with the Reno 8 as well. The front camera uses a Sony IMX70932MP sensor customised by OPPO. The company says the RGBW sensor allows for 60% increase in light intake and a 35% improvement in noise reduction when compared with traditional RGGB sensors.

The selfie cameras are as usual bright and serviceable. OPPO’s AI beautification modes are still here. You can also create virtual avatars using emoji.

The main rear camera is a Sony IMX766 50MP sensor. The company promises increased focus speed, accuracy, and stability. And I’ve tested exactly that with the pictures which you can see in the video.

Video stability is quite good. The balance in contrast when changing light sources is also quite intelligent.

Like every other Reno device before, this is a good phone. OPPO has had one strategy with their Reno devices. Offer great mid-range performance, have a sizeable AMOLED panel, offer good fast charging and battery life, and clean software. That’s it. And they’ve kept at it for years. Meaning it’s worked all through.