OPPO Reno8T 5G Review: It Looks & Behaves Like A Far More Expensive Phone
February 17, 2023Performance: Snapdragon 695, 8GB RAM
Main Display: 6.7-inch AMOLED Display (2412×1080)
Weight: 171g
Storage: 256 GB
Battery: 4,800 mAh
Features: 1080p / 720p
Rear Camera: 108 MP Main, 2MP Depth Camera, 40x Microlens
Front Camera: 32 MP
Colour: Midnight Black & Sunrise Gold
Rating: 8.5/10
Price: RM 1,799
OPPO makes phones for the working person. It’s a demographic that comprise members of the working class who don’t have deep enough pockets to splurge on an expensive high-tech smartphone. As such, it goes above and beyond what’s necessary to bring Wall Street to Main Street, which is an analogy that perfectly describes the Reno8T 5G.
It’s curved, 6.7-inch display, which encapsulates the entire front end of the phone, feels like it was transplanted from a flagship device. The way it stretches to each corner, then elegantly forms an arc as it approaches the side rails, is impressive. Apparently, it offers a 93% screen-to-body ratio and the lower bezel is just 2.32mm thick.
This is a 120Hz refresh rate, AMOLED panel that outputs impressively vivid colors thanks to a good blend of contrast and brightness that peaks at 950 nits. It’s an extremely responsive display that is eager to respond to the slightest of movements. In fact, it looks and performs just well as similar panels found on far more expensive phones.
OPPO claims that it is protected by the DT-Star2 protective glass, which is deep secondary tempered glass material that should be tough enough to withstand light bumps and scrapes. In order to prove its toughness, it had to undergo 23 tests that included a 1m drop tests as well as strike tests, deformation tests, wear resistance tests, and extreme environment tests.
What’s It Like?
At just 7.7mm thick, it’s one of the slenderest phones you’ll ever see, which not only makes it extremely convenient to carry but can slip into just about any pocket without creating an unsightly bulge Weighing 171g, the Reno8T 5G feels extremely light, this is despite it having some pretty decent hardware within.
Around the back, is the mesmerizing paint scheme called Midnight Black. Layered on a plastic rear shell, it gives off a sparkling effect as you move the phone about its axis. Said movement also causes the phone’s unique color shift from a hue of navy blue as it rises from the bottom to a sinister, black one as it passes the median and heads towards the top.
In my opinion it’s one of the best color schemes on a smartphone, and to think that OPPO was bonkers enough to slap it on a RM1,799 phone is nothing short of astonishing. Hold the phone to anyone from a few feet away and they’ll instantly be drawn to the way it looks. But even more eye-catching than this is the Sunrise Gold option, which clearly knocks it out of the ballpark.
OPPO is still in the habit of packaging a slim silicone case with each new phone, and the Reno8T 5G is no different. It’s accompanied by a similarly cool-looking case that offers a sandstone effect. Surprisingly, it’s just as appealing to look at as the phone’s bare shell.
The volume rocker and power button are placed on opposing sides of the phone to allow for better dexterity while handling the functions single handedly. Just about anyone can access the volume controls and wake/sleep feature easily. But the buttons themselves don’t feel particularly special because the tactility and feel are average at best.
Its dual stereo speakers offer decent clarity for both music and movies. The phone’s software is able to offer optimized noise-reduction and echo-suppression, which allows for better overall sound for a more immersive experience.
The Performance
At the heart of the phone sits a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G that’s coupled with 8GB RAM. Though a far cry from what one would consider a powerhouse, it’s able to get most tasks done without much fuss. Multitasking across multiple apps, jumping between social media apps or cycling through YouTube videos doesn’t seem to hurt performance much.
I did encounter slight lagging and frame drops during gaming sessions. It’s probably because the Adreno 619 GPU gets a little overwhelmed with graphically intensive workloads. Anything south of lengthy video recording sessions or intensive gameplay of AAA titles, should be fine.
One of the main reasons why the Snapdragon 695 5G is able to punch above its weight here, especially for medium to slightly heavy workloads, is because of the software optimizing that goes on behind the scenes. Through the help of the Dynamic Computing Engine, memory or resource allocations in general happen more efficiently, resulting in up 11% swifter responses.
If you ever find yourself wanting more than 8GB at your disposal, the phone is able to “borrow” up to 8GB of extra RAM from the available storage space. Though not a perfect substitute for dedicated onboard memory, the feature offers extra headroom for when you need it most. If OPPO’s claim is to be believed, theoretically, keeping 22 apps open shouldn’t overwhelm it.
There is other software wizardry that happens in the background that makes sure games run as smooth as possible. This is done by allocating power where it’s needed and minimizing distractions that might rob power and your attention. Then there’s the 48-month fluency protection, which is a usage test over a simulated 48-month, time period meant to mimic several years’ worth of phone use.
The end goal here is to ensure that the Reno8T 5G runs smoothly after 4 years of use. It’s a pretty lofty goal considering that most phones, especially the mid-range and budget offerings, tend to get bogged down after a year or two of use. This usually renders them close to unable, moving forward, which prompts many users to wipe out everything with a factory reset.
If OPPO is to be believed, this won’t be necessary if you own the Reno8T 5G. It should happily chug along, running apps or games and launching videos year after year, without causing you any heartache – that’s the theory anyway.
The Cameras
But the impressive levels of performance don’t stop there. The phone has very capable camera hardware. On the rear is a 108MP main sensor, 2MP depth and 2MP micro lens camera capable of 40x zoom. As a collective, they allow users to take some pretty impressive shots.
The main, 108MP camera (1/1.67-inch Samsung HM6 sensor) can capture sharp, vibrant shots in good lighting conditions. These pictures are in focus, retain a good level of depth between the foreground and background, yet still offer the punchy contrast that we love.
It happens to be one of the largest sensors fitted to a smartphone. Through the use of the NonaPixel Plus technology, it combines nine pixels into singular, larger one (1.92μm). This allows for more light to enter at any given time, which is what’s partly responsible for the impressive amount of detail mentioned earlier.
Zooming or cropping into these pictures will reveal how much detail is in each shot. Though it may not be as good as flagship devices, it far exceeds expectations for a mid-range one. You’ll also be able to choose between extra HD, which allows you to capture more details. But in my experience, it’s best to leave it on auto and let the AI deal with the footwork.
Camera AI has come a long way in the past several years. It helps overcome sensors’ shortcomings by offering stellar image processing to produce good looking pictures. OPPO says that its AI algorithm has been trained on over 200,000 samples of both sharp and blurry portrait shots. It uses this data to optimize portrait shots taken with the main sensor.
Each time you take a shot, the AI goes to work in the background to make minute adjustments where necessary to provide you with the best outcome possible. In broad day light or in good lighting conditions, the AI does a phenomenal job of capturing the beauty in the most mundane of scenes. However, when ambient light becomes a little scarce, cracks begin to appear.
See, as good as the 108MP AI camera maybe, it’s not a miracle worker. Since it isn’t a flagship sensor like that found in higher Reno phones or the Samsung S series ones, its shortcomings become apparent when it’s forced out of its comfort zone. Where the latter are able to compensate, the Reno8T 5G struggles to capture good shots in darker environments.
Most of the time, the pictures that you get are relatively noisy and a little overexposed. The AI does a good job at ironing out the rough parts, but it isn’t enough. The Reno8T is a very capable photography tool, but it’s only able to do its best when there’s a good amount of light hitting the sensor.
The more challenging the environment is the longer the camera takes to produce a picture. During the day, it fires through at a rapid rate. However, when heavy post-processing is required, the UI tends to get bogged down as the AI goes to work on damage control.
This is also true when trying to utilize the phone’s 40x microlens feature. You need a good amount of light around you to ensure that the results offer good levels of clarity and detail. But I’d like to reiterate once more, that you shouldn’t expect it to reveal actual “microscopic” detail.
It just allows you to see more of “everything” when zoomed in on surfaces like the grain of a wooden table, texture of a leaf and other similar objects. You can have a lot of fun with this feature provided that you know how to position yourself and be mindful to have as much exposure as possible to the ambient lighting around you.
The 32MP selfie camera is great for capturing proper portrait shots. In most cases it does a decent level of separating you from the background. In good lighting conditions, it can produce sharp pictures with a good amount of contrast and saturation.
However, I feel that it, like most OPPO phones, is a little too aggressive with smoothening a person’s skin. While it does offer a more appealing look, the overall results feel a little artificial at times. The AI does a good job of adjusting brightness, contrast and saturation. But I feel more room should have been made for some blemishes for a more realistic look.
The phone can also capture vibrant and crisp videos. But this too is only possible in good lighting conditions. Darker environments tend to ruin the overall quality. The absence of proper image stabilization means that you need to have steady hands to produce smooth, enjoyable videos. Sudden, micro shakes are clearly visible, especially ones that the software can’t compensate for.
Battery Life
OPPO has given the phone a 4,800mAh battery which is astonishing considering it’s so thin. This is enough juice to last for slightly more than a day with moderate use. Despite it having a decent sized battery, there’s also support for 67W SUPERVOOC, fast charging technology. A 5-minute charge can provide more than 5 hours of service life.
The phone only needs 44 minutes to remain connected to the charger to get back 100% of its charge. These are mind-blowing numbers considering that this is nothing more than a mid-range phone.
There’s also a battery health engine that offers safeguards to ensure optimal performance and longer service life. It’s supposed to help offer up to 1,600 charge/discharge cycles without any problems. This is twice as much as the industry standard and is roughly equal to 4 years of typical usage.
Should You Buy This Phone?
I can’t think of a reason not to pick one up. Yes, it isn’t perfect especially when it comes to playing demanding games or trying to capture pictures with less than stellar lighting conditions. That said, it looks and behaves like a flagship for most tasks and that is more than enough for most people.
We will be able to look past these shortcomings because of what we’re are getting for RM1,799 – a vibrant, curved display, buttery smooth UI performance, great battery life and sublime fast charging capabilities. It’s a flagship for the working class.
