Smartphone giant OPPO is continuing with updates to its Reno series and the company has announced its latest addition to the portfolio. The OPPO Reno8 T 5G, launched recently, is priced at Rs 29,999 for its single 8GB RAM and 128GB storage variant. Now the phone does pack in some special hardware tricks such as a microscope lens, a 10-bit curved OLED screen, and more. Let’s find out in this review if the Reno8 T can make it in the highly competitive sub-Rs 30,000 segment.
Verdict
While being a perfectly crafted handset with a premium build quality, the Reno8 T lacks slightly in camera versatility and performance metrics. However, the device is a perfectly reasonable device for most users not engaging in high-end gaming and looking for an option priced under Rs 30,000.
The lowdown
As far as the design and build quality go, OPPO gets full marks for its implementation on the Reno8 T. The phone looks quite premium and also seems well-built. I like the Sunrise Gold colour scheme which has a pearlescent matte finish on the back that feels lustrous to the touch and glitters in the light. The polished rails go quite well with it, as do the trim volume rocker and power buttons on either side.
In the display department, the Reno8 T boasts a curved 10-bit OLED panel that can refresh at 120Hz and offers FHD+ resolution. The phone outputs visually appealing images and video content from its screen, though it doesn’t boast support for HDR. Even so, for regular content that is on YouTube, Instagram, and such, the results are going to be largely positive. The phone does have WideVine L1 certification to display HD content on OTT services. The customisation options are limited to changing the colour profile and temperature in the display settings. The phone can achieve up to 950nits of peak brightness levels which is more than enough for outdoor consumption.
Coming now to the optical setup being implemented on the phone, the main sensor can output 108MP shots and is supported by a 2MP depth shooter and 40X Microlens. Personally, I feel that an ultra-wide lens or even a regular telephoto sensor would make the Reno8 T a more diverse image-taking machine. As it stands, the regular point-and-shoot camera experience from the device is good. The photos captured are quite rich in detail and have decent exposure control without overblowing the highlights. There’s also a lot of dynamic range that gets ample information out of the darker areas in the frame. While being a tad bit oversaturated, most images in daylight conditions from the primary sensor are easy on the eye. Of course, the default shooting mode takes pixel-binned 12MP shots but you can always churn out full-resolution 108MP images.
At night, the phone does a reasonable job with the shadows and gathering details without pumping up noise levels. However, I felt that the focusing speeds could be improved as could the amount of light entering via the manual exposure slider. Quite a few times I captured a photo only to see it out of focus unless I let the sensor take its time. Lens flare is also an issue that keeps cropping up when a street lamp or the like is in the frame. While most of these niggles are resolved by the dedicated Night mode, I think that the phone can do a better job in low lighting.
The depth sensor is pretty standard for the use case it offers such as bokeh photography. There are other AI-based enhancements to play around with, such as AI Color Portrait which keeps the subject in colour while the background turns black and white. However, the Microlens is a fun addition but seems to have little utility in day-to-day use. Granted when captured in proper focus, the lens reveals highly detailed microscopic images but the process of getting the perfect shot is a bit cumbersome. The front-facing camera snaps 32MP shots for selfies that pack in substantial facial features and can represent skin tone accurately.
The OPPO Reno8 T makes use of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G SoC which, to be quite fair, is not the fastest silicone in its segment. There are other devices below the Rs 30k mark that offer considerably better performance. However, not every user craves hard-core gaming or wants to run strenuous tasks on their device. For regular customers who wish to use their phone for regular tasks like switching between social media and productivity apps, the Reno8 T will not let you down. It logged decent benchmark numbers which give the device good credibility for everyday use. I also didn’t see the phone falter under sustained loads so you can be assured of running moderately demanding apps without facing any lag or overheating. The phone does have 128GB of UFS 2.1 storage and 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM, which I personally find enough given the regular apps that I use.
For audio, the phone offers a stereo speaker setup that gets supremely loud, and even comes with a boost feature that can bump up volume up to 200 percent. A fingerprint sensor of the in-display variety can be seen on the device and it works in a snappy fashion although I have seen it falter at times. The 5G capabilities on the device comprise most NSA and SA bands that are currently operational. My usage on Jio’s 5G network in the Noida circle went without a glitch.
ColorOS 13.0 based on Android 13 is running on the device. The gist is that OPPO’s UI has become quite user-friendly over the years but the familiar woes of bloatware still remain. Even so, there are a few features that I definitely like and can be quite useful. Things like a Smart always-on-display which relays information regarding the music being played or even how far your food delivery guy is. If you use other OPPO products, the Reno8 T can seamlessly connect with them for lighting-fast file transfers. There’s also an auto-pixelate feature that blurs out contact details when taking a screenshot of a chat.
On the battery front, there is a 4,800mAh cell inside the rather slim chassis and it can be juiced up at 67W. In terms of regular usage, I got about six hours of screen-on time with the phone and looked for the charger by the end of the day. I think on more moderate use, the device can last for more than a day without a hitch. However, if you do wish to charge the phone you get the SuperVOOC 67W in the box which fills up the phone in about an hour. Thanks to its proprietary Battery Health Engine, OPPO claims to have increased the charge cycles on the battery to 1,600, which is double that of the industry standard. This basically means the 8T should last much longer than other phones without significant battery degradation.
Final verdict
Looking at the OPPO Reno8 T, it becomes clear that the device is meant for those who like premium build quality but aren’t willing to pay the premium price tag. The phone has just the right features that give it a mass market appeal but might not appeal to smartphone enthusiasts or power users. There’s no doubt in my mind that the Reno8 T is a capable, nicely-designed piece of hardware, and for everyday usage and casual photography, the device can be considered a worthwhile option.
Editor’s rating: 3.5 / 5
Pros
- Premium build
- Good primary camera
- Decent battery life
Cons
- Performance could be better for the price
- Doesn’t support HDR
- Lacks camera versatility
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