I have been using the OPPO Reno 8 for the last couple of weeks as my main phone. This is the latest mid range smartphone from OPPO that you can get in Kenya for Ksh 59,999. This is the price of the 5G variant that I am reviewing today.If you are interested in the OPPO Reno 8 4G, you can get it for Ksh 43,000.
At 60k the Reno 8 5G is not cheap and when reviewing it, I wanted to know if it offers value for money. I was particularly interested in the following:
- MediaTek Dimensity 1300 processor – How does it perform
- 50MP Main Camera – How good are they compared to the Reno 7?
- AMOLED Display – is it the best at its price?
- 80W fast charging – how fast is it really?
Read: OPPO Reno 8 5G Unboxing and First Impressions
OPPO Reno 8 5G Performance – MediaTek Dimensity 1300 Processor
The OPPO Reno 8 5G is powered by the new MediaTek Dimensity 1300 processor. This processor has proven to be quite powerful and reliable. It is also efficient and helps reduce battery consumption. At no point during my review period did I experience any performance issues.
The processor is paired with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. This RAM is enough for all your multitasking needs and if you need extra, you can use up to 3GB of virtual RAM to extend the total RAM available to 11GB. Switching between different apps is not an issue and with up to 11GB of RAM, apps will not keep restarting every time you switch back to them.
According to MediaTek, this processor is built for superior performance and that is exactly what I experienced. Besides improved performance when running day to day tasks, this phone also handles really well when playing games. It has gaming related optimizations that ensure it can handle any game without lagging.
The Reno 8 5G is the first smartphone in Kenya to launch with the Dimensity 1300 processor. One of the Reno 8 5G’s rivals, the VIVO V25, comes with the Dimensity 900 processor which isn’t as powerful and efficient as the Dimensity 1300.
Still on performance, the Reno 8 5G comes with Android 12 with ColorOS 12.1. ColorOS has really matured these days, it has a ton of customizations but does not feel overwhelming. If you are coming from another smartphone brand, you will still find ColorOS easy to use and intuitive.
Display – AMOLED, 90hz refresh rate
The OPPO Reno 8 5G has a 6.43 inch Full HD AMOLED display with 90Hz refresh rate. This display is easy to operate with one hand but you may have to stretch a bit to reach all edges of the display.
It is an AMOLED display which is always a plus on any smartphone. The colors are sharper, rich and vibrant. This display is perfect for media consumption, the experience is much more fulfilling. The display is also a bit brighter than what we had on the OPPO Reno 7 series.
The 90Hz refresh rate ensures a smoother experience as it refreshes 90 times every second. This is much better than a display with 60Hz refresh rate but I would have hoped for 120Hz refresh rate. Don’t get me wrong, 90Hz is still good but for almost 60k, 120Hz should be standard.
Overall, the display is quite good, very responsive and the fingerprint scanner embedded underneath is one of the fastest optical scanners I have ever used.
80W SuperVOOC Fast charging
With a 4500 mAh battery, the OPPO Reno 8 5G holds enough power to keep your phone on for an entire day. Such a battery will typically take you over an hour to fully charge from 0%. With 80W Super VOOC fast charging, this phone can be charged fully from 0% in about 28 minutes. This means you do not have to leave it charging overnight as you can just wake up in the morning, start charging and it will be full by the time you leave the house.
If you prefer letting your phone charge overnight, the Reno 8 5G can trickle charge all night and then bump up the charging speeds right about when you normally wake up. Your phone already has a good prediction of when you wake up and can optimize the charging to ensure it doesn’t charge at the fastest speeds overnight.
OPPO Reno 8 5G Cameras – 50 MP Triple rear camera
The Reno 8 5G has a triple camera setup at the back. This is made up of a 50MP main sensor, 8MP wide lens and a 2MP macro lens. The quality of photos you get is really good with balanced saturation even with different light settings. The photos are detailed and much better than what we had on the Reno 7. The improvements are evident and you just can’t go wrong with this camera.
For video recording, the videos you get are also good. The phone can record very good 4K videos even in low light settings especially after the recent update it got that improved this.
Check out some sample photos below.
Note: The back camera can record 4K videos at 30 fps.
For selfies, you also get some good photos. The 32MP is quite good for most settings even when the lighting is not so good.
5G Support
This is one of the phones that launched just before Safaricom 5G was introduced. I have enabled 5G and it does connect and work as expected. The speeds are good and stable. If you want a 5G phone, this should be on top of your list.
Design and Build Quality
To finish off, let us talk about the design and build quality of the Reno 8 5G. This phone feels well built and the design is modern. It does have a premium feel to it. It is a thin phone that is light so carrying it around will not be an issue.
The power button that also doubles as the Google Assistant button is on the right. The volume keys are on the left. The USB-C port, speaker grille and microphone are on the bottom. This phone has no stereo speakers which is a bit of a disappointment. The sound quality is good but could have been much better with stereo speakers.
The camera bump at the back is unique and that is always a good thing.
Conclusion
Having used the Reno 8 5G for a few weeks, this is one phone I can recommend to anyone. I have had a good time using it. Performance is really good no matter what I was doing, The MediaTek Dimensity 1300 is just reliable. The display is also really good and so are the cameras. 80W fast charging is always a nice addition especially for me coming from the Reno 7 that supports 67W fast charging.
I was disappointed by the lack of stereo speakers as they would have made the whole experience much better.
Read: The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 Review: The Best Flip Yet!
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