Oppo has launched the OPPO Reno8 T 5G in Kenya. This is a mainstream phone, nearing the premium segment, and it hopes to offer consumers top of the line camera and display experience. So, does the phone justify its price tag of Ksh 50,000? We find out in this OPPO Reno 8T 5G review.
The entire Reno Series has been marketed as a true creator’s companion by Oppo. So I was intrigued when I was given the opportunity to review the brand’s latest smartphone, the Oppo Reno 8T 5G.
As someone who enjoys social media and creating content for the masses, I was eager to try out all of the phone’s features.
After using the phone for over a week now, I can say that Oppo’s new offering has a little bit of everything for a wide range of audience, and not just content creators.
You can enjoy streaming your favorite OTT shows and films, use some of the less-talked-about features of the phone in a creative way, play games, multitask and a lot more.
OPPO Reno8 T 5G: Design
As far as the design and build quality go, OPPO gets full marks for its implementation on the Reno8 T 5G. The phone looks quite premium and also feels well-built.
You can have a look at our unboxing video and first impressions of the phone here.
First thing you’ll note when you pick up the OPPO Reno8 T 5G is how light and slim it is. The phone weights just 171 grams and is 7.7mm slim, which makes it super light-weight and easy to carry.
We’ve got the Matte Midnight Black color and it’s quite a looker, well, not as eye catching as the Sunrise Gold variant that glitters in the light.
The polished rails go quite well with the phone, as do the trim volume rocker and power buttons on either side.
The back of the phone consists of millions of pyramid-shaped crystals that are etched at the microscopic level and Oppo claims that this material makes the phone fingerprint proof.
In my brief usage of the phone, I found this statement to hold true as I’ve been using it without the cover and I haven’t seen any fingerprints and smudges on the phone so far.
OPPO Reno8 T 5G: Display
In the display department, the Reno8 T 5G 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.
Display customization options are limited to changing the color profile and temperature in the display settings.
The phone can achieve up to 950nits of peak brightness levels and I found this to be more than enough for outdoor consumption.
The display also comes equipped with Dragontrail-Star2 protection, this should protect the phone from accidental scratches. The phone also has the option of turning on the eye comfort mode which makes it super convenient to use at night.
The Stereo Speakers: They Deserve A Special Applause
Watching films and OTT shows on the phone is very enjoyable and immersive thanks to its impressive speakers.
OPPO had made tall claims about the Reno 8T 5G offering an immersive audio-visual experience with its speakers that come with Real Original Sound Technology and provide surround sound for playing all kinds of media.
While I can’t really say much about the ‘surround sound’ experience, the phone is definitely equipped with one of the best stereo speakers that I’ve heard in smartphones belonging to this range.
I’d go as far as to say the Reno8 T 5G’s stereo speakers sound better that some flagship phones from other brands. The audio from the stereo speakers is crisp, loud, and spot on.
And the best part about the speakers is the Ultra Volume mode, that enables one to boost the sound levels to a stunning 200. Yep, you read that right.
What’s expressive is the fact that even at the 200 max volume level, the quality of the sound does not get lost.
The Cameras
The cameras are one of the biggest attractions of the phone. The phone spots OPPO’s first 108MP portrait camera, an OPPO exclusive 40x Microlens and a 2MP Depth Camera together with a 32MP Selfie Camera.
Personally, I feel that an ultra-wide lens or even a regular telephoto sensor would make the Reno8 T 5G a more diverse image-taking machine.
But 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.
How Do The Cameras Perform At Night?
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 and Microlens Cameras
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 color 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 accurate.
Performance
Under the hood the OPPO Reno8 T 5G is powered by the Snapdragon 695 5G chipset, which, to be quite fair, is not the fastest silicone in its segment.
There are other devices below the Ksh. 50, 000mark that offer considerably better performance. However, not every user craves hard-core gaming or wants to run strenuous tasks on their device.
For regular users who wish to use their phone for regular tasks like switching between social media and productivity apps, the Reno8 T 5G 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 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage and 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM, which I personally find enough given the regular apps that I use.
Software
The OPPO Reno8 T 5G comes with ColorOS 13.0 based on Android 13. This is quite impressive, since we’ve seen phones launched recently with Android 12 outside the box.
OPPO’s ColorOS 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 5G 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.
The Battery Life & Charging Speeds
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 7 hours of screen-on time.
I consider myself to be a power user so if you happen to be a 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 47 minutes.
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.
Pricing & Availability
The OPPO Reno8 T series will be come in two variants, the OPPO Reno8 T 5G and the OPPO Reno8 T 4G. Both variants will come in either Sunrise Gold or Midnight Black color choices.
Pre-orders will start from February, 17th to 28th, 2023 through various OPPO e-commerce partners, Kilimall, and across all OPPO stores in Kenya. For each pre-order, customers will get an amazing gift. The Reno8 T 5G is priced at Ksh 49,999 while the Reno8 T 4G is priced at Ksh 37,999.
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 OPPO Reno8 T 5G is a capable, nicely-designed piece of hardware, and for everyday usage and casual photography, the device can be considered a worthwhile option.
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