OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G – class-leading, value flagship (smartphone review)

The OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G is one step below the superb FindX5 and Pro flagships offering many of those premium features like a 1.07 billion colour 120Hz AMOLED screen, unbelievably fast 32-minute charging, and its MariSilicon NPU camera image processor for top-class photos and videos.

Throw in the flagship-class 5nm MediaTek Dimensity 8100-Max SoC and 8/256GB, and it punches well above its weight.

You can get an overview of the series OPPO Reno8 series arrives in Australia, but in summary, the OPPO Reno8 Pro features:

• Sony IMX766 50MP primary sensor
• Sony IMX355 8MP Ultra-wide sensor
• 2MP Macro
• MariSilicon X Imaging NPU and 4K ultra night and HDR video
• Selfie Sony IMX709 32MP RGGB sensor
• 4500mAh batteries and 80W SUPERVOOC fast charge for up to up to 80% of their original capacity after 1,600 complete charge cycles
• MediaTek Dimensity 8100-MAX SoC, Ultra-Conductive Cooling System, 8GB LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB UFS 3.1 storage
• 6.7” 2412 x 1080, 120Hz AMOLED.

While the Reno8 and OPPO Reno8 Pro are similar, the $100 price difference for the extra features makes this superb value.

Australian Review: OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G CPH2357 8/256GB, Dual Sim

Website	Product page
Price	$1199 but on sale at JB Hi-Fi for $899
Colours	Shimmer Gold and Shimmer Black
From	JB Hi-Fi
Warranty	2-years ACL
Country of Origin	China
Company	OPPO is now #2 in Australia for Android smartphone market share. It has achieved that through excellent product and after-sales service.
More	CyberShack OPPO news and reviews

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed. You can click on most images for an enlargement.

First Impression – Very Applesque – Pass+

At first glance, the OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G is very Applesque – flat back, sides, screen, and big, round camera sensors. But that is what its primary market wants – Apple-like with Android benefits.

The philosophy builds on the OPPO Watch – the best all-around Google Wear smartwatch (review) that is probably the best Android Wear watch with a huge square screen (a.k.a. Apple Watch) and its OPPO Enco series earphones – Buds, Air, Free2, and X – too good to ignore (review) that in many ways are Android equals to the AirPods gen 2, 3 and Pro.

I like the design – it oozes with quality.

Market Position – Pass+

At RRP $1199, the OPPO Reno8 Pro 256GB Pro essentially competes with the Samsung Galaxy S22 /128/256GB ($1259/1349 – special $1197/1297), Google Pixel 7 Pro 128/256 ($1299/1499 – special $1037/1187), Google Pixel 7 ($1129), OPPO Find X5 Pro ($1799- special $999) and OPPO Find X5 256GB ($1349 – special $899).

But as we write, there are some amazing deals; frankly, the OPPO FindX5 and Pro are unbeatable with IP68 water resistance, longer upgrade cycles, etc.

For the money, you get

• 24120 x 1080, 120Hz AMOLED screen
• One of the most powerful processors
• 8/256GB
• Dual Sim
• Two-day battery and 32-minute recharge
• Great 50+8+2MP rear and 32MP front camera

All it is missing is USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps) and IP68 water-resistance  – IPX4 is rain-resistant.

Screen – 2412 x 1080, 60 or Adaptive 120Hz, AMOLED – Exceed

It is a 6.7″, fixed 60 or Adaptive 60/90/120Hz refresh, 1.07 billion colour AMOLED. It has an unobtrusive upper left selfie hole and a pre-fitted screen protector over Gorilla Glass 8.

Colours are accurate, and typical brightness is up to 500nits with HBM (High brightness mode) of 800 and peak brightness (in a small portion of the screen for HDR) of 950. Being AMOLED, contrast is infinite.

It has L1 Widevine for Netflix FHD HDR and will support HDR10+ content downmixed to the screen’s capability.

Overall, a very bright, colourful, daylight-readable screen.

Processor – 5nm MediaTek Dimensity 8100-MAX – Pass+ for speed

Dimensity is a sub-brand to help MediaTek rise above the Helio-branded SoCs. Is it as good as a similar Qualcomm Snapdragon? The answer is that it is a lower-cost option and provides impressive specs. We have found the key differences are in 4/5G antenna strengths (reception), and its AI is not as refined as Qualcomm. But then you get a separate AI NPU – OPPO MariSilicon X radically ups camera performance. There is no stigma in buying MediaTek SoCs – you get what you pay for.

CPU and GPU performance is on par with the 2019 Qualcomm SD865+ flagship.

RAM is 8GB plus up to another 5GB of virtual RAM (swap with the UFS storage), and there is no lag. Storage is 256GB UFS 3.1 and has fast speeds of 845/676Mbps sequential read/write – that is fast.

It will mount external storage at USB 2.0 speeds of about 40MBps sequential read/write.

Throttling has been managed via firmware updates. Initially, it throttled to 23% under load, and the latest firmware update (October) brings that back to 16%. It achieves this by slowing down the maximum GIPS (Billion Instructions per second) from 292.493 to 258,609. It is a similar situation with the Reno8.

OPPO is not fudging test results. It is throttling this relatively new processor that has only been used in its phones, and it is more about setting safer limits for this processor. It is like your Ferrari can do 292kph but is limited to 2358kph so as not to blow its engine up.

Comms – Pass

It has Wi-Fi 6 AX (1200Mbps), BT 5.3, NFC and a dual-channel GPS. It holds the 5GHz Wi-Fi signal out to 15m – excellent. It is everything you need in a smartphone.

4 and 5G – City/suburbs – Pass

It has all Australian 4 and 5G bands. As we have seen with MediaTek, it has a good strong signal but only finds the closest tower. It is a phone for major city/suburbs use where there is good tower coverage.

Battery – Two days and 32-minute charge – Exceed

OPPO includes an 80W SUPERVOOC charger inbox that can refill this in 32 minutes – fast.

The video loop test was 21 hours, and other typical use tests were between 18-21 hours. It is a two-day phone. But if you push it, the battery will empty in five hours.

Sound – Stereo – Pass

The key difference to the Reno8 is the stereo earpiece and a down-firing bottom speaker. It is not loud, with music maxing out at 80dB.

As it does not use a Qualcomm SoC, it lacks aptX (and variant) Codecs, but SBC, AAC and LDAC do the job.

The hands-free speakerphone is adequate but a little soft. It appears to have three microphones – two at the top and one at the bottom. Noise cancelling seems better than the Reno 8.

The sound signature is Bright Vocal for clear voice with just enough high-bass to satisfy.

Build – Solid – Exceed

The design is Applesque, meaning flat sides and back. It feels solid with Gorilla Glass 5 screen and a textured ‘Shimmer’ back that resists fingerprints. It is light enough at 183g. OPPO has an excellent 2-year ACL warranty, and the service is excellent.

It earns huge brownie points for the 80W SUPERVOOC charger inbox.

Android – Pass+

Reno gets two OS upgrades (13 and 14) and four years of security updates – great.

We wish OPPO would stop installing so much bloatware – Amazon, Bookings.com, Facebook, Games, LinkedIn, Netflix, PUGB Mobile Gift Box, Soloop, TikTok, and OPPO alternatives to Google Apps. All are uninstallable.

OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G camera – Exceed

OPPO uses Sony sensors it co-developed. The rear Sony IMX766 50MP (bins to 12.5MP) is superb. The selfie is a 32MP Sony IMX709 with brighter RGGB pixels. Both feature DOL (digital overlap) HDR High dynamic range), the next generation Sensor-based WDR technology exclusively developed by Sony. In essence, it shoots several frames and different exposures and combines them for the best image.

The significant difference to the Reno8 is the OPPO MariSilicon AI NPU processor. At 17 TOPS (trillion operations per second), it has more power than the MediaTek SoC! The main difference between MariSilicon images and standard images (Reno8) is more saturated colours, better HDR details in dark and highlights and even sharper images. Put it this way – MariSilicon makes idiot-proof point-and-shoot photography in day, office or night light a dream.

Camera test

• 1X Day Primary sensor – the colours are accurate/ natural and have good dynamic range. Excellent details in the background shadows and highlights.
• 2X Day: Primary sensor – perfect shot as per 1x
• 4X Day: Primary sensor – good detail and the barest hint of background noise
• 10X Day: Primary sensor: don’t go there
• 20X Day: Primary sensor: don’t go there
• 50MP Day: lots of detail and no post-processing- let AI do its job.
• Ultra-wide: Good dynamic range but a colour difference to the primary sensor
• Macro: Good shots from the 2MP sensor, but it is critical to get the focal length correct
• Indoor office light: Perfect, crisp details, bright shots, and accurate colours
• Bokeh Depth: Colour-accurate, bright, and the background is suitably blurred.
• Dark <40 lumens: The standard (not night mode) takes great shots with good colour and detail.
• Night mode improves the detail and saturates the colour without adding much noise
• Selfie: The 32/8MP RGGB selfie has natural skin tones, good detail, and a range of filters to enhance any image.
• Video (we are not video experts): You can shoot at 4K@30fps, but there is no OIS. The sweet spot is 1080p with EIS.
• MariSilicon enables 4K HDR Night video.
  

CyberShack’s view – the OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G excels at almost everything

If I only wanted to spend $899, then this is it. At this price, there is so much going for it. Although with the discounts on the FindX5 and FindX5 Pro, that is the way I would go.

My caveats are

• Only a city/suburbs phone with good tower coverage

It gets our unreserved buy recommendation at both $899 and RRP $1199.

CyberShack Smartphone comparison v 1.1 (E&OE)

OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G

Brand	OPPO Reno Pro 5G
Model
Model Number	CPH2357
Price Base	8/256
Price base	$1199 (on sale $899)
Warranty months	24-months ACL
Tier	Upper premium
Website	Product Page
From	JB Hi-Fi and OPPO online
Country of Origin	China
Company	OPPO is now #2 in Australia for Android smartphone market share. It has achieved that through excellent product and after-sales service.
More	CyberShack OPPO news and reviews
Test date	5-22 November 2022
Ambient temp	20-25°
Release	Sept-22
Other models not for Australia (Don’t buy)	The model CPH2357 appears to be used globally but with different 4 and 5G bands and RAM/ROM configurations. Don’t buy a Chinese model.

Screen

Size	6.7″
Type	AMOLED
Flat, Curve, 2D, 3D	Flat
Resolution	2412 x 1080
PPI	394
Ratio	20.1:9
Screen to Body %	93.40%
Colours bits	10-bit/1.07 billion colours
Refresh Hz, adaptive	60Hz or adaptive 60/90/120
Response 120Hz	360Hz Gaming mode
Nits typical test	500 (tested 510)
Nits max test	800 HBM (tested 816) 950 Peak (not tested)
Contrast	Infinite – OLED
sRGB	Gentle 100+%
DCI-P3	Vivid 100% DCI-P3 of 1.07 billion colours
Rec.2020 or other	N/A
Delta E (<4 is excellent)	<2
HDR Level	HDR10+/HLG and downmixed to the panel’s capability. It looks great with HDR10.
SDR Upscale	Yes – Video image sharpener
Blue light control	Yes
PWM if known	250Hz
Daylight readable	Yes – excellent
Always on Display	Yes, and adaptive sleep
Edge display	Yes
Accessibility	Usual Android features
DRM	L1 FHD HDR
Gaming	Should be excellent with a 120Hz screen and very fast SoC
Screen protection	Gorilla Glass 5 and pre-fitted screen protector
Comment	Video Colour Boost enhances video content. Adaptive Sleep uses the Selfie camera to see if you are looking at the screen. Excellent, bright, colour-accurate screen.

Processor

Brand, Model	MediaTek Dimensity 8100-Max And OPPO MariSilicon X NPU
nm	5
Cores	4 x 2.85GHz + 4 x 2.0GHz
Modem	MediaTek R16
AI TOPS	Estimate 15 TOPS
GeekBench 5 Single-core	903
GeekBench 5 multi-core	3541
Like	Single-core is like an SD865+, but multi-core is up there with the SD888.
GPU	Mali-G610 MC6
GPU Test
Open CL	3868
Like	Like SD865+
Vulcan	3716
RAM, type	8GB LPDDR5 but can swap up to 5GB virtual from storage
Storage, free, type	256GB UFS 3.1 (213GB free)
micro-SD	No
CPDT internal seq. Read MBps	845
CPDT internal seq. write MBps	676
CPDT microSD read, write MBps	N/A
CPDT external (mountable?) MBps	42/33 OTG
Comment	‘Max’ means that the maker can customise certain aspects of the SoC. It is a shame it only has USB-C 2.0 480Mbps interface.
Throttle test	Old firmware/New firmware 24 November
Max GIPS	292493 – new firmware 258,609
Average GIPS	255638 – 244,644
Minimum GIPS	223464 – 209,990
% Throttle	23% – 18%
CPU Temp	50°
Comment	Reasonably good thermal management for a 5nm hot chip. The result is well within tolerance and reflects a stable response under 100% load. The November firmware update has marginally slowed the SoC.

Comms

Wi-Fi Type, model	Wi-Fi 6 AX
Test 2m -dBm, Mbps	-25/1201
Test 5m	-35/1201
Test 10m	-49/1201 (15m -56/1201)
BT Type	5.3 BLE
GPS single, dual	Dual
USB type	USB-C 2.0 480MBps
ALT DP, DeX, Ready For	Wi-Fi casting and Chromecast
NFC	Yes
Ultra-wideband	No
Sensors
Accelerometer	Yes – combo with Gyro is very sensitive.
Gyro	Yes – combo with Gyro is very sensitive.
e-Compass	Yes
Barometer
Gravity	Yes
Pedometer	Yes
Ambient light	Yes
Hall sensor
Proximity	Yes, and an optical sensor for screen wake
Comment	Wi-Fi 6 AX is strong and keeps the signal well to 15M.

LTE and 5G

SIM	Dual Sim
Active	Only one active at a time
Ring tone single, dual	Single
VoLTE	Carrier dependent
Wi-Fi calling	Carrier dependent
4G Bands	1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/17/18/19/20/26/28/ 38/39/40/41
Comment	All Australian 4G bands
5G sub-6Ghz	n1/3/5/7/8/20/28/38/40/41/77/78
Comment	All Australian 5G and low-bands
mmWave	N/ A
Test Boost Mobile, Telstra
UL, DL, ms	30/60/35
Tower 1 -dBm, fW or pW	-79/3-12pW (very strong signal but only finds one tower)
Tower 2	No
Tower 3	No
Tower 4	No
Comment	Good, strong signal on tower one but does not see adjacent towers. This reflects the lower cost of the MediaTek SoC and antenna design. This is strictly a city and suburbs phone only.

Battery

mAh	4500mAh dual battery
Charger, type, supplied	80W SUPERVOOC (5V/2A/10W or 5-11V/7.3A/80W) over two channels, e.g., 11V/3.65A/40W x 2
PD, QC level	SuperVOOC 2.0, SuperVOOC, VOOC 3.0, PD (9V/ 2A), QC (9V/ 2A)
Qi, wattage	No
Reverse Qi or cable	No
Test (60Hz)
Charge % 30mins	Who cares?
Charge 0-100%	32 minutes
Charge Qi, W	N/A
Charge 5V, 2A	4.5 hours
Video loop 50%, aeroplane	21 hours 2 minutes
PC Mark 3 battery	20 hours and 40 minutes Accubattery 18 hours mixed use
GFX Bench Manhattan battery	258.3 minutes (4.31 hours) 3723 frames
GFX Bench T-Rex	821.9 minutes (13.7 hours) 3384 frames
Drain 100-0% full load screen on	4 hours 54 minutes
mA full load	850-900mA
mA Watt idle Screen on	200-250mA
Estimate loss at max refresh	15-20% 90Hz
Estimate typical use	Very similar life to the Reno8 yet has a more powerful 5nm processor and a 1.07 billion colour screen. A full load is about 5 hours, but you will easily get up to two days of typical use. With 32-minute recharge – who cares?
Comment	Excellent battery life and an 80W fast charger inbox. Battery Health Engine takes better care of the battery offering 1600 vs 800 charging cycles before the battery capacity reduces below 80%.

Sound

Speakers	Stereo (earpiece and bottom-firing speaker
Tuning	No
AMP	2 x TFA9879 MPX Class-D stereo digital amp and DSP 1.6/ 2.65W@8/ 4Ω .02% THD
Dolby Atmos decode	No
Hi-Res	No
3.5mm
BT Codecs	SBC, AAC, LDAC (no Qualcomm aptX)
Multipoint (connect to 2 hosts)	Should support it
Dolby Atmos (DA)	No
EQ	Real original Sound EQ – smart/ movie/ game/ music and useless for a mono device
Mics	2 with some noise-cancellation (possibly three)
Test dB – all on EQ flat DA off
Volume max	80
Media (music)	70
Ring	80
Alarm	80
Notifications	80
Earpiece	55
Hands-free	Decent hands-free and has two mics for some wind noise reduction.
BT headphones	Could drive them on SBC/ AAC and LDAC but not Qualcomm aptX
Sound quality
Deep Bass 20-40Hz	Nil
Middle Bass 40-100Hz	Nil
High Bass 100-200Hz	Building to 200Hz
Low Mid 200-400Hz	Building to 300Hz
Mid 4000-1000Hz	Flat
High-Mid 1-2kHz	Flat
Low Treble 2-4kHz	Flat
Mid Treble 4-6kHz	Flat
High Treble 6-10kHz	Slow linear decline to 20kHz
Dog Whistle 10-20kHz	Decline
Sound Signature type	Bright vocal with just a hint of high bass. It is OK for music but really for clear dialogue.
Soundstage	Wider than the handset, with a slight bias to the bottom-firing speaker. It does not decode Dolby Atmos content, but the 2D sound object placement is quite good.
Comment	Good for voice and OK for music.

Build

Size (H X W x D)	161.2 x 74.2 x 7.34mm
Weight grams	183
Front glass	Gorilla Glass 5
Rear material	PMMA
Frame	We suspect alloy
IP rating	No stated – assume minimal IPX4
Colours	Glazed Black Glazed Green
Pen, Stylus support	No
In the box
Charger	80W SUPERVOOC
USB cable	USB-A to USB-C
Buds	No
Bumper cover	Not in the review unit, but probably
Comment	Amazing build quality/ 80W charger in the box

OS

Android	12
Security patch date	September 2022 (current)
UI	ColorOS 1.2
OS upgrade policy	Should get Android 13 and 14
Security patch policy	Reno gets 4-years of quarterly updates.
Bloatware	Amazon, Bookings.com, Facebook, Games, LinkedIn, Netflix, PUGB Mobile Gift Box, Soloop, TikTok and OPPO alternatives to Google Apps
Comment	ColorOS is the light grease on Android wheels that makes it easier to use
Security
Fingerprint sensor location, type	Optical under glass
Face ID	Yes 2D
Other	OPPO ColorOS has advanced security features

OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G camera

Rear Primary	Wide
MP	50MP bins to 12.5MP
Sensor	OPPO/ Sony IMX766
Focus	AF and closed-loop focus motor All Pixel Omni-Directional PDAF
f-stop	1.7
um	1 bins to 2
FOV° (stated, actual)	84 (74.2 to 86.7)
Stabilisation	No
Zoom	10x digital
Rear 2	Ultrawide
MP	8MP
Sensor	IMX355
Focus	FF
f-stop	2.2
um	1.12
FOV (stated, actual)	112
Stabilisation	No
Zoom	No
Rear 3	Macro
MP	2
Sensor	Galaxy Core GC02m
Focus	FF
f-stop	2.4
um	1.75
FOV (stated, actual)	89
Stabilisation	No
Zoom	No
Video max	4K@30fps
Flash	Yes
Auto-HDR	MariSilicon X Imaging NPU
	Photo/ Video/ Night/ Expert/ Panoramic/ Portrait/ Time-lapse/ Text scanner/ and Sticker
QR code reader	Google Lens
Night mode	Yes, and Night Video HDR
Front
MP	32 bins to 8MP
Sensor	Sony IMX709 DOL-HDR
Focus	Fixed
f-stop	2.4
um	.8um bins to 1.6
FOV (stated, actual)	81 (69.7)
Stabilisation	No
Flash	Screen fill
Zoom	No
Video max	1080p@30fps
Features	Photo/ Video/ Panoramic/ Portrait/ Night/ Time-lapse/ Dual-view video/ and Sticker, RGBW filter for improved selfie performance

Camera test

Comment

• 1X Day Primary sensor – the colours are accurate/ natural and have good dynamic range. Good details in the background, shadows, and highlights. • 2X Day: Primary sensor – perfect shot as per 1x • 4X Day: Primary sensor – terrific detail and the barest hint of background noise • 10X Day: Primary sensor: don’t go there • 20X Day: Primary sensor: don’t go there • Ultra-wide: Good dynamic range but a colour difference to the primary sensor • Macro: Good shots from the 2MP sensor, but it is critical to get the focal length correct • Indoor office light: Perfect/ crisp details/ bright shot and accurate colours • Bokeh Depth: The subject is colour accurate and bright, and the background is suitably blurred. • Dark <40 lumens: The standard (not night mode) takes great shots with good colour and detail. •          Night mode improves the detail and saturates the colour without adding much noise • Selfie: The 32/8MP RGGB selfie has natural skin tones, details, and a range of filters to enhance any image. • Video (we are not video experts): You can shoot at 4K@30fps, but there is no OIS. The sweet spot is 1080p with EIS.

Rating Explanation – OPPO Reno8 Pro

Features	8.5
	It has everything you need in a very slim and light body
Value	9
	At $1199, reduced to $899, it has class-leading value
Performance	8.5
	Solid performance, no lag, and 8/256GB fast ram and storage.
Ease of Use	8.5
	Android 14 And four years of security patches.
Design	8.5
	It is very Applesque
Rating out of 10	8.6
Final comment	It’s the Toyota Camry with all the extras. A huge step up from the Reno8. Excellent battery, camera, power, and screen for a great price.