Oppo Reno8 Pro review

Competition

Outside of China, the Reno8 Pro is not a cheap device. It was just unveiled in India for INR 46,000, which is around 550-570 euros or US dollars. That leaves room for plenty of competition.

Samsung has at least a few interesting offers. The Galaxy S21 FE 5G, as its name suggests, is sort of a "flagship on a budget". Some of its highlights include an excellent Dynamic AMOLED 2x, 120Hz, HDR10+ display, a Snapdragon 888 chipset, a potent camera setup with a telephoto camera on board, stereo speakers and an IP68 ingress protection rating.

The Galaxy A73 5G is also a good alternative. You do give up some things like the HDR10+ display and the flagship chipset, but nothing too major. A 108MP main camera and larger 5,000 mAh battery sweeten the deal in return.

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G • Xiaomi 12S • vivo V23 5G

Xiaomi has quite a few worthy competitors in its ranks. Most of the Xiaomi 12 family is in those ranks. If we had to choose personally, we would first gravitate towards the latest Xiaomi 12S. It is a true flagship with things like a beautiful 120Hz, Dolby Vision and HDR10+ display, a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset (Qualcomm's latest and greatest), stereo speakers and a potent camera setup. If you would rather save a few bucks instead, why not go for the Xiaomi 12 Lite. It will get you a lot of the way to the Xiaomi 12S experience at a fraction of the price.

On to some more creative choices, then. If you find yourself gravitating towards the Reno8 Pro for its slick and slim exterior or perhaps its beefed-up selfie camera, then the vivo V23 might just be a good fit. It is a very slick phone with an eye-catching exterior and solid all-around specs, including a nice 90Hz AMOLED display. As for the selfie experience, the V23 has two selfie cameras, one with autofocus and with a dedicated selfie LED flashlight.

Realme GT Neo 3T • Xiaomi Poco F4 GT • Google Pixel 6

We'll link a few other very viable choices here for consideration. If Color OS and the overall Oppo experience are of interest to you, then it might be worth looking into the popular Realme GT Neo 3T instead. Or save a few bucks by picking up a Realme GT Neo 3. Or perhaps the more "name-brand" OnePlus Nord 2T alternative. As part of the large BBK family, these will deliver a very similar overall experience.

Our verdict

All things considered, we are glad that the Reno8 Pro+ officially made its way out of China as the Reno8 Pro we have at the office today. It is a very well-rounded device. It combines a stand-out design (even if polarizing) and excellent build quality with solid specs.

As far as highlights go, the 10-bit, 120Hz, HDR10+ display is definitely one, and so are many aspects of the camera experience. The main 50MP snapper performs very well all around. MariSilicon X manages to elevate the camera experience in a noticeable way, particularly for low-light videos. The 32MP selfie camera, despite having its share of issues, offers a solid overall experience as well.

Does that mean we would outright recommend picking up a Reno8 Pro, though? Well, not unless you get a really good deal on one. While the phone itself is solid, in typical Oppo fashion, its pricing outside of China is a big potential dealbreaker. While we generally like the Reno8 Pro, it is not perfect and lacks some quality-of-life bits like ingress protection. Other aspects of it, like the battery life and high refresh rate handling, could be notably better. And that's not just nitpicking or wishful thinking on our part either. You can get a lot more value for your money by shopping around for competitors.

Pros

• Slim and light body with eye-catching design and premium build quality.
• Proper set of sensors including a hardware proximity sensor.
• Great display with HDR support, 10-bit color and 120Hz refresh rate.
• Very fast charging and decent battery life for the capacity.
• Solid overall camera quality.
• Great video quality, particularly in low-light thanks to MariSilicon X.

Cons

• Slippery body. Fingerprint magnet.
• No ingress protection.
• No microSD slot or 3.5mm jack.
• High refresh rate handling is improving but is still messy.