Oppo Reno 8 Pro 5G First Impressions: Dressed to Impress

The Oppo Reno 7 Pro 5G (Review) was a good upgrade over the Reno 6 Pro (Review) as it switched to a flat display, got stereo speakers and had improved camera sensors, all packaged in a premium design with a fancy notification LED strip around the camera module. Now, Oppo has launched its Reno 8 Pro 5G in India, along with the Reno 8 5G. It boasts of an overhauled design, similar cameras but with a few minor updates, and it gets a newer processor.

But it has also received a new higher price tag and now, goes shoulder-to-shoulder with smartphones such as the OnePlus 10R 5G Endurance Edition (Review) and Realme GT Neo 3 (150W) (Review). I've been using the phone for a day and here are my first impressions.

The Oppo Reno 8 Pro 5G has a rear panel made from Corning's Gorilla Glass 5, and comes with a metal frame

The Reno 8 Pro 5G, just like the Reno 7 Pro, is available in a single variant with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage that is priced at Rs. 45,999, which already seems a bit higher than similarly spec'ed smartphones such as the OnePlus 10R 5G (from Rs. 38,999) and the Realme GT Neo 3 (from Rs. 36,999). Last year's Oppo Reno 7 Pro 5G launched at Rs. 39,999 in India.

As with every Reno smartphone in the past, design has always been a highlight. With the Nothing Phone 1's (First Impressions) flashy array of LEDs, I kind of expected something similar from Oppo with the Reno 8 Pro 5G, mainly because the Reno 7 Pro 5G also had an LED ring around its camera bump for notifications. However, the new Oppo Reno 8 Pro takes a more subtle design route with a classy look and no flashing LED lights.

The rear panel does not have a matte finish that most manufacturers seem to be going for these days, but instead uses a glossy finish. It's made out of Corning's Gorilla Glass 5 and has a raised camera module, which is fused with the rear glass panel itself. It all feels premium and looks very unique compared to everything else that I've seen in this price segment. Oppo also claims that the Reno 8 Pro has an official IP54 rating for dust and water resistance which is good to see at this price point. The frame is made out of metal, but the phone feels surprisingly light (183g), especially given its large footprint.

The Oppo Reno 8 Pro 5G has a 6.7-inch full-HD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate

The main reason for the large footprint of the phone is the 6.7-inch full-HD+ AMOLED display. The company has retained the flat display design from the Reno 7 Pro 5G, which seems like a good move and the Reno 8 Pro 5G uses Corning's Gorilla Glass 5. The display has thin bezels all around but gets extra thin around the sides, giving the phone a very modern look.

The fingerprint scanner embedded into the display worked reliably during my initial use. The display offers a 120Hz refresh rate which should be useful when playing certain games. There are also stereo speakers which Oppo claims should provide an immersive experience while gaming and watching videos.

The phone has MediaTek's Dimensity 8100-Max SoC which has been customised by Oppo. This is indeed a big jump from the Dimensity 1200-Max SoC in the Reno 7 Pro 5G. The manufacturer has also included its imaging chipset called the MariSilicon X NPU (Neural Processing Unit) which it says is mainly used to optimise video recording. The Reno 8 Pro 5G can record HDR video up to 4K 30fps. We briefly saw this NPU in the Oppo Find X5 Pro (First look).

The Oppo Reno 8 Pro 5G runs Oppo's ColorOS 12.1 which is based on Android 12. Oppo promises support for two years of Android updates and four years of security updates with the Reno 8 Pro 5G, which is nice to have.

The Oppo Reno 8 Pro 5G has three rear-facing cameras

There are three cameras around the back of the phone and the setup is very similar to what we saw on the Reno 7 Pro 5G. There is a 50-megapixel primary with a Sony IMX766 sensor and for reasons best known to Oppo, does not have optical image stabilisation (OIS). There is an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera and a 2-megapixel macro camera. The front-facing camera offers a 32-megapixel sensor like before, but now features autofocus.

The Oppo Reno 8 Pro 5G's battery has a 4,500mAh capacity, similar to the Reno 7 Pro 5G, but gets quicker charging at 80W (previously 65W). Oppo claims that its Reno 8 Pro can charge up to 50 percent in just 11 minutes, but I will have to test these claims in my full review.

Oppo's Reno 8 Pro may be dressed to impress but with a price hike, it's now stepped into a very competitive premium segment. While its hardware specifications are similar to those offered by the OnePlus 10R 5G Endurance Edition (Review) and the Realme GT Neo 3 (150W) (Review), it also means that it has to now deal with stiffer competition such as Samsung's do-it-all Galaxy S20 FE 5G (Review), and the powerful Xiaomi 11T Pro 5G (Review) which packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC, a 108-megapixel camera and 120W charging.

Can the Oppo Reno 8 Pro 5G stand up to the competition? Find out in our detailed review coming soon only on Gadgets 360.