‘Bold’ is an apt description of OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G

Lighting condition was at its worst when the rain stopped at night. Still overcast, the lights in the house were turned down one by one with the courtyard slowly falling prey to a dark night. Out came the OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G on the terrace with the hand stretching out a bit to capture the courtyard. In less than a second, the rain-soaked plants were on the screen. Night? Well, it seems like early evening. But that’s the magic of this camera.

OPPO usually delivers phones with a good set of snappers but this time, they have gone a step further by also focussing on every department, resulting in a phone that can be enjoyed for a few years.

Night magic

Among the big-hitters on the spec sheet is MariSiliconX NPU, which is not a gimmick as far as improvements on the camera go. The MariSiliconX has an ISP, so the phone can offer quality images, especially those taken at night. Using the NPU, AI can apply different algorithms for noise reduction, better colour reproduction, HDR, improved detail, dynamic range, and so on. Usually, the NPU depends on the system memory but that slows down processing time. With MariSiliconX you get great images and quickly. That’s exactly what had happened on Oppo Find X5 Pro and that’s exactly what happens on the Reno8 Pro.

There is crispness in the shots while colour reproduction is accurate on the main lens

The phone comes with three cameras — 50MP main (Sony IMX766 sensor), 8MP ultra-wide and 2MP macro. That’s a fair set-up though nothing extraordinary. Yet, a lot of magic happens because of MariSiliconX. Daylight shots are crisp, packed with HDR and contrast while colours are almost perfect, depending on your preference. You will also end up getting good shots out of your ultra-wide. At night, the main camera will hold you in good stead… and so will the ultra-wide but only to a degree. Sure, night pictures out of the ultra-wide shooter are good but nothing that we haven’t seen before.

MariSiliconX NPU helps capture detailed night shots with almost zero shutter lag

In terms of video, the main camera can capture good quality 4K@30fps videos but 60fps is only available with 1080p. Batting for Oppo, shooting 4K@30fps is fine at night though I would rather choose 1080p@60fps.

On the front there is a 32MP camera (Sony IMX709), which is not a bad snapper but you have to remember that video gets capped at 1080p while skin tones can be better.

Bright display, sustained performance

Over 10 days I looked at the performance in two departments — display as well as processor. First, this is a fantastic display — FHD+, 6.7-inch AMOLED with 120Hz refresh rate and 360Hz touch sampling rate. That it’s such a large screen, I just couldn’t comprehend at first because OPPO has shaved the bezels quite a lot, making the phone appear smart. At the same time, the company has managed to keep the phone light even with a glass sandwich design besides offering a metal frame. There is HDR10+ support, so watching Netflix will be a joy.

Powering the phone is Dimensity 8100 MAX, which has a proven track record for giving excellent, sustained performance without killing the battery. You will be able to play all your games at the highest settings while BGMI can be played at 90Hz. Heating? It’s not an issue at all.

I am also impressed by the good soundstage in the audio department. In case you are up for it, get the OPPO Enco X2 wireless earbuds to do justice to the phone’s audio capabilities.

Should you buy it?

Unlike a few other brands, OPPO has thrown in a charging brick (80W SuperVooc), which can juice up the 4,500mAh battery in less than 40 minutes (and 50 per cent in 11-13 minutes). There is also support for Air Gestures, which lets you control the phone (answering calls, scrolling, play/pause videos) with gestures, even though it’s not something you will use all the time.

A brownie point comes in the form of 12 5G bands; this is relevant because the 5G spectrum auction is on and we can expect the technology to roll out this year itself in a few cities.

But bloatware… OPPO doesn’t seem to change anything in this department. Sure I can delete the bloatware but not all customers may do so and these apps will end up taking a lot of space.

The drawback is negated by the excellent finish of the phone and its bold design. In fact, ‘bold’ is an apt description of the phone, especially in the camera department.