Smartphone giant Oppo continues with the updates to its Reno series and the company has announced its latest addition to the portfolio. The recently launched OPPO Reno8 T 5G’s single 8GB RAM and 128GB storage variant costs Rs 29,999. Now the phone packs in some special hardware tricks like microscope lens, 10-bit curved OLED screen and more. Let’s find out in this review whether the Reno 8T can make it in the highly competitive sub-Rs 30,000 segment.
Decision
Despite being a perfectly crafted handset with premium build quality, the Reno8 T is a bit lacking in camera versatility and performance metrics. However, the device is a perfectly reasonable device for most users who do not indulge in high-end gaming and are looking for an option priced under Rs 30,000.
low
As far as design and build quality are concerned, Oppo gets full marks for implementing it on the Reno8T. The phone looks quite premium and feels well built too. I love the Sunrise Gold color scheme, which has a pearlescent matte finish on the back that feels Lustrous to the touch and glistens in the light. The polished rails go with it quite well, as do the trim volume rockers and the power button on either side.
In the display department, the Reno8 T sports a curved 10-bit OLED panel that can refresh at 120Hz and offers FHD+ resolution. The phone produces attractive images and video content from its screen, though it does not boast of support for HDR. Nevertheless, for regular content that is YouTube, Instagram and the like, the results are going to be largely positive. The phone has Widevine L1 certification for displaying HD content on OTT services. Customization options are limited to changing the color profile and temperature in the display settings. The phone can achieve a maximum brightness level of up to 950nits which is more than enough for outdoor consumption.
Now coming to the optical setup being implemented on the phone, the main sensor can produce 108MP shots and is supported by a 2MP depth shooter and 40X microlens. Personally, I think an ultra-wide lens or even a regular telephoto sensor would make the Reno8T a more versatile image-taking machine. As it stands, the regular point-and-shoot camera experience from the device is good. The pictures captured are quite rich in detail and there is good exposure control without overblowing the highlights. There’s also plenty of dynamic range that captures ample detail from darker areas in the frame. Despite being slightly over-saturated, most images in daylight conditions from the primary sensor are easy on the eyes. Of course, the default shooting mode takes pixel-binned 12MP shots but you can always churn out full-resolution 108MP images.
At night, the phone does a fair job with picking up shadows and details without increasing the noise level. However, I felt that the focusing speed could be improved as could the amount of light entering via the manual exposure slider. Several times I snapped a picture only to see it out of focus until I let the sensor take its time. Lens flare is also an issue that keeps cropping up when a street lamp or similar is in the frame. While most of these problems are solved by the dedicated Night Mode, I feel the phone could have done a better job in low light.
The depth sensor is pretty standard for a use case like bokeh photography. There are other AI-based enhancements to play with, such as AI Color Portrait that keeps the subject in color while the background turns black and white. Although the microlens is a fun addition, it seems to be of little use in day-to-day use. Granted, the lens reveals highly detailed microscopic images when captured in proper focus but the process of getting the right shot is a bit cumbersome. The front-facing camera takes 32MP shots for selfies which packs in ample facial features and can accurately display skin tones.
The OPPO Reno8 T uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G SoC, which, to be fair, isn’t the fastest silicon in its segment. There are other devices under Rs 30,000 that offer much better performance. However, not every user craves hard-core gaming or wants to perform strenuous tasks on their device. For regular customers who want to use their phone for regular tasks like switching between social media and productivity apps, the Reno8T won’t let you down. It logged good benchmark numbers which give the device good reliability for everyday use. I also didn’t notice that the phone falters under constant load, so you can be assured of running moderately demanding apps without any lag or overheating. The phone packs 128GB of UFS 2.1 storage and 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM, which I personally find sufficient for the regular apps I use.
For audio, the phone offers a stereo speaker setup that gets extremely loud, and even comes with a Boost feature that can increase the volume by up to 200 percent. An in-display fingerprint sensor can be seen on the device and it works in a snappy manner, though I have seen it falter at times. The 5G capabilities on the device include most of the NSA and SA bands that are currently operational. My usage on Jio’s 5G network in Noida circle went flawlessly.
The device runs ColorOS 13.0 based on Android 13. The gist is that Oppo’s UI has become significantly more user-friendly over the years, but the familiar scourge of bloatware still remains. Still, there are some features that I definitely like and can be quite useful. Things like the smart always-on display that lets you know when music is playing or even how far away your food delivery guy is. If you use other OPPO products, the Reno8T can seamlessly connect with them for lightning-fast file transfers. There’s also an auto-pixellate feature that blurs out contact details when you take a screenshot of a chat.
On the battery front, there’s a 4,800mAh cell housed inside the slim chassis and it can be juiced up to 67W. In terms of regular usage, I got around six hours of screen-on time with the phone and by the end of the day, I was looking for a charger. I feel that on more moderate usage, the device can last for more than a day without a hitch. However, if you want to charge the phone, you get SuperVOOC 67W in the box which charges the phone in about an hour. Thanks to its proprietary Battery Health Engine, Oppo claims that the charge cycles on the battery have been increased to 1,600, which is twice the industry standard. This basically means that the 8T should last longer than other phones without any significant battery degradation.
final call
One look at the OPPO Reno8 T makes it clear that this is a device for those who love premium build quality but are not willing to pay a premium price. The phone has exactly the right features that give it mass-market appeal but may not appeal to smartphone enthusiasts or power users. There’s no doubt in my mind that the Reno8 T is a capable, well-designed piece of hardware, and for everyday use and casual photography, the device can be considered a worthwhile option.
Editor’s rating: 3.5 / 5
pros
- premium build
- good primary camera
- decent battery life
Shortcoming
- Performance could be better for the price
- does not support hdr
- Camera lacks versatility
