OPPO Reno5 Pro 5G Review


The OPPO Reno5 Pro 5G with MediaTek Dimensity 1000+ SoC is officially out. Notably, it is the first smartphone to launch with this SoC in the Indian market. Each and every Reno smartphone launched to date has its unique feature right from Reno (10X Zoom) to Reno4 Pro (65W Super Fast charging). 

The Reno5 Pro is all about the Full Dimension Fusion(FDF) Portrait Video System, which deeply integrates strong hardware, flexible software, and smart algorithms to significantly improve video quality and portrait effects for an enhanced video experience.

So let’s find out the Reno5 Pro 5G performed in our brief usage.

OPPO Reno5 Pro 5G specifications

  • 6.5-inch (2400 × 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 3D 90Hz OLED HDR 10+ display with 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, up to 1100 nit brightness
  • Octa-Core (4×A77 2.6GHz + 4×A55 2.0GHz) Dimensity 1000+ 7nm processor with Mali-G77 MC9 GPU
  • 8GB LPDDR4x RAM, 128GB (UFS 2.1) storage
  • Android 11 with ColorOS 11.1
  • Dual SIM
  • 64MP rear camera with f/1.7 aperture, LED flash, 8MP 119° Ultra Wide Lens with f/2.2 aperture, 2MP macro, 2MP mono portrait lens with f/2.4 aperture
  • 32MP front-facing camera with f/2.4 aperture
  • In-display fingerprint sensor
  • USB Type-C Audio
  • Dimensions:159.7×73.2×7.6mm; Weight: 173g
  • 5G SA/ NSA, Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 6 802.11 ax (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 5.1, GPS/GLONASS/Beidou, NFC, USB Type-C
  • 4350mAh battery with 65W Super Flash Charge (SuperVOOC 2.0) fast charging

Display

The Reno5 Pro 5G has a 6.5-inch FHD+ (2400×1080) AMOLED display with a refresh rate of smooth 90Hz and a touch sample rate of 180Hz. The display’s edges on the side are curved, which OPPO calls 3D Borderless Sense Screen, giving the smartphone a screen-to-body ratio of 92.1%. It has a peak brightness of 1100 nits, which is plenty bright and, sunlight readability was not an issue at all, and it is HDR10+ certified, which meant watching HDR content on Netflix and, Amazon Prime was very enjoyable.

With great contrast, colours, and, a very fitting 20:9 aspect ratio, there is not much to complain about. Just like other phones, it is possible to lock it to either 60Hz or 90Hz. On the top left, we have a single punch hole this time housing a 32MP camera for selfies. So, how distractive is the punch hole? My answer is, you will get used to it. Since it is on the left, it didn’t come in the way of me watching multimedia content. Overall, the Reno5 Pro 5G display is top-notch.

Performance

The Reno5 Pro 5G is one of the first few smartphones to be powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 1000+ SoC, which is a 7nm Octa-core CPU that can clock up to 2.6GHz. The SoC is 5G capable, and it is complemented by 8GB of RAM, which lends to an overall smooth experience.

Nonetheless, in our usage, we experienced zero lag, zero hitches, and it performed well, consistently. The key here is consistency and of course, there are no heating issues even when playing games or using the camera. We tried Asphalt 9, Shadow fight 3, PUBG, and other small games. Check out some synthetic benchmark scores.

Camera

In the camera department, the Reno5 Pro 5G has a 64MP primary sensor with an f/1.7 aperture, an 8MP 119° Ultra Wide Lens with f/2.2 aperture, a 2MP macro sensor, and an extra 2MP sensor mono portrait lens. The selfie camera is a 32MP sensor with an f/2.4 aperture.

OPPO has loaded a lot of features into the camera experience of the Reno5 Pro 5G, such as the Image-clear Engine, AI Scene Enhancement, and an Ultra Night Selfie Mode.

For video, the rear camera can shoot up to 4k at 30fps, or 1080p at 60fps, while the front camera can shoot at up to 1080p at 30fps. The phone can also shoot slow-motion at 960fps on the rear sensor, and it also supports Dual-view video, where video from both the front and rear sensors are captured.

The camera app looks and functions remain similar to other OPPO devices. Also, switching between cameras and other modes is easy too. Coming to the quality, the 64MP primary camera captures some very good photos with fine details. Most of the time, pictures churned out from the main sensors were sharp, had good colors and accurate exposure. The AI mode helps you to get more saturation, if in case.

The wide-angle camera also does a decent job concerning colors and HDR. However, we had white-balance and color shift issues on both primary and wide-angle cameras. Portrait mode works well with good edge detection, misses at times though.

The macro sensor under daylight condition works decently, but often looks washed out. Under low-light conditions, the Reno5 Pro 5G produces an average output with enough light around. Check out the camera samples below:

Coming to the video, the Reno5 Pro 5G can shoot 4K@30fps, 1080p@60fps and 720p@60fps. The Reno5 Pro 5G comes with ‘AI Highlight Video’ mode, which applies HDR effect in the day or brightens the footage in low light, depending upon the light present around the environment. And it works only with the 1080p and not with 4K. This feature comes in handy, especially during the low light conditions.

Software

In recent times, ColorOS has just become one of the best custom skins on top of Android. After all, simply, the software makes or breaks the experience on a smartphone. The Reno 5 Pro comes with Android 11 with ColorOS 11.1 on top.

There are loads of customization options right from the home screen icons to the notifications drawers icons and more. There are even three types of system-wide dark modes offered.

Since it is based on Android 11, you get all of its features such as Chat bubbles, updated notifications, Nearby Share, and the new app permissions for access to the camera, location, and microphone. A pain point with ColorOS that has now been fixed is the swipe away gesture for individual notifications. You can now swipe in either the left or right direction to dismiss it, which was not the case before.

With regards to the pre-loaded apps, the Reno5 Pro 5G comes with a usual selection such as SoLoop, WPS Office, YT Music, OPPO Relax, HeyTap Cloud, etc.

These can be uninstalled quickly enough and will be re-installed back if you reset the phone. For a complete overview of the new features offered in ColorOS 11, check out thetop 11 features of ColourOS 11 here.

The OPPO Reno5 Pro 5G offers the usual options for biometric security. The fingerprint sensor is of the under-display optical type and during my review I found it to be quick and accurate, very similar to those found on premium flagship smartphones. You can store up to a maximum of 5 fingerprints at a time.

The phone also offers Face unlock with the front-facing camera. It uses the RGB sensor for verification, which means it’s not as secure as smartphones with dedicated 3D face scanners.

The phone is Widevine L1 certified, which means HD streaming on Netflix, Prime is supported and in our testing, it worked. The only letdown in the multimedia experience is the single mono speaker on the bottom of the device. It does get decently loud with no distortion, the mids and highs were clear enough but, the bass felt lacking and hollow.

Calls and connectivity

During our usage, we didn’t face any dropped calls, the audio through the earpiece was loud and clear and the microphone recording was reported to be clear too.

The phone supports dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth v5.1, both of which were tested during my review and worked properly without an issue.
Regarding location services, it supports GPS, A-GPS, Beido, Glonass, GALILEO, and QZSS. The phone also supports USB-OTG.

Battery life

The Reno5 Pro 5G is powered by a 4350mAh battery with 65W Super Flash Charge (SuperVOOC 2.0) fast charging technology that can charge the phone up to 50% in 14 minutes and 100% in 36 minutes.

Battery life was above average in my usage, with 10 to 15% charge left at the end of the day on 90Hz usage. With the 60Hz, one can expect even more.  Well, with SuperVOOC 2.0, what else would you expect. It achieved a One Charge Rating of 18 hours and 18 minutes, which is good for a phone with a 4350mAh battery.

Conclusion

At a price of Rs. 35,990, the OPPO Reno5 Pro 5G has some strong points – the display, sleek design, Mediatek Dimensity 1000+, and a 65W Super-fast charging. For those who are concerned about the Mediatek Dimensity 1000+, we didn’t face any problem so far. However, we have to wait and see how it works in the long term and the support is gets in terms of updates.

The camera in the Reno5 Pro 5G is a mixed bag. The primary 64MP does well in most of the conditions and, the 8MP Ultra-Wide camera is decent. The other two mono and Macro cameras are not much of a use.

The OPPO Reno5 Pro 5G is available from Flipkart, Amazon.in as well as offline stores.