OPPO launched the Reno14 series 5G smartphone in India this week. Here we have the Reno14 5G, successor to the Reno13 5G. This retains the display, and SoC, but gets a 50MP 3.5x periscope telephoto camera, and a bigger battery while retaining the same price, and this time there is a 12GB + 512GB model as well. Is this a good phone for the price? Let use dive into the review to find out.
| Box Contents |
| Camera |
| Battery Life |
| Conclusion |
Box Contents
- OPPO Reno14 5G 8GB + 256GB in Forest Green colour
- 80W SuperVOOC fast charger
- USB Type-C cable
- Protective case
- SIM Ejector tool
- User guide
Display, Hardware and Design
The OPPO Reno14 sports a 6.59-inch (2760 x 1256 pixels) 1.5K flat AMOLED display with 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. You can select standard FHD+ or switch to 1.5K. The display has Corning Gorilla Glass 7i protection.
The display is good, and has normal brightness of up to 600 nits and HBM brightness of 1200 nits in direct sunlight. It also offers different levels of brightness adjustment. It offers good colour output since it has 100% DCI-P3 color gamut. You can select from vivid, Natural and Pro screen colour modes. There is 3840Hz PWM Dimming that kicks in low brightness.
The phone also has HDR 10 support. There is also video color boost and image sharpener options. However, there is no MEMC.
The phone has ultra narrow symmetric. The phone has a tiny punch-hole that houses a 50-megapixel autofocus camera. Above the display, there is an earpiece on the top edge that works as a secondary speaker. It has an in-display fingerprint scanner which is optical.
Coming to the button placements and ports, the power button is present on the right side along with the volume rockers. The dual SIM slot, primary microphone, USB Type-C port and the loudspeaker grill are present on the bottom. The secondary microphone is on the top, along with an IR blaster. It has a solid aerospace grade aluminium frame with Sponge Bionic Cushioning, said the company.
The phone has a flat glass back with a matte finish offering a good in-hand feel, so it doesn’t slip out of your hands easily. In addition to the Forest Green colour that we have that has a Luminous Loop design around the camera, it also comes in Pearl White colour that has an anti-fingerprint glass with patterns. Even though the phone has round corners and a matte finish on the sides, it offers a good grip and a solid feel. The phone weighs 187 grams, which is fine for a phone with a huge, 6000mAh battery.
The phone doesn’t miss out on the IP66 and IP68 ratings and also has IP69 ratings for the dust and water resistance.
Camera
- 50MP main camera with 1/1.95″ IMX882 sensor, f/1.8 aperture, OIS
- 8MP 112º ultra-wide camera with OV08D sensor, ƒ/2.2 aperture
- 50MP 3.5X periscope camera with 1/2.75″ JN5 sensor, OIS, f/2.8 aperture
- 50MP front camera with 1/2.75″ Samsung JN5 sensor, f/2.0 aperture
The camera UI in the ColorOS 15 is familiar. There is Pro mode. You get Night mode, Hi-Res, Panorama, Slo-mo, Time-lapse, Dual-view video, Underwater mode, Sticker and Breeno Scan.
Daylight shots were brilliant with a lot of details, and the dynamic range is better with auto HDR. Wish it had a bigger sensor like the Pro model. The 8MP ultra-wide is decent. You can shoot macro images with the main camera which is decent, but you can’t go too close.
The phone gets a 3.5X periscope telephoto camera after ages, and this is a huge upgrade compared to the 2MP macro in the Reno13. Even at 30x zoom, the details are good, thanks to computational photography, but after that you start to lose details. You get up to 120x zoom.
The portrait does a good job in 1x, 2x and 3.5x modes. Low light shots are good, but can be better, and night mode is useful. The 50MP autofocus front camera does a brilliant job as usual, and the front camera portrait shots are good as well.
Check out the camera samples
It can record videos in up to 4K 60 fps resolution, slow motion 1080p at 120fps and 480 fps, and the front camera can also record 4K 60fps videos. Except for the ultra-wide, the other two rear and the front camera supports HDR video recording. There is OIS and EIS, which does a good job. The phone also has portrait video recording, but it is limited to 1080p.
Software, UI and Apps
The Reno 14 runs Android 15-based ColorOS 15 out of the box. The phone will get 3 Android updates and 5 years of security updates. ColorOS 15 brings minimalist aesthetic, featuring a visually harmonious and sophisticated interface, enhanced by integrating diffuse shadows, natural blurs, and dual-layer blending.
There are redesigned icons and widgets, the new Flux Theme that lets you customize layouts and effects to create a unique setup that seamlessly transitions between the Always-On Display, Lock Screen, and wallpaper. The UI is also smoother to use.
This also brings several new features such as AI Clarity Enhance that can enhance low resolution images, AI Unblur and AI Reflection Remover that can remove reflections from images. The AI features include screen translator, AI writer and AI summary.
The new Mind Space lets users save and organize important on-screen information — such as events, bookings, or listings, helping avoid information overload. This can be triggered on any screen by swiping from bottom with three fingers.
Out of 8GB LPDD5x RAM, you get 7.47GB of usable RAM, and about 3GB of RAM is free when default apps are running in the background. It also has DRE or dynamic RAM expansion feature, which uses the built-in storage as RAM. This has up to 8GB of additional RAM expansion.
Out of 256GB UFS 3.1 storage, you get about 218.6GB of free storage. In addition to Google apps, it comes preloaded with FinShell Pay, Facebook, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Phonepay, Amazon Spotify apps. Since it has an IR Blaster, it has IR remote app which is useful.
Fingerprint sensor and Face unlock
It has an in-display optical fingerprint sensor that unlocks the phone quickly. You can add up to 5 fingerprints. You can also use the fingerprint for app local and payments in apps.
Furthermore, you can change the fingerprint animation and also disable it, and also enable quick launch option to launch apps directly from the lock screen by holding the fingerprint. The phone also has face unlock feature.
Music and Multimedia
It has customizable Smart, Movie, Game and Music modes. It doesn’t have FM Radio support. Audio through the stereo speakers is good without any distortion even in full volume. Audio through earphones is good as well.
This has Widevine L1, so that you can play HD content on streaming apps. There is HDR which works on Netflix, YouTube and other, supported apps.
Dual SIM and Connectivity
The OPPO Reno14 has support for n1/n2/n3/n5/n7/n8/n12/n20/n26/n28/n38/n40/n41/n66/n77/n78 5G bands. It has VoWi-Fi and VoLTE, with support for Carrier Aggregation on 4G and 5G. Other connectivity options include Wi-Fi 6 802.11 be (2.4GHz + 5GHz) with triple antennas for gaming, Bluetooth 5.4, BEIDOU, GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, USB Type-C 2.0. The Indian version doesn’t have NFC support.
OPPO’s AI LinkBoost 3.0 uses a 360° annular-ring antenna system combined with intelligent network switching to maintain strong connectivity even in traditionally weak-signal areas like basements, elevators, or crowded public spaces, said the company.
Moving on, the call quality is good, and we did not face any call drops and the earpiece volume was loud. You get the default OPPO dialer with call recording and OPPO messaging apps. There is also AI summary feature.
The OPPO Reno 14’s body SAR is 0.852W/Kg and head SAR is at 1.124W/Kg that is well under the limit in India, which is 1.6 W/kg (over 1 g).
Performance and Benchmarks
This retains the MediaTek Dimensity 8350 4nm processor from the Reno13. This has 4x Arm Cortex-A715 at 3.35GHz and 4x Arm Cortex-A510 at 2.2GHz. The SoC is fabricated using the TSMC’s second generation 4nm process technology.
There is Mali-G615 6-core GPU that offers good gaming performance. The phone has Nano Dual-Drive Cooling uses a 4700mm² vapor chamber and 16596mm² aerospace graphite.
You can play graphic-intensive games like COD, BGMI and Genshin Impact. In BGMI HDR Ultra works, features Free Fire at 60fps and BGMI at 90fps.
In 3D Mark wild life stress test, it scored 52% which is just average. The temperature increased from 31 to 43 degrees, which is not decent. That said, check out some synthetic benchmark scores below.
Battery life
Coming to the battery life, the phone packs a 6000mAh (typical) battery, up from 5600mAh in the predecessor. It lasts for a whole day with Wi-Fi, but with 4G or 5G and dual SIMs it should be less. OPPO promises battery capacity retention rate of more than 80% after 5 years of use.
I got over 5 half hours of screen on time with a whole day of use, mostly on Wi-Fi, and occasional 5G use in 120Hz in 1.5K resolution. Since the phone has support for 80W SuperVOOC fast charging, it can charge up to 100% in about an hour. There are smart charging, option to stop charging at 80%, and the smart rapid charging can charge the device faster if the battery is too low.
Conclusion
The OPPO Reno14 is good upgrade to the Reno13 even though the changes are minor, and remains a good mid-range comeptitor. With a size between a normal and a more compact phone, the size is perfect. The telepho camera and 4K 60 fps HDR recording are the highlights, and the it also has good build and comes with IP66, IP68 and IP69 ratings for dust and water resistance.
However, the battery life could get better with optimzation, and the Indian version misses out on the NFC.
Alternatives
The realme 14 Pro+ is a good alternative with a periscope telephoto camera, and the 15 Pro is expected soon. If you are not into camera, then the POCO F7 is a cheaper alternative.
Pricing and availability
The OPPO Reno14 is priced at Rs. 37,999 for the 8GB + 256GB model, the 12GB + 256GB model costs Rs. 39,999 and the 12GB + 512GB model is priced at 42,999.
It will be available from Amazon.in, Flipkart, OPPO online store, and offline stores starting from July 8th with pre-orders underway.
Pros
- 1.5K AMOLED 120Hz display is good
- Smooth performance
- Good camera performance in daylight, exceptional seflies
- Solid build quality, IP66 + IP68 + IP69 ratings
- Decent battery life with 80W fast charging
Cons
- No NFC support in the Indian version
- Bloatware