Oppo Reno 8 5G First Impressions: A Slim and Stylish Mid-Range Contender

Oppo’s brand new Reno 8 5G sure looks appealing with its slim and stylish design. It packs a capable processor and a quicker charging system. While this is all good, the big question is does it address the shortcomings of its predecessor and how does it stack up against competing smartphones in this segment? I’ve used the Oppo Reno 8 5G for a little while and here are my first impressions.

The Oppo Reno 8 Pro 5G, just like its predecessor, is available in a single variant with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage that is priced at Rs. 29,999. However, unlike the Oppo Reno 7 5G (Review), it does not feature expandable storage so users will have to make do with the onboard storage, which is limited to 101GB after booting up.

The Oppo Reno 8 5G has a slim design that’s just 7.67mm at its thinnest point

The phone is available in two finishes. There’s a Shimmer Black that has a matte-black finish, and a Shimmer Gold which is the one I received. The phone feels quite slim at 7.67mm and the only protrusion around the back are the cameras. Oppo has merged the camera module with the phone’s rear panel which is made out of polycarbonate. The arrangement looks seamless and unique and very similar to what has been done on the pricier Reno 8 Pro.

While I’m not a fan of the sparkly rainbow colours of the Shimmer Gold finish, its matte texture seems good at rejecting fingerprints. The frame of the phone is also made of polycarbonate and this makes it fairly light at 179g. There’s no official IP rating with the Reno 8 5G, but I did spot a proper rubber seal around the SIM card tray hinting that it may have some ingress protection.

The Oppo Reno 8 5G has a 6.43-inch full-HD+ AMOLED panel with a 90Hz refresh rate

The 6.43-inch display on the front is of the AMOLED variety and features a full-HD+ resolution with a 90Hz refresh rate. It is flat and has an embedded fingerprint reader, but does not feature any HDR certification. Just like the Reno 7 5G, the phone only features a single bottom-firing speaker, which quite honestly, is a big miss as most smartphones at and below this price have stereo speakers.

The Reno 7 5G’s MediaTek Dimensity 900 SoC has been upgraded to a Dimensity 1300 SoC on the Reno 8 5G. It’s a worthy upgrade and should deliver good mid-range performance as I experienced on the OnePlus Nord 2T 5G. The phone runs Oppo’s ColorOS 12.1 which is based on Android 12. Things seemed to run smoothly during my initial use and the 90Hz screen refresh rate made any interaction with the software feel fluid.

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

Oppo has upgraded the Reno 8 5G’s cameras by going with the popular 50-megapixel Sony IMX766 sensor for its primary camera and an 8-megapixel Sony IMX355 sensor in the ultra-wide camera. Both cameras offer hardware-level DOL-HDR technology which Oppo claims can deliver better colour and dynamic range. There’s a 2-megapixel camera for macro photos which is the same as before and the same can be said about the 32-megapixel selfie camera. Just like on the Reno 8 Pro 5G (First Impressions), the Sony IMX766 does not have optical image stabilisation (OIS).

The Oppo Reno 8 5G’s 4,500mAh battery capacity remains the same as before, but it now supports 80W charging and the charger comes in the box. Oppo claims that the Reno 8 5G can charge from zero to 50 percent in just 11 minutes, but I will have to test out these claims in the full review.

The Oppo Reno 5G seems to have everything one would expect from a mid-range smartphone. There’s the capable processor, a fast charging system and capable cameras, but Oppo hasn’t really addressed the shortcomings of the previous model. There’s still no official IP rating, no stereo speakers and the phone’s body is still made out of polycarbonate, unlike the Reno 6 5G (Review). How does it stack up against the similarly priced and spec’ed OnePlus Nord 2T 5G (Review), and is it unique enough to take on similarly priced devices such as the Realme 9 Pro+ 5G (Review) or the iQoo Neo 6 (Review)? Find out in our detailed review, coming soon on Gadgets 360.