The OPPO Reno8 T 5G is a new smartphone model that has been recently launched in Kenya for Ksh 49,999. This can be considered as the successor to the OPPO Reno 8 series that the company launched in the country last year. The Reno 8 was available in 4G and 5G variants with the 5G variant retailing for Ksh 59,999. The Reno8 T 5G being cheaper is quite impressive as it is the newer model with quite a number of upgrades that make it worth having.
Since I reviewed the Reno 8 5G last year, I was curious to see what the Reno8 T had to offer and if it was worth upgrading compared to its predecessor. I also wanted to see how it compares to the other competitors on the market. When marketing this phone, OPPO focuses on three main points, the camera, curved display and fast charging. Are these enough to make the phone stand out? We will find that out in this review.
Unboxing the OPPO Reno8 T 5G
This is what you should expect to get in the box when you buy the OPPO Reno8 T 5G.
- The OPPO Reno8 T 5G
- USB Cable
- Wall Adapter supporting 67W fast charging
- Silicone Case
- User guide and warranty information.
Design and Build
The OPPO Reno8 T 5G has a sleek and stylish design that measures. Every time I show someone this phone, they are impressed with the design and build quality. Compared with the Reno 8 5G, the Reno8 T 5G is well built. It looks and feels premium with the curved display and it is very light. The design feels like a complete 360 from the Reno 8 from last year and that is a good thing. The back is made of plastic but the side panels are made of metal for a sturdy build.
The phone has a dual SIM slot, which supports Nano-SIM and dual standby. The SIM slot is at the bottom of the phone next to the USB-C port and the speaker grille. The second speaker grille is on the earpiece. It also features an under-display optical fingerprint sensor for added security. The OPPO Reno8 T 5G is available in two colors – Midnight Black and Sunrise Gold. I got the Sunlight Gold version for this review.
At the back we also have the camera module that houses the three cameras including the 108MP main sensor. I will talk more about the cameras later in this review.
In summary, OPPO nailed the design with Reno8 T 5G. It is a complete upgrade compared to the Reno 8 from last year and stands out compared to more other smartphones within its price range.
Display
The OPPO Reno8 T 5G features a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with 1B colors. This is a curved display that looks stunning. The curve is subtle but still there and you will notice it when you take the phone out of the box for the first time. The display has a 120Hz refresh rate, and a resolution of 1080 x 2412 pixels. The high refresh rate offers a smooth and seamless visual experience meaning that you can enjoy an incredibly fluid and responsive experience, especially when playing games or scrolling through apps and websites.
Since this is an AMOLED panel, you also get deeper blacks and more vibrant colors. The display has an excellent color accuracy and brightness of up to 950 nits. The Reno8 T 5G also supports HDR10+ content, which enhances the color contrast and provides a more immersive viewing experience. This display is perfect for use under different lighting conditions and I have not had any issues with that at all.
Compared to the Reno8 5G, the Reno8T has a higher refresh rate, is slightly bigger and is curved.
Performance
The OPPO Reno8 T 5G is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G chipset, which is based on 6nm architecture. The chipset is paired with an octa-core processor. The phone comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of internal storage, which can be expanded up to 1TB using a dedicated microSDXC slot. The review unit I got has 256GB of storage space which I think is the sweet spot for anyone thinking of buying this phone. If you take lots of photos with your phone, the larger memory size is a must.
The OPPO Reno8 T 5G runs on Android 13, which is based on ColorOS 13. The software provides a smooth and intuitive user experience with a range of customization options. This is the first smartphone from OPPO to launch with Android 13 in Kenya and the experience has been great. OPPO’s customizations options are still there and even though the differences are subtle, they are still nice to have. The phone supports 5G connectivity, which provides faster download and upload speeds. I got to use Safaricom 5G and it worked just fine.
For everyday use, the Snapdragon 695 processor has handled things well. Even though this processor gets the job done, I wish OPPO could have gone with a more powerful processor as that could have been the icing on the cake. I had not performance issues even when running heavy applications and games. The phone did a great job in all these scenarios. ColorOS 13 is still lovely to use as it is not intrusive or obnoxious as some other custom UIs are. I gets the job done and does that really well.
Cameras
The OPPO Reno8 T 5G features a triple camera setup at the back, which includes a 108 MP wide-angle primary camera, a 2 MP macro camera, and a 2 MP depth camera. The primary camera is capable of producing high-quality images with rich detail and accurate colors, even in low-light conditions. The macro camera is designed to capture close-up shots with a high level of detail, while the depth camera is used to add bokeh effect to portrait shots.
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- 1X Zoom
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- 3X Zoom
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- 6X Zoom
The back camera is just good and way better that the 50MP camera we had on the Reno 8. The phone also supports 6X zoom that i was impressed with.
The front camera on the Reno8 T 5G is a 32 MP sensor, which is capable of capturing detailed selfies with accurate colors. The camera also comes with HDR and panorama modes, which help in capturing better selfies in different lighting conditions.
Battery and Charging
The OPPO Reno8 T 5G is powered by a 4800 mAh non-removable battery, which can last for a full day on a single charge with moderate usage. The phone also supports 67W wired charging, which can charge the phone from 0 to 100% in just 44 minutes. Additionally, the phone also supports reverse wired charging, which means that it can be used to charge other devices. Even though 67W fast charging is good, OPPO could have maintained the 80W charging speeds we had on the Reno 8 from last year.
The battery lasts the whole day as I have mentioned and if you happen to run low, there are some power saving modes you can use to get it to last even longer.
If you prefer letting your phone charge overnight, the Reno8 T 5G can trickle charge all night and then bump up the charging speeds right about when you normally wake up. Your phone already has a good prediction of when you wake up and can optimize the charging to ensure it doesn’t charge at the fastest speeds overnight.
Other Features
The OPPO Reno8 T 5G comes with a variety of other features, including an under-display fingerprint sensor, which is fast and accurate. The phone also has an accelerometer, gyro, proximity sensor, and compass. It runs on the latest Android 13 operating system with OPPO’s own ColorOS 13 skin on top. The phone also supports NFC, which can be used for contactless payments.
Verdict
Overall, the OPPO Reno8 T 5G is a great phone that offers a lot of features for its price. It has a large AMOLED curved display which adds a unique and modern look and is visually appealing. The display also creates a more immersive viewing experience by extending the screen’s edges and allowing the user’s eyes to take in more of the display at once. If you have always wanted a smartphone with a curved display, this is worth considering. The Reno8 T 5G’s display also has a with a high refresh rate.
The processor on the Reno8 T 5G is not the most powerful out there but it still gets the job done. Multitasking is not an issue on this phone so is running heavy applications and games. The Phone also has a great camera system made up of a 108MP camera. The primary lens has an aperture of f/1.7 and a 24mm focal length, allowing for excellent low-light performance and high-resolution photos. The macro lens can capture detailed close-up shots, while the depth sensor helps to create a blurred background effect in portrait mode. The camera also supports LED flash, HDR, and panorama modes, and it can record 1080p videos at 30 frames per second.
67W SuperVOOC fast charging is not the fastest from OPPO but is still very fast. It makes it a great option for those who need a device that can be quickly topped up on the go. OPPO has a solid device here, having used it during the review period, I am impressed and I can say this phone is worth having.
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