The OPPO Reno8 T 5G in this review is sort of pancaked in between the company’s value-centric offerings and its more premium flagships. It’s specced higher than the vanilla OPPO Reno 8 T but not quite up there with the best of the best. With the intent to deliver on both ends, is it successful in wearing both hats or does it fall flat on its face? We tested the device to find out.

How does the Reno8 T 5G look and feel?

The first thing you’ll notice about the OPPO Reno8 T 5G is the curved display. By now, we’re all on different sides of the field with regard to this design philosophy. However, we won’t deny that the implementation here is very flagship-esque and reminds us of features we only used to see at a substantially higher price point.

As the display tapers onto the side, the metal frame of the smartphone also feels very reassuring to the touch. There’s no hint of flex or cheap engineering whatsoever. Most features are at the bottom, including the USB Type-C port as well as the microSD card tray. Yes, this still supports memory cards in 2023, which is a huge selling point for some power users out there. The ability to easily expand memory and switch to a different storage option is a huge plus for other buyers. Seeing this seemingly “outdated” feature make its way in a modern smartphone of this caliber speaks to the projected longevity of the device moving forward.

The backside of the phone, meanwhile, is resplendent in this Sunrise Gold color scheme. Move the phone around a light and you’ll witness a wide range of colors like a rainbow during golden hour. Besides the usual OPPO branding, we also have text that indicates the “108 MP PORTRAIT CAMERA.” Two concentric circles line up on the top left portion of the device, including the camera system which we’ll get to later.

It’s one of the more classy-feeling devices around and won’t be mistaken for a cheap device at all.

Is the display any good?

Save for the curved nature of the display which we’ve gone into a while ago, the 6.7-inch panel also shows some breathtaking colors thanks to its AMOLED technology. Everything is sharp and punch as we’ve come to expect from modern-day displays of this type, although we’d say that there’s still a bit of a difference between this and top-shelf material. Nonetheless, it’s not something the untrained eye would notice – especially if they weren’t side-by-side.

Thanks to the Dynamic 120Hz refresh rate, everything is silky smooth. Moving between various windows and pages is an effortless breeze.

The size would have been gigantic in the past, but this is more or less the average for smartphones nowadays. It’s superb for content consumption; whether that’s just scrolling ’til you drop on TikTok or a full-fledged movie marathon on Netflix. It’s also a sweet spot for reading manga and comics in bed since the characters are still legible at that size but it’s not a hassle to hold, like a tablet in some cases.

Outdoor use, meanwhile, is very much possible. It definitely gets bright enough, but more importantly, it also protects your eyes in dim settings. If you accidentally drop it, you don’t have to worry so much as it has “DT-Star protective glass” that is advertised to very durable.

Does the Reno8 T 5G have capable cameras?

One of the selling points of the OPPO Reno8 T 5G in this review over the vanilla version is the bump in megapixels up to 108. Those who follow our content know that we often preach against the pixel count race, but sometimes they do have adverse effects on the performance of the sensor and eventual resulting photos.

In ideal lighting conditions such as our studio, details come through quite well. They’re well-defined even when zoomed in which is an indication of a workable camera system. Professionals will be happy to note that colors are more on the neutral side.

These characteristics are also evident in outdoor shots such as the ones you see here.

This type of image processing makes it easier to edit photos before they go up on social media and other outlets; although casual users who expect vivid colors to pop out from their photos may be a little disappointed.

So where did all the saturation go? Surprisingly, pictures taken at 3x zoom and up appear to be brighter and punchier and will surely appease those who upload straight from their photo galleries. There are settings wherein they switch roles, but it’s quite evident that these two settings handle colors quite differently even if HDR is set at auto. As to why this happens when the zoom here is purely digital, we have yet to discover.

In bright indoor settings, natural hues and yellows can be overpowered by white lights. This photo was taken in a Starbucks, which we know to have a fusion of yellow and whitish lighting at night. Looking at this photo though, you can only see the whitish shades and not much of the yellow hues.

If you’re wondering about this camera system’s “highlight feature,” it’s OPPO’s latest “micro camera.” It effectively operates as a microscope that allows you to meticulously zoom in on… quite a lot of things. The images are jarring at first, but this is a fun little tool that we can imagine to be used for some more meaningful purposes in the future.

What’s it like to live with the Reno8 T 5G?

Found inside the OPPO Reno8 T 5G is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 paired with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. As mentioned earlier, we’re over the moon about the fact that expandable storage has somehow been integrated into this device.

As expected, everyday tasks can be done in style and grace. There are no hints of lag since both the processor and the UI work harmoniously to deliver a smooth experience. Multitasking is very much possible given the amount of RAM at your disposal.

Games like Mobile Legends and Call of Duty Mobile on this device run quite effortlessly. We put on a game of Asphalt 9: Legends and enjoyed a little bit too much – bordering on working on the clock. The game was set on High Settings all the way without any hiccups.

Next up was the flagship-wrecking Genshin Impact. It’s a game known to bring even the top processors to their knees. Pressing on “High” settings is a bit of overkill, but surprisingly the device took it quite well. It operated at a stable 25-30 FPS which is enough for some people. Although admittedly, we experienced some stutters for the more intense battle scenes – but this is to be expected. For a smoother experience, we pushed it to Medium and didn’t have any problems after that.

Here are some benchmark comparisons with some close competitors. For context, the Xiaomi 12 Lite shelters the Snapdragon 778G while the Infinix ZERO ULTRA has the Dimensity 920 chipset.

This device loses 200 mAh of battery capacity from its vanilla sibling. We were still able to get all-day moderate use out of it without having to plug into the wall. That’s more than good enough for us. Should the battery run out, a 67W SUPERVOOC charger comes standard in the box. The onboard Battery Health Engine maintains the balance between charging speed and safety, assuring users of 1600 top-up cycles without a hitch.

Who is the Reno8 T 5G for?

The OPPO Reno8 T 5G is for stylish, sophisticated individuals who see smartphones not only as a tool but also as an accessory.

Its stunning design is one of its strongest points and definitely punches above its weight. Its specifications on paper may not amaze those particular about numbers, but this device seeks a holistic user experience that meshes well into everyday life. It’s definitely one of the brand’s more memorable releases to date.

OPPO Reno8 T 5G Price Philippines

This smartphone will be available at an introductory price of PHP 23,990. If you aren’t all about the specs, then we’d say that the overall experience this smartphone delivers could be well worth it.

Customers who pre-order until March 9, 2023 from OPPO Brand Stores and partner dealers will get free Enco Buds 2 worth Php 1,999 while those who avail through Shopee will have the same gift plus enjoy 0% interest installment for 3 months via SPayLater.