OPPO Reno5 Review: The Phone With All The Right Features

A decent camera and good battery life were some of the bare requirements that most smartphone users had a few years ago. However, the tech world moves fast and today, people want a phone that can cook an egg if possible. OPPO Kenya introduced the Reno Series to cater to the current demands for the mid-range market and it has done pretty well in keeping up with the market. Its latest addition, the OPPO Reno5, takes it a notch higher with features that have made it an instant hit.

There’s a lot to love about the OPPO Reno5. Actually, the phone is nearly perfect. It’s equipped with a ton of great features that give most mid-range phones and even some high-end phones a run for their money. From a stunning design to impressive performance speeds, here are some of the best features of the OPPO Reno5.

• Camera

This isn’t just another averagely good camera. OPPO ensured that it stands out from the rest in the market. First, it’s well-designed with elegant housing that doesn’t protrude as much at the back. At the front, you’ll see a punch-hole camera placed on the left corner giving the phone a sleek, flawless look.

The phone features a 44MP front camera and a 64MP quad rear setup that includes an 8MP wide-angle lens, 2MP macro module, and 2MP mono lens. This, together with a powerful Colur10 OS and AI technology, enables you to capture moments in vibrant detail.

I found the camera app pretty straightforward and easy to navigate. Once you open the app, you’re able to choose different features and modes easily making your photo-taking experience pleasant.

The quad setup offers great effects for both photo and video modes. For instance, the wide-angle lens has colour accuracy similar to the main lens. The mono lens captures excellent details both in photo and video modes.

The front camera on the OPPO Reno5 takes decent selfies both in low light and normal light thanks to its powerful lens. You can also access different AI-assisted modes like AI Colour Portrait and Night Mode that allow you to enhance the camera’s performance for the best picture quality.

AI Scene Enhancement recognizes different objects and brings out their colour. Its colour accuracy also enables you to capture natural-looking images.

Boke Mode allows you to focus on the subject while the background is blurred.

AI Colour Portrait mode turns the background into grayscale while leaving the foreground object in full colour. It’s also available on both the front and rear cameras.

It captures great photos in low light thanks to the Night Mode feature. So, even when you lose daylight, your picture quality will not be compromised.

Similarly, when there are bright lights at night, Night Flare Portrait mode adjusts the light for better results.

4K recording on the OPPO Reno5 is quite impressive with excellent stabilization and focus. You also get a few cool upgrades on the video feature to step up your videography game. For instance, you can record with the front and rear camera at the same time thanks to the Dual-view feature.

Ultra Night Video and LiveHDR use AI technology to recognize light levels and then adjust them accordingly.

The in-built Soloop mode allows you to customize your videos and pictures with just a simple tap. This is great if you’re a content creator or want to upgrade your social media posts. You can choose from a number of templates with different scenes, add filters and music to your videos then share them directly. I feel like they should add more African music though.

Videos mashed together on SOLOOP

This jacket/dress is such a mood. I love the fabric colours & how it is so versatile. Makes me want to dance. Wait I did ?
? Video by @nepurko while @paushinski was taking stills with a camera ?
Location @goldentulipnrb
Phone #OPPOReno5 @OPPO_Kenya
Earrings @aleyakassam pic.twitter.com/iAmKQWHXac

— Rayhab (@potentash) March 12, 2021

Some other modes include Slo-mo, Time-lapse, AI Mixed Portrait, Pro/Expert Mode, Panoramic, Text Scanner, Macro Mode, and Stickers. Read more on Picturing Life Through The Lenses Of The OPPO Reno5

Here are some of the images from the phone

Food

When I am shooting something, I try to match my hair, nails and accessories to a key thing I want to wear.

? by @nepurko
Styled by me.
Phone photography – #OPPOReno5 @OPPO_Kenya.
Shot at @goldentulipnrb cc @paushinski pic.twitter.com/UwyUpM5kBk

— Rayhab (@potentash) February 27, 2021

Just chilling at @goldentulipnrb. The sun had decided to show me favour.
? By @nepurko #OPPOReno5 @oppo_kenya pic.twitter.com/TPtXL4S2eT

— Rayhab (@potentash) February 27, 2021

Turns out I need a bit of practice on trying to keep my balance ???

? By @nepurko

Loving the #OPPOReno5 video.

Location @goldentulipnrb @OPPO_Kenya @paushinski pic.twitter.com/bVkK1Cn274

— Rayhab (@potentash) March 2, 2021

AI Mixed portrait screenshot

Portrait

 

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A post shared by Rayhab Gachango (@potentash7)

Dual View of flowers

Portrait

Video

Hae please @SilasMiami @MaggietheMezzo ???
? By @nepurko #OPPOReno5 cc @paushinski @OPPO_Kenya pic.twitter.com/l5hYeHKK6o

— Rayhab (@potentash) February 27, 2021

Video in low light

I must get a necklace like this in my jewellery collection. @epicajewellery really makes some nice pieces. In the meantime let me wait for my neckpiece. #OPPOReno5 #TBT @OPPO_Kenya pic.twitter.com/NLKswsQCqa

— Rayhab (@potentash) April 8, 2021

AI Mixed Potrait

 

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A post shared by Rayhab Gachango (@potentash7)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Rayhab Gachango (@potentash7)

• Battery Life

Once again, the OPPO Reno5 lives up to expectations. The battery lasted 2 full days on moderate use. You also don’t have to worry when your battery is low. Thanks to the 50W fast charge, the battery filled up in under 1 hour.

The battery optimization features such as High-Performance Optimization, Sleep Standby Optimization, and Optimized Night Charging allowed me to customize the phone according to my charging needs.

If you use your phone to take pictures and videos like us and also surf the web and stream movies, you will appreciate how long the battery on the Reno 5 lasts and also how short a time it takes to charge the phone when the battery needs recharging. You can also optimize your battery charge by using options like sleep standby optimization, and optimized night charging.

You don’t have to wait long to charge your phone. The 50W Flash Charge increases the maximum power by 66.6% which ensures sufficient battery life within a short time period. In 31 minutes you can have charged the battery up to 80% and it only takes 48 minutes to charge the Reno5 to 100% of the battery.

At the same time, the 50W Flash Charge implements 5-layer Charging Protection for comprehensive end-to-end protection. All nodes, including the adapter, USB cable, mobile phone, and battery, are protected by specialized chips. At each node, these chips check whether the voltage and current levels are within permissible limits. Whenever there is a deviation from normal limits detected by one of the nodes, the current is switched off immediately. Read more about the Oppo Reno5 Fast Charging System

• Performance

It runs on Android 11, ColorOS v11.1, and a high-power Snapdragon 720G processor with 8GB RAM and internal storage of 128GB. If that’s not enough, it has an expandable internal memory of up to 256GB so you never run out of space for your games, apps, and files.

Even with heavy use, apps ran smoothly without a glitch. The streaming and gaming experience on the phone is especially pleasant as I didn’t experience any lagging.

• Design

Let’s address the elephant in the room – the design. It’s hard not to admire the OPPO Reno5’s elegant design at first glance. It’s available in two beautiful colours; Fantasy Silver and Starry Black. It also comes with a large 6.43-inch OLED display that supports up to a 90Hz refresh rate. I’ve talked about the punch hole camera design already but it’s worth mentioning it again because we found it quite stunning.

The curved design also looks sleek. It’s quite slim and lightweight. The body feels premium thanks to its gradient colours, aluminium lining, and matte finish. The access buttons on the side are firm and responsive.

• User Experience

OPPO Reno5’s user experience is great. If you’ve used an OPPO phone before, you know this is one of its best features. This is thanks to a responsive processor and simple UI. It has some similar features to its predecessor, the OPPO Reno4, like a floating sidebar and a responsive Face Unlock. They’ve also added some premium features such as an in-screen fingerprint reader is in-screen which is more favourable for most people.

Other Cool Features

• Netflix HD Certification
• Always-On Display
• Message Privacy

Verdict

The OPPO Reno5 is a phone you can play around with and do a lot. Many have stated that its price point may be on the higher side. It is more expensive than what the OPPO Reno4 cost during its launch which was already pricey for most people. However, the OPPO Reno5 is definitely worth it and it won’t disappoint you. Its features lean more towards the high-end side which justifies its price.

Check out this video review by OPPO Reno5.

OPPO Reno5 Specifications

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