- uOppo today launched the Reno8 T in India, placed in the mid range segment.
- The smartphone is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G SoC.
- The smartphone comes at a price of ₹29,999
Price & Availability
The Oppo Reno8 T is available in one variant with 8GB of RAM & 128GB of internal storage priced at ₹29,999. You can buy the Reno 8T from Flipkart and all offline retail stores.
Design
Oppo Reno8 T breaks away from the flat-design form factor of its elder siblings. Sporting a curved design, the Reno 8T is definitely refreshing to look at. I have recently developed a liking for curved designs, and this device is only adding fuel to the fire. The curved design while looking premium also gives a proper grip for you to hold the device. The plastic back here does register some serious smudges but is not cautiously slippery. I had a similar experience with the Realme 10 Pro Plus, a device with a similar form factor.
The variant with me is in the Sunrise Gold color, a bit blingy for my taste, it also reflects different colors from multiple angles. The execution done by Oppo is commendable, and even if you are not a fan of blingy devices this might grow on you. It is a bit subtle when compared to the Realme 10 Pro Plus’s Hyperspace color for reference. Another variant is available with a black color scheme, which I find the best. Also, to me, the black variant looked more premium and chic, but this is a personal preference.
Now, the edges of the smartphone are in a metallic finish, which looks good. However, like me, if you use your devices without a cover you will start noticing minor scratches on the edges. A common problem on this finish, but important for me to point out.
On the back, we have a camera bump that is not protruding to a level that gets annoying. I also like the treatment for camera sensors here since they are housed in a metal casing. If you get a sincere design for a little wobble, I think that’s a fair trade-off. And if you can’t compromise on that either, then slapping a case solves the problem for good.
Oppo has also done a visual treatment on the back beneath the camera bump. It’s an extended patch of a different set of patterns with a text that reads - 108MP portrait camera. I don’t think it’s adding any value to the design. Oppo must be proud of considering the bundled case also has a separate patch to highlight this.
Moving on, the right side houses the power button, which is easily accessible. On the left, we have volume rockers. The quality of these buttons is satisfactory, with a robust finish.
At the bottom, we have a USB Type-C charging port housed next to the SIM card tray. Reno 8T is a 5G-enabled device and can hold two nano SIMs.
Overall, the Reno8 T successfully breaks away from the Reno 8 line-up in terms of design. Taking forward the necessary elements and experimenting with ease.
Display
The Reno8 T features a 6.7-inch OLED display with a screen resolution of 1080X2412 Pixels. Now, this is a bright panel with a peak brightness of 950 Nits. You can notice that right off the bat when the smartphone boots up since the colors and animation here pop instantly.
I mention brightness specifically because that comes in handy across use-case scenarios. Be it watching content or simply looking at the time from the always-on screen. A bright panel like this is easier to look at, even under direct sunlight. The details are crisp and the colors are natural and added with the curved display, it provides a solid experience.
While the panel’s response time is instantaneous, it is plagued with the usual jargon we see with a curved screen. Occasional mistouches are something common on curved displays.
While the execution here is top-notch, you can’t avoid touching the edges and opening up apps sometimes. Or, more commonly, missing out on the volume slider in portrait mode. Mind you, this is nitpicking, in the overall scheme of things, it is a very small trade-off.
The display here also houses the fingerprint scanner. An optical sensor, takes a split-second pause before unlocking the device. But, it has never missed out, which is commendable.
Where the screen absolutely shines is the viewing experience paired with the 120Hz refresh rate. I want to start with the refresh rate first.
A standard 120Hz refresh rate provides a smoother experience both in terms of gaming and reading content. This is common knowledge, and Reno8 T delivers it without a problem. However it misses out is the smart switch, where the smartphone can tune the refresh rate according to the content being displayed. I feel a feature like that would have added solid value to the experience.
That little dip is more than made up when it comes to the visual experience. The bright panel with color accuracy, is a treat to watch. The smartphone also supports HDR and widevine L1 which means you can watch HD content on OTT apps likke Netflix as well.
I have been hooked on The Last of Us on Disney+ Hotstar, and it also happens to be the perfect show for judging a display. The color tones ranging from bright outdoors to dark indoors, provide a variety for judgment. Fortunately, the Reno 8T has passed these tests with flying colors. The display never missed the mark, and the HDR was spot on. The blacks were Z blacks, and the display had minimal light leakage. So, if you like watching content on your smartphone then the Reno 8T would not disappoint you.
Oppo has not held back in terms of sound either. With a stereo speaker set-up, the audio output is loud. The sound also registers a fair amount of detail on lower volume levels. However, with super volume mode, the details fade away.
Software
Oppo Reno8 T runs on Android 13 out of the box and features Color OS 13 skin. While the overall experience of using the skin is mostly similar, there are some new additions to it.
I will start with the generic features first. There is pre-uploaded bloatware here, something I am not a fan of. Fortunately, it's minimal and can be uninstalled. I am yet to see any shady app recommendations here, which is good news.
Visually the Color OS 13 retains its strong suit The colors here are punchy, and the texts are crisp. The skin is easy to understand and navigate, which is favorable. Customization features are plenty where you can tweak every element on the screen. From widgets to icon designs and color schemes, you can play around with everything here. That being said, I wish Oppo could integrate the visual execution of stock Android 13 here, especially in the drop-down menu. I feel the bigger tiles of the default Android skin just look better and would have elevated the experience on this screen.
Keeping that aside, Oppo is dubbing the Color OS 13 as a smarter OS based on some new features. I would say they are partially there, and it has the potential to get better eventually.
Starting with auto pixelate. Simply put, the software blurs the display of pictures in screenshots to hide the identity of the individual. This might be missed when working automatically, but you can blur objects manually. What makes it even better is seeing the option on the screenshot menu itself.
Then there is Multi Screen Connect. It creates connectivity between Oppo products like the Pad Air. You can also connect PCs with your Oppo smartphones. This is a useful feature; the best use case here are presentations. However, the linkage takes time.
The meeting assistant happens to be the most useful. During a video call, the device can switch to a mobile network for a stable internet connection. I tested it out, and this does come in handy. A practical use case is of course if your router is placed far from your sitting area.
Oppo insists that their devices are future-proof, and it does show with the promise of update cycles. The brand says Reno 8T will receive two years of Android updates & three years of security updates.
Performance
Oppo Reno 8T is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G chipset. This is an interesting choice considering that the Reno 8T is aimed towards balanced performance. And the chipset does deliver it to a large extent.
In my week of usage, I have not felt that the device is underpowered. Everyday tasks like calling, emails, and web browsing have been very solid, and I am yet to notice any lags. The 8GB RAM on the smartphone is sufficient to handle generic social media apps and then some.
During my testing, I noticed the 8T holding on to apps for as long as a day. However, we do have to note this is a brand-new unit, and the performance might take a hit in the future.
For gaming, the Reno 8T’s base RAM might not be enough. So, you can use the RAM expansion feature here. An option to add another 8GB RAM does come in handy, with a visible improvement in boot-up speed of the apps.
For reference, I also ran a Geekbench 5 score on the Reno 8T. The smartphone had a respectable score of 691 in single-core performance. At the same time, the multi-core performance score was 2027. The numbers are decent and well within the range of what I was expecting.
I played COD: Mobile on the Reno 8T, and the experience was surprisingly good. For a phone not being pitched for gaming, it holds up well. I could play the game at maxed-out settings with both FPS and graphics taken up to the notch. But, this performance was stable only after I expanded the RAM by at least 5GB.
While the performance was mostly stable, the smartphone did get fairly warm after half an hour of nonstop gaming. Mind you this is at maxed-out settings and the refresh rate is set to 120Hz. If you compromise on the experience and output, the heating is well under control.
The variant with me packs 128GB of internal storage, which I feel is sufficient for a geneal user. However, not providing a higher storage option in the market is a shocker to me.
If this might not meet your requirements, you can pop in an SD card or access cloud storage.
The battery life on the Reno 8T has surprised me the most. The 4800 mAh battery averaged a screen on time of up to five hours. This was consistent for both heavy and light days. With 67W of SuperVOOC charging, it took about 40 minutes to charge from 0-100%. This was with mobile data turned on. Oppo claims that the device has been verified to go through 1600 charge cycles, double the industry standard. This testing was done by a third-party agency. This is huge, considering it adds a substantial amount of life to the usage. I have also seen the torture test Oppo put’s it devices through; you can watch my video here.
Camera
Oppo Reno 8T features a triple camera setup on the back. The primary camera is a 108MP shooter paired with a 2MP depth camera and a 2MP microsensor. Yes a micro sensor, which used to click hi-res images of objects by magnifying them by 40X. Is it a valuable addition? I answer that with examples.
Taking forward the camera-centric approach with its smartphones, the 108MP camera is very solid. Throughout my testing, the results have surprised me mostly because Oppo’s algorithm delivers a final result that is starkly different from what you see in the viewfinder.
In bright outdoors, the images are crisp with vivid colors and spot-on dynamic range. Oppo claims that without selecting the dedicated 108MP mode, the images will have a trace of that spec. This is true. Images taken spontaneously are also well put, and you can zoom into them without losing details.
There is a bump in quality when you choose the dedicated 108MP sensor. The images pack in more details, and color tones are more accurate.
Indoors, the camera takes a hit, with the noise and dynamic range going for a toss. This is especially prominent with harsh indoor lighting. Yes, the performance does strike back when you turn on the night mode. Unlike its older sibling the Reno 8 Pro, we do not have a Marisilicon NPU here, for improving the image quality. Still, the default night mode does hold up well.
The 2MP depth sensor here works well in sync with the primary camera. Edge detection is solid and could create bokeh around multiple subjects in a frame without any worries—definitely something to shout about.
The 2MP micro sensor, while being effective, seems like a waste to me. I feel a dedicated ultra-wide sensor would have been a better addition to this setup. Yet if you are a microphotography enthusiast, then you will like it.
The video output on the camera is surprisingly good. The camera can record 4K videos up to 30FPS, with the audio feed being crystal clear. Content creators can have a ball with the setup.
The Selfie camera here is a 32 MP shooter, and is loaded with Oppo’s face filters. As claimed by Oppo, the camera does fair well against Indian skin tones getting the correct colors at most times. However, the colors tend to go off under articulate lighting.
Closing the image section with face filters, the options here are plenty. I am reiterating here that I am personally not a big fan of them. However, the right audience for this will have a good time using them. Especially considering the filters can apply upto three people perfectly in the same frame.
Video performance from the front camera is satisfactory. However, the focus shift here is slower, and there is a visible lag. So if you are planning to make content from the device, better rely on the primary sensor.
Verdict
The Oppo Reno 8T is a mild upgrade over the Reno 8 and adds value to the line-up. The curved display out of the box Android 13, decent camera specs, and an efficient battery are its highlights.
So if you are looking for a well balanced device which looks good and can perform decently across key areas, this is the one for you.
However, if you can compromise on the design and seek a more powerful camera setup, you should check out The Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus. You can also opt for the Nothing Phone (1), the unique design and decent camera experience is credible for an investment.