Redmi NOTE 10 PRO vs OPPO Reno5; Which one is better?

This is a comparison to help you decide which device to pick between the two above. Personally, I am also at a sort of crossroads. I’ve used the Reno5 for a long time now. I totally love it, I know I’ve said that very many times. It is sleek, well built, has a great display, and great software. It performs great, has awesome battery life, and thanks to its 60W charger, the fastest charging times I’ve seen on any device. But, it is pricy.

On the other hand, I’ve got the Redmi NOTE 10 PRO from Xiaomi for a couple of days now. Immediately I unboxed it, it became my main device. That was a given because I not only want to test out the 108MP camera, I also want to use a 120Hz display. The only other devices I’ve had with 120Hz displays are my iPad Pro, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra (for a few days).

The Redmi NOTE 10 PRO is cheaper than the Reno5. But it manages to offer what could feel like a way better package. That’s the reason for me making this quick comparison. So let’s go.

Prices:

1. OPPO Reno5 has a set Recommended Retail Price of KES. 41,999 for the 8GB RAM, 128GB storage variant – You can get it from around KES. 38,000 with some dealers.
2. Redmi NOTE 10 PRO is selling for KES. 31,899 for the 8GB RAM, 128GB variant – This price can be higher with different retailers, however there are two other models with 6/64GB or 6/128GB that cost less.

Similar features:

1. AMOLED Displays: There’s nothing better right now on smartphone displays than AMOLED panels. The Redmi NOTE 10 PRO uses a Super AMOLED panel for its 6.67-inch display, while the Reno5 uses a normal AMOLED panel for its 6.43-inch display. There’s no noticeable difference between the two panels, apart from size.
2. Gorilla Glass Protection: Both have Gorilla Glass protection on top of their displays. However, the Reno5 uses Gorilla Glass 3 while the Redmi NOTE 10 PRO uses more advanced Gorilla Glass 5. Of course 5 is better than 3.
3. USB Type-C: This is a given at these price points.
4. Bluetooth 5.1: This new generation of Bluetooth connectivity brings reduced lag. The Reno5 however has support for aptX HD which is an enhanced codec allowing you to listen to 24-bit quality music over Bluetooth.
5. RAM and Storage: I am comparing the 8GB RAM models with 128GB storage here. So they’re similar in that sense. However, for the Redmi as stated above, you can get more variants with lesser RAM and Storage.
6. Android 11: Both run Android 11. However, remember both have their own skins and customisations. The Redmi comes with Xiaomi’s MIUI while the Reno comes with OPPO’s ColorOS.

Software:

I’ve written about both Skins in the past. Loving each at a particular period in time. MiUI is loud, different, and with all the extra features you may never use. Features that allow you to never require third-party functionality in many instances. They’ve done even more with MiUI 12 which you’ll find on the Redmi NOTE 10 PRO. Meanwhile, ColorOS by OPPO is currently my favourite Android Skin. I love it. It is clean, simple, direct, smooth, and beautiful.

In terms of software between the Reno 5 and the Redmi NOTE 10 PRO, I would pick the Reno5’s software because it is close to stock, and upgrades are nowadays fast, and assured. There’s also zero bloatware on the Reno5 compared to all the extra MI Apps on the NOTE 10 PRO that I have to disable, uninstall, or hide.

However, a few days in with the Redmi NOTE 10 PRO I must say I love that Xiaomi has also chosen the close to stock approach. Google apps are here by default, there are no third-party app stores, and you can (though its a process) disable recommendations and adverts which appear in some apps.

High-refresh Displays:

The Reno5 comes with a 90Hz panel. You don’t get this set by default, however. So you have to go to Settings >> Display and Brightness >> Scroll down to MORE >> Screen Refresh Rate >> Select 90Hz. It is so well hidden, many users may never set it on.

The Redmi NOTE 10 PRO on the other hand comes with a 120Hz panel. While people argue 120Hz is overkill, it isn’t. Your eyes can really tell the difference between 60, 90 and 120Hz. At least I can do. Not always though. Just when you try to point it out, or when gaming. So for many, 90Hz will do.

Anyways, for the Redmi NOTE 10 PRO, you also don’t get the 120Hz refresh rate set by default. You need to go to Settings >> Display >> Refresh Rate. That’s much quicker.

More stuff on the displays:

• Both devices don’t offer you auto-refresh rates as we’ve seen on other displays.
• The Reno5 has an awareness I love that keeps the display on as long as you are looking at it despite the time you set for it to go off. Really good for when doing stuff and not wanting to touch the display to keep it on.
• The Reno5 has the selfie camera on the left side of the screen while the Redmi NOTE 10 PRO has it on the centre. Different people have different preferences with this. I prefer it to the left so it doesn’t affect my full screen content.
• Both have Always-ON display features you can use, and both allow you to customise what appears on your always on screen.

HDR Content:

While you should be able to watch HDR Content on both displays say from downloaded stuff, or from YouTube, you can only watch HDR Netflix on the Redmi NOTE 10 PRO. That’s a big bonus to everyone who uses their phone to stream content. Remember the NOTE 10 PRO has a larger display too.

Performance:

I can’t say which device between the two is faster, or better or whatever. I can say however that I’ve had some instances of unexplained lags with the Redmi NOTE 10 PRO in the past few days. That’s something I’ve never (for real) had with the Reno5.

The Redmi NOTE 10 PRO uses the Snapdragon 732G processor while the OPPO Reno5 uses the Snapdragon 720G. According to comparisons online, the 732G is better than the 720G in benchmarks, and it beats the 720G in GPU performance, making it better for gaming and high-demand tasks. They however both offer similar battery performance.

In real life use, and thanks to software optimisation, I can’t say I prefer one processor over the other. I just wish Xiaomi fixes the unexplained lags I’ve experienced when switch apps, or when copy-pasting something between apps.

Battery and Charging:

OPPO wins it here for me easily. This is because despite it having a smaller 4300mAh battery, it gave me similar battery life on normal usage as I am getting with the Redmi NOTE 10 PRO which has a 5020mAh battery.

The Reno5 also comes with a stupidly fast 65W charger in the box. I wrote a whole article on how crazy the experience with fast charging is, and I don’t think anyone will love to go from 65W to 33W.

The Reno5 charges in 48mins from 0 to 100% while the NOTE 10 PRO takes 30mins to charge 0 to 59%. In usual daily use, I love the speed of the Reno5 when topping it up before going somewhere because even 5 minutes of charge can mean over 15% juice.

The NOTE 10 PRO however is very impressive too because in the usual daily use, filling it up when you need more juice say from 50% to 80% is also quite fast.

Fingerprint scanners:

This is not something I usually cover in comparisons, but here we are. I have never had any issues with side-mounted scanners. They’re good, logical, and easy to use. However Xiaomi chose the worst size for a scanner. It is too small. Meaning only you right hand’s thumb will work well with it. Other fingers will have a problem with recognition.

The Reno5 uses a more common optical under-display scanner which is accurate, fast, and really convenient with apps that require biometrics for access, or for payments.

Xiaomi could have used the same since they have an AMOLED panel too, but they chose the side scanner which I have found quite annoying. Perhaps it was a cost cutting decision.

Cameras:

Of course in numbers, the Xiaomi device totally kills the OPPO phone. It has a huge 108MP main sensor while the Reno5 has a 64MP sensor.

The things you need to know here are:

1. Both take 12MP photos by default
2. The Redmi NOTE 10 PRO has a huge camera bump that means it will wobble on the table a lot
3. Both have really good, simple, easy to use camera software.

So between the two cameras, which one do I like more? Well, this is easy for me. The Reno5 has the superior camera experience. It lets in more light, focuses shots much faster, keeps colours accurate (in my eyes), and retains more details.

This is not to say the Redmi NOTE 10 PRO camera is bad, nope. It just needs more work with focus, and colours. It also needs more work with highlights where it may at times reduce or blow them up.

The Reno5 also offers a superior video recording experience with lots of inbuilt features allowing you to do more creatively. Remember, it also has super stabilisation allowing you to record videos that are very steady something the Redmi NOTE 10 PRO from my experience cannot match.

In terms of the selfie cameras, the Reno5’s 44MP selfie also beats the Redmi NOTE 10 PRO’s 16MP shooter. It allows in more light, automatically knows when to increase screen brightness to act as a soft-light and is overall better with skin, and texture.

Samples:

So which one do I prefer?

This is a tough choice. The Redmi NOTE 10 PRO has the better specs, but one isn’t assured of software updates and the software as it is right now is a little weird because you find some lags here and there, and you have to turn off adverts in some apps, and the cameras don’t assure you of really good shots always, and there’s bloatware to be removed. On the other side, the Reno5 is much more expensive but offers a smoother experience with software, assured updates, and a clean no-bloatware experience.

It is obvious OPPO has the upper hand in a couple of things despite having what on paper looks like inferior specs. However, I will still choose the Redmi NOTE 10 PRO here because of price vs specs. I love the Reno5 a lot. But like I said in my review, I wish it was a little less expensive.

The Redmi NOTE 10 PRO brings the big specs to everyone – including IP53 certification – at highly-competitive prices and I must say I like Xiaomi for that! What about you?

Specs comparison: