OPPO Reno 8T 5G review; A New Approach!

This OPPO Reno 8T 5G review is also available on YouTube, where you can see way more details including camera samples, to help you better understand the device.

I want this to be a short review, so as not to go over things we’ve previously said about OPPO devices. These include the fact that the software is clean, and you will be assured of updates and that there’s a lot of customisability of things to give the device your own look and experience.

I can say that the OPPO Reno 8T 5G brings two new things:

• A new approach by OPPO
• And new pricing

These are the three things I will focus on this review. You can be assured that if I don’t mention something, it’s probably because nothing has changed on that front. So if you’re familiar with OPPO device, more so RENO devices, you will be getting the same experience on those fronts.

New Approach

The first thing OPPO has changed is noticeable even before unboxing the new Reno 8T 5G. That is the packaging. It has changed. As far as I can remember, OPPO Reno devices have had a turquoise and black box. That’s gone. 

The second thing that’s different is the new camera system. OPPO has taken a huge leap with a new 108MP lens. The camera system at the back is huge, and an obvious eye catcher. 

You can expect good quality pictures. They’re not excellent, and still suffer from the same OPPO softness. However, the processing on them has improved, and they’re sharper and a little more detailed than before. Portrait mode is better than before, but only when the lighting is good. 

The two extra lenses at the back are a 2MP depth sensor and a 2MP microscope camera, which I don’t think was even necessary. 

Videography is also slightly improved, with the videos being quite stable even when hand-held. However, you can only shoot 1080p content. No option for 2k or 4k videos, a huge disappointment given this phone is 50,000 shillings. 

The third new thing is the display. For the longest time OPPO has shipped a sizeable 6.4 inch AMOLED panel. This time, they’ve jumped to a 6.7 inch slightly curved AMOLED panel. The curve is good. It isn’t aggressive, and you won’t experience accidental touches.

It is still the same panel, i would say as with previous Reno phones. Meaning its brightness is okay, its smooth and nice to look at, and it supports Full HD Netflix Playback. There’s no HDR support though the specs list it as being able to reach 950 nits of brightness. 

The fourth new thing is the overall design language. OPPO has always shipped incredible-feeling phones for their Reno series. This isn’t any different. However, it feels way better than most of the previous Reno phones because of a couple of things: 

First, it is very very light on the hand. This is despite it coming with a 4800mAh battery which supports 67W wired charging that gets you to 100% in just about 45mins. I don’t know how OPPO managed to make it very light despite packing a big battery and cooling technology to support the charging speeds. 

Secondly, the back material shine is still here from the past days, but now even more pronounced. I like this. 

Thirdly, the back also curves slightly similar to the front glass display. This makes the metallic frame around the phone look amazing, and gives the device that impossibly thin look and feel. 

New Pricing:

In every OPPO Reno review, I’ve always pointed out that pricing always is an issue for many customers. For the first time in years, OPPO has made a huge turn. The new Reno 8T 5G is priced at KES 49,999 while the Reno 8T 4G is KES 37,999. This is way cheaper – especially for the 4G model – than the starting price of Reno devices as far back as the Reno 3 and Reno 4.

However, OPPO is also using processors that aren’t at par with competition at these prices. The argument can be made that this is where OPPO cut cost. Though in normal day to day use, I’ve found my device to be okay in performance, and very reliable for any task I could ask of it. 

OPPO has promised 4 years of Android System Updates and 5 years of Security Updates. That’s even better than what Google promises for its Pixels. And perhaps a huge selling point for people considering a phone at 50k. 

What are your thoughts on the new Reno 8T 5G? Would you buy one? 

OPPO Reno 8T 5G Specifications