Oppo Reno 10 5G review

The telephone on the bottom rung of the Oppo Reno 10 ladder, the Reno 10 5G could sit under the Reno 10 Professional and Reno 10 Professional Plus (a reputation that can actually preserve you up all night time) however will make you surprise why you’d need to head additional up the vary when the essential telephone is so good.

There’s lots on supply right here that was discovered solely on producers’ ‘professional’ telephones, and all of it sits behind a 6.7in AMOLED display screen that rivals many on the prime of the market in all however decision. And it prices simply £399, lots lower than comparable telephones from the likes of Samsung and Google.

Design & Construct

• Light-weight 
• Feels good within the hand 
• No IP score 

The factor that distinguishes telephones probably the most on this period of black pocket rectangles is the digital camera bulge, and the Reno 10’s is nothing if not distinctive. Its prime digital camera lens – the principle wide-angle digital camera with the 64Mp sensor behind it – is big, sitting above the 2 different lenses like a wierd hybrid of owl and cyclops.  

Elsewhere, it’s a pleasant trying telephone, with silver sides and a gray again that complement one another properly. It’s not too thick, not too huge (in my massive palms anyway). The strong and well-sealed construct makes you surprise why it doesn’t include an official IP score, however that certification prices additional. Nonetheless, you greatest not dunk it.

The buttons and charging port are precisely the place you’d anticipate them to be, whereas the one-hand mode and talent to make use of apps in floating home windows mixes up the standard Android expertise and makes the many of the 6.7in display screen. 

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Display screen & Audio system

• Vibrant AMOLED 
• 120Hz refresh fee 
• Single speaker grille 

AMOLED screens are among the many greatest you’ll discover on a smartphone in 2023, and the one on the Reno 10 5G with its decision of simply above 1080p is a wonderful instance.

The 120Hz refresh fee definitely helps, making interactions like opening folders and switching apps really feel clean, however the brightness and color distinction you get from an HDR10+ AMOLED means the appropriately named ColorOS Oppo makes use of (on prime of Android 13) can actually shine.

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There’s a theme retailer you’ll want to enroll to if you need the brightest backgrounds, however the extra muted ones from the built-in wallpaper choice are much less searing to the eyeballs and extra applicable for on a regular basis use. 

The ColorOS icons are at about 130% of the Android default (measured in opposition to a Pixel 6) and this, together with the contrasty display screen, makes it a fantastic place to seek out your apps and messages. The additional measurement could imply there are fewer icons on the display screen, however they’re simpler to seek out and use. 

The display screen itself curves round on the edges like a OnePlus telephone, and is roofed within the lesser-known AGC Dragontrail Star 2 glass, which claims 20% higher drop resistance than Gorilla Glass 5. The bezel is extraordinarily skinny, although the usable display screen space doesn’t lengthen fairly to the silver fringe of the casing, leaving a black rim across the display screen. 

The telephone claims to have stereo audio system, although just one grille is seen on the physique. As with all of the tiny audio system crammed into smartphone our bodies, they’re fantastic for a hands-free name or for utilizing the telephone as an alarm clock, however you’re going to need among the greatest wi-fi earbuds or a Bluetooth speaker in the event you’re utilizing it for severe media streaming. There’s no headphone socket right here. 

Specs & Efficiency 

• MediaTek with two quick cores 
• Loads of RAM and storage 
• Outclassed by flagships 

The MediaTek Dimensity 7050 chipset that powers the Reno 10 5G has eight cores, however splits them right into a pair of A78 efficiency cores, and 6 A55s that deal with the background duties.

That is good for battery life (see under), because the A55 cores use much less energy, however means it’s not going to maintain up with telephones rocking the most recent Snapdragon processors.

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That’s to not say it’s gradual, nevertheless, as the 2 quick cores appear succesful sufficient when working social media apps and even video games. Having 8GB of RAM definitely helps right here, and with 256GB of storage on board as commonplace, expandable utilizing the microSD slot that doubles up with the SIM card, there’s loads of room for saving video clips and pictures. 

The Dimensity 7050, additionally used within the Realme 11, is an identical to the Dimensity 1080 from the Samsung Galaxy A34 and Xiaomi Redmi Be aware 12 Professional. It presents strong mid-range efficiency, however suffers from a fairly weak GPU – its ends in the gaming-centric GFXbench Automobile Chase benchmark put it on a par with the OnePlus 5T, a telephone from 2017. 

Away from video games, there’s sufficient energy right here to push apps easily onto the 120Hz display screen, and also you by no means really feel such as you’re ready round. Even organising the Google Images library, which might take some time while you’re coping with knowledge synced from a number of units, was over shortly. Startup from chilly can take a very long time, although, in contrast with another units.

Oppo Reno 10 5G benchmarks

Cameras

• 64Mp foremost digital camera
• Improved portrait mode 
• Ultrawide wants some love 

The large headline characteristic of the Reno 10 5G is its digital camera cluster.

There’s the 64Mp foremost wide-angle digital camera, which pixel bins its information all the way down to 16Mp by default for decreased picture noise, however will be put in high-res mode for the complete 64Mp, and the brief telephoto digital camera which has some enhanced software program to make its portrait mode extra helpful and looking out much less like a blur filter has been crudely laid over the background.

There’s an 8Mp ultrawide lens too, however no person appears to be shouting about that. You’ll discover a 32Mp backside-illuminated Sony IMX709 sensor behind the portrait digital camera, and Oppo is so pleased with it, it’s calling the telephone “the portrait king”.

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Recordsdata get binned to 8Mp by default, however there’s a noticeable enchancment within the high quality of the blurred backgrounds it gives. This can be a software program characteristic slightly than something offered by the tiny digital camera sensor and lens, however it’s good to see the digital camera app default to the brief finish of the telephoto vary while you transfer to portrait mode.

This provides you a subject of view much like that of a 50mm lens on a full-frame digital camera. Certainly, the 5x most zoom isn’t out there within the portrait mode, which you should utilize on all different cameras, together with the front-facing one. 

Widespread issues in Android’s portrait mode, resembling its incapability to cope with sticky-out bits of hair and gaps below arms, are positively lessened in Oppo’s implementation of the tech, even when it’s not but good. There’s an possibility to extend or lower the quantity of blur, introduced as opening and shutting the lens aperture identical to on an SLR or mirrorless digital camera. 

The digital camera app continues the Oppo’s development of all the things being barely greater. It’s a lot simpler to modify between the picture, video and portrait modes when the realm of the display screen it’s worthwhile to push left or proper is bigger. 

As you’d anticipate from a telephone with such high quality sensor behind its foremost digital camera, video from this lens is excellent for a smartphone. There’s no optical picture stabilisation, nevertheless, and there’s no assist for 4K/60fps both, that means 4K/30fps is one of the best you’ll be able to anticipate. With 256GB of storage and a microSD card slot, there’s loads of room to retailer these large 4K video information.

Battery Life & Charging

• 5000mAh
• 67W quick charging 
• Lengthy battery life  

Having a charger and USB-C cable included within the field is changing into a rarity with new telephones, so the 67W block that comes with the Reno 10 5G (my pattern had a European two-prong plug, so I charged the telephone with an identical third-party charger that was nonetheless quick however didn’t hit the speeds claimed for the SuperVOOC commonplace) is nice to see.

It matches the telephone’s quick-charge wattage, and might apparently push the telephone from empty to full in lower than an hour. It’ll even be helpful for any tablets and even laptops it’s worthwhile to cost too, although the competing Fast Cost commonplace is extra broadly adopted. 

Battery life is great, even protecting the display screen on and the processors busy, as within the PCMark benchmark take a look at that simulates different utilization. The Reno 10 managed an enormous 13 hours of fixed use, on a par with different 5000mAh telephones such because the Sony Xperia 5 IV.

It’s noticeable how a lot the AMOLED display screen eats energy, nevertheless, because the battery life with the display screen set to computerized, and due to this fact dimmed whereas out of brilliant mild slightly than the fixed brightness utilized in our checks, was longer than it was with the brightness manually set midway. In case you can preserve the display screen subdued, you’ll eke out much more life from the telephone.  

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Software program & Apps

• Shiny and vibrant OS 
• Progressive floating home windows 
• A number of pointless apps 

ColorOS 13 appears shut sufficient to inventory Android 13 that you just gained’t discover an enormous distinction, not like Xiaomi’s MIUI.

It retains the search field on the house web page, and Google’s apps are prominently displayed, however issues like its floating home windows set it aside. You may open an app in a small window that takes up solely a tiny portion of the display screen, and drag it out to a measurement that fits you.

The floating window lives as much as its title and floats on prime of different apps. You may solely have one floater open at a time, whereas the tiled split-screen app view can be out there in the event you want it. 

The 6.7in display screen is nearly large enough to mess about with home windows like this, however as Apple has discovered with Stage Supervisor, it actually works higher while you’ve obtained a bigger space to play with. 

There are loads of additional apps you in all probability don’t need taking on the telephone’s storage, even in the event you refuse the extra apps put in at first startup. I discovered free-to-play video games, the ever-present reserving.com app, LinkedIn, Netflix and extra ready for me on a supposedly clear telephone. Fortunately they’re straightforward to uninstall. 

Oppo has a few of its personal apps on the telephone too, although they’ll principally be fully ignored in favour of the Google equivalents in the event you don’t fancy signing up. There’s an app retailer, images app, gaming hub, the theme retailer we talked about earlier and an app for the helpful IR distant characteristic you should utilize for controlling your TV.

Software program assist is 2 years of Android updates and 4 years of safety updates, that means it would doubtless prime out at Android 15. 

Worth & Availability

• Good worth 
• Not that broadly out there 

The Reno 10 is well-priced for what you get, although not significantly broadly out there. On the time of writing, you may get it from EE and the Oppo on-line retailer, priced at £399.

That undercuts the Samsung Galaxy A54, Google Pixel 7a and 2022’s iPhone SE, whereas offering a greater array of cameras.

It’s additionally precisely the identical value because the Samsung Galaxy A34, a telephone that shares the identical chipset because the Reno 10, however once more the Samsung’s cameras are crushed by Oppo’s because it lacks a tele digital camera, preferring as a substitute a 5Mp macro, however does profit from optical picture stabilisation on its foremost digital camera.

Oppo doesn’t formally promote its telephones within the US an though some fashions find yourself on Amazon, the Reno 10 5G isn’t there on the time of writing.

Take a look at our round-up of one of the best mid-range telephones to see extra choices. 

Do you have to purchase the Oppo Reno 10 5G? 

We spend loads of our time simply our telephones, so it’s possible you’ll as properly get one which’s good to have a look at.

The Oppo Reno 10 5G is extraordinarily good to have a look at, with a mix of a brilliant, clean display screen and an OS that does its greatest to make issues straightforward to make use of. It’s additionally obtained an honest set of cameras, lengthy battery life and speedy charging with the adapter even included within the field.

For £399 it’s a straightforward telephone to advocate, however an official IP score can be very nice to have.

Specs

• Chipset: Mediatek Dimensity 7050 
• RAM 8GB 
• Storage: 256GB + Micro SD (2TB max) 
• OS: ColorOS 13.1 (Android 13) 
• Display screen: 6.7in AMOLED, HDR10+, 120Hz, 1080×2412 pixels (394ppi) 
• Cameras: 64Mp vast, 32Mp telephoto, 8Mp ultrawide, 32Mp entrance 
• Connectivity: 5G (nano SIM/eSIM), Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, IR blaster 
• Battery: 5000mAh 
• Dimensions: 162.4 x 74.2 x 8mm 
• Weight: 185g