Oppo Reno 12 Pro review: Flagship AI features at a mid-range price

Oppo’s Reno telephones purpose to ship flagship-level specs and options at mid-range worth factors, and with the Reno 12 sequence, Oppo has set its sights firmly on AI.

Certainly, flagships from the likes of Samsung, Apple and Google are jam-packed with AI options in 2024, however for those who’re not trying to spend the massive bucks, your choices are way more restricted.

With the Reno 12 Professional, you get a few of the most fascinating AI options, like AI writing help, summarisation, picture modifying and picture technology – all for simply £499, a fraction of the price of most flagships.

It’s not all simply AI trickery, both. The telephone has a singular, fashionable design, nice show, massive battery, speedy charging and spectacular digicam specs. On paper, it looks as if an excellent deal, however what’s it wish to reside with? I’ve been carrying it round for the previous couple of weeks to seek out out.

Design & Construct

• Glass again, proprietary alloy framework
• 181g, Gorilla Glass Victus 2
• IP65 rated

The Oppo Reno 12 Professional stands out from the gang with its distinctive rear panel, that includes a design that appears like ripples in a pool of metallic liquid. A minimum of that’s the case with the Nebula Silver model that I’m testing, it’s additionally accessible in a much more delicate matte darkish brown colourway with out the ripple impact.

Luke Baker

Luke Baker

Luke Baker

In case you like consideration, the silver model is the best way to go. It’s a very putting design that has garnered lots of questions from family and friends members. I like the faint purple gradient, and the telephone seems wonderful when the sunshine catches the ripples within the design. 

Regardless of the best way it seems, there are not any raised sections on the rear – it’s all one easy glass panel with a velvety really feel. It’s not too fingerprint susceptible, which I’m all the time comfortable to see, nevertheless it’s slightly extra slippery than I’d like. And since there’s no case included within the field, you’ll must hold a agency grip on it always.

The body has a high-gloss mirror end with a slight purple tint. It seems to be created from plastic, however Oppo says there’s a proprietary alloy framework inside that retains the telephone shielded from bending, dents and drops. It’s additionally IP65 rated to face up to mud and splashes of water.

Luke Baker

Luke Baker

Luke Baker

Across the entrance, the display is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2 and it has quad micro-curved edges which are symmetrical on all sides. It jogs my memory of the show of the Xiaomi 14 Extremely, aiming to supply one of the best of each curved and flat shows.

The cameras are positioned in a Samsung-style visitors mild orientation, and the lens protrusion is minimal by fashionable requirements. It’s a reasonably sizable telephone, with a 6.7-inch show, nevertheless it feels comfy within the hand, and it’s a contact slimmer and lighter than most flagships.

There’s no 3.5mm headphone socket, however you do get Micro-SD card assist, which is one thing that’s turning into uncommon, even within the mid-range market. 

Luke Baker

Luke Baker

Luke Baker

I discovered the haptic motors to be slightly weak for my tastes, although. They do the job, however you don’t get the identical mechanical-feeling clunk on keypresses such as you do with pricier flagships.

It’s particularly noticeable whenever you kind rapidly, as a scarcity of precision signifies that all of the vibrations merge into one. In fact, that solely issues for those who’re used to a flagship mannequin – the motors right here simply compete with similarly-priced telephones.

Display & Audio system

• 120Hz 6.7-inch OLED show
• 1200 nits, 1080 x 2412 decision
• Stereo audio system

The show of the Reno 12 Professional is a particular spotlight. A mixture of slim, principally symmetrical bezels, quad-curved edges and a excessive brightness output make it one in every of my favorite shows within the mid-range market.

Luke Baker

Luke Baker

Luke Baker

The controversy round flat shows vs curved edges rages on, however Oppo thinks its quad micro-curves supply one of the best of each worlds. I haven’t been shy about my desire for flat shows, however my expertise with the Reno 12 Professional (and comparable designs just like the Xiaomi 14 Extremely and Huawei Pura 70 Extremely) has me consuming my phrases.

This design provides you a principally flat panel to work together with, and the curves are restricted to the very borders of the panel, which is principally crammed with display bezels reasonably than content material. This implies the reflections are evaded the essential a part of the show, there’s no noticeable color shifting, and you continue to get a pleasant easy floor for gesture controls. I’m bought.

Luke Baker

Luke Baker

Luke Baker

As for the panel itself, it’s an OLED with a 120Hz refresh price and an FHD+ decision. As you’d count on, the distinction is great, the colors are vibrant and actually pop, and the pixel density is excessive sufficient to make small textual content look sharp and legible.

The panel can enhance to 1200 nits at peak brightness, which is sufficient to make sure that it’s seen on even shiny sunny days. It’s not fairly on the extent of top-tier flagships in relation to brightness, nevertheless it’s sufficient for most individuals’s wants, and I may all the time learn it clearly, regardless of the British sunshine making a uncommon look.

The Reno 12 Professional helps HDR10+ playback and it seems excellent on YouTube, particularly for those who toggle the “shiny HDR video mode” on within the settings menu. Sadly, although, I couldn’t get Netflix engaged on my pre-release software program. It’s an odd problem that wasn’t resolved by reinstalling the app, however I’m certain Oppo could have that ironed out quickly sufficient.

Luke Baker

Luke Baker

Luke Baker

The Oppo Reno 12 Professional has twin stereo audio system positioned on the highest and backside of the machine, permitting for a pleasant stereo impact when held in panorama mode. There’s a very good little bit of bass response and loads of readability, and so they can get pretty loud, too. Simply be careful for those who push the amount previous 100% and into “extremely quantity mode”, which might introduce some distortion.

General, I’d say they’re a minimize above most audio system on this worth bracket, although.

Specs & Efficiency

• MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Power
• 12GB RAM
• 512GB storage

The Oppo Reno 12 Professional runs on a brand new model of MediaTek’s Dimensity 7300 SoC developed in collaboration with Oppo, referred to as the Dimensity 7300 Power.

Because the title suggests, this one’s all about effectivity, and Oppo says you possibly can count on a forty five% discount in GPU energy consumption in comparison with the Reno 10. This energy-efficient configuration is perhaps nice for battery life, nevertheless it’s not one of the best information for avid gamers. 

Luke Baker

Luke Baker

Luke Baker

The chip is paired with a wholesome 12GB of RAM and a beneficiant 512GB of storage. That’s greater than sufficient storage for most individuals, however for those who want extra, you possibly can all the time pop in an Micro-SD card. 

Usually use, the telephone feels responsive and nimble. Swiping across the working system was principally easy, although I did discover the occasional animation stutter throughout heavy multitasking, and when the telephone was first powered up. That stated, it’s greater than fast sufficient for informal customers.

Nevertheless, in relation to gaming, it’s not essentially the most spectacular exhibiting.

Much less graphically intensive video games are not any problem, however after I tried to play Genshin Impression, I needed to follow the bottom preset to realize a secure 30fps. You may push it larger, however count on some jitters and slowdowns for those who do. On the plus aspect, it by no means will get too sizzling underneath load.

Luke Baker

Luke Baker

Luke Baker

There’s a built-in sport overlay that may be accessed by swiping from the left aspect of the show whereas a sport is working. Switching to Professional Gamer mode will permit you to squeeze a number of extra frames per second from the chipset, nevertheless it’s not game-changing. There are another helpful options in right here, although, together with fast entry to messaging apps and media playback controls.

Oppo Reno 12 Professional benchmarks

Cameras

• 50Mp most important sensor
• 8Mp ultrawide
• 50Mp 2x telephoto
• 50Mp selfie digicam

The Oppo Reno 12 Professional has a three-lens setup on the rear, comprised of a 50Mp 26mm equal most important digicam, a 50Mp 2x telephoto and an 8Mp 16mm equal ultrawide. Across the entrance, you get a selfie snapper with a formidable 50Mp decision, a large FOV and autofocus.

As regular, the principle digicam has the most important sensor of the bunch and delivers essentially the most spectacular outcomes. It’s nonetheless solely a 1/1.95-inch sensor, although, which suggests it’s not essentially the most spectacular in low-light situations and has to depend on night time mode extra typically than a few of its photography-focused mid-range competitors.

Within the daylight, most important lens photographs look sharp and detailed, with vibrant colors that basically pop.

The identical is true for the 2x telephoto, which offers matching colors and an analogous stage of element. You will get usable pictures at as much as 5x zoom, however pushing past that ends in a really messy picture stuffed with artefacts.

The 8Mp ultrawide is much less spectacular. There’s a noticeable color shift when utilizing this lens and pictures look muddy and lack element, particularly when considered on a bigger show. There’s additionally no autofocus, so you possibly can’t use it for any close-up pictures.

The telephone isn’t nice at capturing movement, regardless of which lens you employ. I observed fairly a little bit of blur on fast-moving topics, even in good lighting, and the shutter lag makes it laborious to get your timing proper. 

At night time, you’ll wish to follow the principle lens wherever doable, because the bigger sensor ends in much less noise and faster publicity instances. The opposite lenses are usable, aided by night time mode, however there’s a a lot larger danger of movement blur. The ultrawide is especially dangerous at nighttime, delivering some very grainy outcomes.

The selfie digicam is great within the daylight. It captures sharp element and good pores and skin tones, whereas the huge FOV and autofocus make it nice for group pictures. At night time, this lens additionally struggles with movement blur, however for those who can hold a gradual sufficient hand, it’s able to good outcomes. 

For video capturing, the Reno 12 Professional presents as much as 4K 30fps seize on all cameras excluding the ultrawide, which maxes out at 1080p 30fps. You may shoot at 60fps on the principle, telephoto and selfie digicam however solely in 1080p. 

The video high quality is sweet, with respectable stabilisation that may be enhanced additional by choosing ‘Extremely Regular Mode’. Autofocus is fast and dependable, however you possibly can’t change between lenses whereas recording, which is one thing I all the time discover irritating.

Battery Life & Charging

• 5000 mAh battery
• 80W wired charging
• No charger included

The Oppo Reno 12 Professional packs in a 5000mAh battery. Mixed with its environment friendly chipset, I had excessive hopes for the battery life. 

In actuality, it’s barely above common, nevertheless it’s nothing astonishing. It’ll simply see you thru a day of heavy use with a bit to spare, however you’re not more likely to get two days from a cost. Nonetheless, that’s greater than sufficient juice for most individuals, and with speedy charging assist, topping it up is barely an inconvenience. 

The Reno 12 Professional can cost at as much as 80W, which Oppo says is quick sufficient to get you from flat to full in 46 minutes. Sadly, there’s no charger within the field, and as regular, you’ll want Oppo’s official charger to get the utmost velocity. 

Luke Baker

Luke Baker

Luke Baker

What’s extra attention-grabbing although, is that Oppo has added assist for 55W PD charging, so that you’ll nonetheless get a speedy cost from third-party wall adapters and energy banks. I used my Ugreen Nexode 300W multi-charger, which was in a position to ship a 51% cost in simply half-hour.

There’s no assist for wi-fi charging, which isn’t uncommon within the worth bracket, however would’ve been good to see. The likes of Google and Nothing are managing to incorporate wi-fi charging on equally priced gadgets, so hopefully it’ll change into extra frequent sooner or later.

Software program & Apps

• ColorOS 14.1, primarily based on Android 14
• A lot of AI options
• Some bloatware

The Oppo Reno 12 Professional runs ColorOS 14.1, which is a skinned model of Android 14.

There are a number of stylistic modifications, however on the entire, it doesn’t stray too removed from the inventory Android expertise. Every little thing is the place you count on it to be: there’s an app drawer and Google Uncover tab, and it’s very simple to navigate. Having spent lots of time with telephones from sister corporations OnePlus and Vivo, I felt instantly at dwelling.

What’s completely different with this telephone is the addition of quite a few AI-powered instruments, comparable to those who you’ll discover on Samsung’s newest flagships. Two of my favorite options reside within the good sidebar and will be accessed by swiping from the upper-right aspect of the show. They’re each instruments that assist with studying articles, and are wonderful for those who’re quick on time or attempting to multitask.

AI Communicate reads out any article you have got open in your browser in a natural-sounding voice. It’s very helpful if you wish to learn an article however you aren’t in a position to stare at your display, like whenever you’re commuting.

The draw back is that it reads out all web page content material, and can embrace issues like menus every so often. AI Abstract will learn the displayed article and spit out a sequence of concise bullet factors, so you will get the important thing data with out having to learn the entire thing.

There’s an analogous characteristic built-in to the recorder app. You may document conferences, conversations or voice memos, and the AI will transcribe the audio and can even create a abstract. There’s additionally an AI writing assistant that may allow you to craft tweets, Instagram descriptions and emails – it’ll even auto-generate emojis and hashtags.

On the picture modifying aspect of issues, AI instruments permit you to create generative AI illustrations primarily based in your photographs, clear up blurry faces in group selfies, erase undesirable objects and folks out of your photographs.

Quickly, you’ll additionally be capable to swap faces in group photographs, identical to Google Pixel’s Finest Take characteristic. That final one is promised as a future software program replace, whereas a full AI chatbot is supposedly on the best way, too.

Value & Availability

The Oppo Reno 12 Professional is out there now within the UK and Europe with a retail worth of £499/€549.

On the time of writing, it solely appears to be accessible via Oppo’s web site with no contract offers, so for those who resolve to choose one up, our information to one of the best SIM-only offers or select one thing that you simply just like the look of beneath.

There’s just one configuration accessible within the European market, providing 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.

The Reno 12 Professional’s pricing places it in direct competitors with mid-range heavy hitters just like the Google Pixel 8a (from £499), OnePlus Nord 4 (from £429), Redmi Be aware 13 Professional+ (£449) and Poco F6 Professional (from £499.90). If you wish to see the way it compares, you possibly can learn our full information to one of the best mid-range telephones.

Do you have to purchase the Oppo Reno 12 Professional?

The Oppo Reno 12 Professional has been a delight to reside with. The display is great, the design is exclusive and attention-grabbing, the software program is simple to make use of and the AI options are available fairly helpful.

The cameras are good within the daylight, and I used to be notably impressed with the selfie digicam. Nevertheless, in low mild and with fast-moving topics, they depart slightly to be desired. The gaming efficiency is barely missing, too – it will get the job completed, however isn’t more likely to wow you.

Whether or not this telephone is best for you all will depend on your priorities. In case you’re eager on AI-powered productiveness, it’s top-of-the-line choices in its worth bracket.

Nevertheless, for those who’re an avid photographer, the Pixel 8a typically delivers higher outcomes, and if gaming is a excessive precedence, I’d advocate wanting on the Poco F6 Professional as a substitute.

Specs

• ColorOS 14.1, primarily based on Android 14
• 6.7-inch, 2412×1080, OLED, 120Hz
• In-display fingerprint sensor
• MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Power
• 12GB RAM
• 512GB storage
• Cameras:
  • 50Mp most important sensor
  • 8Mp ultrawide
  • 50Mp 2x telephoto
  • 50Mp selfie digicam
  • As much as 4K @ 30fps rear video
• Stereo audio system
• Twin-SIM
• MicroSD card slot
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax
• Bluetooth 5.4
• 5000mAh battery
• 80W charging
• 161.5 x 74.8 x 7.4 mm
• IP65 licensed
• 181g
• Colors: Area Brown, Nebula Silver