Oppo Reno 12 Pro 5G Review: AI-Powered Charm or Overpriced Appeal?
Oppo’s Reno series has always targeted the youth with its attractive designs and impressive camera features. The Oppo Reno 12 Pro aims to solidify this reputation, arriving with a sleek design, flagship-level camera performance, and a unique blend of AI-powered features. Priced at Rs 36,999 (12GB + 256GB) and Rs 40,999 (12GB + 512GB), it promises a compelling proposition in a highly competitive market. But can the Reno 12 Pro truly stand out with its AI-driven charm, or is it overshadowed by more powerful alternatives? Let’s find out in this detailed review.
Oppo Reno 12 Pro 5G Design: Slim and Sleek
Oppo’s Reno series is synonymous with sleek and stylish designs, and the Reno 12 Pro continues this tradition. Oppo claims to have achieved the "sleekest and sturdiest Reno phone yet," though it doesn’t drastically deviate from the series’ design language.
The phone boasts a dual-tone finish on its rear panel, blending a matte finish on the top half with a glossy finish on the bottom, separated by a chic metallic ribbon running horizontally across the back. This elegant combination is available in two color options: Sunset Gold and Space Brown. We reviewed the latter, which showcases a glimmering effect on the matte surface and a sophisticated reflection on the glossy one.
The Reno 12 Pro is remarkably slim at 7.4mm (compared to the 7.66mm Reno 11 Pro) and incredibly lightweight at just 181 grams.
But the sleek design comes with a common caveat: a slippery grip. While Oppo includes a soft TPU case in the box to address this, it unfortunately conceals the phone’s beautiful design.
A notable upgrade for the Reno 12 Pro is the IP65 rating, a feature absent in its predecessor. Furthermore, the phone is SGS certified with "Premium Performance 5-star Multi-Scene Protection," implying resilience against accidental drops. Adding to its durability, the screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, another first for the Reno series.
Oppo Reno 12 Pro 5G Display: Crisp and Vibrant
The Oppo Reno 12 Pro delivers on the expectations of a premium smartphone in terms of display. The AMOLED display offers a Full HD+ resolution and a 120Hz dynamic refresh rate, making for a smooth and engaging viewing experience. The quad-curved screen delivers sharp, vibrant colors, enhancing content consumption.
With a peak brightness of 1500nits, the display remains easily readable even under harsh sunlight. Viewing angles are impressive, and the deep black levels contribute to excellent color reproduction. While enjoying "Our Planet 2" on Netflix, the colors were accurate and true to the source. The same vibrancy was noticeable when watching "Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End" on Crunchyroll.
Oppo offers customization options for display settings, including Vivid, Natural, Cinematic, and Brilliant. The new Bedtime Mode automatically adjusts the color temperature to warmer tones after sunset, while the Adaptive Tone dynamically modifies the color temperature based on the ambient lighting.
The in-display fingerprint sensor situated at the bottom of the screen is conveniently placed and functions flawlessly. You can even personalize the animations in the Settings > Wallpapers & Style > Fingerprint Animation section.
Oppo Reno 12 Pro 5G AI Features: Useful in the Long Run
Powered by Google Gemini, the Reno 12 Pro boasts a range of AI-powered features that add a fun and practical touch to the user experience.
For productivity, the AI Writer suggests AI-generated captions or text for social media posts, allowing you to set the tone and add relevant hashtags. It can also generate emails based on your prompts. The AI Summary feature proves helpful for those seeking a concise overview of articles, reducing them to bullet points. This functionality is currently limited to browsers, both Chrome and the default browser. Expanding this feature to other apps for summarizing PDFs and emails would be a welcome addition.
The AI Speak feature smoothly reads text aloud, effectively transforming any browser article or text into an audiobook. Again, the feature is currently browser-exclusive.
The AI Recording Summary captures the essence of your recorded meetings, interviews, or voice notes. This feature, available in the Recording app, can create a summary that you can copy to the Notes app. Oppo claims support for speech-to-text conversion in Hindi and English, with a maximum character limit of 45,000. Expansion to more languages is expected in the future.
In the realm of camera-centric features, the AI Eraser 2.0 tool effectively removes unwanted background distractions. Three options are available: Smart Lasso, Paint Over, and Remove People. While effectively removing people from the background, removing larger objects like cars yielded mixed results.
The AI Studio taps into generative AI to transform your appearance into anything from a cowboy to an intergalactic alien, adding a playful element to the phone’s functionalities.
Oppo Reno 12 Pro 5G Software: Still Needs Improvement
The Oppo Reno 12 Pro runs on ColorOS 14, based on Android 14, and offers a collection of intriguing features.
One notable feature is File Dock, accessible through the smart sidebar, allowing you to effortlessly drag and drop items between applications. Simply drag an item, like an image or video from the Gallery, to the File Dock and then drop it into any supported app. This is particularly useful for quickly transferring content between apps like Gallery, WhatsApp, and email.
The OS provides extensive customization options for personalization. You can modify themes, text styles, font sizes, icons, and icon sizes. The global search bar, although not as fast as expected, functions as a central point for searching for anything on your device.
The Smart Touch feature allows you to take screenshots with a three-finger swipe-down gesture. Moreover, you can extract text or images from the screenshot and save them to the File Dock or simply copy them.
While the user interface offers a high level of customization, it still features a significant amount of bloatware. Pre-installed apps like Hot Games and Hot Apps recommend various games and applications. Other first-party apps like FinShell Pay are also present and cannot be deleted. Additional third-party apps add further clutter (although these can be deleted).
Oppo Reno 12 Pro 5G Performance: Good for Daily Usage
The Reno 12 Pro is equipped with the MediaTek Dimensity 7300-Energy SoC, an enhanced version of the Dimensity 7050 processor specifically designed for the Reno series. This new chipset boasts around a 25 percent improvement in efficiency compared to its predecessor.
Benchmarking results demonstrate the phone’s capabilities:
| Benchmark | Oppo Reno 12 Pro | iQoo Neo 9 Pro | Samsung Galaxy A55 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 Single Core | 1013 | 2050 | 1132 |
| Geekbench 6 Multi Core | 2938 | 5741 | 3346 |
| AnTuTu v10 | 619,149 | 1,585,868 | 678,167 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 | 13,309 | 13,319 | 13,315 |
| 3D Mark Wild Life | 3170 | Maxed Out | 3814 |
| 3D Mark Wild Life Unlimited | 3162 | 12789 | 3811 |
| 3D Mark Slingshot | 6606 | Maxed Out | 7467 |
| 3D Mark Slingshot Extreme | 5180 | Maxed Out | 5525 |
| GFXBench Car Chase | 29 | 85 | 32 |
| GFXBench Manhattan 3.1 | 49 | 119 | 56 |
| GFXBench T-Rex | 59 | 120 | 59 |
In real-world use, the performance is sufficient for everyday activities, with minimal lag or stuttering. Heavy multitasking is also handled smoothly. However, given its price point, the chipset may not justify the cost, especially when considering alternatives like the CMF Phone 1 with a comparable chipset at a significantly lower price.
In terms of gaming, the Reno 12 Pro delivers. Testing with Call of Duty: Mobile (CODM), the phone maintained lag-free gameplay with default settings of High frame rate and Very High graphic quality. Even at Max graphics and Max frame rate, the performance remained smooth. Asphalt 8: Legends also ran flawlessly with 60fps mode and High graphics settings.
The phone is equipped with stereo speakers, with the earpiece doubling as a secondary speaker. The audio quality is decent, though not exceptional. The Ultra Volume Mode allows for a volume boost of up to 300 percent, creating a louder experience, but at the expense of audio quality.
BeaconLink enhances Bluetooth uplink capabilities by up to 300 percent, facilitating device-to-device voice calls over Bluetooth within a range of 30 meters. This enables calls to other BeaconLink-supported devices without relying on cellular or Wi-Fi connections.
Oppo Reno 12 Pro 5G Cameras: Delivering as Promised
Cameras are a key selling point for the Reno series, and the Reno 12 Pro lives up to the expectation. The 50-megapixel primary sensor captures sharp images with natural colors and a balanced dynamic range, consistently producing vibrant colors and high contrast.
Indoor photos showcase a softer touch, yet retain details, effectively suppressing unwanted noise.
The telephoto lens performs well in daylight, though a slight white balance shift compared to the primary sensor is noticeable. Digital 5x samples also offer good results, but some detail loss may be observed.
In low-light conditions, the primary sensor excels, capturing remarkable shots with an abundance of detail and sharpness. The 5x shots and wide-angle shots, however, do not fare as well.
The selfie camera delivers excellent results in both daylight and low-light conditions. The Portrait mode produces a natural bokeh effect, although edge detection occasionally struggles. Video recording capabilities are sufficient for social media sharing.
Oppo Reno 12 Pro 5G Battery: Decent Enough
The 5,000mAh battery on the Reno 12 Pro boasts an improved lifespan. In our battery loop test, the phone lasted for 23 hours and 45 minutes on a single charge. The 80W SuperVOOC fast charging enables a quick recharge, reaching 56 percent in 15 minutes and completing a full charge in 40 minutes.
In real-world usage, the phone comfortably lasts a full day with some battery percentage remaining. This includes tasks such as checking work emails, listening to music on Apple Music, playing CODM for several matches, and capturing selfies, representing an improvement over the Reno 11 Pro’s battery life.
Oppo Reno 12 Pro 5G Verdict
Priced starting at Rs 36,999, the Oppo Reno 12 Pro delivers on its promises. The sleek and slim design is complemented by an impressive suite of AI-powered features, particularly the AI Speak and AI Summary, which enhance daily usage. The cameras are versatile and produce quality results across various lighting conditions. Performance is adequate for everyday tasks.
However, competition in this price range is fierce. Alternatives like the Realme GT 6T, iQoo Neo 9 Pro, OnePlus 12R, and Xiaomi 14 Civi offer compelling propositions, especially in terms of performance, with more powerful chipsets.
Overall, if you’re seeking a stylish smartphone with a unique set of AI features to explore, the Oppo Reno 12 Pro is worth considering. However, if raw power and performance are your priority, other options in the market may provide a better value proposition.
