Oppo Reno 10 Pro+ 5G Review: A Worthy Premium Contender with a Focus on Photography
Oppo’s Reno series has been trying to find its footing in the premium smartphone market for a few years now. While previous iterations struggled to compete with the likes of OnePlus and iQoo in terms of performance and camera prowess, the newly launched Reno 10 Pro+ 5G sets out to change the narrative. Priced at Rs. 54,999, this phone boasts a flagship-grade processor and a standout camera system, especially the telephoto lens, which sets it apart from the competition. But does this premium phone offer enough to justify its price tag and truly stand out in the crowded market? Let’s delve into the details.
Oppo Reno 10 Pro+ 5G Design: Premium and Polished
Oppo has never shied away from bold and innovative designs, as exemplified by the original Find X with its pop-up selfie camera. However, the Reno 10 Pro+ 5G takes a different approach, opting for a refined and polished design language. It’s available in Glossy Purple and Silvery Grey, with the latter featuring a smooth, matte-finished rear panel that contrasts with the glossy purple variant.
The phone feels comfortable in hand thanks to its rounded corners, curved sides, and curved-edge display. The AGC’s Dragontrail Star 2 cover glass protects the display, while the rear is covered by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The polycarbonate frame feels surprisingly premium, with no sharp edges and a comfortable, lightweight feel at 194g.
The camera module protrudes quite a bit from the rear panel, creating a capsule-shaped layout that houses the three rear-facing cameras stacked vertically. While this design adds to the premium look, it also makes the phone slippery. Interestingly, the finely ridged metal surface surrounding the periscopic telephoto camera provides a better grip, alleviating this issue somewhat.
However, the lack of an official IP rating is a noticeable omission, especially considering that several mid-range and sub-Rs. 40,000 devices launched in 2023 offer IP68 dust and water resistance.
Oppo Reno 10 Pro+ 5G Specifications and Software: A Mixed Bag
Under the hood, the Reno 10 Pro+ 5G houses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC, a powerful processor introduced last year. While it remains a capable chip, its presence might raise eyebrows considering the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 has become the standard in many premium phones released this year.
The phone boasts a 6.74-inch curved-edge OLED display with a 120Hz dynamic refresh rate, although it’s not the LTPO variety, meaning the switching only occurs between 30Hz, 60Hz, 90Hz, and 120Hz. The 2,772 × 1,240 pixels resolution delivers a pixel density of 450ppi.
Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, an infrared sensor, and support for numerous 5G bands. The phone offers dual-SIM slots with no SD card slot for storage expansion. Stereo speakers provide an immersive audio experience, but a 3.5mm headphone jack is absent.
The 4,700mAh battery supports 100W wired charging, and thankfully, Oppo includes the charger in the box. However, wireless charging is surprisingly missing, a feature often expected in premium devices.
Running on ColorOS 13.1 based on Android 13, the software experience is familiar yet refined. Oppo has focused on delivering precise haptics for ringtones and navigating the user interface. The software is highly customizable with a wealth of options for live wallpapers, fonts, icons, and more. However, the lack of the ability to theme icons according to the system accent color or theme, a feature available on OnePlus devices, is a minor disappointment.
The phone also features the Multi-Screen connect feature, allowing you to connect it to a tablet or Windows PC for seamless file transfer, screencasting, and more.
However, the presence of 12 preinstalled third-party apps, all but one being removable, might raise some eyebrows. The App Market app, with its tendency to send spammy notifications, and the Game Center, which pushes its own game recommendations and notifications, feels like unnecessary clutter for a premium device.
Oppo Reno 10 Pro+ 5G Performance: Smooth and Cool
The Reno 10 Pro+ 5G delivers impressive performance, as evidenced by its benchmark scores: 10,87,266 in AnTuTu and 951 and 3,728 in Geekbench 6’s single and multi-score tests, respectively. Oppo has equipped the phone with an ultra conductive graphite sheet in addition to its vapour chamber cooling system, claimed to be larger than the one in the Reno 8 Pro 5G.
In real-world usage, the phone remained cool even while recording 4K videos with the camera or playing demanding games with maxed-out graphics. The 240Hz touch sampling rate, when properly optimized, enhances gaming performance, making the Reno 10 Pro+ 5G a highly capable gaming device that barely gets warm even after prolonged use.
The display also shines with accurate color reproduction, HDR10 certification, and Oppo’s ProXDR Smart Display Control that brightens the screen for HDR photos. However, HDR10 video streaming is limited to Amazon Prime Video and YouTube, with Netflix lacking support.
Battery life is another strong point. The Reno 10 Pro+ 5G lasted for 19 hours and 15 minutes in our HD video loop test, easily lasting over a day with heavy usage and up to a day and a half with casual use.
The 100W SuperVOOC charger, also provided in the box, delivers unbelievably fast charging. The phone can charge from zero to 75 percent in a mere 15 minutes, reaching a full charge in just 30 minutes. The fast charging process is remarkably efficient and generates minimal heat.
Oppo Reno 10 Pro+ 5G Cameras: The Real Star of the Show
The Reno 10 Pro+ 5G boasts a robust camera system consisting of three rear cameras: a 50-megapixel primary camera with OIS, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera with a 112-degree FOV, and a remarkable 64-megapixel telephoto camera with 3X optical zoom. Selfies are handled by a 32-megapixel front-facing camera.
The camera interface is typical of Oppo, with access to a Pro mode for manual control. However, despite HDR10+ display support, the Reno 10 Pro+ 5G cannot record HDR video.
In daylight, the primary camera captures photos with impressive detail, accurate skin tones, and natural-looking colors. Dynamic range is well-controlled, with minimal overexposed patches. The lack of a dedicated macro camera is offset by the ability of the primary camera to capture sharp and clear close-up shots (10-15cm).
Low-light performance is also commendable. The phone automatically captures longer exposures, reducing the need for Night mode. Images shot under street lighting exhibit slightly limited dynamic range but overall good results. However, detail suffers in dimly lit scenes, even with Night mode activated.
The ultra-wide angle camera performs adequately in daylight, but photos are less detailed than those captured by the primary camera and often overexposed. There is also minor barrel distortion and purple fringing in bright scenes. In low light, photos lack detail and sharpness.
The true standout feature is the 64-megapixel telephoto camera. The high-resolution sensor produces incredibly detailed photos, a rarity in this price range. Oppo’s periscopic telephoto setup also maintains a close-up focussing distance of around 25cm.
The system utilizes a hybrid implementation where, within a 25cm distance, the primary camera is used even with the 3X zoom setting. As the subject moves further away, the system automatically switches to the 3X periscope telephoto camera. This results in noticeably sharp and detailed 3X photos from the telephoto camera, compared to the scaled-up crops from the primary camera used for 3X zoom.
Despite its capabilities, the telephoto camera shows limited detail and a watercolor effect in low light conditions.
The camera system supports zoom capabilities beyond 3X, but the image quality degrades significantly after 6X.
Selfies are sharp and show accurate skin tones when beautifying features are turned off. The phone also captures clear and sharp selfies in low light, a testament to its impressive selfie camera. However, edge detection accuracy decreases in low light.
Video recording at 4K 30fps in daylight is well-stabilized and captures good detail and dynamic range. 4K 60fps footage is equally impressive with steady framerate and excellent stabilization. Low-light 4K 30fps videos exhibit minimal noise, steady framerate, and good stabilization, but with somewhat limited dynamic range. The 4K 60fps setting in low light produces a steady framerate but suffers from reduced dynamic range and a contrasted look. The ultra-wide-angle camera is limited to 1080p 60fps video recording.
Verdict: Oppo Reno 10 Pro+ 5G – A Worthy Contender with Room for Growth
The Oppo Reno 10 Pro+ 5G offers a significant improvement over the Reno 8 Pro 5G, surpassing its predecessor in terms of performance and camera capabilities. Its powerful processor and impressive camera hardware make it a strong contender in the premium smartphone market.
However, the presence of the older Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, combined with the omission of wireless charging, does make it a less attractive option compared to competitors like the OnePlus 11 5G and iQoo 11 5G that offer the newer Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and additional features.
The Reno 10 Pro+ 5G still manages to stand out with its outstanding telephoto camera and selfie camera capabilities, which are difficult to find at this price point.
If you prioritize camera performance, especially the ability to capture high-quality zoomed-in images, the Reno 10 Pro+ 5G is a compelling choice. However, if you are seeking a more well-rounded flagship experience with the latest processor and additional features, competitors like the OnePlus 11 5G, iQoo 11 5G, or the Google Pixel 7 might be more apt.
