OPPO RENO5 F Full Review

Looking at the past phone releases from OPPO, one thing is clear that the brand is keen on giving its customers all over the world the best of smartphone experience. From the design down to the software experience one can tell the direction the brand is heading.

If you recall about a few months ago, we reviewed the OPPO A93 smartphone here on the website which was an ultra-slim device by all standards. The device became an instant hit in Nigeria due to its sleekness plus other flagship-grade features it debuted. Now OPPO is taking this feat further with the introduction of the RENO5 F-another ultra-slim device with upgraded camera features.

The review unit has been with us for about two weeks and we have been able to put it to the test to see what has changed since we last reviewed the OPPO A93. In this review, we will be focusing on key areas like-design and display, Photography, performance, and the software experience.

OPPO Reno5 F Quick Specs

The Design

The design is one of the key-selling points of this device. Its lightweight and slimness are unbelievable to the point you will keep wondering if there is any battery inside the phone. Despite its slim profile, OPPO was able to fit a 4310mAh battery into the device.

In terms of dimension, the device measures 7.8mm in visual thickness and weighs just 172g. OPPO claimed it has reduced the weight of the internal hardware to keep the phone light and slim enough to slip into the pocket without any form of bulginess. One great thing about the phone is that despite its slimness, it is still able to dissipate heat excellently well. Holding the phone in the hand offers great comfort which makes using it for a long period of time such a wonderful experience.

The unit we had is the Fluid Black which is made using a glass-like polycarbonate material with glossy feel. In designing the back of the phone, OPPO uses its Flowing Light Design technology that enhances the general feel of the phone and reduces fingerprint smudges.

The battery cover sports a 3D curved shape, which looks and feels thin. The expansive surface with clear curves instills a premium, elegant, and simple look that looks slimmer but also fits comfortably in one hand.

The Fluid black is quite beautiful as it also reflects other stunning colours depending on the angle the phone is being held.

The phone comes in two fashionable colours of Fluid Black and Fantastic Purple. No matter the colour variant you pick, you’re going to like the OPPO Reno5 F.

In terms of placement of the buttons, the volume controllers and the card compartment which can take two nano-sized SIM cards and a microSD card plus the power button are placed in an easy-to-reach position.

You still have the 3.5mm audio jack, the microphone, USB Type-C port, and a loudspeaker grille at the bottom of the phone.

The Display

As for the display, the OPPO Reno5 F uses an AMOLED panel. It is a 6.43-inch screen with a 2400 x 1080p resolution. The panel is bright and well saturated, even when you use it outdoors. It comes with a 60Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ certification. The phone uses an in-display fingerprint sensor which works well to unlock the phone.

Another area where this phone shines is video playback. The super-thin top bezels and the edges which curve into the back, make for a truly immersive experience, whether you are watching a movie or playing games.

The Camera

As far as photography is concerned, the OPPO Reno5 F comes with not 3 but four rear cameras with Al-powered functionalities. Artificial intelligence is the next big thing in smartphone photography and we are glad brand like OPPO is taking the lead. There are couple of Al features on the Reno5 F which enhance the general outcome of your images.

For example, the AI Color Portrait which debuted on the OPPO A93 has been upgraded to include both photo and video. What this means is that when filming or taking portraits with the Reno5 F, the Al feature is able to differentiate the background from the subject by retaining the natural colour of the subject while everything else in the background is rendered in monotone colour.

In fact, this works in real-time so you can see the preview before the final outcome.

Many of us use our smartphone to vlog, while this is a great idea, not many smartphones are embedded with the needed feature to enhance vlogging experience. With the Reno5 F, you can now simultaneously make videos using the back and the front-camera. This is made possible through the Dual-View Video feature. Travel vloggers can now easily record and express themselves all at the same time.

There are many exciting things about the Reno5 F camera. Like I said before, we have four cameras at the back. The main camera is a 48MP AI Quad lens, you also get an 8MP Ultra-Wide-Angle Camera, 2MP Macro Camera and a 2MP Mono Camera. At the front, you get a 32MP high-quality selfie snapper.

We were excited to see how the cameras perform, so we took it out for a test.

Below are some pictures taken with the phone

Intuitive and Efficient ColorOS 11.1

It is no doubt that ColorOS has evolved into a pretty good custom UI for Android. In fact, it’s one of our favourite UI implementations on Android. The latest Android 11 and ColorOS 11.1 feel smoother, intuitive and the design felt fresh and colorful.

Some of the interesting features you will find on the colorOS 11.1 include the quick startup feature for games (via gamespace), the three levels of dark mode (enhanced, medium, and gentle), a number of customization options including animations for AOD, and flexdrop for multitasking – which worked pretty well with compatible apps.

The quick start up feature known as the gaming shortcut mode helps to reduce load time of games by dedicating enough memory for frequently played games. We tested this with PUBG and it works pretty well.

OPPO also introduces other useful features like the Bullet screen Message which instead of disabling your notification entirely, you can activate this feature and messages will scroll across your screen without interrupting your gaming.

Privacy and Security

Privacy and security is another area ColorOS 11.1 completely changed the game. Many a times when we lost our phone, important data stored on the phone is lost as well. Thankfully, with the OPPO Private safe, one can now easily retrieve lost data in the event of phone theft. You will have to activate this feature by going to the setting>privacy, set your password and that is it.

To safeguard your OPPO Reno5 F from intruders, you can hide and lock any app you don’t want people to have access to.

Other great features include smart-always on display, smart spying prevention, smart rotation, smart air control that lets you control the phone using gesture such as scrolling up and down on Instagram, Facebook or answering a phone call with a swiping motion with your hand.

OPPO Reno5 F Performance

When it comes to handling your daily tasks, the OPPO Reno5 F is no slouch as it is powered by the MediaTek Helio P95 processor; an octa-core SoC that comes with two powerful ARM cortex-A75 cores operating at up to 2.2GHz and 6 ARM crotex-A55 efficiency cores that can operate at up to 2.0GHZ.

The device has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage which can be expanded to 512GB via a supported Micro SDcard.

For game lovers, the processor does support MediaTek Hyperengine gaming technology for improved smartphone gaming and graphics is being handled by the IMG PowerVR GM 9446 GPU.

When compared to previous devices in the F Series, the Reno5 F offers up to 30% performance which is evident in the way the phone responds to touches and how fast is able to open applications

One great thing we like about the phone is that it doesn’t overheat despite the fact that is a very slim phone. OPPO claimed the Reno5 F is improved with multi-cooling system which handles heat dissipation up to 21.9%

OPPO Reno5 F Battery

The Reno5 F packs a 4310mAh which is bundled with a 30W VOOC Flash charger that can juice up the battery at blazing fast speeds. You can go from 0% to 100% in just 56 minutes! So charging your Reno5 F phone will never be an issue.

When fully charged, the Reno 5F can last up to a day of constant use. There other battery saving features you can activate to reduce the activities battery draining apps. An example is the Super Power Saving Mode which helps to limit the CPU activity and adjust your screen brightness.

We also love the Super Night time mode as it helps to save your battery from being drained while you asleep.

Final Thought

OPPO nailed both the hardware and the software of the Reno5 F. There are many things we liked about the phone such as the sexy and slim design, fluid colorOS 11.1 with the latest Android 11, capable camera and the gorgeous display.

If you are looking for a midrange to buy right now, look no further than the OPPO Reno5 F. There are no better devices that tick the major boxes right now.

Pricing and Availability:

OPPO Reno5 F will retail for around N129,900 and will be available to pre-order on https://www.jumia.com.ng/mlp-oppo-store/ and across retail stores in Nigeria. You can pre-order the OPPO Reno5 F till the 21^st of March, 2021 and get a power bank worth N15,900. For more information, visit the OPPO website via www.oppo.com/ng.