OPPO Reno6 Pro 5G Review: Good Looking Phone With Impressive Camera

OPPO’s Reno series is known for offering flagship-level specs and features at mid-range prices. The latest editions in the Reno series are Reno6 and Reno6 Pro that came to India back in July this year. The “Pro” version, obviously, is the premium one and comes with the first-ever MediaTek Dimensity 1200 chipset with 5G support and an improved camera system. Apart from this, OPPO has once again managed to offer a unique design with the new Reno smartphone. We have been using this phone for a while now and if you were looking to purchase it recently, do check our OPPO Reno6 Pro 5G review here.

OPPO Reno6 Pro 5G Review

Pros

• Attractive Design
• 90Hz AMOLED Display
• Impressive Cameras
• Fast Charging

Cons

• No Stereo Speakers
• Bloatware in ColorsOS

Key Specifications

Display

6.55-inch AMOLED FHD+(2400 × 1080 pixels), 90Hz, HDR10+

Build

Glass Back

Dimensions, and Weight

160×73.1x 7.6 mm, 177g

Operating System

ColorOS 11.3 with Android 11, upgradable to Android 12

Processor

MediaTek Dimensity 1200 5G (6 nm), Octa-core 3.0 GHz, Mali-G77 MC9 GPU

RAM/Storage

12GB LPDDR4X RAM, 256GB UFS 2.1

Rear Camera

64 MP f/1.7 wide, 0.7µm + 8 MP ultrawide + 2 MP macro + 2 MP depth

Selfie Camera

32 MP, f/2.4 (wide)

Battery and Charging

4500mAh battery with 65W SuperVOOC 2.0 fast charging

Connectivity and Ports

Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 802.11ac (2.4GHz and 5GHz), USB Type C, SD card slot, NFC

Variants and Price

12GB+256GB- Rs. 39,999 (Aurora, Black),  Rs. 41,999 (Gold)

Box Contents

• OPPO Reno6 Pro 5G Phone

• USB Type C Cable and

  65W Fast Charger

• USB Type C Earphones

• Protective Case

• SIM Ejector Tool

• Quick Start Guide and

  Safety Guide.

Design and Build

OPPO introduced the “Reno Glow” design with the Reno5 Pro last year and this new Reno phone also comes with a similar design. The Reno6 Pro comes with a usual glass sandwich design with a metal frame and glass back. The glass back, as mentioned, offers a glow but also has a matte finish so it doesn’t attract fingerprints at all.

The Aurora color variant that we got looks really very attractive with the shimmering effect and changing hues with the light. Also, the top side of the phone glows in the dark. The phone has a curved design and it is also very slim & lightweight so it fits perfectly in one hand. Also, the camera module is not that bumpy so the phone sits evenly on a flat surface.

On the front, you get a big curved display which gives it a look of the Samsung Galaxy S9 series. The display is protected by Gorilla Glass 5. It has a small punch-hole at the top left which is not much obtrusive, also the bezels are very small. For biometrics, the Reno6 Pro includes an in-display fingerprint sensor that is slightly nearer to the bottom bezel.

If we talk about buttons and ports, there is a power button on the right side and the volume rockers are at the left. The top side of the phone has a secondary mic and the bottom has a USB Type C port, microphone, SIM card tray, and a single loudspeaker. The speaker grille at the top is just for calls and it doesn’t work as a loudspeaker.

Overall, design-wise the phone looks attractive especially because of its “Reno Glow” back with metal and glass sandwich design which makes it look distinct in comparison to the competition.

Display Quality

Coming to the display quality of the phone, Reno6 Pro 5G sports a 6.55-inch AMOLED screen with a 90Hz refresh rate and FHD+ resolution. The display is big, bright, and offers vibrant colors with sharpness. The peak brightness offered by the phone is 800 nits and the typical brightness is 500 nits, so it’s bright enough in all lighting conditions.

The viewing angles are great, especially when you’re watching content indoors. If we talk about outdoor visibility, it’s not that bad even under direct sunlight. You can even watch videos in the direct sunlight, but if you are reading something it will be clearly visible.

The display comes with a 90Hz refresh rate but you can also use 60Hz and switch it from the settings as per your needs. The ColorOS also offers several other customizations for the display. For example, you can use Eye comfort mode, change screen color temperature & screen color mode, and use the video color enhancer.

Reno6 Pro also features an Always-on display which also has several customization options including watches, images, and text. Moreover, if you are a fan of dark mode, there is more for you in the new ColorOS, as now you can choose from different levels of dark mode as per your needs.

So, overall, we like the display of Reno6 Pro. Its curved panel gives a premium feel, and watching videos is an awesome experience. Also, the 90Hz refresh rate and 180Hz touch sampling rate make it even better for gaming.

Hardware and Performance

The Reno6 Pro is powered by MediaTek’s new Dimensity 1200 chipset which is based on 6nm technology. The octa-core SoC is clocked at up to 3.0GHz on its fastest Cortex A78 core. For graphics, it uses a Mali-G77 MC9 GPU.

In India, Reno6 Pro comes with only one variant and that has a mammoth 12GB LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. On top of that, it also supports OPPO’s RAM expansion technology. So, in this tech, the phone can use a portion of the free storage as RAM. So, on Reno6 Pro, one can choose to expand the RAM further up to 7GB.

However, you probably won’t need to expand RAM, as 12GB alone is enough for all the multitasking you do on a day-to-day basis. If we talk about gaming, the phone performs very well. Even graphics-intensive games such as BGMI and Asphalt 9 run smoothly. You can see we played BGMI with HDR graphics and Ultra frame rate and it was pretty good.

Coming to the benchmarks, the OPPO Reno6 Pro scores at par with other smartphones in the segment. However, don’t be confused if another phone with a Qualcomm chipset, score a little bit higher, as Rreno6 is no less powerful than most smartphones that are in its competition.

In terms of Software and UI, the phone comes with ColorOS 11.3 on top of Android 11. Although OPPO has now introduced ColorOS 12 with Android 12, this phone will soon get the update too. The ColorOS is not less feature-rich than the latest version though. There are several new features such as Freeform Screenshot, Private Safe, O-Relax app, and Game Focus Mode.

ColorOS also offer many customization options. Like you can change app layout, font and display size, icons in the notification drawer, as well as all apps icons and colors. When you set up the phone, you will see several pre-installed apps like, Snapchat, Moj, SoLoop, etc. But you can uninstall most of these, except if it is not from OPPO itself.

The good thing about the ColorOS is that it doesn’t push ads shown despite having some pre-installed third-party apps. However, some of these apps push notifications constantly on your phone that might be annoying for many.

We find Reno6 Pro a good phone performance-wise as the new ColorOS is also optimized for better results in all aspects including gaming, multitasking, binge-watching, browsing, etc.

Camera

The new Reno6 Pro flaunts a quad-camera setup with a 64MP main camera, an 8MP ultra-wide camera, and 2MP macro and another 2MP mono camera. The camera module looks quite identical to the last year’s Reno5 Pro, but it has several improvements and new features.

If we talk about camera UI, it is very simple and all that you need is just a tap away. You can switch from 64MP to normal with just a tap, also, change the aspect ratio, use AI scene enhancement, HDR, and portrait modes with a few taps.

Talking about camera quality, the camera performs really well in daylight and well-lit environments. It captures real colors and doesn’t make unnecessary changes to the image.

The portrait mode is also really well as it captures edges perfectly and blurs the background accordingly. You can see the difference in normal and portrait mode below:

If you use 64MP camera mode, it offers very good detailing but without this mode, you can also capture nice photos. Also, the 64MP mode photos are just double the size as the regular ones. Check out the 64MP camera sample below:

Reno6 Pro also has a macro mode, which sometimes clicks impressively detailed shots, and sometimes it can’t focus properly. But overall, you can still use it for clicking some close images of small objects.

The 32MP selfie camera also clicks good selfies. Both the normal and portrait modes perform well in daylight, as you can see below, there is enough detailing, and skin tone is also captured well.

Check out more rear camera samples in the below gallery:

If we talk about video recording, OPPO offers up to 4K at 30fps recording and usual features like timelapse, and slow-motion. However, one feature that OPPO introduced with this phone is really amazing. Dubbed as ‘Bokeh Flare Portrait Video’, this offers portrait mode in the videos too and only the subject is focused while recording.

Battery and Charging

OPPO Reno6 Pro comes with two 2250mAh series-connected batteries that offer a total capacity of 4500mAh. As per OPPO, the reason for having two cells is to achieve fast charging speeds via its SuperVOOC 2.0 charger. The 65W charger can really fill the battery in a jiffy.

If we talk about numbers, the in-box charger can fill the battery from 0 to 92% in just 31 mins. OPPO claims it can charge your phone to 100% in 31 mins, and in our testing, it took 37 mins to reach 100%, which is not much different from the company’s claim.

The battery life of the Reno6 Pro is also good, and you can use it one full day after charging once, even if you are a moderate to heavy user. There are some features in the battery settings, that can save more power while optimizing the apps accordingly.

Audio and Connectivity

In terms of audio, the phone is also good despite having only a bottom-firing mono-speaker. It can be enough loud at the highest volume, especially in closed surroundings, and also you won’t feel much distortion. Although, it is still a little disappointing that there are no stereo speakers at this price. It also supports Dolby Atmos which is now common in recent smartphones.

Talking about ports, the Reno6 Pro has a USB Type C port and doesn’t come with a 3.5mm headphone jack, however you get a Type C earphone inside the box. The other connectivity features are all there including the latest WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and NFC. It also comes with 5G support with both SA and NSA networks.

Common Queries

Q. Is OPPO Reno6 Pro waterproof? 

A. No, the phone is not waterproof.

Q. Does OPPO Reno6 Pro support Always-on Display?

A. Yes, Reno6 Pro comes with AOD support.

Q. Does OPPO Reno6 Pro have a high refresh rate display?

A. Yes, the phone comes with up to a 90Hz refresh rate display.

Q. Do both SIM cards support 5G networks on Reno6 Pro 5G? 

A. The phone comes with dual nano-SIM card slots, however only the SIM 1 slot has 5G capabilities. The second SIM card slot can support only up to 4G LTE.

Q. Does Reno6 Pro support carrier aggregation?

A. Yes, it supports carrier aggregation which is indicated by a small ‘+’ icon next to the 4G mark.

Q. Does OPPO Reno6 Pro have a dedicated SD card slot?

A. No, Reno6 Pro doesn’t come with a dedicated SD card slot.

Q. Does Reno6 Pro support HD streaming on Netflix and Prime Video? 

A. Reno6 Pro has Widewive L1 support for enabling HD playback in major streaming apps. However, it supports HDR playback for only Prime Video and not for Netflix.

OPPO Reno6 Pro 5G Review: Conclusion

OPPO Reno series has always been a favorite for those who like good-looking phones with impressive cameras. So Reno6 Pro is no exception and it won’t disappoint such people as well. Also, for those who are looking for a flagship-level phone with a powerful chipset alongside a good camera, this phone is just for them as it won’t put a hole in their pocket like other flagships. And its good looks, crazy fast charging capabilities, and 90Hz AMOLED screen are just add-ons.

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