GADGET REVIEW: Here’s why OPPO Reno8 Z 5G doesn’t disappoint
Reno8 Z 5G delivers stellar portraits, spectacular design and smooth performance
MANILA, Philippines — Smart device brand OPPO has recently unveiled its Reno8 Series 5G in the Philippines, featuring the Reno8 5G and Reno8 Z 5G. Both come equipped with OPPO’s flagship portrait system that allows users to capture life’s moments from day to night.
Officially priced at P19,990, the OPPO Reno8 Z 5G is the more budget-friendly option in the Reno8 Series 5G lineup, ideally meant for casual users who love a phone that’s rich in style and creative capabilities.
Philstar.com has had some time with the OPPO Reno8 Z 5G, and here’s our experience with the device.
First impression: Sleek and sparkling
The OPPO Reno8 Z 5G gets your attention right off the bat with its tasty-looking rear design that has a smooth, sandblasted feeling with a sparkling, glittery look.
The device we had was in Dawnlight Gold, which features a seamless gradient coating of different tones of yellow, cyan, purple and gold—giving off a beautiful rainbow holographic effect when light hits the device from different angles.
In terms of its sides, the device sports a metallic look, complemented by curved corners that make the device look sleek. Following what OPPO calls an “ultra slim retro design,” the Reno8 Z 5G feels light and easy to grip with its thinness of only approximately 7.66mm and weight of 181g.
A thoughtful addition to the phone's sparkling design is the OPPO Dual Orbit Lights. Tucked subtly beneath the camera modules, these ring-shaped prisms light up or blink in different scenarios, such as when the device charges, running games, or when there’s an unread notification.
Portrait Expert for a reason
Dubbed as a “Portrait Expert” the OPPO Reno8 Z 5G is made to deliver captivating portraits at any time of the day.
The device sports a 64MP AI Triple Rear Camera with a 16MP front camera. It is integrated with powerful portrait shooting features, such as the Bokeh Flare Portrait to capture portrait images with bokeh light spots, the Selfie HDR for clear selfies in low-lighted surroundings, and many more.
We brought the device to different environments to test out the OPPO Reno8 Z 5G’s lenses, and as non-photography pros, we’ve also kept the phone’s AI scene enhancement feature on.
While we do miss capturing wide shots, our photography experience with the device’s main cam is quite effortless. Images taken in daylight are consistently sharp without the problem of oversaturated colors, while night photos were also vibrant colors with minimal noise. Thanks to the device’s sensors and AI enhancement, it chooses the right settings to use.
The phone’s front camera also delivers clear selfies during the daytime or night, made possible by Selfie HDR which preserves features of faces and backgrounds even in lowlight scenarios.
Now let’s talk about the most promising thing in this device: the Portrait Mode.
In our experience, the portrait mode, as expected, did a great job in producing DSLR-like photos with smoothly blurred backgrounds and creamy bokeh. Hair, shirt and face details all naturally transition naturally to the background that makes up for a perfect portrait.
The OPPO Reno8 Z 5G is also thoughtful enough to add more features like AI Portrait Retouching, AI Pallets and AI Color Portrait, among others.
In the past years, OPPO has consistently improved its imaging capabilities, and now they have shown what can be achieved when AI algorithms work well with hardware—clear photos and superb portraits
Phone made simple and smooth
The OPPO Reno8 Z 5G is undeniably a pretty straightforward mid-range device. From its display down to its processor, the phone was simply made to deliver where it matters.
The device provides an immersive enough viewing experience with its 90.8% screen-to-body ratio and 6.4” AMOLED display that delivers punchy visuals and rich colors.
The device also has a 60Hz refresh rate, which others may not find enough, but honestly, there’s very little to complain about with OPPO Reno8 Z 5G’s screen if you’re a casual user whose screen activities usually revolve around light games and streaming apps.
Having played Moba and FPS games, the device is capable of providing a stable and smooth gaming experience. This is probably because the OPPO Reno8 Z 5G runs with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G Mobile Platform, packed with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of ROM and a memory that is even expandable up to 1TB—a build that for most cases is more than enough.
The OPPO Reno8 Z 5G also packs a 4,500mAh battery that takes up only around an hour to fully charge through its 33W SUPERVOOC flash-charging feature, making this device perfect for go-getters.
Putting the device into hours of use, we’ve also noticed that the OPPO Reno8 Z 5G remained impressively cool, which it owes to the upgraded 6-Layered Multi-Cooling System under its hood.
Now making the overall OPPO Reno8 Z 5G experience easy is the fact the device runs on ColorOS 12.1, which provides users with a more personalized and convenient experience with features like anti-peeping notifications, Air Gestures and Omoji avatars.
The overall experience we’ve had with the OPPO Reno8 Z 5G was simple, easy and smooth. This, we believe, is because of the many small pieces in this device that complement each other perfectly, which ultimately makes up for a cohesive overall user experience.
Simply put, the OPPO Reno8 Z 5G is a device that looks good and works well. If you’re one who targets an eye-catching phone that has some amazing photography performance under its sleeve, then this device is a solid choice.
The OPPO Reno8 Z 5G and Reno8 5G are now available at OPPO Brand Stores, online via Shopee and Lazada, and through plans offered by Smart and Globe.
OPPO Reno8 Z 5G is available via Smart Signature Device Plan 999! You will also get 5GB data, Unli AllNet Calls and Texts and 50 minutes PLDT calls by just adding P200 per month with one-time cash out of P2,500.
For Globe subscribers, OPPO Reno8 Z 5G is available for free with GPlan 1799 with 13GB all-access data, unli all-net text, calls and calls to landline.
For more information, visit OPPO Philippines' website and Facebook page.
