The Oppo range , at least the Italian one, cannot be said to offer the enthusiast / customer clear references . The Reno series, to date, is a puzzle: only the standard variant of Reno 7 is imported, only the Lite 5G of Reno 8, while Reno 6 Pro 5G and Reno 6 5G are still regularly listed. Oppo Reno 8 Lite 5G is a technically less complete variant (processor apart) of Reno 7, with the plus of 5G connectivity but with a higher list price (and not even slightly, with the promotions on Reno 7).
I approached the review with a big question mark, but Oppo Reno 8 Lite , despite the obvious technical limitations, was still appreciated and once it reached “its” price it is a product to look at with interest. I will tell you immediately, in order, what works and what is wrong.
INDEX
- DESIGN, MANUFACTURING QUALITY AND ERGONOMICS
- SCREEN
- SOFTWARE
- EXPERIENCE OF USE
- DATA SHEET
- CAMERAS
- CONCLUSIONS
- PROS AND CONS
DESIGN, MANUFACTURING QUALITY AND ERGONOMICS
Oppo Reno 8 Lite convinced me both in terms of design, perceived quality and above all ergonomics. Indeed, I will be even more direct: I consider ergonomics to be his greatest gift. It is very light compared to the 6.43 inches of the display – just over 170 grams – and it holds well in the hand , favored by one of the most contained thicknesses and a square profile that facilitates grip. I don’t have a good relationship with very large displays (6.43 inches, for me, are many) for the compromises they force to accept in terms of ergonomics, but Reno 8 Lite surprised me , I confess.
The Rainbow Spectrum coloring of the device under test is particular. The wow effect is guaranteed, but not everyone likes it. I liked it, even if I think it is a bit flashy. And unlike other iridescent colors, this one gives pleasant colors not only in sunlight but also in artificial light ; indeed, I would say that it performs better indoors than outdoors, where it can give rise to some unwanted, annoying reflection. The build quality convinces: in the hand it transfers a feeling of reassuring solidity despite the fact that the designers have preferred plastic for the frame, a choice that allows to contain production costs and that ensures advantages in terms of weight and resistance to falls.
Personally, in the mid-range, I think it is a smart choice: it is better to save money on metal and accept a few less compromises in more crucial areas. Oppo Reno 8 Lite is IPX4 certified , that is, it has passed the water splash resistance tests: it’s not so much because modern smartphones usually resist splashes even if they don’t have a certification, but in this case there is, it’s nice and it helps to feel a little more calm.
SCREEN
The display is an AMOLED from Samsung ‘s factories , a guarantee. I go straight to the point: it convinces almost in everything, but in 2022 the refresh rate of 60 Hz “just” makes you turn up your nose , especially if the list price says 399 euros as in the case of Oppo Reno 8 Lite. It is not a reason to give up the purchase, mind you, also because in the mid-range 60 Hz was the standard up to two years ago, but … up to two years ago, in fact. It is a major handicap compared to the competition.
For the rest, the screen convinces, has a good color rendering and being an OLED allows you to have the always on display , which is always handy. Oppo applies a protective plastic film in the factory: removed, the glass – which is not a Corning Gorilla Glass – displays an excellent oleophobic treatment , which is not obvious on this band. Very good. Nothing to report on the proximity and brightness sensors, which are punctual and do their “dirty” job without being noticed.
Convincing readability under direct sunlight: you give something (just something) in terms of color fidelity, but it is the compromise to accept to continue to use the smartphone comfortably even when the sun is beating down. Luckily, the touch is responsive. Why do I emphasize this? The vibration motor , an aspect to which I personally pay a lot of attention, offers anachronistic sensations, simply bad. So a few minutes after the initial setup I disabled haptic feedback: if the touch hadn’t been responsive, writing would have been dramatic.
SOFTWARE
It did not welcome me well, Oppo Reno 8 Lite. Once started , the bloatware is significant: mind you , everything can be uninstalled, but the user does not necessarily know it and the third-party apps pre-installed by Oppo by virtue of commercial agreements send some (unwanted) notifications too many. It is an aspect that does not convince me and will never convince me, if the target audience is the generalist user.
However, the ColorOS 12 was forgiven: the customization possibilities are many and most of the time pleasant, albeit with some drawbacks such as the management of the old style notifications received, that is, without all the options that are usually obtained with a simple swipe. down, which makes everything more cumbersome, or the impossibility of hiding the icons shown in the status bar, such as those of NFC or Bluetooth.
Another shock was to find an interface, the ColorOS 12 precisely, still based on Android 11, in 2022. The brother Reno 7 4G which debuted a few months earlier and has a lower list price has the ColorOS 12.1 based on Android 12 and , knowing it, it’s not nice. Just as it is not nice to be in July with the security patches of May, but (at least this) is a common policy on the mid-range that often receive the patches every three months. Speaking of firmware, Oppo’s update policy includes two versions of Android in addition to the one present at launch (Android 12 and 13) and four years of security patches .
[NB: Build A.15 arrived with June patches shortly before release, but the smartphone was tested with the previous build, A.14 with May patches.]
Net of this, the ColorOS 12 has arrows in its bow. Convenient is the Smart Sidebar that offers the opportunity to quickly capture a screenshot, to start a screen recording or to have a floating app, also convenient is the gesture that allows you to split the screen with an action and there is the always on display which takes advantage of the negligible consumption of the OLED display with mainly black screens.
I really liked the Orbit Light gimmick: Oppo Reno 8 Lite, like Reno 7, has circular LEDs under the rear camera lenses that do the same job as the notification LED once did. The cameras flash slowly from receiving the notification (of supported apps, but there are a lot of them) when you read or delete them, they flash steadily while the phone rings for an incoming call. It’s not a life-changing feature, but it’s useful and effective too.
EXPERIENCE OF USE
The Snapdragon 695 had not convinced me on the “cousin” OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite. It gave me the feeling of being slow, but on the Oppo Reno 8 Lite it mostly showed me its positive sides. Suddenly he hasn’t become a sprinter, but I can’t even call him awkward. It convinces despite the handicap of the 60 Hz display , a sign, evidently, that the dialogue between the ColorOS 12 of Reno 8 Lite and the Qualcomm chip is profitable. The available RAM is exploited well, the UI is not aggressive in closing apps in the background and despite all the autonomy is not affected, on the contrary.
Oppo Reno 8 Lite, in light of the hardware, is not a smartphone to be recommended to those who play a lot, yet it juggles well even with the most challenging titles of the average: I did not find obvious lag too much during short sessions, and the GPU Adreno 619 is confirmed as a good compromise to do a bit of everything well, without high peaks but not even low ones. There is the Widevine level 1 certificate, which allows streaming from major platforms at the highest resolution available. Oppo is waving the 36-month TÜV SÜD efficiency certification , so for a smartphone that remains fluid for at least a year and a half: it is evident that we have not been able to verify, but the feeling is that it can deliver on its promises.
The judgment on Oppo Reno 8 Lite as a pure phone is decidedly positive : reception is excellent, both of the data network and of Wi-Fi and GPS, the calls run smoothly and the interlocutor feels good both through the headset and hands-free thanks to the single system speaker. Here, we are not on the level of the competition with stereo audio, but the quality all in all convinces both in call and in reproduction, for volume and frequencies. The judgment on the fingerprint reader on the display is very very positive: it does not miss a beat and does not make you regret a physical reader for speed. They are successful, reliable key components, like these that make Oppo Reno 8 Lite a pleasant product to use, despite the limitations.
The 4,500 mAh battery guarantees excellent autonomy: with most of the time in Wi-Fi but still with an hour of calls, almost an hour of live streaming on Now TV (always in Wi-Fi) and a quarter of time of Asphalt 9, I have been away from outlets and power banks two days, with 6 hours of screen on. Too bad that the usage graph and app consumption data are limited to the last 24 hours. If the time spent in 5G increases and a little GPS navigation is introduced, the battery flies the white flag first, but in any case I managed to close the day with 30% remaining: the limits of Reno 8 Lite must be sought elsewhere, certainly not on the ‘autonomy. Included is Oppo’s SuperVooc fast power supply, which however is 33 watts:rapid is not often needed given the Reno 8 Lite’s ability to maximize the mAh available, but the competition offers higher powers, at the same price list.
DATA SHEET
- display : 6.43-inch AMOLED by Samsung, Full HD + resolution (2,400 x 1,080 pixels, 409 ppi), 60 Hz refresh rate, 600 nit peak brightness, 90.8% screen to surface ratio
- chip: Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G
- production process: 6 nm
- CPU: 2x Kryo 660 Gold da 2,2 GHz, 6x Kryo 660 Silver da 1,7 GHz
- GPU: Adreno 619
- memories : 8 GB of LPDDR4X RAM at 2,133 MHz (+5 virtual GB), 128 GB of UFS 2.2 storage space expandable with microSD up to 1 TB
- cameras :
- rear main: 64 megapixel f / 1.7, viewing angle 79 degrees, electronic stabilization (EIS), 1080p video at 30 fps or 720p up to 120 fps
- rear macro: 2 MP f / 2.4 in fixed focus
- posteriore bokeh: 2 MP f/2.4
- Front: 16MP f / 2.4, 79 degree viewing angle, 1080p video at 30fps
|
|
| Oppo Reno 8 Lite 5G
73.17 x 159.85 x 7.55 mm |
Click here for the complete comparison »
- connectivity : Dual SIM, 5G SA / NSA, Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, input for 3.5mm audio jack, GPS, A-GPS, BeiDou, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, USB-C
- unlock : in-display fingerprint reader, 2D face
- audio : mono
- IPX4 certified waterproof (resistant to splashing water)
- user interface : ColorOS 12 based on Android 11 (tested with release A.14)
- Support Lifetime: Two Android Versions + Four Years Security Patch
- battery : 4,500 mAh with SuperVooc 33 watts fast charge
- colors : Cosmic Black or Rainbow Spectrum
- dimensions : 159.9 x 73.2 x 7.49 / 7.55 (Black / Rainbow) mm, 173 grams of weight
CAMERAS
Oppo Reno 8 Lite is the classic product with three rear cameras which in fact, to the test of facts, are reduced to only one: the main one. And if for a product that is within the 300 euro list you can also turn a blind eye, when the commitment required from the wallet is higher , the judgment becomes more rigid. The main camera convinces in most conditions but is the only voice of the chorus, however not excellent when the game gets demanding, i.e. at night. When the light abounds, the 64 MP camera takes beautiful photos, with colors that some might consider a little cold but well detailed and enjoyable even on a PC or on screens larger than that of a smartphone.
It is aided by an HDR algorithm that delivers balanced shots even in complex conditions for anyone, such as against the sun or at sunset. When there is little light, the night mode does a good job in terms of color fidelity, and the photos are enjoyable from the Reno 8 Lite display. But once transferred to the PC you realize that it does not do magic: the lights could be managed in a better way, the noise is there and is greater than the loss of detail. In short: they can be good for social media, nothing more.
And then? What’s next to the main camera? Not an ultra wide: true, in this price range the super wide angles do not impress for quality, but in favorable light conditions it would have done its own and should have been there, for the price. Instead of a 2MP depth camera that offers forgettable portraits or a macro that offers mediocre quality photographs – if they weren’t there you wouldn’t miss them. HD Extra mode stretches 64MP photos from the main camera up to 108MP – nothing more than a rhetorical exercise.
The over priced list decided by Oppo highlights another shortcoming: no video in 4K. Moreover, 1080p stops at 30 frames per second, but at least the convincing electronic stabilization puts a patch on the absence of optical stabilization for the main sensor. The audio captured by the microphones is very good. The slow motion mode at 720p and 120 fps generates clips that are pleasant to watch on the smartphone screen.
On the other hand, the 16 MP selfie camera is really convincing : during the day it is difficult to “stick” a photo.
CONCLUSIONS
Oppo Reno 8 Lite is not a smartphone without flaws, but by putting together the verdicts of the individual paragraphs you will have already understood. However, despite using a very high-end smartphone on a daily basis, I didn’t have the irrepressible desire to part with it , and I wondered why. The answer, at least the one I gave myself, is that it is a product with an overall solid foundation: it has a large display (much more than the smartphone I use every day) and despite everything it holds well in my hand, the Snapdragon 695 and the ColorOS 12 produces convincing results, as a pure phone it is excellent and gives the feeling that you can always rely on it.
It’s a good mid-range, you buy it and sleep peacefully. But if you don’t just “sleep” but rather look around, you won’t find it hard to find competitive alternatives that offer more for the same price. The limits are there and I am aware that in the long run, after spending 399 euros, the shortcomings of a more fluid display and above all of an ultra wide-angle camera come to a head , so the list price seemed out of focus. Oppo seems to have got the measurement wrong. Probably, who knows, he fixed it taking into account the devaluation that smartphones physiologically go through on the web. The advice is to wait for the moment when Reno 8 Lite falls below 300 euros:it can represent a valid choice for those who do not allow themselves to be seduced by fireworks but place concreteness in front of every other aspect.
PROS AND CONS
ORBIT LIGHT ERGONOMICS , A WELL SUCCESSFUL IDEA RELIABILITY
PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPARTMENT – VD. PARAGRAPH VIBRATION FREQUENCY LOW DISPLAY ANDROID 11
VOTE 6.5
RENO8 Lite Smartphone, AI Tripla fotocamera 64+2+2MP, Display 6.4? 60HZ AMOLED, 4500mAh, RAM 8GB(Esp 10GB/11GB/13GB) + ROM 128GB espand.(1TB), [Extra Garanzia 24+6Mesi], Rainbow Spectrum
359 €
RENO8 Lite Smartphone, AI Tripla fotocamera 64+2+2MP, Display 6.4? 60HZ AMOLED, 4500mAh, RAM 8GB(Esp 10GB/11GB/13GB) + ROM 128GB espand.(1TB), [Extra Garanzia 24+6Mesi], Cosmic Black
341 € OPPO Reno7 Smartphone, AI Triple Camera 64 + 2 + 2MP, 6.4 Display? 90HZ AMOLED, 4500mAh, Charging 33W, RAM 8GB (Exp. Up to 13GB) + ROM 128GB (Exp. Up to 1TB), [Extra Warranty 24 + 6 Months], Sunset Orange
249 €
OPPO Reno7 Smartphone, AI Triple Camera 64 + 2 + 2MP, 6.4 Display? 90HZ AMOLED, 4500mAh, 33W Charging, 8GB RAM (Exp. Up to 13GB) + 128GB ROM (Exp. Up to 1TB), [Extra Warranty 24 + 6 Months], Cosmic Black
249 €
- Oppo Reno 8 Lite 5G is available online from eBay for 309 euros .
Oppo Reno 8 Lite 5G is available upto 309 euros . (Update July 15, 2022, 10:32 am)
