OPPO Reno 12 Pro review: Almost perfect midrange AI smartphone, but pricey

China’s OPPO on July 12 launched in India the Reno 12 series, which brings its first wave of mobile artificial intelligence features. There are two identical looking models in the series, but the top-end model, the Reno 12 Pro, boasts a more capable camera system and a dual-tone design on the back cover. Powered by MediaTek Dimensity 7300, the midrange smartphone seems to be on the pricier side based on on-paper specifications. But, there is more to the Reno 12 Pro than meets the eye. What exactly? Let us find out:

Design

The OPPO Reno series is known for its unique design, and the legacy continues with the Reno 12 Pro – boasts a distinctive dual-glass finish at the back. The top section, which covers the majority of the back, features a matte finish, while the lower part boasts a glossy look. These two sections are divided by a thick glass strip that prominently displays the OPPO branding. The rear camera module is more understated, with three-camera sensors stacked vertically on top of a rectangular bump.

 

While the back of the phone looks and feels premium, it’s the front that truly catches the eye. The smartphone features a quad-curved glass design over a flat display, creating a bezel-less appearance. This curved glass not only enhances ergonomics but also helps prevent accidental touches.

The only drawbacks I noticed were that the glossy lower half and the camera module tend to accumulate dust frequently, requiring regular cleaning. Additionally, the smartphone wobbles slightly when placed on flat surfaces.

Overall, the OPPO Reno 12 Pro boasts a sleek design and offers a comfortable grip for extended use. It feels light and well-balanced in terms of weight distribution. OPPO said it has incorporated durability features such as an impact-resistant internal design and Gorilla Glass Victus 2. The phone could be sturdy, but I strongly recommend not to torture the phone to test the company’s claims.

Oppo Reno 12 Pro (Front and Back)

Display

The OPPO Reno 12 Pro sports a 6.7-inch fullHD+ flat display with a quad-curved glass protection on top of it. The viewing experience is good, as the panel maintains optimal colour accuracy and vibrancy regardless of the content on screen. With a 120 Hz refresh rate and smooth animation effects, the smartphone delivers a premium experience. The display is also bright, ensuring good visibility in outdoor conditions from all angles.

OPPO has integrated several value-added display features, including Adaptive Tone, which automatically adjusts the screen colour temperature based on ambient lighting conditions. During my testing, I kept this mode enabled, and it effectively switched between a slight yellowish tint and a bluish tint depending on the environment. While this feature reduces eye strain during long-term use, it occasionally affects colour contrast when consuming media.

The Reno 12 Pro supports HDR viewing, producing more vibrant colours and deeper blacks for compatible content. It also includes a Bright HDR video mode, which increases screen brightness for HDR supported content even further, when enabled. OPPO has incorporated several AI features through the side panel for an enhanced viewing experience. When starting a video on streaming platforms like YouTube, Disney+ Hotstar, and more, the smartphone suggests the Air Scroll feature, allowing you to scroll hands-free by flicking your hand in front of the front camera. This feature works, albeit with a lag.

Camera

The OPPO Reno 12 Pro has a 50-megapixel primary sensor, 50MP telephoto for 2x zoom capability at the sensor level, and an 8MP ultra-wide. On the front, the smartphone has a 50MP auto focus camera sensor.

Photos taken with the primary camera sensor are clear and crisp under natural lighting. However, the colours can appear slightly off due to the software processing, which tends to overexpose brighter sections, resulting in a whiter appearance. Under artificial lighting, the camera struggles to accurately capture skin tones and often softens facial details to compensate for the sensor's limitations. The ultra-wide-angle lens seems to be included more for the sake of having one, as it produces grainy pictures in low light and lacklustre images in daylight.

The telephoto camera stands out as a highlight. While photos at 2x zoom are not as clear as those from the main sensor, the colours appear more lifelike, and the sensor performs consistently well even under artificial lighting conditions. The front-facing 50MP camera is a pleasant surprise, offering more realistic skin tones and better saturation levels in pictures.

For portraits, the subject separation and edge detection work well most of the time, although it can be a bit aggressive around hairlines. The bokeh effect is natural and not over the top.

In terms of videography, the OPPO Reno 12 Pro supports 4K recording at 30 frames-per-second and 1080p recording at both 30 and 60 fps. However, recording with the telephoto camera is limited to 1080p at 30 fps. On the plus side, you can also record 4K videos with the front camera. The ultra-steady mode is available but is limited to 1080p recording for both front and rear camera systems.

Performance

The OPPO Reno 12 Pro is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 chip, paired with 12GB RAM and 256GB on-board storage (review unit). The smartphone offers smooth and lag-free performance, handling daily tasks such as minor multitasking, web surfing, watching videos, and casual gaming with ease. However, I did encounter some glitches on the review unit, including delays in opening the keyboard and occasional sudden app closures. These issues can likely be resolved through software updates and patches.

For more demanding tasks like high-resolution video recording or graphics-intensive gaming, the smartphone starts to reach its limits when used for extended periods. There is also minor heating around the frame. To mitigate this, OPPO has included a RAM expansion feature and it does offer more breathing space during intensive tasks.

Software

The OPPO Reno 12 Pro runs on ColorOS 14, based on Android 14, which is stable and smooth with improved animations and transitions. It packs some useful features such as the File Dock on the side panel. After enabling the Smart Side Bar, which offers easier access to most used apps and other functionalities, you can simply drag a photo or a file to the side to store it on the File Dock that acts like a clipboard and allows sharing it on other apps. Another handy feature is the Flexible Window option in settings that turns apps and notifications into floating window tiles for multitasking.

However, the smartphone comes with a few pre-installed third-party apps and games, such as Agoda and Bubble Pop. Additionally, the home screen includes Hot Apps and Hot Games sections that suggest third-party apps and games. While this can feel a bit intrusive, these apps and games do not generate unwanted notifications and can be easily uninstalled.

AI features

OPPO has integrated several AI features into the Reno 12 Pro, ranging from photo editing to text summarisation and voice transcription. First up is the AI tool box on the Smart Sidebar that automatically recognises the content on the display and offers relevant AI-powered tools. For example, when you open an article in the web browser and access the sidebar, you’ll see two options at the top: "AI Speak" and "AI Summary." The "AI Speak" feature reads out the text from the webpage, while "AI Summary" generates a bullet-point summary highlighting important information. This feature is limited to browser apps though.

The AI tool box also has an AI Writer feature for writing assistance that appears on the side bar once you open a text field such as when composing an email. By tapping on the feature, it scans the screen and opens a floating window where you can input pointers, keywords, or phrases to generate text around. You can also choose between tones for the generated content, such as “concise,” “detailed,” and “polite.” I tested this feature on Gmail, asking it to generate a polite email requesting leave, and it performed well. The generated text appears in the floating window and can be easily copied. You can also use this feature to write picture captions for social media. While it worked well with Instagram and Facebook, it was less reliable with Reddit, as the AI toolbox sometimes did not offer the AI Writer feature for the app.

OPPO has also integrated AI into the native voice recorder app for audio transcription and text summarisation of voice recordings. The summarisation feature works for audio recordings longer than 30 seconds, and the summaries are stored in the Notes app. Like the AI toolbox text summariser for the web, audio recording summaries are generated in bullet points, highlighting important sections and providing quotes from the recording. Notably, the summaries and transcriptions do not mention any names taken in the recordings, which enhances privacy. Additionally, explicit words are hidden in the text transcription.

For photo editing, OPPO includes features like AI Eraser, AI Best Face, and AI Clear Face. The AI Eraser effectively removes unwanted objects from pictures, filling the empty space using generative fill. The AI Clear Face feature clears out blurry faces in group shots, although it sometimes softens facial details in certain lighting conditions. However, AI Best Face, which recognises human faces and expressions to improve images with the help of AI, did not perform as well as the other two during testing and occasionally displayed error messages.

Battery

The Reno 12 Pro features a 5,000 mAh battery, which is the industry standard nowadays. The smartphone easily lasts a full day on a single charge with average usage. However, extended video streaming or gaming drains the battery faster, which might necessitate recharging it within the same day. On the positive side, the smartphone supports 80W fast wired charging, allowing it to reach 70 per cent in just 27 minutes from zero.

Verdict

Priced at Rs 36,999 onwards, the OPPO Reno 12 Pro boasts durable construction, premium design, vivid display, but most importantly a suite of artificial intelligence features for enhanced experience. However, the smartphone falls short in offering lasting battery and a consistent imaging experience. Moreover, performance is not up there when viewed from price-performance optics. Nevertheless, the OPPO Reno 12 Pro could be a good option for someone looking for a midrange smartphone to experience mobile artificial intelligence features.