Oppo Reno 10 Pro 5G: A Premium Mid-Range Contender with Subtle Flaws

The shared characteristic of the OnePlus Nord 3 (Review), OnePlus 11R (Review) and iQoo Neo 7 Pro (Review) is their pricing, each retailing under Rs. 40,000 in India, while delivering flagship-like performance. The premium mid-range category has seen a notable rise in smartphone releases, and as if these options weren’t sufficient, the newly launched Oppo Reno 10 Pro 5G adds to the array. Carrying a price tag of Rs. 39,999, the Reno 10 Pro 5G is positioned between the base Reno 10 5G and the premium Reno 10 Pro+ 5G (Review).

While the majority of its rivals focus on delivering value for the price, the Oppo Reno 10 Pro 5G incorporates several unique features that allow it to stand out among its peers. Is it worth considering for purchase? This comprehensive review aims to assist you in your decision-making.

Oppo Reno 10 Pro 5G pricing in India

The Oppo Reno 10 Pro 5G has debuted in India with a lone storage variant. It comes equipped with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, priced at Rs. 39,999.

Design and display of the Oppo Reno 10 Pro 5G

The Oppo Reno 10 Pro is introduced in two color variants — Silvery Grey and Glossy Purple. We have the latter, which stands out distinctly from the wave of recent devices arriving in green and black hues. This smartphone features a curved rear panel and frame. The glass back of the Oppo Reno 10 Pro provides a luxurious feel when held. Further enhancing this sensation is its relatively slim and lightweight construction. Measuring approximately 7.89mm thick and weighing 185g, there were instances when the phone slipped from my grasp due to the smoothness of the rear.

In my view, the Oppo Reno 10 Pro is aesthetically pleasing. Its color selection and design amalgamate to give it a premium appearance. The glossy metallic finish effectively conceals fingerprints and smudges. Despite the glass rear, the chassis is constructed from plastic. The placement of the power and volume buttons on the right side makes them easily reachable for users with larger hands.

The Oppo Reno 10 Pro provides a luxurious feel in hand due to its glass back

 

The front of the Oppo Reno 10 Pro boasts a 6.7-inch AMOLED display featuring a full-HD+ resolution (2412 x 1080 pixels) and an aspect ratio of 20.1:9. Similar to the Vivo V27 Pro (Review), OnePlus 11R (Review) and several budget alternatives like the Motorola Edge 40 (Review), the Reno 10 Pro 5G’s display is curved at the edges. I encountered no ghosting or accidental touches while navigating or gaming on the device.

However, I did find the single-speaker configuration to be inadequate. In a smartphone priced below Rs. 40,000, a decent dual-speaker setup is a basic expectation, making it disappointing that Oppo opted for a solitary speaker in the Reno 10 Pro 5G. On the bright side, the speaker is sufficiently loud, though the audio experience lacks depth.

The Oppo Reno 10 Pro 5G has relatively narrow bezels bordering the display

 

On a positive note, the 120Hz display can reach up to 950 nits peak brightness while displaying HDR content. It supports HDR playback on YouTube, although not on Netflix at the time of writing. The vivid 10-bit display can render a billion colors. Oppo has employed AGC Dragontrail Star 2 glass, which supposedly offers 20% better drop resistance than Corning Gorilla Glass 5.

I did not observe any significant stuttering while navigating the user interface when the refresh rate was set to Auto Switch. There were some software glitches, which will be discussed in the following section.

Specifications and software of the Oppo Reno 10 Pro 5G

The Oppo Reno 10 Pro 5G is powered by a Snapdragon 778G SoC with an Adreno 642L GPU. It includes a 4,600mAh battery and supports 80W SuperVOOC fast charging. Connectivity options encompass Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, dual-SIM, and an IR emitter, among others. The Oppo Reno 10 Pro 5G also boasts 14 5G bands in India.

On the software front, the Oppo Reno 10 Pro 5G operates on the latest ColorOS 13.1, based on Android 13. Over the years, Oppo’s ColorOS has advanced considerably and is regarded as one of the leading platforms for personalization and customization. The Reno 10 Pro continues to allow users to modify wallpapers, adjust front shapes and sizes, and alter icon dimensions, among other features.

Support for Android 13’s Material You theme is included, which synchronizes the system and UI colors with those of the wallpaper. Additionally, Oppo offers several featured color options for the UI and system icons in the Settings app. Further insights regarding ColorOS 13.1 are detailed in our Oppo Reno 10 Pro+ 5G review.

Despite ColorOS 13.1 being feature-rich, it suffers from app suggestions and advertisements within the user interface, whether in the setup screen, bloatware-heavy app drawer and home screen, or app suggestions in the default browser app. Moreover, several less popular games and third-party applications come pre-installed. The App Market, Oppo’s native App Store, also inundates users with notifications recommending various applications.

Oppo Reno 10 Pro comes pre-loaded with over 50 applications

 

Oppo seems to have acknowledged feedback and has announced plans to eliminate unnecessary apps that request installation permissions during initial setup in future software updates for an enhanced user experience. However, the Hot Games and Hot Apps folders, which offer app suggestions, will remain. Users can conceal these folders by navigating to App Market > General > tapping Settings in the top right corner and toggling off Hot Apps and Hot Games. Users can also disable notification recommendations by long-pressing on such notifications, selecting ‘More Settings,’ and disabling the ‘Allow Notifications’ option.

However, optimization is needed as I observed the screen orientation shifting automatically even with the Auto-rotate option disabled. Additionally, I experienced minor jitters when returning to the home screen. Hopefully, Oppo will resolve these concerns soon. The Oppo Reno 10 Pro is promised two major Android updates and three years of security support.

Performance and battery life of Oppo Reno 10 Pro 5G

The Oppo Reno 10 Pro is equipped with a mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G SoC, which has been featured in several smartphones priced around Rs. 30,000 in India. The Reno 10 Pro 5G is not the most powerful device in its category. However, for everyday tasks such as browsing social media, messaging, consuming content, and loading apps, the chipset holds its ground.

Casual gaming is also manageable. Nonetheless, for its price point, alternatives like OnePlus Nord 3 (Review), OnePlus 11R (Review), and iQoo Neo 7 Pro (Review) deliver superior gaming performance and value. Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) supports ‘HDR’ graphics and ‘Ultra’ framerate settings. I noticed some stuttering with the maximum settings, but gameplay improved slightly when I dialed down to ‘Balanced’ or ‘HD’ settings. On the other hand, Asphalt 9: Legends ran without issues.

RAM management is commendable, with apps reopening from where I left off. The Reno 10 Pro further offers support for up to 8GB of virtual RAM, sourced from the 256GB internal storage.

The in-display fingerprint scanner of Oppo Reno 10 Pro is positioned quite low for convenience

 

I also conducted several benchmark evaluations on the Oppo Reno 10 Pro 5G. It achieved a score of 589,206 points on AnTuTu (v10). In Geekbench 6, the device registered 1,013 (single-core) and 2,669 points (multi-core). It falls short compared to competitors, with the iQoo Neo 7 Pro scoring 1,263,884 points in AnTuTu (v10). Although benchmarks are not the sole criterion for assessing a phone’s performance, they indicate that raw performance may not be the strongest aspect of the Reno 10 Pro.

Nonetheless, regarding battery life, the Oppo Reno 10 Pro 5G can easily last a full day on a single charge. My average screen-on time (SoT) came to roughly 8 hours and 20 minutes. When involving more than two hours of gaming, the phone delivered an SoT of around 6 hours and 50 minutes. In our HD video battery loop test, the Oppo Reno 10 Pro managed to last for 20 hours and 44 minutes. The 80W SuperVOOC charger is capable of fully charging the battery in about 29 minutes.

Cameras of Oppo Reno 10 Pro 5G

The Oppo Reno 10 Pro 5G includes a triple-camera configuration on its rear. It features a 50-megapixel Sony IMX890 primary camera with optical image stabilization (OIS) support, the same sensor utilized in the premium OnePlus 11 (Review) and the Oppo Reno 10 Pro+ 5G. Complementing the primary camera is an 8-megapixel ultra-wide lens and a 32-megapixel telephoto camera with 2X optical zoom. For selfies, there’s a 32-megapixel sensor at the front.

Starting with the primary camera, the images produced are of high quality with accurate colors. Dynamic range performance is commendable in most scenarios, although there were instances where shadow exposure could have been better. Low-light images taken in night mode were well-exposed with minimal noise in many situations, maintaining highlight details while keeping the shadows intact. I believe the low-light performance of the Reno 10 Pro’s primary camera ranks among the best within its price range.

Samples from the primary camera of the Oppo Reno 10 Pro (Top row: Photo mode, bottom row: Night mode)

 

The ultra-wide camera exhibits variable color temperature as compared to the main camera, showing slightly warmer tones. It may lack some details, particularly at the edges, yet it performs well in color reproduction and dynamic range.

Sample from Oppo Reno 10 Pro’s ultra-wide camera

 

The 2X telephoto camera, while not as common in this price range, delivers commendable performance, with decent detail and solid dynamic range, despite some inconsistency in color temperature as telephoto images tend to appear cooler compared to those from the primary lens.

Portrait mode effectively captures edge details. However, the primary camera’s portrait mode tends to render human skin with a slight reddish tone. The telephoto camera excels in portrait mode with regards to color balance, edge definition, and detail. It’s important to mention that there is a shutter delay when capturing portrait mode shots, requiring users to keep the phone steady and ensure the subject remains still until the shutter sound is emitted.

Portrait mode samples from the Oppo Reno 10 Pro (left column: 1X zoom, right column: 2X zoom)

 

The front camera performs adequately in capturing accurate skin tones. Edge detection in portrait mode shots is inconsistent, resulting in some blurs around the ear and hair. Low-light portrait shots manage to expose the subject well and provide pleasing blur effects, though details may appear slightly soft.

Front camera samples from Oppo Reno 10 Pro (Photo mode vs Portrait mode)

 

In terms of video capabilities, the Oppo Reno 10 Pro can record up to 4K at 30fps with the rear camera, and 1080p at 30fps with the front camera. The rear camera footage offers solid stabilization, detail, and proper exposure, while video quality from the front camera suffers regarding dynamic range.

Conclusion

The Oppo Reno 10 Pro ranks among the most attractively designed smartphones under Rs 40,000. Beyond its striking appearance, it is well-constructed with a satisfying grip. The device earns significant accolades for its excellent display and battery longevity. However, its performance component is merely adequate for the cost, as competitors deliver superior value. Where the Reno 10 Pro 5G excels is in its versatile camera configuration, which features a commendable telephoto lens.

Nevertheless, it falls short in the software department, currently failing to match its upscale price point. Additionally, the phone lacks an IP rating and is limited to a single speaker.

Ultimately, if you seek a device with flagship-level design, display, and adaptable camera features, the Oppo Reno 10 Pro 5G is worth considering. Conversely, if premium performance and an enhanced software experience are what you desire, along with a willingness to forgo a telephoto lens, there are several alternatives available, such as the OnePlus 11R (Review), OnePlus Nord 3 (Review), and iQoo Neo 7 Pro (Review).

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