Oppo Reno 7 Pro 5G Review: Just A Tad Better

Sometimes not all aspirations spark joy. Sometimes, it could just be another way to add the "pro" name which kinda gives a placebo effect such as the Oppo Reno 7 Pro 5G. It hints at some design elements which may have been taken from the latest iPhones with a sharp-edged design but not shying away from some unique additions that separates itself from the standard Reno 7.So does adding the word "Pro" make any difference from the standard Reno 7, or can aspirations alone lead to actual enhancements? Let's find out.

In the hands, The Oppo Reno 7 Pro feels familiar to the iPhone 12's and 13's with a flat edged display and sharp edged chassis weighing 180 grams. The Startrails Blue colourway is mostly identical to the standard Reno 7 with Oppo's Laser Direct Imaging technology to etch fine textures as small as 20 microns onto the photoresist-coated AG glass back cover of the Reno7 Pro, which results into a very unique texture to the touch and eliminates fingerprints.

But as for a distinguishable character in this pro variant, is the Breathing Light surrounding the camera module on the back of the phone, which illuminates during incoming calls, notifications or when charging.

As far as we've researched, there's only a single colour available when it comes to this ambient light and it would've been nice to have RGB options to suit different moods such as intense gaming. There's also not an option to leave the ambient light always-on, but probably a wise decision to conserve battery life.

As for the main display, it's mostly the same you get in the standard Reno 7 of an AMOLED HDR10+ but with a slightly larger 20:9 aspect ratio measuring 6.55 inches. As well as a brighter peak display of 920 nits and with higher refresh rates up to 90Hz. Not exactly a "pro" display as most phones in this price range come equipped with 120Hz as standard and quite the let down given the bigger real estate.

There is however an Ultra Vision Engine to enhance the definition of low-quality videos supported by certain apps such as Instagram or YouTube but doesn't necessarily change the overall experience when tuning into your favourite shows. While it does raise some contrast in some videos, it's hard to tell without comparing them side by side.

Thankfully though, the sound experience on the other hand makes a really good impression with stereo speakers using the earpiece that makes watching online content just a tad bit more immersive. While it doesn't reach over 90db in our audio tests, it still has a better balance than having it fire from one source, which ultimately could lead to crackling for some mono speaker constructions.

Coming to grips with its hardware performance that's equipped with a MediaTek Dimensity 1200 and ARM G77 MC9, we were hoping for higher results when it came to our Geekbench tests in the Pro variant, which only managed to score 461 for Single-Core and 2847 for Multi-Core. As for Single-Core results shown to be lower than the standard Reno 7, our technical experts had suggested that this is due to the MediaTek Dimensity 1200 Octa-Core 3.0GHz chipset which promotes lower idling speeds and switches to a lower processor to consume less power. Even our 3D Mark Wildlife Stress testing records a Best Loop score of 4198 and shows battery consumption to take a healthier approach under intense graphics but also operates in higher temperatures which could be felt through the backplate after a few laps on Asphalt 9 or Real Racing 3.

So it's good for gaming, what about cameras? After all a true "pro" won't be complete without good cameras. The Oppo Reno 7 Pro comes equipped with a 50MP Main Camera, an 8MP ultrawide, and a 2MP Macro camera. Photos are surprisingly beautiful with well balanced true-toned colours, very sharp and detailed outputs all throughout the different focal lengths, and quite the contender for image quality in this price range. Even video quality as well is a massive leap from the standard Reno 7 yet still not being supported with any stabilisation when recording in 4K30fps and only available in 1080p. Quite a disappointment to say the very least as we would have loved to have seen this Pro version implementing more camera focused features. Image quality on the other hand does really well in daylight or indoor settings managing exposures correctly and producing very good colours.

As for battery life, we got up to almost a day and half worth of casual use and intense gaming with its 4500mAh battery and would likely get up to 2 days of standby time. Quite significant results in optimising power outputs thanks to its octa-core processor as we mentioned earlier.

The Oppo Reno 7 Pro 5G comes with Android 11 and Color OS 12 with 12GB RAM and 256GB of storage priced at RM2,999 or SGD999.

Considerably a very well made phone by Oppo but to our standards, it doesn't exactly meet the criterias of what a "Pro" variant should be, in contrast to its standard version - the Reno 7.

As much as we enjoyed using the Reno 7, the Reno 7 Pro seemed like it misses out on some features to call it a true performer but still manages to keep its head above water amongst other rivals for an entry-level flagship.

Being disappointed doesn't exactly express how we feel about this phone as it still performs at a higher level than the standard Reno 7 in certain areas where it might have lacked such as its graphics performance and power consumption. Relatively a good step forward and we can only hope manufacturers set a real standard for "pro" variants that should exist in contrast to its counterpart in later versions to come.