OPPO officially launched its newest Reno Series of smartphones in Kenya on October 25 and I got a an OPPO Reno8 5G to review ahead of the November arrival of the devices for sale.

The recently unveiled Reno 8 Series features the OPPO Reno 8 and the OPPO Reno 8 5G devices, with the Reno 8 5G bound to compete with the other 5G devices in that category.


The Chinese phone maker makes the Reno 8 appealing design a selling point alongside its triple camera setup and super-fast charging, but is it worth spending your hard-earned cash on?

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Let’s find out.

Price & Availability in Kenya

The OPPO Reno 8 5G has been shipped in a single 8GB RAM plus 128GB storage model which retails in Kenya at Sh60,000 and comes in shimmer gold and shimmer black fantastic colors.


The new series is available for purchase in OPPO stores and through e-commerce platforms.

Design & Appeal

One of the key selling points of the OPPO Reno Series is its eye-catching design and the Reno 8 5G comes with dashing design and colours; shimmer black and shimmer gold.

The piece I got is the shimmer black device and it is quite an eye candy and looks and feels sleek in the palm as it is 7.67mm wide and weighs 179 grams.


The back panel of the device, which presents the first unibody design in the Reno Series, has color-shifting capabilities under the sun making it glow differently when taken outdoors.

The back panel is black in color with a matte finish that feels good on the hands and easy on the eyes. The phone’s design wards off fingerprints and dust, comes with curved edges and flattened sides upscaling its elegance.


The Reno 8 5G triple camera back setup give it a slight bump and the protrusion can feel weird but the back cover helps stabilize this when you place the device on a flat surface.

The front has a 6.4-inch screen apt for gaming, watching videos and other forms of content, is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5 and leaves a camera hole at the screen’s top left side.


The power button comes on the device’s right side, the left edge rocks the volume buttons, the tops side rocks a secondary microphone, while the bottom has a SIM Slot, USB Type-C port, primary microphone and speaker grill.

The disappointing thing is that the phone is missing the 3.5mm headphone jack we know the previous Reno designs for but the power and volume buttons have a solid feedback.

Display & Audio

The OPPO Reno 8 5G’s 6.4-inch AMOLED display has a FHD resolution offering good colors and contrast that permit you to select between Natural and Vivid presets.


Viewing content on the device’s screen is enjoyable with its 90Hz refresh rate making the display smooth and offering a better gaming experience. The device’s speaker located at the bottom edge is nothing to write home about though.

Camera Setup

The OPPO Reno 8 5G triple camera setup at the back incudes a 50MP main Sony IMX766 sensor, an 8MP ultrawide, and a 2MP macro camera that offer detailed photos in the day.


OPPO calls it the “Portrait Expert” and this is suitable since it gives some pretty decent portrait details in daytime and marginally softer shots at night due to the bokeh effect while the 8MP ultrawide camera takes some warmer photos as the 2MP macro camera takes okay shots.


The OPPO Reno 5G shots taken in low lighting scenarios are pretty decent and the phone automatically turns on the night mode as soon as it senses dim lighting to brighten images.


Its 32MP selfie camera provides accurate and detailed photos that come with natural colors, both in good and low lighting conditions.


Performance & Efficiency

The Oppo Reno 8 5G has 8GB RAM that permits multiple apps to load fast and operate flawlessly in the background without the device crashing or showing any lagging.

Its RAM can be extended up to 5GB if a user needs to and its 128GB internal storage also offers ample space to store many videos, photos and other documents.

The device comes ready for 5G, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, and WiFi 6 connectivity.


The smart device comes with two Nano SIM card slots supported by a red rubber seal which is wrapped around it to protect it from dust and water intrusion.

I am not a gamer much but the games I tested ran quite well, the graphics were high-quality and the battery was impressive even with long gaming sessions with no device heating.


Switching between apps in the OPPO Reno 8 5G is seamlessly easy and its in-display face unlock and fingerprint scanner working smoothly and swiftly.

Battery Life

The Oppo Reno 8 5G packs a 4500mAh battery that can pull off for 2 days with light to moderate usage. This includes using Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp, and more. It comes with an 80W SuperVOOC charger that charges it from 0 to 100% in just about half an hour.


This is fast and convenient when you are traveling on the go. The device doesn’t heat up even during charging and the charger is available inside the box.

Conclusion: To buy or not to buy?

All in all, the OPPO Reno 8 5G is a pretty decent device and presents an impressive performance, is fast, feels good in the hands, great display, super-fast charging and extended battery life.

The stylish eye-catching design cannot be ignored and some fantastic memorable shots both during the day and nighttime (I love taking night shots!).


The device comes 5G ready and you can go for the OPPO Reno8 5G if you need a premium smartphone that gives you an excellent performance and within a reasonable budget.