OPPO Reno12 5G Review: GenAI at the Forefront with Gemini

The Design

On the surface, material science, glass processing, and structural engineering make the Reno12 both the sleekest and sturdiest phone in the Reno series yet. The back cover features a new fluid ripple texture that creates a 3D effect when you tilt the smartphone at certain angles. The alloy framework not only enhances the smartphone’s premium look but also adds durability, providing consumers with a tough and long-lasting device.

The OPPO Reno12 is available in Astro Silver and Matte Brown. If you prefer a bold and futuristic design, Astro Silver is perfect for you, featuring a fluid ripple texture and a cutting-edge, fashion-forward character.

On the other hand, Matte Brown offers a rich cocoa design with an earthy feel, ideal for those who appreciate the comfort and beauty of nature.

The Display

When you hold the Reno12 straight, the display appears mostly flat. However, when you tilt the phone sideways, the curved screen becomes visible, hence the name “3D borderless curved screen.”

The 1.56mm bezel and 6.7-inch display contribute to the smartphone’s lightweight feel. Its slim design fits comfortably in your pocket.

The Reno12 features Full-Dimensional Touch optimization, which enhances touch accuracy and significantly reduces the likelihood of one-handed false touches and accidental edge touches.

A new feature called Splash Touch allows you to swipe the screen even when your hands are wet or there are water droplets on the screen. Answering important calls during a shower or texting your friends while your hands are wet is no longer an issue with the Reno12.

The screen of the Reno12 is made of Corning Gorilla Glass 7i, providing ultra-flagship level resistance against impact drops, bending, and scratches.

Weighing only 177 grams, the Reno12 is designed with the latest advancements in materials science. OPPO’s high-strength alloy framework incorporates a proprietary alloy compound that enhances corrosion resistance, temperature resistance, thermal conductivity, and more.

The Reno12 excels in dust and water resistance with its IP65 rating. Critical components across the phone, including openings, speakers, the USB-C port, and the SIM card tray, have been reinforced to make the phone even more waterproof.

Where Reno12 Camera Took A Change 

From previous models, the Reno12 stands out with a different approach. The object eraser has become an AI Eraser, but it requires a stable internet connection, which can be inconvenient. It should work offline as well.

However, I enjoyed using the AI Eraser 2.0. It’s a new and fun feature in the market, making edits easy.

To use the AI Eraser:

1. Select your photo.

2. Tap Edit, then AI Eraser.

3. Use Smart Lasso to outline the unwanted object or Paint Over to cover it.

AI Eraser 2.0 offers more freedom to remove unwanted objects. 

Removing people works well in medium-scale crowds but can look unrealistic in larger crowds.

In crowded places like landscapes, buildings, or restaurants, AI can help by recognizing and removing people with a simple snap and tap.

AI Clear Face 

The Reno12 can detect the number of people in a shot and automatically switch to optimization mode. After taking photos, you can use the AI Clear feature in your album to enhance facial details, including contours, hair, and eyebrows, for up to 10 people.

Unlike traditional cloud-based editing, AI Clear Face uses on-device processing, providing edits in seconds. This method is not only more efficient but also ensures user convenience and privacy.

AI Best Face 

The Reno12 features advanced AI Best Face technology, perfect for those who aren’t always photogenic. Often, some people may have their eyes closed in group photos.

AI Best Face can detect closed eyes in group photos and correct them using AIGC, ensuring everyone looks their best, whether it’s you or your friends.

AI Studio 

AI Studio lets you create your own digital avatar or profile picture using the latest GenAI technology. It generates images in various styles, helping you craft a unique digital persona. Additionally, you can share HTML5 links to invite friends to join in a group AI photo, enhancing interactivity regardless of their phone brands.

Besides all the AI photo edits, let’s dive into the stunning portraits you can capture with the Reno12.

The Reno12 smartphone is a powerhouse in mobile photography, boasting an impressive rear camera setup and a high-resolution front camera that together deliver exceptional portrait pictures. Whether you prefer strong or weak backgrounds, the Reno12 ensures your images are sharp and detailed, catering to diverse photographic preferences.

Rear Camera Excellence

The Reno12’s rear camera array consists of a 50 MP wide lens, a 2 MP macro lens, and an 8 MP ultrawide lens, offering versatility:

Photography with Reno12 Camera 

In daytime photography, you won’t encounter many difficulties since the details are sharp and clear.

However, night photography presents some challenges. You’ll need to choose between using night mode features or normal shooting, experimenting with both to achieve the desired results. Here are some examples of night photography.

The Reno12’s 32 MP selfie camera front-facing portraits:

32 MP Selfie Camera: With its high resolution, the front camera delivers exceptionally detailed selfies. The images are clear and crisp, making your self-portraits look professional and polished.

4K and 1080p Video Recording: It’s important to note that you can only record from one camera at a time, either the rear or the front. If you want to use both cameras simultaneously, you’ll need to switch to dual-view video mode.

Background Flexibility for Portrait Shots  

The Reno12 excels in both strong and weak background scenarios:

Strong Backgrounds: When you prefer a strong, well-defined background, the Reno12’s depth-of-field capabilities shine. The main camera’s wide aperture creates a natural separation between the subject and the background, enhancing the overall depth and making the subject pop.

Weak Backgrounds: For a soft, blurred background, the portrait mode intelligently applies a bokeh effect. This smooth blur isolates the subject, creating a dreamy, professional-looking portrait that emphasizes the subject and de-emphasizes the background.

AI Enhancements

The Reno12’s advanced AI scene recognition and optimization features further enhance your portraits:

AI Scene Recognition: The AI automatically adjusts camera settings based on the scene, ensuring optimal color balance, lighting, and sharpness. 

AI Beautification: Subtle enhancements are applied to the subject’s features, ensuring natural-looking improvements without over-processing.

AI Toolbox

Supported by Google Gemini, the new AI Toolbox, conveniently located in the sidebar, can recognize your actions on the phone and recommend relevant AI features accordingly.

AI Writer

When posting or writing comments on social media, an AI writer instantly provides creative content to enhance your posts.

AI Speak and AI Summary 

When reading articles in your web browser, AI Speak and AI Summary recommend sidebars to help you quickly grasp the essence of any story.

AI Recording Summary

Sometimes, recordings may not be clear, making it difficult for others to understand the task. Thus, sending notes alongside a recording message is an efficient solution.

OPPO’s new GenAI feature, AI Summary, powered by Google’s Gemini, supports Chinese, English, and Hindi conversions with up to 45,000 characters. More languages will be added soon. To use these features effectively, notes must be at least 20 seconds long for accurate generation. Shorter recordings may not generate notes.

The Battery 

The Reno12 comes with a 5,000mAh battery. When you purchase the Reno12, you’ll receive an 80W flash charger, ensuring that you won’t have to wait hours for your smartphone to charge. If you plan to keep the phone for over four years, the depreciation will be minimal and won’t significantly affect its value.

Processor 

The MediaTek Dimensity 7300 is a custom feature for the Reno mobile platform. This SoC is designed to provide the ultimate balance of power and efficiency, featuring an octa-core architecture with four high-performance A78 cores and four efficiency-focused A55 cores. This ensures smooth performance with meager power consumption.

Software

The MediaTek Dimensity 7300-Energy for the Reno mobile platform pushes power efficiency to the limits, thanks to ColorOS’s Trinity Engine. This system-level solution features three separate engines custom-designed to enhance overall system fluidity and reliability by finely managing and scheduling computing resources, memory, and storage at the microarchitecture instruction level.

This is the secret to the long-lasting, smooth performance of OPPO smartphones.

CPU Vita uses AI models to precisely schedule SoC resources for optimum efficiency based on the current user scenario. This means that even while streaming at high volumes, your battery will last all day.

The system can also keep background apps running smoothly for an incredible 72 hours, ensuring your favorite apps are always ready to go. Additionally, ColorOS’s RAM Expansion can convert 12GB of storage into temporary RAM.

Rounding out the Trinity Engine is ROM-Vita technology. The updated edition can now perform lossless compression on infrequently used apps and manage duplicate files to reduce unnecessary storage use.

BeaconLink 

The Reno12 series introduces unique features not found in previous models. For instance, when you’re in a crowded place with poor smartphone coverage and need to communicate urgently, you can still make calls even without data or network coverage. This feature is exclusive to the OPPO Reno12 and works only with the same brand and model.

This functionality uses a Bluetooth connection and works at distances of up to 200 meters. Developed by OPPO, this innovative feature ensures that communication remains possible even when traveling by flight or in remote locations without network coverage. It maintains a connection between you and your friends, functioning similarly to a walkie-talkie.

360 NFC 

You’ve heard about NFC, but what does 360 mean? With this feature, you don’t need to align your phone precisely with the card reader. Instead, you can tap your Reno12 against the reader from any direction, transforming it into a convenient all-in-one access card, travel card, bank card, and more.

AI Clear Voice 

When you’re in a crowded and noisy place and receive a phone call, the AI Clear Voice feature filters out background noise, ensuring your message is heard clearly.

Holo Audio 

Holo Audio is designed to enhance your experience when using headphones or earphones. Whether you’re walking or driving and using Waze or a map app, or if you’re on a phone call, the audio from each app will be managed so they don’t interfere with each other. This allows you to multitask seamlessly without interruptions. 

Ultra Volume Mode 

With Ultra Volume Mode on the Reno12, you can exceed the standard 100% volume limit for watching or streaming your favorite content. Press the volume up button again, and the Reno12 will instantly boost the volume to 300%, ensuring clear sound even in noisy environments.

Should you purchase a Reno12 Smartphone?

The Reno12 series is the latest AI-powered smartphone from OPPO, with AI features primarily enhancing the camera and notes translation. This marks the beginning of OPPO’s journey into advanced AI integration. Equipped with 12GB of RAM and the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 chipset, the Reno12 is designed for reliable long-term use.

If you’re looking for a budget-friendly option, this smartphone is an excellent choice. You’ll appreciate the innovative features, especially the impressive camera capabilities.