Oppo Reno 5: here's everything we know so far
What to know about Oppo's new mid-rangers
The Oppo Reno 5 family of mid-range smartphones has been confirmed, consisting of the 'standard' device as well as the Reno 5 Pro and Reno 5 Pro Plus.
This caps off a busy year for the Oppo Reno family, as it's the third generation of the devices to be announced in 2020. Clearly Oppo isn't shackled by some yearly release schedule like most other phone brands.
At an event in China, Oppo unveiled the three new Reno 5 smartphones and detailed their designs and specs. We've collected all the information below, so you can find out all you need to know about the phones.
The Oppo Reno 5 phones were only announced in China, so at the moment that's the only place they're on sale. It's possible we'll see them become available globally at some point in the new year though.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? Oppo's next mid-range smartphone range
- How much will it cost? Starts at around $410, £310, AU$550 in China
- When will it be out? Now in China, perhaps the new year elsewhere
Oppo Reno 5 release date and price
The Oppo Reno 5 and 5 Pro are available to pre-order in China, with a release date of December 18 - though the Pro Plus only goes on sale on December 24.
The Oppo Reno 5 starts at CNY 2,699 (around $410, £310, AU$550) while the Reno 5 Pro prices begin at CNY 3,399 (about $520, £390, AU$690). Both have versions with more storage space for higher costs, but those are the lowest prices.
Judging by precedent, we'd expect the actual on-sale prices in most regions to be slightly higher than the conversions we've provided above. Still, we'd expect both to be priced in the vague 'low-mid-range' category.
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Oppo brings its phones to the UK and Australia, but not the US. The company has confirmed the Reno 5 isn't coming to Europe, but maybe Australia is still on the roadmap.
Design and display
The Oppo Reno 5 phones look very much like their Oppo Reno 4 predecessors, albeit with slightly larger camera lenses - the real upgrades are the internals, not the design. The Reno 5 Pro Plus is, in terms of design and display at least, the same as the 5 Pro.
One key design change is that, while the Oppo Reno 4 had a plastic back and sides, the Reno 5 has a glass back and aluminum frame, so it should feel more premium in the hand (but will perhaps be less durable)
The Oppo Reno 5 has a flat-edge display whereas the Reno 5 Pro's screen curves to the sides, so there's something for you whether you love or hate curved-edge screens.
Both phones have a USB-C port; the Oppo Reno 5 also has a 3.5mm headphone jack, though the 5 Pro doesn't.
The Oppo Reno 5's display is a 6.43-inch OLED with a 90Hz refresh rate and FHD+ resolution. That's largely the same as the Reno 4, except it's a touch bigger and with a higher refresh rate.
The Oppo Reno 5 Pro has a 6.55-inch FHD+ AMOLED 90Hz display, which sounds much the same as the screen on the Oppo Reno 4 Pro.
Cameras
The Oppo Reno 5 has a 64MP main camera joined by an 8MP ultra-wide, 2MP macro and 2MP depth-sensing snapper. It also has a 32MP front-facing camera. The key difference here over the Reno 4 is that main camera, as the older phone touts a 48MP sensor.
The Oppo Reno 5 Pro has exactly the same cameras as the Reno 5 - that's actually a downgrade from the Reno 4 Pro, the 48MP main camera of which was joined by a 13MP telephoto and 12MP ultra-wide snapper.
So is that telephoto, and high-res wide-angle, camera gone with this generation? Nope, it's saved for the Oppo Reno 5 Pro Plus, which adds them to its 50MP main and 2MP macro camera array.
It really seems that the Oppo Reno 5 Pro Plus is the camera champion of this new line.
Performance and software
Each of the three new Oppo Reno 5 phones has a different chipset. There's a Snapdragon 765G in the Reno 5, Mediatek Dimensity 1000+ in the Reno 5 Pro, and Snapdragon 865 in the Reno 5 Pro Plus.
The first two of those are mid-range processors, the latter is a premium one. All three phones are 5G-enabled.
Each of the three phones has 8GB or 12GB of RAM depending on which model you opt for, as well as 128GB or 256GB of storage.
In the Reno 4 line only the top phone got Oppo's super-fast 65W charging, but all three Reno 5 phones get it. That can be used to power up the Reno 5's 4,300mAh, Reno 5 Pro's 4,350mAh, or Reno 5 Pro Plus' 4,500mAh battery.
All three Oppo Reno 5 phones run Android 11, with Oppo's ColorOS laid over the top. That brings mainly a stylistic change to the phones' user interfaces - some may prefer it to 'stock' Android or other overlays, others may not.
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Tom Bedford was deputy phones editor on TechRadar until late 2022, having worked his way up from staff writer. Though he specialized in phones and tablets, he also took on other tech like electric scooters, smartwatches, fitness, mobile gaming and more. He is based in London, UK and now works for the entertainment site What To Watch.
He graduated in American Literature and Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. Prior to working on TechRadar, he freelanced in tech, gaming and entertainment, and also spent many years working as a mixologist.