With an impressive camera, great screen and long-lasting battery, the Oppo Reno 13 5G is for photographers burning the midnight oil.
Oppo’s smartphones have always taken pride in camera features, and this year is no different with the arrival of the $1,299 Reno 13 Pro 5G, $899 Reno 13 5G and $599 Reno 13 F 5G.
The Reno is not the flagship Oppo range, that honour would probably go to the Find series headlined by the impressive Oppo Find X8 Pro, but the Reno range certainly blurs the line between mid-range and premium Android if you’ve got $1,000-ish to spend and want to look beyond the usual suspects like Google and Samsung
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Oppo Reno 13 5G first impressions
With a 6.59-inch display, the standard Oppo Reno 13 5G is tall, but not too wide or cumbersome, thanks to its narrow 19.78:9 aspect ratio. You miss out on the slightly bevelled edges and curved screen found on earlier standard Reno models like the Oppo Reno 10 5G, in favour of a more utilitarian flat-edge design.
That said, these days the standard Reno has more of a premium feel thanks to a one-piece sculpted glass back and aerospace-grade aluminium frame.
The Oppo Reno 13 5G’s design is by-the-numbers, with the power button on the right sitting comfortably under your thumb, or left for southpaws, with the volume buttons above. The fingerprint reader is built into the screen rather than the power button, lighting up as soon as you pick up the handset to make it easy to find.
Across the bottom of the handset, you’ll find a USB-C port, but no sign of an old-school 3.5 mm audio jack.
There’s also no sign on the side of a touch-sensitive Quick Button, as found on the Oppo Find X8 Pro, which launches the camera with a double-tap and then acts as the shutter button. It’s rumoured that this Apple-esque extra button might make it to the Reno 14 range. Nor does the Reno 13 5G feature the Find X8 Pro’s three-position Alert Slider, first introduced with the Oppo Find N3 Flip.
Fire up the Reno 13 5G, and you’re presented with a very impressive 1256 x 2760 pixel OLED. It offers 10-bit colour with a 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut, along with up to 120 Hz refresh rate for smooth scrolling and 1200 nits brightness.
Flip the handset over and you’re met by a striking camera array. Not striking in the number of lenses on hand, but more the clever design which manages to capture the light and make it appear that the camera array is glowing around the edges.
You’re presented with a 50 MP wide-angle main shooter and 8 MP ultra-wide, but the 2 MP macro lens has been swapped out in favour of what Oppo calls a 2 MP “monochrome” lens. You can’t use it as a standalone lens; instead, it works in conjunction with the other lenses to help capture extra fine details (which is why it’s sometimes referred to as a depth sensor, to help the camera make better sense of a scene).
Around the front is a 50 MP selfie camera with auto-focus to complete the handset’s photography credentials.
If you’re after a telephoto lens, you’ll need to step up to the Reno 13 Pro 5G, while if you’re chasing a macro lens, you’ll need to step down to the Reno 13 F 5G. To be fair, a telephoto lens with optical zoom isn’t overly common at this $900-ish price point (with the Nothing Phone 3a a notable exception, or the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE if you can break the $1,000 barrier).
Oppo Reno 13 5G specifications and price
| Display size | 6.59 inches, 19.78:9 aspect ratio |
| Display resolution | 1256 x 2760 pixel, 460 ppi |
| Display technology | Flexible AMOLED, 60/90/120Hz refresh rate, 1200 nits brightness |
| Bands | 2G GSM, 3G WCDMA, 4G LTE FDD/TDD, sub-6 5G |
| Chipset | MediaTek Dimensity 8350, 8 cores |
| GPU | ARM Turse G615 |
| Rear cameras | Wide angle: 50 MP; f/1.8; FOV 79°; 5P lens; AF; OIS supported; EIS supported |
| Ultra-wide angle: 8 MP; f/2.2; FOV 116°; 5P lens; EIS supported | |
| Monochrome: 2 MP; f/2.4; FOV 89°; 3P lens | |
| Front camera | 50 MP, f/2.0, FOV 90°; 5P lens; AF supported |
| RAM | 12 GB LPDDR5X@3750MHz 4 × 16bits |
| Onboard storage | 256 GB UFS 3.1 |
| microSD slot | N/A |
| SIM | Dual Nano-SIM + eSIM |
| Charging | USB-C port SUPERVOOC 2.0, SUPERVOOC, VOOC 3.0, and PD2.0 (9V/1.5A) |
| Battery | 5600 mAh |
| Wi-Fi | WiFi 2.4G, WiFi 5G, WiFi 6 (802.11ax), WiFi 5 (802.11ac), 802.11b/g/a/n WLAN 2.4G, WLAN 5.1G, WLAN 5G, WLAN 5.4G, WLAN 5.8G WLAN Display, WLAN tethering Wi-Fi 2.4GHz 20M, Wi-Fi 2.4GHz 40M, Wi-Fi 5GHz 20M, Wi-Fi 5GHz 40M, Wi-Fi 5GHz 80M, Wi-Fi 5GHz 160M 2 x 2 MIMO |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.4, Low Energy SBC, AAC, aptx, aptx-HD, LDAC, LHDC5.0 |
| Operating system | Color OS 15, built on Android 15 |
| Security | Fingerprint reader, Face Unlock |
| Ruggedness | IP69 |
| Dimensions | 157.90 x 74.73 x 7.24mm Plume White (x 7.29mm Luminous Blue) |
| Weight | 181 gm |
| Colours | Plume White, Luminous Blue |
| Price | $899 RRP |
| Warranty | 2 years |
| Official website | Oppo Australia |
Features
The Oppo Reno 13 5G runs Android 15, customised as usual with Oppo’s own ColorOS UI, which at times feels like an homage to Apple’s iOS. Oppo also loads it up with a surprising amount of bloatware, which clutters the home screen.
Oppo says the handset will receive five years of Android OS updates and six years of quarterly security patches, which is good compared to many Android handsets.
Not surprisingly, ColorOS 15’s new features are very AI-centric, and the Reno 13 5G mostly applies them to the cameras. AI-powered photography features include:
- AI Motion leverages advanced generative AI to transform still images into three-second videos, making any photo into a dynamic “Livephoto”. It’s one of the first Android devices to feature a new Tap-to-Share feature that supports direct sharing of Livephotos with iOS devices.
Oppo’s description above is a bit misleading, because it can’t actually take an existing still image and use generative AI to turn it into three seconds of video. Instead, like Apple’s Live Photo, you need to enable Live Photo first, then it captures three seconds of video and then uses AI to optimise it and choose the best frame.
The other features include:
- AI Clarity Enhancer sharpens distant scenery to make even far-off objects like landscapes or architectural details appear clearer.
- AI Unblur brings clarity to previously blurry photos.
- AI Reflection Remover eliminates glass reflections, allowing users to capture scenery through windows with minimal interference.
You’ll find these four options under the ‘AI Editor’ menu when you click the Edit pencil icon under an image. Results generally aren’t bad, but at the end of the day, such changes are still an educated guess, so your mileage may vary.
Oppo is also keen to spruik the camera’s underwater credentials for photos and video, thanks to IP69 water and dust resistance, which means the handset can be submerged in freshwater up to two meters deep for 30 minutes. There’s even a dedicated Underwater Mode offering independent colour tuning.
Cameras aside, the Oppo Reno 13 5G is a sub-6 5G handset, with Oppo’s AI-powered LinkBoost offering smart network selection to reduce dropouts. It’s good to have the flexibility of dual Nano-SIM and eSIM, although you miss out on microSD card support.
Under the bonnet is an 8-core MediaTek Dimensity 8350 power plant with a dedicated NPU to assist with AI performance. It’s accompanied by 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of onboard storage.
Powering all this is a very generous 5,600 mAh battery. As a result, the Reno 13 5G can easily go 36 hours before recharging, perhaps stretching out to 48 hours if you nurse it.
When you do need to top up, the handset can take advantage of SUPERVOOC wired fast charging, using the supplied bulky AC charger to provide a 50 per cent charge in under 25 minutes and 100 in under 50. You’ve also got the benefit of wireless charging.
Quality
Geekbench 6 results tell a respectable story with 1,325 single-core, 4,012 multi-core and 7,118 OpenGL. That puts it roughly on par with what you’d expect from rivals like the Samsung Galaxy A56 and soon-to-arrive Google Pixel 9a. Combined with 12 GB of RAM, it’s more than enough grunt for everyday tasks and should satisfy many gamers.
| Device | CPU single-core | CPU multi-core | GPU (OpenCL) |
| Apple iPhone 16e | 2,679 | 6,144 | N/A |
| Xiaomi Poco F6 | 1,899 | 4,734 | 8,762 |
| Nothing Phone (3a) Pro | 1,886 | 3,355 | 3,308 |
| Google Pixel 8a | 1,510 | 4,232 | 5,754 |
| Oppo Reno 13 5G | 1,325 | 4,012 | 7,118 |
| Motorola Edge 40 | 1,130 | 3,725 | 4,605 |
| Samsung Galaxy A55 | 1,153 | 3,428 | 3,086 |
| Motorola Moto G75 5G | 1,022 | 2,874 | 1,801 |
| Motorola Edge 50 Fusion | 1,016 | 2,937 | 1,802 |
| Samsung Galaxy A35 | 1,011 | 2,897 | 3,001 |
| Oppo Reno 11 F 5G | 905 | 2,358 | 2,372 |
When it comes to photography, the main shooter produces great results outside, producing vivid yet realistic colours with good contrast, like fine details in a blue sky. The lack of a telephoto lens is obviously going to frustrate some people, but the camera does a very good job with what it has and provides plenty of fine detail.
Switching across to the ultrawide lens doesn’t see a major shift in picture quality, as with some smartphones. Results after dark are also impressive, helped by the 2 MP depth lens, providing good colour and detail with minimal noise.
Who is the Oppo Reno 13 5G for?
The Oppo Reno 13 5G has a lot going for it, but it’s tough competition when, in roughly the same price range, you’ve got mid-range heavy hitters like the Samsung Galaxy A56 and soon-to-arrive Google Pixel 9a, not to mention the Apple iPhone 16e. They could also claim to blur the line between mid-range and premium.
Assuming you’re not already wedded to one of these brands, the Oppo Reno 13 5G could win you over with its impressive display, decent cameras and long-lasting battery life, which ensures you can keep shooting all day.
The post Oppo Reno 13 5G review: The finer things at a mid-range price appeared first on GadgetGuy.
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