Oppo Reno 12 Pro review: This stylish device makes AI accessible for all

I’ve had the Oppo Reno 12 Pro as my daily companion for the past three weeks, and here’s my in-depth review.

Undoubtedly a Reno

The phone has a glass back with a matte finish. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Oppo’s Reno series is known for its design. The Reno 12 Pro has a more mellowed-down design compared to other models, making it look more classy. I have been testing the Sunset Gold variant, which looks similar to the Rose Gold variant of the MacBook Air.

Its back panel has a dual-texture finish, separated by a subtle band with an embossed Oppo logo. While the textured part is smudge-proof, the phone can be a bit slippery. The case included in the box comes handy in this regard. Despite its large 5,000 mAh battery, the device is lightweight at 180 grams. It also boasts IP65 certification for water and dust resistance.

A display that makes you fall in love with it

The quad-curved display is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Smartphone displays primarily come in two formats: a flat panel display and a curved display, each with its own set of merits and demerits. The Oppo Reno 12 Pro is one of the few phones in this segment with a quad-curved display, which offers the best of both worlds. The large 6.7-inch screen has narrow bezels and offers a 120Hz refresh rate and a peak local brightness of up to 1,500 nits. However, the typical max brightness is limited to just 600 nits, so it is definitely not the brightest display on a phone of this class, and it becomes very evident when using the phone under direct sunlight.

The curves on all four sides make the display feel like it’s floating on top of the phone. From social media content consumption to playing games, the display can handle anything that you throw at it. I really like the stereo speaker setup and the 300 per cent volume mode, although the audio does get a bit noisy when set to the maximum level.

What makes this an AI phone?

Reno 12 Pro has several AI-backed photo editing tools. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Just like every other phone maker, Oppo has also gone for a hybrid AI approach. This means, some experiences are powered by on-device AI, while others require cloud access. Oppo has included select AI features that aid users on a day-to-day basis.

This includes powerful generative-AI-backed photo editing tools, which enable the removal of an object from the background and the removal/replacement of the entire background. Similarly, it has features such as “AI Clear Face” and “AI Best Face”, which ensure that group selfies will always look sharp. It can also identify closed eyes and fix them using artificial intelligence-generated content (AIGC). One can also edit already existing photos from the photos app.

Image editing using AI eraser tool. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

While the first three features can be accessed on almost any Android phone with the Google Photos app, the other two are truly game changers and help get perfect, social media-ready photos. However, in my testing, AI editing features for group photos were limited to select images.

Creating your own animated avatar was never this easy

Using AI studio, users can generate animated portraits (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

The Reno 12 Pro comes with an app named AI Studio that allows users to upload their photos (single or group) and transform them into digital avatars of various styles. Unlike the other features, which are free to use, this feature requires 10 stars, and the phone comes with a total of 5,000 stars. Once exhausted, one has to pay for them. For now, it’s unclear how much one needs to pay to gain additional stars.

Reno 12 Pro also has productive AI features

AI on Reno 12 Pro can summarise web articles. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Features like AI writers come in handy when you are trying to write a social media post and need an extra pair of eyes. Similarly, there is also a feature called AI summary, which can summarise an entire webpage into small, easy-to-consume pointers. What makes these features really interesting is the fact that these features can be summoned from anywhere on the phone. Lastly, it also has an AI summary recorder, which can automatically summarise an audio conversation into a brief summary.

Good pair of cameras that get the job done

The phone has a total of three 50 MP cameras. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

The Reno 12 Pro has three cameras at the back, including a 50 MP primary shooter, a 50 MP telephoto lens, and an 8 MP ultra-wide-angle lens. There is also a 50 MP selfie camera at the front, which is easily one of the best front-facing cameras that I have tested in this segment. No matter the light condition, it almost always takes sharp images with less noise and clearly captures skin tone without overenhancing it.

The primary sensor is capable too. The telephoto lens, even at 5x digital zoom, can take some sharp pictures.

Here are a few camera samples straight from the Oppo Reno 12 Pro:

Oppo Reno 12 Pro camera sample. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Oppo Reno 12 Pro camera sample. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Oppo Reno 12 Pro camera sample. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Oppo Reno 12 Pro camera sample. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Oppo Reno 12 Pro camera sample. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Oppo Reno 12 Pro camera sample. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Great software experience, hindered by bloatware

The phone ships with Android 14-based ColorOS 14.1. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

The overall software experience, including the AI features, is fantastic on the phone if you know how to set it up properly. The phone ships with a lot of bloatware, and services like the Oppo App Store constantly push notifications. However, most of the third-party apps can be deleted, while some can be disabled, a relief. Overall, the ColorOS 1.4 based on Android 14 feels smooth and fluid, and it also offers a few value-adding features like BeaconLink, which improves Bluetooth connectivity, AI clear voice, which filters out background noise.

The performance lacks that oomph

The phone offers 12 GB of RAM and up to 512 GB of storage. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Don’t get me wrong, the Dimensity 7300 Energy is a great chip for day-to-day tasks. However, if you are a heavy user, you can notice lags and stutters when switching between apps or scrolling through social media platforms while downloading something in the background. With an AnTuTu score of 6.1 lakh, this is clearly one of the most underpowered phones in this price segment.

All-day battery life with fast charging

Even with an always-on display enabled, the phone can last all-day. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

The 5,000 mAh battery on the Reno 12 Pro can deliver almost all-day battery life for most users, and the phone also supports 80W fast charging, which takes less than 50 minutes to fully charge the device. For me, on most days, the device delivered over six hours of screen-on-time, and stayed cool even while fast charging.

Affordable AI phone

A value AI phone. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

If you are looking for a new Android phone with AI capabilities, the Oppo Reno 12 Pro can be a great choice. But do remember the AI experience on this phone is not as sophisticated as the Galaxy AI; it also doesn’t cost as much. For less than Rs 40,000, this is clearly one of the most affordable phones with plenty of AI features.