The OPPO Reno Series bridges the gap between the brand’s affordable A-series and their flagship X-series. They aim to provide an almost complete, high-end smartphone experience minus the over-the-top price tag. But did they continue to do so with the OPPO Reno13 Pro 5G?
In our review, we’ll see how better it is than its predecessor, especially now that it sits in a much higher price bracket. We’re expecting a much faster performance, better cameras, display, and more. So, without further ado, let’s begin.
OPPO Reno13 Pro Specs
- Android 15, ColorOS 15
- Dual SIM, Dual standby
- 6.83-inch FHD+ AMOLED display 2800 x 1272 pixel resolution, ~450ppi
- 120Hz refresh rate
- HDR10+, 1200-nit peak brightness
- Corning Gorilla Glass 7i
- MediaTek Dimensity 8350 octa-core processor
- Mali G615-MC6 GPU
- 12GB RAM
- 512GB UFS 3.1 internal storage, non-expandable
- 50-megapixel front camera
- 50-megapixel (f/1.8, PDAF, OIS) + 50-megapixel (3.5x telephoto, PDAF, OIS) + 8-megapixel (ultra-wide) rear cameras, LED flash
- Under-display fingerprint scanner, Face unlock
- IP69 dust and water resistant
- HSPA+, 4G LTE, 5G
- WiFi 6, dual-band
- Bluetooth 5.4
- GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, BDS
- NFC
- IR blaster
- USB-C
- Dimensions: 162.8 x 76.6 x 7.6mm
- Weight: 197g
- Colors: Purple, Grey
- 5,800mAh non-removable battery, 80W SUPERVOOC wired charging
Design and Build Quality
The OPPO Reno13 Pro 5G definitely feels more premium than the Reno12 Pro 5G, at least in terms of build and design. This one is taller, wider, and slightly thicker. The first thing we noticed is how wide the display is. It is slightly curved on the sides, which adds to the overall premium feel of the device.
It also has flatter edges, akin to the OPPO Find X8 and other flagship phones we’ve seen in the market recently. It improves grip and stability, especially if you’re shooting videos.
Despite the flat frame, the edges are slightly curved so it’s still very comfortable to hold in the hands.
To justify the price increase, OPPO made the Reno13 Pro 5G tougher. From IP65, the device is now IP68 and IP69-rated for dust and water resistance. According to the official product page, it can survive being submerged in 2 meters of water for up to 30 minutes and exposure to hot water of up to 80°C.
The water protection was definitely effective. We were able to comfortably shoot in a lake, and even take underwater videos, without worrying that water exposure would break the phone.
OPPO has also improved the overall rigidity of the device. It uses an aerospace-grade aluminum frame, tougher frame, albeit the glass protection has been oddly downgraded to Corning Gorilla Glass 7i even though its predecessor used a tougher Gorilla Glass Victus 2.
Despite its durability claims, OPPO still shipped the device with a pre-applied screen protector. OPPO also threw in a transparent clear case with a design similar to a suitcase to further improve its drop resistance.
The colorway we have is called Plume Purple with a unique design accent that reflects light. If you want something more subtle, you can go with the Graphite gray option.
Taking a tour, we have the 6.83-inch AMOLED screen on the front with a punch-hole for the 50-megapixel selfie camera. It has uniform and ultra-thin bezels, resulting in an impressive 93.8% screen-to-body ratio.
The IR blaster is placed on top, along with the microphone, and speaker grills.
Left side is clean, while the right has the lock/power button and volume switch. The physical buttons are sleek and thin. They are also nice, clicky, and feel well-made.
The bottom has the primary loudspeakers, microphone, USB-C port, and the SIM tray that can accommodate two nano SIM cards back-to-back.
OPPO did a good job at designing the OPPO Reno13 Pro 5G. It looks clean and elegant, despite having a very durable and comfortable build.
Display and Audio
The OPPO Reno13 Pro has a spacious 6.83-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 2800 x 1272 resolution, ~450ppi, smooth 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ support, and Corning Gorilla Glass 7i protection.
Display quality was pretty solid. We’re seeing incredible details and sharpness on Instagram feeds, colors pop, and the contrast is wide and deep. The brightness can get very high when used outdoors, and really low if you have sensitive eyes at night.
Widevine L1 support for FHD streaming and HDR10+ works well in video streaming apps like Netflix.
The stereo speakers produced stellar sound quality and loud volume. The treble is crisp, and the bass is thumping — great for music and streaming content. The top speaker is not as powerful as the bottom one, but it still provides balanced stereo sound.
Sadly, there’s no Dolby Atmos support. But you do get OPPO’s own Holo Audio tech for spatial-like effects.
Hardware and Performance
The OPPO Reno13 Pro is powered by a 3.35GHz MediaTek Dimensity 8350 octa-core processor with 12GB of RAM, 512GB of non-expandable UFS 3.1 storage, and a Mali-G615-MC6 GPU. Unfortunately, it’s not the best chipset you can get for its price point.
OPPO Reno13 Pro 5G Benchmark Scores
It handles your usual, basic tasks fast and snappy, but not as smooth and flagship-like as other phones at this price range. Switching between apps is seamless, taking pictures is quick, scrolling through social media is fine, photo and basic video editing is doable — pretty much everything people need on a smartphone. While it performs well in most use cases, it’s still important to note that it’s kind of underpowered compared to the competition.
Now, it’s time to see how well OPPO’s premium smartphone can handle games.
Genshin Impact ran smoothly under High resolution at 60fps. The device did start to heat up after a few minutes of playing, but it barely affected frame rates.
For PUBG Mobile, we went with the Smooth graphics settings to unlock the Extreme+ frame rate option that enables 90fps. The game ran buttery smooth under these settings. Call of Duty Mobile also had no issues using Very High Quality and Max frame rates.
Farlight84 was playable under Ultra graphics at Very High frame rate. Mobile Legends: Bang Bang under Ultra was seamless, and Asphalt Legends Unite at High Quality. Bottomline is, the OPPO Reno13 Pro 5G can provide good gaming performance. Not flagship-like, but definitely enough for users who occasionally game.
| Game | Graphics Settings |
| Call of Duty: Mobile | • Graphics Quality: Very High • Frame Rate: Max |
| Farlight84 | • Graphics Quality: Ultra • Frame Rate: Very High |
| PUBG Mobile | • Graphics Quality: Smooth • Frame Rate: Extreme+ |
| Genshin Impact | • Render Resolution: High • Visual Effects: Medium • FPS: 60 |
| Mobile Legends: Bang Bang | • Graphics Quality: Ultra • Frame Rate: Ultra • HD Mode: On |
| Asphalt Legends Unite | • Visual Quality: High Quality • Frame Rate: 60 |
Software and User Interface
The OPPO Reno13 Pro 5G runs on the latest Android 15-based ColorOS 15, which is equipped with all the AI features the brand offers.
One AI feature we found really useful is the built-in Summaries within the voice recorder. It can create a bullet-point summary of a meeting or interview recorded. You can also check the blow-by-blow transcript if you don’t want to miss anything.
However, we noticed the timestamp on the transcript is not aligned with the recording when you try to relisten to specific parts of the recording. I just hope they release a software update to fix that.
AI Writer works well in formulating clever social media captions and emails. Meanwhile, AI Summary can read a whole email or webpage and create a digestible summary for you. AI Speak will then narrate them for you with either a Male or Female voice, with media controls so you can control the playback.
Google Gemini replaces Google Assistant when you long-press the power button. It’s more conversational and easier to talk to, so I suggest using it instead if you’re into that kind of thing.
A bunch of AI editing tools are also found in the gallery: Enhance Clarity, AI Eraser, Unblur, and Remove Reflections.
The fingerprint scanner, while optical and not ultrasonic, worked fast and accurately during our tests. The face unlock did well too, even in pitch-black rooms.
Split View, Floating Window, and Smart Sidebar are also here for improved multitasking.
Live Alerts is OPPO’s Dynamic Island-like feature that has a cool animation around the punch-hole cutout. It supports third-party apps such as Grab, Swiggy, and Zomato. Hopefully, more apps will be supported soon.
We spotted a few bloatware and app suggestions on the home screen, but they can be removed easily. But for a premium phone like this one, I prefer it to be a bit cleaner.
Overall, we’re a big fan of ColorOS. It continues to be one of the most polished interfaces we’ve seen on Android devices.
Cameras
Photography continues to be the main focus of the OPPO Reno13 Pro 5G. It comes with a 50-megapixel Sony IMX890 1/1.56-inch sensor with f/1.8 aperture and optical image stabilization. There’s also a 50-megapixel telephoto with OIS, 8-megapixel ultra-wide, and a 50-megapixel shooter on the front for selfies.
Daylight shots from the main camera are unsurprisingly impressive. Colors pop and appealing while still looking natural and realistic. Dynamic range is wide while retaining an expressive contrast. Details are nice and sharp without over-the-top post-sharpening.
The lens can be switched to 24mm (1x), 28mm (1.1x), and 35mm (1.4x) focal lengths through digital zoom.
That same lens is also used for the 2x zoom that offers a 48mm focal length, which works better with the Portrait Mode. Despite the digital crop, photos remain sharp and detailed. The fake depth of field is believable and OPPO has included special filters that add a distinct look to the images.
The main camera carried itself well towards the night. It exposes low-light photos well while retaining incredible sharpness with little to no noise and grains.
Switching to the 3.5x zoom takes you to the dedicated 50-megapixel telephoto camera with an 85mm equivalent.
Photos looked impressively sharp and detailed, especially when you consider that these are zoomed shots of distant subjects. Color reproduction is still appealing and the dynamic range was still handled well.
That same sensor is used for the 7x zoom (170mm), up to the 120x zoom (2903mm) when you slide the zoom options.
Details are starting to look a little soft from the 7x zoom. Unless you’re pixel-peeping, and have the right subject, photos will still look passable for social media.
The huge drop in sensor size for the ultra-wide camera is quite staggering. Still, it shares identical image quality to its 50MP-equipped brothers. Sharpness is not the best but decent, while barrel distortion was handled well.
Finally, the 50-megapixel front-facing camera is as good as you might expect. Apart from the sharp details, colors and skin tones are realistic, and the dynamic range is good despite extra-challenging lighting scenarios.
Clearly, photography remains one of the strongest suits of the OPPO Reno13 Pro 5G. We’re given sharp and flexible lens options with polished image quality from OPPO’s years of experience. It’s clearly not at the level of the flagship OPPO Find X8, but it’s quite good on its own.
Battery and Charging
The OPPO Reno14 Pro 5G has a bigger 5,800mAh battery thanks to silicon-carbon technology. It is paired with 80W SUPERCOOV wired and 50W AirVOOC wireless charging.
Battery life is great. While it had a below-average score of 14 hours and 09 minutes in our PCMark synthetic battery loop test, it scored much higher in our more real-world test.
In our 1080p YouTube video loop test, it lasted for 19 hours and 26 minutes, versus the average score of 14 hours and 37 minutes.
The 80W wired charging was very speedy and a full charge only took 49 minutes. See our full charging test below:
- 15mins: -36%
- 30mins: 65%
- 45mins: 93%
- 49mins: FULL
Verdict
The OPPO Reno13 Pro 5G is a good device and is a major improvement over its predecessor. The updated design feels more premium and flagship-like, the extra durability lets you comfortably use it in challenging weather conditions, and the display and audio quality are great.
It also has a flexible set of cameras with great image quality, long battery life, fast charging for both wired and wireless, and of course, good performance for both basic tasks and gaming.
Unfortunately, the chipset used feels very underwhelming for the price. The Reno13 Pro 5G’s price increase over its predecessor is substantial, so I’m expecting a bit more in the performance department.
If you can get past the price, you’re in for a treat with the OPPO Reno13 Pro. If not, there are other options out there. But that depends on your priorities. If you want a stylish, all-around smartphone with great cameras, you can consider this one. You can also check out the vanilla Reno13, which offers a similar experience for a lower price tag.
OPPO Reno13 Pro pricing and availability
The OPPO Reno13 Pro 5G has an SRP of Php43,999 and is now available at OPPO Concept Stores, kiosks, and multi-brand stores. It’s also available online through Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop.
Pros
- Noticeably improved design, durable build
- Vibrant, sharp display
- Stellar stereo speakers
- Great cameras, capable of underwater photography
- Fast wired and wireless charging
Cons
- Underwhelming chipset for the price
- Way more expensive than its predecessor