OPPO Reno11 F 5G Review | Geek Lifestyle

Following the launch of the Reno11 series, OPPO is also bringing the new Reno11 F 5G in the Philippines, a more affordable variant that still promises to be a Portrait Expert.

The Reno11 F is the latest entry in OPPO’s premium mid-range lineup, and it is the most wallet-friendly in the family. But make no mistake, this phone still promises to be a reliable daily driver, as well as a great partner for photography, especially for portraits. Its reliability should be similar to the Reno11 as both phones are powered by the same Mediatek Dimensity SoC. Meanwhile, it also packs a triple rear shooter setup, but with a different main camera and a macro shooter instead of a 2x telephoto.

On paper, it seems OPPO didn’t sacrifice much to make the Reno11 F a more affordable option, but does that hold true in actual use? Find out here in our OPPO Reno11 F 5G review.

Geek-sthetic

First, let’s take a look at its design. The Reno11 and 11 Pro have eye-catching designs, and that’s also true for the Reno11 F. This is thanks to the phone’s design that gives it a unique pattern, depending on the colorway. Its cameras are also slightly different in terms of layout, but the general look of the camera module is similar to the other Reno11 series devices.

The most eye-catching thing about the Reno11 F though is its unique pattern. In the Ocean Blue colorway, the phone emulates the look of shifting waves while in the beach, giving it a summery vibe. We like this design the most when it comes to how attention-grabbing it is, though there’s also the good-looking Coral Purple color, as well as the sleeker Palm Green for those who want something a bit more subdued.

Even with the glossy look of the Ocean Blue colorway, the phone’s back still feels quite grippy to hold. The flat edges also help when it comes to gripping the phone for both horizontal and vertical use. Though the material at the back doesn’t feel as premium as its more premium siblings, but most users shouldn’t find this as an issue.

At the front, the phone definitely looks sleek, almost flagship-like event as the bezels are noticeably slim while the selfie camera’s holepunch notch is also tiny.

The screen’s 6.7-inch size is also quite big, making it easy to read and see. What’s more, the screen is protected by Panda Glass which should make it much more scratch resistant. If that’s not enough, the Reno11 F is also IP65 dust/water resistant, giving it extra protection from the elements.

Binge-Watching Factor

Speaking of its screen, the phone’s 6.7-inch AMOLED display has an FHD+ resolution, as well as an HDR10+ rating. Thanks to this, the phone’s screen promises to be a great partner for watching your favorite movies and shows.

When we tested the phone out, it definitely did well when it comes to watching as the AMOLED screen produced vibrant colors and deep blacks, always a great combo when watching movies and shows. Brightness is also good as we were able to watch videos without issued while outdoors (except for the brightest of outdoor conditions).

Screen quality is important, but having good audio is also a requirement for a good binge-watching experience. The Reno11 F’s audio comes courtesy of a single bottom-firing speaker that surprisingly has good audio. Its quality may not be flagship level as the bass is a bit lacking, but the audio sound clear and can get pretty loud. You can also crank up the volume to 300% via the Ultra Mode Volume, though we don’t exactly recommend this as it makes audio sound tinny and a bit harsh.

If you want the best experience though, you’ll need external speakers or headphones, but make sure you either have a dongle or a wireless device as the phone does not have a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Gaming Performance

As mentioned above, this phone is powered by the same SoC as the base Reno11, meaning it packs a Mediatek Dimensity 7050 that’s paired with 8GB of RAM. This chipset is great when it comes to connectivity as it is 5G-ready, though its gaming performance is suited more for casual games or popular competitive multiplayer titles.

For instance, it was able to run League of Legends: Wild Rift on the High Graphics Quality setting at 60FPS. If you want to get a higher framerate to take advantage of the 120Hz screen, you may need to turn down the settings.

Meanwhile, shooters like Call of Duty: Mobile also worked well on the Reno11 F as the phone ran that game smoothly at the High graphics preset.

As for more demanding games like Genshin Impact though, this might not be best phone to get as you’ll need to turn the settings down to the lowest and have to deal with some slowdown.

Still, for users who play more casual games or popular multiplayer titles, the Reno11 F should have enough power for these.

Geek Photoshoot Capabilities

The new OPPO Reno11F 5G is billed as a Portrait Expert like its other series stablemates. Thus, OPPO packed the Reno11 F with 64MP main + 8MP ultrawide + 2MP macro triple rear camera setup (note that the macro camera performs as most 2MP macro shooters in other phones). At the front meanwhile is a 32MP selfie shooter. Before getting into its portrait capabilities though, let’s first see how it performs for landscape photography.

As you can see in the sample above, the phone’s 64MP shooter is able to capture great photos in daytime and indoors. Even in challenging conditions like taking photo of something against the light, the phone’s image processing still does well enough to get a good overall exposure while having lots of detail.

At night, the results are also pretty impressive when using the phone’s Night Mode. Low light shots do look more vibrant than normal (especially shots with a lot of colorful lights), but these should satisfy most users who want to capture a night scene to share on social media.

Now we have portraits. Based on the samples that we got, we like how nice the bokeh light effects work, making for some creative portraits. Of course, the background blur isn’t as natural as a true flagship or a proper camera, but it should still satisfy users who want to dip their toes into portraits. Plus, even if it’s not billed as a phone for night portrait photography, you can get pretty good results at night, provided you have a good light source.

Moving on to the selfie shooter, the phone’s 8MP camera takes great daytime photos as expected. What’s surprising is that night photos are also surprisingly good for an 8MP shooter. Of course, the shots above are taken with Night Mode, but the processing is good enough to beat other mid-range phones with ultrawide shooters of similar specs.

Finally, the Reno11F’s 32MP camera can take pretty good selfies, both in daytime and at night (thanks to the screen flash function at night). Do take note that the beautification feature is rather strong by default, so you may want to tone it down if you want a more natural-looking shot.

Everyday Reliability

As the phone works well for popular mobile games, it shouldn’t be surprising that it’s also a fast and snappy phone for everyday use. During our time with it, the OPPO Reno11 F 5G handled our daily needs such as email, social media, and some light content creation workloads with ease. It also helps that it has a 120Hz refresh rate screen which gives it an extra sense of responsiveness.

Even though the performance isn’t exactly flagship-level in terms of raw power, the phone should still be a reliable daily driver for most users. Also, ColorOS 14.0 is a satisfactory UI, though it may have a bit too many pre-installed apps to our liking.

Aside from performance, the phone’s battery life also impressed. Thanks to its 5,000mAh battery, the phone was easily able to last for a day or even two during our time with it. As always, battery life depends highly on the user, but most users will likely get a whole day of use with the OPPO Reno11 F 5G on a single charge.

If it does need some topping up, the phone has a 67W wired fast charging capability, enabling it to reach 100% in well under an hour.

Final Geek Lifestyle Verdict

The Reno11 F 5G may be the most affordable in the series, but this phone still delivers when it comes to design, cameras, and battery life. Its performance also makes it a great daily driver, plus its AMOLED screen is an excellent partner for binge-watching while on the go.

Even though its not designed exactly for heavy gaming, the Reno11 F should still have enough power for casual titles and popular competitive games.

Overall, the OPPO Reno11 F 5G should be a compelling smartphone option in the mid-range segment in early 2024, especially for users who prioritize design, battery life, photography.

Though take note that its price has yet to be announced, so we’ll update this recommendation following the phone’s Philippine launch.

OPPO Reno11 F 5G specs: