The series is finally complete as the OPPO Reno12 F 5G has been officially launched in the Philippines, and in our review, we explore the capabilities of the lineup’s most affordable entry.
Previously, we shared our initial impressions of the phone, and we found it to be an intriguing offering from OPPO as it’s more wallet-friendly than the base and Pro Reno 12 5G models, all while still having the lineup’s AI features. Of course, the F model’s specs aren’t as high as the other Reno12 devices, but it should still be a promising phone for everyday use.
So, is the Reno12 F 5G worth getting at its sub-PHP 20k price tag? Here’s what we think in our full review of the latest OPPO smartphone.
Geek-sthetic
To start things off, let’s take a look at the Reno12 F 5G’s looks. If you’ve seen how the base and the Pro Reno12 models look, you’ll be surprised by just how different the Reno12 F looks. This is surprising considering how previous generation Reno devices all share a similar style from the affordable F to the top-of-the-line Pro variants.
Instead of the rectangular camera module, the Reno12 F has a circular design to house its three shooters. While it’s a major departure design-wise from the other models, it is by no means a bad looking phone as the Reno12 F looks pretty nice overall.
As a bonus, the phone’s camera module has what OPPO calls the “Halo Light” which can display single or multi-color lights to show notifications and charging. It can even be set to light up in sync with a song with supported music apps. It may be a bit of a niche feature, but the Halo Light is quite useful for notifications if you have a habit of putting your phone face down on a table.
Aside from the Halo Light, OPPO also gave the phone a unique finish at the back, at least for the Amber Orange colorway (which OPPO also says is inspired by the Peach Fuzz Pantone 2024 color of the year). This colorway features flame-like textures at the back that seem to flicker when light hits it at certain angles.
If you use the phone’s case that comes inside the box, the flame textures aren’t particularly apparent. As such, you may be tempted to go caseless here. For users who opt not to use a case, the good news is that the Reno12 F 5G feels great in the hand, with its matte finish giving it extra grip.
Plus, the phone also comes with an IP64 dust/water resistance rating, meaning it should have decent to good protection against water damage and dust.
At the front, you can see the Reno12 F’s 6.67-inch AMOLED display. As expected with most new phone releases, the Reno12 F’s screen has slim bezels and a holepunch notch at the top. Viewed from this angle, the Reno12 F looks like what you’d expect a mid-range smartphone to look, though its notch does seem a bit smaller than the ones in other phones at its price range.
Overall, the phone’s design should satisfy most users, especially those who want a flashy device. Take note that the F model does not have a black or gray color option.
Binge-Watching Factor
With its AMOLED display, we expected the Reno12 F to be a good partner for watching movies and shows. This proved to be true in our time with the phone as its display had vibrant colors and deep blacks which made it a great device for binge-watching purposes. It also gets quite bright at the max setting – great for those who still want to watch (or at least have a viewable screen) when in bright outdoor areas.
When it comes to audio, the Reno12 F has stereo speakers which is a welcome thing to have for a mid-range phone. What’s more surprising though is that the sound quality is also surprisingly good. Sure, it could use a bit more clarity at max volume, but it actually outputs bass notes decently well.
OPPO also touts the phone’s Ultra Volume mode which claims to push the volume to “300%.” In practice, this mode does seem to increase loudness, though it does so by boosting some frequencies. This does result in a tinny sound, so we don’t exactly recommend this mode for watching movies or playing music. It might be worth it if you’re listening to dialogue though.
For the best experience, headphones or external speakers are still a must, but you’ll need a wireless device for this phone as it does not have a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Gaming Performance
Powering the Reno12 F is a MediaTek Dimensity 6300 SoC that’s paired with 8GB of RAM. This is an unexpected choice considering that the Reno11 F released earlier this year has a Dimensity 7050, a chipset that has higher performance. Of course, we still have to check real-world performance, so we tried some popular games on the phone.
Starting off with League of Legends: Wild Rift, the game ran smoothly at the High graphics quality setting and at 60FPS, though its resolution is set to Medium. While you can play around with the settings, to get a smooth 60FPS framerate, you’ll need to keep the settings within these.
As for Call of Duty Mobile, the game only has up to the Medium graphics quality option. While smooth, the Reno11 F can run the game on High owing to its choice of SoC.
Finally, the phone can run some more demanding games at lower settings, though it’s not a gaming phone. As such, you shouldn’t expect it to run the most demanding Android games currently.
Geek Photoshoot Capabilities
Now, let’s talk about its cameras. The Reno12 F has a 50MP main + 8MP ultrawide + 2MP triple rear camera setup along with a 32MP selfie shooter. Based on the specs sheet, the phone seems to be a good device to have for taking photos.
With its 50MP main camera, the Reno12 F is able to capture decent shots outdoors in daytime and indoors as long as there’s ample lighting. Of course, the image quality isn’t as detailed as the base Reno12, but the results are still pretty good all around.
Next, the 50MP shooter can also take good photos in low light thanks to the Night Mode. Do note that the photos have some detail, but when zoomed in, you’ll see some fuzziness in some parts. Still, the results should be good enough for sharing on social media.
Moving on to the ultrawide, this camera works well in daytime as shots have a good level of detail and sharpness, though the quality is not on the same level as the 50MP main as expected. At night, images aren’t the sharpest, though they’re still pretty decent overall when using the Night Mode.
As for selfies, the phone’s 32MP shooter can take good images, as long as there’s ample lighting. You can still take low light selfies with decent quality though thanks to the screen flash feature.
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- AI Eraser 2.0
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- AI Eraser 2.0
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- AI Studio
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- AI Studio
Perhaps the highlight of this phone for photography though are its array of AI features. The most useful of these is the AI Eraser 2.0 which works well on the Reno12 F as it would on the other Reno12 devices.
Plus, the AI Studio is also installed on the Reno12 F, meaning users can generate creative digital avatars for use as a profile picture. The AI Studio app here is pretty much unchanged from the other Reno12 models, so you get the full features along with the wide array of templates to choose from.
Everyday Reliability
While the phone’s Dimensity 6300 can run popular games at around Medium settings, it’s much better suited for everyday use. During our time testing the phone out, the Reno12 F ran fairly smoothly, be it when scrolling through emails and social media feeds, to some light office and content creation workloads.
The Reno12 F should also be a reliable phone when it comes to signal thanks to AI LinkBoost which OPPO says uses AI and an array of antennas to ensure good connectivity even in challenging conditions. While we weren’t able to test this one fully, we did note that it had good connectivity in most situations.
Finally, let’s talk battery life. The Reno12 F has a large 5,000mAh battery that, in our tests, made the phone last for over a day of use on a single charge. It also has impressive standby time, meaning users who don’t use their phone heavily can expect this phone to last for even two days. Of course, heavier use means you’ll drain it faster, but it should still have enough for a whole day.
When it comes to charging, the phone has 45W SUPERVOOC Fast charging support. While not the fastest in OPPO’s stable, it’s still quite fast, meaning you can charge it to 100% in under an hour.
OPPO Reno12 F 5G Review – Final Geek Lifestyle Verdict
The Reno12 F is an interesting offering from OPPO as it has a good display, capable cameras, and reliable performance for everyday use, making it a nice all-around device for most users. Its killer feature though is the array of AI tech of the Reno12 series such as the AI Eraser and AI Studio.
Of course, there are some aspects that could be better such as the gaming performance which, while decent, is surprising when compared to the Reno11 F.
Still, with the phone’s PHP 18,999 price tag, the Reno12 F 5G is worth taking a look at, especially for users who would want to use the Reno12 Series’ AI features all without having to spend over PHP 20k.
OPPO Reno12 F 5G specs:
- 6.57-inch FHD+ display, 120Hz refresh rate
- Asahi Glass AGC DT-Star2 protection
- MediaTek Dimensity 6300 processor
- Mali-G57 MC2 GPU
- 8GB RAM
- 256GB storage
- Rear cameras: 50MP main + 8MP ultrawide + 2MP triple rear camera setup
- Front camera: 32MP
- 5G, LTE – Dual SIM
- Under-display Fingerprint scanner, USB Type-C port
- Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, Bluetooth 5.3
- 5000mAh battery with 45W wired Fast charging
- Android 14 with ColorOS 14
- Price: PHP 18,999