Oppo Reno15 Pro (India)/Reno15 Pro Max hands-on review

The Oppo Reno15 Pro has arrived in India as a flagship offering, bringing with it a premium design, solid performance, and impressive battery life. But how does it stack up in a competitive market? Let's dive into our hands-on experience with this device.

Design and Build Quality

The Reno15 Pro sports a 6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 3,600 nits. The centered punch-hole houses a 50MP selfie camera, while an optical fingerprint scanner sits underneath for biometric authentication.

One notable design choice is the camera island, which features a squircle shape housing three cameras: a 200MP primary, a 50MP ultrawide, and a 50MP telephoto. The arrangement and square ring around the module draw inevitable comparisons to iPhone Pro models. Oppo calls this the "Dynamic Stellar Ring Design," which produces a soft halo-like glow when light hits the surface.

A standout feature is the One-piece Sculpted Glass construction, where the camera island and back panel are made from a single piece of glass. This creates a seamless integration while preventing dust accumulation around the camera module.

The phone comes in Sunset Gold and Cocoa Brown colors. We received the Sunset Gold model, which features a matte finish that resists smudges well - we used the phone without a case and rarely needed to wipe it down. Both color variants are 7.7mm thick and weigh 205g, with flat "aerospace-grade aluminum" frames that also resist fingerprints.

Display Performance

The 6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED panel offers a 2,772x1,272-pixel resolution with 450ppi pixel density. It supports HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, and Dolby Vision, playing HDR content from YouTube without issues. The Widevine L1 certification enables 1080p streaming on compatible services.

With a local peak brightness of 3,600 nits, the display remains perfectly legible outdoors. The LTPO panel supports multiple refresh rates (1Hz, 30Hz, 45Hz, 60Hz, 90Hz, and 120Hz) with three main options: Auto-select, Standard (60Hz), and High (120Hz).

In practice, the High refresh rate mode delivers the smoothest experience, with the screen dynamically adjusting based on content. For example, it switches between 30Hz and 60Hz when watching videos, depending on the frame rate. The Auto-select mode is essentially a limited version of High, capping at 90Hz for most apps.

Performance and Software

Powering the Reno15 Pro is MediaTek's Dimensity 8450 SoC - the same chip that powered last year's Reno14 Pro. The phone comes with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage. Our review unit featured the top-end 12GB/512GB configuration.

Out of the box, the device runs Android 16-based ColorOS 16. Oppo promises five years of major ColorOS updates and six years of security updates - a significant commitment for long-term support.

Performance-wise, the Reno15 Pro handles everyday tasks smoothly with minimal stutters. Gaming performance is solid, with the phone remaining reasonably cool during extended gaming sessions. While synthetic benchmarks show it trailing some competitors, real-world usage tells a different story - the device feels snappy and responsive across all scenarios.

Camera Capabilities

The camera setup includes a 50MP front-facing camera and a triple rear system: 200MP primary, 50MP telephoto (3.5x optical zoom), and 50MP ultrawide. All rear cameras support 4K video recording at 60FPS, though only the primary camera can record at this frame rate - the others are limited to 30FPS.

In daylight conditions, the cameras capture detailed and vibrant images. The 200MP primary camera produces excellent results in bright conditions, though it defaults to 50MP in low light for better image quality. The telephoto camera offers good zoom capabilities, while the ultrawide captures expansive shots with decent detail.

Low-light performance is respectable, with the primary camera handling challenging lighting conditions well. The telephoto and ultrawide cameras also perform adequately in dim environments, though they naturally don't match the primary camera's capabilities.

Battery Life and Charging

The Reno15 Pro packs a substantial 6,500mAh battery with 80W wired charging and 50W wireless charging support. In our usage, the battery easily lasted a day and a half with moderate use, including 5G data, Wi-Fi hotspot for multiple devices, and various apps.

Even with heavier usage - including over an hour of gaming, video streaming, and web browsing - the phone comfortably lasted through a full day. The bundled 80W SuperVOOC charger can refill the battery from 0 to 100% in about 54 minutes in our tests, slightly longer than Oppo's advertised 51 minutes.

Wireless charging at 50W is also supported, though we couldn't verify the claimed 72-minute full charge time without the specific charger.

Pricing and Competition

In India, the Reno15 Pro is available in two configurations: 12GB/256GB for INR67,999 ($750/€635) and 12GB/512GB for INR72,999 ($800/€680).

This pricing puts it in direct competition with several strong contenders:

• Oppo Find X9: Starting at INR74,999
• vivo X300: Starting at INR75,999
• OnePlus 15, iQOO 15, Realme GT 8 Pro: All starting at INR72,999
• vivo X200T: Starting at INR59,999
• Oppo Reno15 Pro Mini: Starting at INR59,999

The Reno15 Pro Mini is essentially a more compact version with a smaller screen, smaller battery, and non-LTPO display, but shares many of the same features.

Final Thoughts

The Oppo Reno15 Pro delivers a premium experience with its solid build quality, impressive display, capable cameras, and excellent battery life. The software experience is clean and feature-rich, with the promise of long-term updates adding value.

However, the use of last year's Dimensity 8450 chipset might give some potential buyers pause, especially given the competitive pricing in this segment. While performance is more than adequate for most users, those seeking cutting-edge processing power might look elsewhere.

If you prioritize design, display quality, camera versatility, and battery life over having the absolute latest processor, the Reno15 Pro represents a compelling option in the premium mid-range segment. The question becomes whether its strengths justify the premium over slightly cheaper alternatives like the Reno15 Pro Mini or vivo X200T.

For users who want a well-rounded flagship experience without stretching to the highest price tiers, the Oppo Reno15 Pro hits many of the right notes - it's just worth considering whether those notes are worth the premium over some excellent alternatives.