As is the trend as AI continues to be part of our lives, OPPO has packed quite a bit of AI features into the recently launched Reno 12 5G, some for fun and some for function. This goes alongside OPPO’s commitment to accelerate the adoption of and democratize AI to reach everyone. In the past, when we spoke of AI in mobile devices, we were looking at flagship models that are not within the reach of many people. Now AI is with us, making OPPO phones great assistants to have in the palms of our hands.
This article will look at three of my favourite AI functions in the OPPO Reno 12 series – AI Eraser, AI Studio and AI Record Summary.
AI Eraser – You know how you take a photo and there are photobombers, passersby, or other parts of the photo that you do not want to have in the outcome? With AI Eraser you have the option to circle it, prompt the phone to erase, and give it a few seconds. This is a powerful photo editing capability that OPPO has put in an affordable device, hence bringing AI closer to more people. For a demonstration of how this works, check this video.
AI Studio – With AI Studio, you can create cool digital avatars of yourself in just a few clicks. The templates are already preset, and it is up to users to choose whether they want to change their photos to cowboys, cyberpunks, or any other fun images in the gallery. I have no doubt this will be a hit since it brings out the creativity that many users would not have known they possess. This is by far my favourite feature, a great way to pass time and it leaves me with lots of cool options for my profile photos.
Check this video for how this works.
AI Record Summary – OPPO Reno 12’s AI will take recordings in meetings, interviews, conferences, or even your own voice recordings and summarize them into text. This is easily everybody’s productivity dream, especially those of us in long-form writing. The feature currently supports speech-to-text conversion in Chinese, English, and Hindi with a maximum of 45,000 characters. More languages will be supported in the future.
These are just a few features, otherwise the OPPO Reno 12 5G is packed with many more like AI Clear Face, AI Toolbox, AI Link Boost, AI Beacon Link, AI Writer, and many others that curious users will discover with continuous use. Read more about these AI features here.
I have had the pleasure of experiencing the device for some weeks now and other than AI, there are other features I’ve come to appreciate.
Design
As mentioned in the unboxing article, the first thing that struck me when I unboxed the OPPO Reno 12 5G is the stunning space-age silver that OPPO officially calls Astrol Silver. The glass back cover gives the unique impression of fluidity and the phone dances in the light when it is moved around. This is visually very appealing and even though at first I thought it was too dramatic, I got used to it within just a few days. It is a bit of a fingerprint magnet, but this is camouflaged by the 3D mirror effect. The phone gives off a premium finish and is quite a conversation starter.
I fell in love with curved edges since I used the OPPO Reno 10 5G and for this, Reno 12 5G fits right into my preferences with the 6.7” Corning Gorilla 7i screen. OPPO has kept the back quite minimalistic, and this works well given that the high shine ripple texture already stands out.
Camera
OPPO has always been at the forefront of putting powerful imaging features in just about all their phones and the Reno 12 5G is no exception. The OPPO Reno 12 5G has a 50MP main camera, supported by 8MP ultrawide and 2MP macro. The camera will record an impressive 4k video. For selfie lovers, the phone has a 32MP front camera.
Here are some photos I took with it, and as you can see, they are very sharp and vivid in colour.
Performance
My unit has 512GB ROM and 12GB RAM though there are other variants with lower specs. There is no slot for MicroSD and therefore no storage expansion, but I’m not really worried about that. 512GB is quite a lot of storage and besides, there are lots of options for transferring data to cloud.
The OPPO Reno 12 5G features a Mediatek Dimensity 7300 Energy chipset which the company describes as “the best-in-class power efficiency and next-gen capabilities ensuring effortless multitasking, transcendent captures, excellent performance, and upgraded AI-enhanced computing”. – Mediatek.
With the combination of good storage, a good chip, Android 14 and ColorOS 14.1, it is a fast phone with zero lags even for the most ardent multitaskers and gamers.
Display
The screen is 6.7” with a 1080*2412p full HD resolution, making it pleasant to use due to great colour accuracy. It is highly responsive with a refresh rate of 120Hz, which is perfect for daily use and especially for gamers. At just 177g, the phone is quite light and easy to carry around.
Battery
The OPPO Reno 12 5G comes with a 5000mAh battery, supported by 80W charging which will take the phone from 0-50% in just 18 minutes. A fully charged battery lasts me all day and I’m a heavy user since my work and entertainment are mostly on phone. To be fair, I’m using it alongside another device so workload is divided. I can however tell that even as an only phone, I wouldn’t struggle with a dead battery in the middle of the day. It would still carry me through the day and maybe only show signs of going low in the evening when I’d be headed home anyway.
Besides, I find that with the increasing popularity of fast charge and especially OPPO’s SuperVOOC, battery worries are a thing of the past. One only needs around 10 minutes of charge to be back on their feet.
Pricing and availability
The OPPO Reno12 series are available for purchase at a Recommended Retail Price of Ksh 69,999 for the Reno12 and Ksh 49,999 for the Reno12 F through OPPO Kenya Website, E-commerce partners, LOOP and OPPO physical stores across the country.
