OPPO Reno 11 5G Review: More Than a Pretty Face?

As the year begins, the smartphone battleground is getting more intense. The OPPO Reno 11 5G emerges as the latest contender to join the fray, boasting a 50-megapixel primary camera, an FHD+ AMOLED panel, and the Dimensity 7050 processor — all wrapped in a fancy design. While all these sound good, its price tag of Rs 29,999 means that the Reno 11 faces tough competition from other performance-focused smartphones. So is the Reno 11 a good buy for you? Find out in our review.

OPPO Reno 11 5G Review: Design

Unlike its predecessor, the Reno 11 sports a slightly more flashy aesthetic. Both the colours on offer are on two different spectrums when it comes to flaunting. The Wave Green hue, which we have for review, has a sparkling, wavy texture on the rear panel, and easily attracts the eye.

The Rock Grey allows for a more subtle approach for those who prefer subdued brilliance. The phone exudes a premium vibe when holding in hand, this is partially thanks to the holy trinity of design — curved sides, metal frame, and a glass back.

Worth noting that both the Reno 11 and Reno 11 Pro share some commonalities in terms of the back panel design. The only major difference lies in their finish, the rest from the display size, to the pill-shaped camera module, all remain the same.

For those who cringe at the very thought of scratches on their device, investing in a high-quality case is strongly recommended. The protruding camera module at the back is raised from the body, and it will gladly take upon scuffs and scratches in the long run.

The Reno 11 completely skips out on any sort of IP rating, making us a little more careful around the device.

OPPO Reno 11 5G Review: Display and audio

In terms of the display, the Reno 11 does not deter much from last year, but that’s not a problem. The panel continues to deliver an amazing content consumption experience.

You get the same curved display from last year, which has a buttery smooth 120Hz refresh rate that helps elevate the gaming and scrolling experience. We noticed no issues in brightness levels, even when using it outdoors in direct sunlight.

Most of our time was spent watching the Reacher. The display can produce true blacks and punchy colours — this is a given considering the AMOLED panel. So while this display might not break new ground, it nails the fundamentals well.

The Reno 11 features a stereo speaker setup. The speakers can get loud enough and produce decent sound to complement the superb display. However, the audio tends to lose clarity and punch at higher volume levels.

OPPO Reno 11 5G Review: Performance and Software

The Reno11 5G is powered by the same processor as its predecessor — Dimensity 7050. The same chipset can be found inside the Lava Agni 2, which scored about 449,040 in AnTuTu, and it has fared better in OPPO’s offering. The octa-core chip ensures that everyday tasks such as scrolling on social media, making calls, texting, and more are handled easily. Heavier workloads like gaming for long hours reveal a bit of sluggish performance, making it less ideal for hardcore users.

While app launch times and startup speeds are not top-notch, the phone surprisingly stays cool even under pressure, maintaining consistent performance. The Reno 11 leans a bit towards an all-rounder category, similar to the recently launched Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus (review)

The Reno 11 comes with ColorOS 14, based on Android 14. It is not a complete overhaul over the ColorOS 13, but it surely brings a bunch of new features such as File Dock and Smart Image Matting.

While these new features are fun to play around with, the pre-installed bloatware tends to spoil the party. The home screen of the Reno 11 is cluttered with apps like Dream11, Snapchat, Moj, Josh, Netflix, and Spotify. The Hot Games and Hot Apps duo make an appearance here as well. You will have to spend some time cleaning up the UI before it’s ready to go as per your preference.

Bloatware is not the only thing that’s wrong with this phone’s software, as we noticed some casual jitters and stutters. This was the case even while scrolling on the home screen. The same issues could be found on the camera app at times.

OPPO promises to offer two years of Android updates and three years of security updates.

OPPO Reno 11 5G Review: Cameras

In daylight, the primary camera captures decent landscape shots with good detail, but it can overexpose skies and overprocess images occasionally. Details in images captured indoors were impressive, but the photos turned out to be a bit more contrasty. This was not an issue for us as it saved time when editing. The overall colour temperature of the primary camera leans a bit towards the cooler side, the same can be said about the telephoto lens.

OPPO Reno 11 5G camera samples

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Low-light photography is Reno 11’s Achilles heel. While the night mode can help with things in most cases, it can be a bit inconsistent with details. The images don’t consist of a lot of noise, but the loss of detail is evident.

The 32-megapixel telephoto lens shines in close-ups, retaining detail at 2x optical zoom. However, digital zoom beyond that leads to significant detail loss and a watercolour effect. It also contributes to inconsistent background blur in outdoor portrait shots. This wasn’t the case when using optical zoom.

Selfie cameras are where OPPO excels the most, and the Reno 11 offers a reliable lens. Selfies captured had a good level of detail and a balanced dynamic range. The phone also managed to retain our skin tones well.

To summarise, the Reno 11’s camera performs adequately in good lighting but struggles with oversaturation in some situations and an underwhelming night mode. While the telephoto lens is great for close-ups, digital zoom, and portrait mode inconsistencies hold it back.

OPPO Reno 11 5G Review: Battery

Oddly enough, the OPPO Reno 11 packs almost 10% more battery than its elder sibling. With such a powerful battery pack, the handset can easily last well over a day and a half with moderate usage with around seven hours of screen time. Even under heavy usage, you can still use it for a full day, without having to worry about charging.

In terms of charging speeds, the 67W charger can juice up the battery in 44 minutes. Overall, the battery department is a clear strength of the Reno 11.

OPPO Reno 11 5G Review: Verdict

At Rs 29,999, the Reno 11 sets itself apart with a gorgeous, attention-grabbing design. Like many other phones in recent months, the Reno 11 also goes for a curved display, and this proves to be a good choice as it adds to the visual appeal of the phone.

The reliable one-day battery life is another strong point of the handset. While it may not have the fastest charging in this segment (that record still lies with the iQOO Neo 7), the 67W charger does a very good job of juicing up the phone before rushing off to work.

The camera setup on the Reno 11 is also quite good, especially the telephoto lens when it comes to close-up captures. However, some tweaking is needed in its low-light performance.

Another chink in its armour is the bloatware-filled software, that comes with a few buggy instances. The performance on the Reno 11 should easily fulfill everyday hustlers, but at this price, there is no dearth of options which makes the case for it a bit tricky.

OPPO Reno 11 Alternatives

If performance is your primary focus, take a look at the newly launched POCO X6 Pro 5G and POCO F5 (review) — two of the most value-for-money smartphones in this segment right now.

If a clean UI experience is on your priority list, the Moto Edge 40 could be an ideal choice.

If extending your budget by a smidge is not an issue, the OnePlus Nord 3 (review) and iQOO Neo 7 Pro (review) can also be considered. These smartphones are a complete package of superb performance with great display and build quality.