Packing in water and dust resistance, several cameras, and AI features, the Oppo Reno 13 series aims to impress across several mid-range price points.
High-end phones may well be where most of the action is in special designs and clever tech, but eventually, those features begin to trickle down to other places, too.
It’s one of the reasons why waiting can be better: you can save money and still get something offering solid value, such as is the case with phone democratisation, where the technology trickles down over time. Sometimes it takes time, but in the case of AI in phones, that hasn’t been long at all.
Last year was the first year where AI phones were a thing, kicked off with Samsung’s S24 range and moving on from there. This year the concept is making its way out of the high-end into what is well and truly the mid-range, and even a bit of the budget world.
Oppo has a few examples of that coming shortly in the Reno 13 range, three models of phones that come with similar names and designs, plus water resistance and even a bit of AI, as well. A little more AI than even what last year’s Reno series saw.
There’s the Oppo Reno 13F 5G, a $599 mid-range model sporting IP69 water and dust resistance, AI photo editing, and a sizeable 5800mAh battery for a dual-camera with a 6.67 inch screen. On the camera side of things, there’s a 50 megapixel main, an 8 megapixel ultra-wide, and 2 megapixels for macro, should you need it. Upfront, there’s a 32 megapixel selfie camera.
It’s a reasonable amount of phone, but it’s not the only model.
The standard Reno 13 5G is a similar phone, but fetches $899 for a little more grunt in the camera and performance department, complete with an aluminium frame and a slightly smaller 6.59 inch OLED screen.
In essence, the Reno 13 5G is a slightly smaller take on the Reno 13 F, but with more grunt and a 50 megapixel camera up front, a minor update of sorts.
And then there’s the “pro” edition, which replaces the 2 megapixel macro with a more useful 50 megapixel 3.5X telephoto camera, plus a little more in the AI kitty. AI unblur and AI motion to clear up camera shots, as well as AI clarity to sharpen and AI reflection remover the clear up images with windows, as well.
AI everywhere, it seems, and that includes AI writing and AI summaries, bringing the features of more high-end phones to lower price points. Kind of.
The Oppo Reno 13 5G Pro is a little higher end than the rest of the Reno 13 range, priced at $1299 for a 512GB phone.
While $1299 is a lot for a mid-range phone, the 512GB storage is more generous than most phones at this price point hit, potentially making for a solid value overall.
The range will see launch near the end of March, officially arriving in Australia from March 27.
