If you are looking for a stylish and lightweight smartphone with special features for social media, then the Oppo Reno12 series could be the right choice for you. However, with only a few differences between the Reno12 Pro and the vanilla Reno12, one might wonder which one is better value for money.
In fact, the Reno12 Pro and Reno12 are almost identical devices. Spending some extra money for the Pro also gets you a dedicated 2x zoom camera with great portrait photography capabilities and a better selfie camera. But other than that, the standard Reno12 isn’t all that different from its more expensive sibling.
However, we will explore possible hidden differences in the next article, because often the truth is hidden in the details.
Table of Contents:
- design
- Display
- battery life
- Charge
- Speaker Test
- Display
- Camera
- Decision
For starters, you can compare the full specs sheet or jump straight in with our editor’s review in the following text.
Size Comparison
Opposition
Reno12 Pro
161.5 x 74.8 x 7.4 mm
(6.36 x 2.94 x 0.29 inches)
Opposition
reno12
161.4 x 74.1 x 7.6 mm
(6.35 x 2.92 x 0.3 inches)
When it comes to size and design, both handsets are practically twins. The Reno12 Pro and Reno12 weigh the same, have similar dimensions and look and feel similar. The differences between the two are negligible, to say the least.
However, on the front, the Reno 12 Pro has the highest-end Gorilla Glass available – which is Victus 2 – while the Reno 12 has Gorilla Glass 7i. Gorilla Glass 7i is relatively new, so we don’t have much experience using it in real life yet. The rest of the construction is plastic.
Ingress protection for both is rated IP65.
You might want to check out the two colour variants of our review units, but once again the differences are pretty minimal.
Performance Comparison
Opposition
Reno12 Pro
Amoled
120Hz
1080×2412
Pixels
394
PPIs
Opposition
reno12
Amoled
120Hz
1080×2412
Pixels
394
PPIs
There is no difference in the display quality, size or features of the two phones. The Reno12 is directly derived from the Reno12 Pro and the brightness tests we did confirm this.
The Reno 12 Pro and Reno 12 can boost up to almost 1,000 nits It operates in auto mode and offers a 120Hz refresh rate, 10-bit colour depth, and supports HDR10+ video content.
battery life
Perhaps it comes as no surprise that the battery life of the Reno 12 Pro and the Reno 12 is exactly the same. After all, both have the same display, chipset, software and battery capacity – 5,000mAh.
Battery life is excellent in both cases – 14:54h vs 14:53h active usage score This is probably due to the energy efficient Dimensity 7300-Energy chipset.
Charging Speed
Opposition
Reno12 Pro
5000 mAh
15 min
40%
30 minute
67%
full
46 minutes
Opposition
reno12
5000 mAh
15 min
40%
30 minute
67%
full
46 minutes
There’s no proper charger in the box with either of the Reno12 phones, but both support up to 80W via wire using Oppo’s 80W SuperVOOC charging technology. This ensures fast charging and goes from a flat battery to a full charge in just 10 minutes. 46 minutes,
Notably, the Power Delivery-enabled charger can charge the Reno 12 and Reno 12 Pro almost as fast. We tested this using a 100W brick and got similar results, but there was a slight delay in charging up to 100%.
Speaker Testing
Not surprisingly, we didn’t find any significant difference in the stereo speakers either. Both devices have the same hybrid speaker setup and as a result, both are equally loud and offer similar sound quality.
Speaking of which, we would have appreciated a fuller sound with better bass and less distortion at higher volumes.
Display
You won’t find any difference in the performance department either. The Reno12 Pro and Reno12 have the same Dimensity 7300-Energy SoC. The “Energy” bit is reportedly a joint effort by Oppo and MediaTek to make the chip as power-efficient as possible. And judging by the battery life results, it looks like they’ve achieved that.
Opposition
Reno12 Pro
Dimensions 7300
4nm
256GB 12GB RAM
Opposition
reno12
Dimensions 7300
4nm
256GB 12GB RAM
There is no difference in the memory configuration either. Both smartphones offer 12GB/256GB or 12GB/512GB of memory. In both cases, you will get UFS 3.1 storage.
Benchmark Performance
Opposition
Reno12 Pro
antutu 10
681,677
Geekbench 6
2,625
3D Mark
3,174
Opposition
reno12
antutu 10
681,613
Geekbench 6
2,631
3D Mark
3,177
Camera Comparison
The biggest difference between the Reno12 Pro and the Reno12 is the camera hardware. The former features a dedicated 50MP 2x zoom camera (f/2.0, 1/2.75″) on top of the 50MP main camera (f/1.8, 1/1.95″) that both devices share. They also share the same 8MP f/2.2 ultrawide camera. The Reno12 opts for a 2MP macro shooter instead of a 2x optical zoom snapper.
The Reno 12 Pro also gets a better selfie camera – a 50MP one (f/2.0, 1/2.75″), while the Reno 12 gets a 32MP front-facing camera (f/2.0, 1/3.1″). Notably, both selfie solutions offer autofocus, so kudos for that.
image quality
With the camera hardware, chipset and ISP as well as the software being almost identical, it is no surprise that we found no difference in the photo samples taken during the day or after dusk. Both handsets offer similar performance in both scenarios.
Reno12 Pro: 0.6x • 1x • 2x
Reno12: 0.6x • 1x • 2x
However, the Reno 12 Pro has a slight edge over the vanilla with its dedicated 2x zoom camera. The Pro is able to produce better-looking photos as they are more detailed, slightly sharper, and noise-free.
Reno12 Pro: 0.6x • 1x • 2x
Reno12: 0.6x • 1x • 2x
On the other hand, the difference isn’t too much, so if you use your phone mostly for social media posting and viewing your photos on the device’s screen, we believe the Reno 12 will do the job just fine.
The same can’t be said about selfies, as the Reno 12 Pro is the clear winner here. It delivers noticeably sharper and more detailed selfies. The difference is quite big as the Reno 12 insists on producing camera samples that appear to be upscaled from a lower resolution to 32MP (our best guess is 8MP as it’s a quad Bayer sensor).
Reno12 Pro Selfie
Reno12 Selfie
video quality
There are some nuances when it comes to photos, but nothing when it comes to video recording capabilities. Both devices produce similar looking footage with all the cameras on the back.
Reno12 Pro: 0.6x • 1x • 2x
Reno12: 0.6x • 1x • 2x
The Reno12 Pro is expected to have great 2x zoom videos, but as it turns out, it crops from its main camera while recording videos. So you won’t find any difference in the 2x zoom clips of the Reno12 Pro and the Reno12.
Decision
The price difference between the Reno12 Pro and the Reno12 was €100 at launch, but that gap has narrowed since release. As it stands, the Reno12 is around €50-70 cheaper, so the logical thing to do is probably get the Pro version as it’s a more capable handset for a little more money on the line.
However, there is so little difference in features between the two devices that you get practically the same user experience from the Reno12 at a lower price. It has the same display, battery life, speakers, charging, design, chipset, and camera experience in most respects. You only get slightly better 2x zoom stills and better selfies with the Reno12 Pro. Other than that, the Reno12 will give you almost 95% off at a lower price.
- Dedicated 2x zoom camera.
- Much better selfie.
Buy Oppo Reno 12 Pro:
| 512GB 12GB RAM | €565.39 |
€ 743.45 |
| Show all prices | ||
- Low Price.
- The camera and user experience are almost the same.
Buy Oppo Reno12:
| 256GB 12GB RAM | €415.85 |
|
| Show all prices | ||