Oppo Reno 15 Pro Review – Refined premium mid-range compact phone with sleeker, slicker style

As one of the first phones to launch in Malaysia in the new year, the Oppo Reno 15 Pro is the successor to the Reno 14 Pro that debuted in July last year. Launched just seven months after its predecessor, the new Oppo Reno 15 Pro crams in quite a few additional upgrades in the phone with an emphasis on enhanced imaging performance for its cameras while shaving the form factor down to a more compact size. 

Ahead of launch, we acquired a retail unit for field testing and after taking it for a spin, here’s our Oppo Reno 15 Pro review where out if it’s worth the upgrade.

Oppo Reno15 Pro Review – Build and Design

At first glance, the aesthetics of the  Oppo Reno 15 Pro don’t seem to radically differ from its predecessor, the Reno 14 Pro. Closer inspection reveals several subtle but distinct differences. The new model retains similar aesthetics, including a similar looking triple camera housing, flat display, and rounded corners, but the Reno 15 Pro is slightly thicker while being lighter, weighing in at 188g.

Our Oppo Reno 15 Pro review sample in Aurora Blue measures 8.13mm, thicker than the Reno 14 Pro’s 7.58mm chassis. The Dusk Brown colourway is a bit thinner at 7.99mm and slightly lighter than the Aurora Blue version, but it still weighs more than its predecessor at 187g on account of its paint job.

Weight and thickness aside, the most noticeable difference between the new model and its predecessor is its screen size as it has been shaved down by 0.51 inches down to a smaller 6.32-inch AMOLED panel, making the phone more compact and pocketable especially for one-handed use and those with smaller hands.

The display offers FHD+  (1,216 x 2,640 pixels) resolution, up to 460ppi, a 120Hz refresh rate, 10-bit colour depth and up to 3,600 nits peak brightness. Perched up top is a single 50MP f/2.0 camera with autofocus and a wide 1/2.75-inch Samsung JN5 sensor that offers a wide 100-degree field of view which is much wider than models used in the competition. You also get a small slit up top for an earpiece and speaker.

Of greater interest is the backplate which has a light blue satin glitter finish with a noticeable aurora borealis motif emblazoned that glitters at certain angles. The camera housing features silver rings protecting each camera housing along with the Reno logogram written in cursive font.

Contrasting with the pale blue of the backplate, the sides are finished up in silvery aluminium. While the left and top are otherwise unremarkable, the right side hosts the usual power button and volume rocker.

The base of our Oppo Reno 15 Pro review unit features a familiar layout with a SIM card tray, a USB-C port for charging and a grille for a downward firing speaker that forms a stereo pair with the top forward-facing speaker. 

When held, our Oppo Reno 15 Pro review unit had an even heft and felt premium with its metal-finished sides. It offered comfortable one-handed use and the slightly reduced screen real estate isn’t a major issue as its 19.5:9 aspect ratio still ensures good clarity and viewability for videos and web pages. 

What makes the Oppo Reno 15 Pro particularly appealing is that it has an IP66, IP68 and IP69 dust and water resistance rating, ensuring that it can shrug off immersion in up to 2 metres of fresh water for up to 30 minutes  at a time.

The phone also ships with a generous assortment of kit including a semi-rigid TPU casing, a fast charger, a USB-C cable and a pre-applied screen protector on the display itself which adds a modest bit of value to the phone.

Oppo Reno 15 Pro Review – Performance and Benchmarks

In terms of the hardware running under the hood, our Oppo Reno 15 Pro review sample comes with a MediaTek Dimensity 8450 processor paired with 12GB LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage.

Astute readers will note that the Dimensity 8450 chipset is the same used in its predecessor the Reno 14 Pro and otherwise has a similar amount and grade of RAM and 512GB of storage. Bar similar hardware, the Oppo Reno 15 Pro runs Android 16 under the hood with ColorOS 16.0.2 that has the option to assign up to 12GB RAM off the onboard storage.

Like the prior version of ColorOS, the current version has a slew of preinstalled apps of mixed utility on it and also ships with Oppo’s own AppMarket app store. Fortunately, most of this bloatware can be deleted after installation. On paper, here’s how our Oppo Reno 15 Pro review unit looks like on paper:

 

Price	RM2,999
Display	6.32-inch AMOLED, 1,216 x 2,640 pixels, 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, 3,600 nits peak brightness, 10-bit colour depth
Processor	MediaTek Dimensity 8450
OS	Android 16 w/ Color OS 16.0.2
Memory	12GB LPDDR5X RAM /512GB UFS 3.1 storage
Cameras	200MP f/1.8 main camera w/ OIS + 50MP f/2.8 telephoto w/ 3.5x optical zoom & OIS + 50MP f/2.0 ultrawide angle camera w/ autofocus [rear] / 50MP f/2.0 w/ autofocus [front]
Battery	6,200mAh w/ 80W SUPERVOOC wired charging
Size/Weight	151.2 x 72.4 x 8.13mm / 188g

After putting it through its paces, here’s how our Oppo Reno 15 Pro review sample scored in synthetic benchmarks with its default assigned 12GB of virtual RAM:

3D Mark Steel Nomad Light	1,428
3D Mark Steel Nomad Light Unlimited	1,428
3D Mark Solar Bay	6,485
3D Mark Solar Bay Unlimited	6,455
3D Mark Wild Life Extreme	3,820
3D Mark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited	2,585
Geekbench 6 Single Core	1,461
Geekbench 6 Multi Core	6,092
Geekbench 6 OpenCL	11,813
Geekbench 6 Vulkan	12,293
Geekbench 6 AI (CPU)	2,610
Geekbench 6 AI (GPU)	1,258
PCMark Work 3.0	18,705
PCMark Battery Life	11 hours 58 minutes

As you’d likely surmise, benchmarks for our Oppo Reno 15 Pro review unit were similar to its predecessor seeing as it has a similar processor, RAM and storage. With a similar battery capacity, the phone also had similar battery life as well, offering 11 hours and 58 minutes of endurance before needing a recharge which is more than sufficient for a full day and likely two if you’re a frugal user.

When subjected to practical usage scenarios, the Oppo Reno 15 Pro acquitted itself well for the tasks expected of a midrange smartphone including gaming and even video editing on CapCut. Interestingly, the phone also supports bypass charging for extended gaming sessions, allowing you to bypass the battery and directly charge the phone which reduces wear and tear as well as heat on the battery itself. The Oppo Reno 15 Pro also sports Gemini AI assistant and Oppo’s own Mind Space that lets you save content for later perusal by swiping upwards with three fingers.

While it does have a smaller screen than its predecessor, the 6.32-inch AMOLED panel used in our Oppo Reno15 Pro review sample did not disappoint with vibrant colours and pin-sharp text with good clarity under direct sunlight. The stereo speakers offered good volume without distortion even when cranked to maximum and the phone offered decent detail though bass was understandably somewhat middling.

From a performance standpoint, it doesn’t wander all too far from the Reno 14 Pro but what you’re paying for here is primarily the upgrades to its cameras.

Oppo Reno 15 Pro Review – Cameras

On the imaging front, the Oppo Reno 15 Pro has a number of marked improvements over the prior Oppo Reno 14 Pro with the biggest updates being a front-facing selfie camera with a wider field of view and a massively upgunned 200MP main camera.

When viewed up close, our Oppo Reno 15 Pro review unit has a 200MP f/1.8 main camera that has optical image stabilisation paired with a 50MP f/2.8 telephoto camera with 3.5x optical zoom and a 50MP f/2.0 ultra wide angle camera. This hefty setup is akin to early generation super flagships from a year or so back and confers the ability to capture stills at 3.5X lossless zoom and up to 120x digital zoom as well as up to 4K@60fps video at up to 18x digital zoom.

 

Up front, you get a single 50MP f/2.0 selfie camera with autofocus and a 100-degree field of view for snaps and up to 4K@60fps video.

While it isn’t a hardware feature per se, Oppo is also debuting a ‘motion popout’ mode unique to the Oppo Reno 15 series that uses AI to stitch together multiple motion photos into a collage with a live subject appearing animated in the foreground much like the panel of an animated comic book. At present, the motion photo only works on moving, live subjects and some experimentation is needed for best results and while it isn’t a marquee feature, it is something fun to experiment with.

When put to the test, our Oppo Reno 15 Pro review sample offered consistent colour rendition across its three cameras and good colour saturation as well as detail out to 3.5x zoom with accurate skin tones. Beyond that, stills out to 7x zoom are quite usable for social media with results getting softer and grainier such that 120x zoom is more of a novelty to capture  snaps of scenery from afar.

 In dimly lit scenarios, the cameras acquitted themselves in a competent fashion even with challenging lighting. When tested on a dinner amidst Kuala Lumpur’s skyline and a mix of orange and neon lighting, the cameras were able to tackle skin tones well while keeping colour rendition for other aspects with surprising restraint.

 

The front-facing 50MP selfie camera with its wider field of view fortunately manages skin tones well with the wider angle allowing users to capture a bit more of the background and to cram more people into a shot. It’s not a radical game-changer but it is a nice bonus to have. 

Overall, it’s a decent choice for price-conscious content creators as there aren’t many 200MP cameras in this price range.

 

Should you buy the Oppo Reno 15 Pro?

Launched at the same price as its predecessor at RM2,999, the Oppo Reno 15 Pro retains the same battery size and chipset as the older model and a slightly smaller display but massively upgrades the main camera to a 200MP model, adds in a 50MP selfie camera with a wider field of view, all in a more compact, pocketable form factor. 

While it isn’t particularly appealing to those who already own the Reno 14 Pro, it’s a competitive choice for those looking to get a more compact yet capable premium midrange camera phone and those looking to upgrade from entry level models.

Oppo Reno 15 Pro review sample courtesy of Oppo Malaysia. For more details please visit https://www.oppo.com/my/product/oppo-reno15-pro-5g.P.P1100522