- Fantastic performance
- Long-lasting battery
- Great value
- Bloatware out of the box
- Some unintuitive software choices
It's been a busy month or so for mid-tier devices. We’ve had new cheaper phones like Samsung's new Galaxy A-series, which starts at $549, and pricier options like the $999 iPhone 16e.
At $899, the OPPO Reno 13 5G is at the premium end of the spectrum, but it still feels like good value. In some ways, the Reno 13 5G makes fewer compromises when compared to Apple’s latest take on a cheaper iPhone. There are naturally still a few caveats to consider, however.
To start with the good, the Reno 13 5G's build quality is excellent. In the hand, it feels just as premium as a more expensive device - like the $1,399 iPhone 16. It has a nice heft to it, the buttons are clicky, and every angle is nicely tapered.
OPPO has also made a few interesting design choices. On the blue model I tested, there's a little halo around the camera bump. It almost looks like it could be driven by LEDs, but it's actually just fancy reflective trickery. The rest of the finish is matte, and it does a pretty good job of masking fingerprints from most angles. On the white model, there's a butterfly wing finish instead. I've not had a chance to see this in real life.
The Reno 13 5G's biggest strength is its battery life; you can expect around eight hours of screen time per charge. This should be enough to offer two days of moderate usage per charge, and is similar to what I saw testing OPPO's flagship Find X8 Pro.
This isn't the kind of phone that will have you searching for a charger. If you do need a top-up, you can take the phone from flat to full in 48 minutes.
When it comes to camera quality, the Reno 13 5G takes pleasing photos for its price point. I'm a fan of the phone's approach to tone, where it leaves in enough shadows in both day and low-light situations. It leaves images with a good depth and a pleasing aesthetic, and it's a nice contrast to some of the flatter photos some phones produce these days.
The Reno 13 5G can struggle with motion at night or even in dim environments, which isn't surprising in this price category. You can still get a good shot with a bit of luck, but it will take a few attempts. You'll also want pretty steady hands for the best results at even still subjects in low light.
Photo quality takes a step down on the ultra-wide lens, but you can still get nice enough photos with enough light. Results become more inconsistent otherwise, with images turning out less detailed.
OPPO Reno 13 5G camera samples
Check out these camera samples taken on the Reno 13 5G. Click or tap on any photo to see a larger version.
There's not much else to note when it comes to other fundamentals. Performance is silky smooth; day-to-day usage is faultless, and even more demanding games like Diablo Immortal run well at high settings. The Reno 13 5G's display is also lovely. It's bright enough to use in harsh light outdoors, vivid, and has the requisite 120Hz refresh rate.
Another thing worth noting is that Australia Reno 13 5G models come with 256GB of internal storage as a default, versus the 128GB you'll find in competitors like the Pixel 9a and iPhone 16e. If you want to upgrade to a 256GB model, you're looking at $999 for a Pixel 9a or $1,199 for an iPhone 16e.
One unusual addition is that the Reno 13 5G is rated both IP68 and IP69 for water resistance. While IP68 is fairly common now, IP69 is not. The dual rating means the Reno 13 5G has protection against high-pressure water jets, on top of being able to survive submersion.
This is the highest level of protection against water. I don't know if many of us are typically concerned about high-pressure water jets damaging our phones, but extra durability is rarely a bad thing.
What’s less good is the amount of bloatware the Reno 13 5G ships with out of the box. Apps including Temu, TikTok, LinkedIn, Fitbit, Booking.com, WPS Office, and Ali Express are all pre-installed, plus eight or so games. There's nothing stopping you from deleting these, but it's a bit annoying and isn’t what I’d expect from a premium device.
There are also a few random quirks in OPPO’s take on Android. It took me a hot minute to work out how to put the phone on vibrate, which isn’t something that should pose a challenge. The icon isn’t in the control centre by default, and the volume slider is unlike any I’ve used before.
Simply lowering all four volume sliders (yes, four) wasn't enough to stop the Reno 13 5G from making stray sounds. If you want to set the phone to vibrate or silent, you need to add an extra setting to your command centre / quick actions pane. It's very weird that this isn't there by default, given how common an action silencing a device is. It's an easy fix, but worth being aware of.
All Reno 13 series devices - including the Reno 13 5G - will receive five years of major operating system updates and six years of security. That’s better than a lot of phones, and an improvement on OPPO’s past track record. Previous Reno devices would only get three years of operating system updates and four years of security.
At the same time, OPPO is lagging behind the best of the best. Samsung is promising six years of operating system updates and six years of security on its latest Galaxy A series phones. Google does one better with seven and seven on the Pixel A series.
Most of us aren’t keeping phones that long, but software lifespan is still worth being aware of. A longer support life can make a phone more viable as a hand-me-down or on the second-hand market.
OPPO Reno 13 5G - Final Thoughts
The OPPO Reno 13 5G is about as feature-packed as a mid-tier device can get, and in most cases, there’s very little to complain about. The design and display are top-notch, the battery lasts forever, and the camera is pretty good. The bloatware out of the box is annoying but not a dealbreaker, and you can quickly solve other software quirks. For $899, the Reno 13 5G is a great buy.
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