The Oppo Reno15 series arrived in India last month. Its lineup comprises 3 models – Reno15 Pro, Reno15 Pro Mini, and Reno15. The Pro Mini variant caught our attention immediately as it retained the elite camera array of the Pro model. Its 6.32-inch display isn’t strictly compact, but it is what passes for ‘mini’ in the era of large slab phones. What’s more surprising, however, is that Oppo has managed to equip this smartphone with a massive 6,200mAh battery pack. There are some tradeoffs to be made as well – the most notable ones being NFC, wireless charging, and eSIM. With a Rs 59,999 price tag, one has to wonder whether they’re getting the most value for their buck with this purchase. We set out to investigate by daily driving this device for a week. Here is our comprehensive review of the Oppo Reno15 Pro Mini.
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In This Article
Oppo Reno15 Pro Mini 5G Review: Design and Display
Here’s what you get inside Reno15 Pro Mini’s retail box:
- Smartphone
- 80W power adapter
- USB-A to USB-C cable
- Clear plastic cover
- SIM ejector
- Quick guide
Oppo has taken liberal inspiration from the iPhone to style its midranger. The transparent camera island of the Reno15 Mini has a triangular sensor arrangement. The glossy finish on the glass back panel tends to attract smudges and fingerprints. The unique ribbon design has shimmering particles that come alive when light falls on them. While it brings some flair to the device, this design may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Luckily, the smartphone also comes in a dialled-down Cocoa Brown shade.
The aluminium frame of the device houses the volume rocker and the side button on its right edge. The SIM tray, primary microphone, USB-C port, and speaker grille are positioned on the bottom edge. Up top lie the secondary speaker, noise-cancelling microphone, and IR blaster. The smartphone carries an IP68/69 rating, which means it can survive high-pressure water jets and is immersible up to 1.5 metres in water for up to 30 minutes.
The 6.32-inch AMOLED display dazzles with its vibrance and smooth touch response. It has a 120Hz refresh rate and can reach 1,800 nits in High Brightness Mode. It manages to maintain legibility under bright outdoor conditions. The slim bezels surrounding the display are uniform on all sides. The optical fingerprint scanner works fine, but it should’ve been upgraded to an ultrasonic sensor in this price bracket.
The visuals produced by the AMOLED display while streaming content across OTT apps like Netflix, Prime Video, and JioHotstar are immaculate. The images pack a lot of detail and showcase deep, rich colours. The stereo speaker setup produces a loud yet well-rounded output.
Oppo Reno15 Pro Mini 5G Review: Performance and Cameras
The Oppo Reno15 Pro Mini packs the MediaTek Dimensity 8450 chipset under its hood. It is equipped with 12GB (LPDDR5X)RAM. There are 2 (UFS 3.1) storage options on offer:
- 256GB: Rs 59,999
- 512GB: Rs 64,999
We ran a couple of benchmark tests on this smartphone. Here is how it performed.
- AnTuTu 3D: 2,091,459
- Geekbench 6: 1,602 (single-core) | 6,326 (multi-core)
When it comes to handling everyday tasks, the Reno15 Pro Mini performs like a flagship. The Dimensity 8450 SoC crushes whatever you throw at it, be it video calls, web browsing, media streaming, instant messaging, or navigation. We did not come across any lag or stutter during our time with the device. The haptic feedback doesn’t attract a lot of attention, but quietly chimes in whenever required.
While the Reno15 Pro Mini doesn’t have the reputation for being a ‘gaming phone’, it can handle titles like BGMI and Call of Duty Mobile with ease. It is able to relay cutting-edge graphics without dropping frames. The touch controls feel ultra smooth. You can push the frame rate to 120fps in some titles. However, being a compact device, it struggles to dissipate the internal heat generated while gaming. This is a limitation that comes with the form factor, as large cooling chambers are more suited to bigger phones.
Software duties on this phone are handled by the Android 16-based ColorOS 16. Oppo has promised 5 major OS updates and 6 years of security patches for this device. The OS feels inspired by Apple, especially when it comes to the lockscreen themes and quick settings panel. You can add a depth effect to the lockscreen wallpaper and supplement it with a motion effect, which flows into the home page upon unlocking the phone. You also get plenty of styles for the Always on Display. In ‘Full screen’ mode, the AOD displays a dimmed-down version of the lockscreen wallpaper. The motion effect works even better in this scenario. The app drawer has a special ‘Categories’ section which organises your apps into different folders, much like the iPhone.
The Reno15 Pro Mini gets the Oppo AI package with features like AI Search, AI Writer, AI Translate, AI VoiceScribe, and more. While the VoiceScribe tool can record, caption, translate, and transcribe your phone calls, it cannot screen them just yet. You also get Oppo’s Mind Space hub, even though the smartphone does not have a dedicated key to trigger it. To add a memory, you need to swipe up on the display with three fingers.
We rarely get to see big batteries on compact phones, so the 6,200mAh unit on the Reno14 Pro Mini was a welcome sight. It put our battery anxiety to bed, as we ended our heavy usage days with almost 30% charge left in the tank. With moderate usage, the battery life can be pushed to 2 days. The 80W charger provided in the box takes just under an hour to fully charge the phone. Despite a splendid battery experience, the lack of wireless charging stings a little when you’re paying Rs 59,999 for a smartphone.
The camera system of the Reno15 Pro Mini is its bread and butter. Its rear camera panel houses a 200MP primary shooter, a 50MP telephoto lens with 3.5x optical zoom, and a 50MP ultrawide lens. Up front, a 50MP camera is tucked inside the punch-hole cutout.
The 200MP primary shooter produces flagship-grade pictures. The colours are rich and vibrant without losing their lifelike feel. The smartphone does a great job of processing them to near perfection. The contrast and dynamic range are tasteful as well. In limited lighting conditions, this camera relies on Night Mode to illuminate the shot and get rid of the grain. While the images look pleasing, some areas are often overblown with brightness.
The 50MP telephoto lens has 3.5x optical zoom. It retains the colour profile of the shots taken with the primary shooter. We were happy with the details as well. You can zoom up to 120x, but you hit the point of diminishing returns after the 7x mark.
The 50MP ultrawide camera captures sharp and detailed images in outdoor daylight conditions. It is nice to see an ultrawide sensor that doesn’t produce soft results with a visible tonal shift. However, in limited lighting conditions, it struggles to resolve the noise in the images. The results are soft and grainy.
Portrait photography is where the Oppo Reno15 Pro Mini truly shines. The Camera app lets you take portrait shots in 1x, 2x, and 3.5x zoom levels, relying on the telephoto lens for the latter. It does a brilliant job of separating the subject from the background and applying a healthy dose of background blur. The shots taken with the telephoto lens are particularly stunning. It allows you the liberty to take a few steps back and capture the subject at a wider angle.
The 50MP front-facing camera takes clear selfies. It does a good job of retaining the subject’s natural skin tone while tastefully tuning the texture. All four cameras on this smartphone can record 4K videos at 30 and 60fps.
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Verdict
The Oppo Reno15 Pro Mini is a very easy phone to recommend to someone who’s looking for elite cameras, a compact form factor, and reliable performance. It produces some of the best portrait shots we’ve seen in the midrange segment, even giving some of the flagships a run for their money. When it comes to performance, the Dimensity 8450 processor does not break a sweat while handling routine tasks. The 6.32-inch AMOLED display is bright, smooth, and very enjoyable to use. NFC and wireless charging are two of the big misses on this phone, but it still delivers a lot of value for its price.
Pros
- Great display
- Good processor
- Amazing cameras
Cons
- Lacks wireless charging
- Warms up while gaming
