OPPO Reno16 5G review: What does it have to compete with iPhone 17e, Xiaomi 17T?

(Dan Tri) - In the near-high-end price segment, OPPO Reno16 5G competes directly with a number of competitors such as iPhone 17e, Samsung Galaxy S25 FE, Xiaomi 17T and Honor 600.

+ Advantages:

- Camera works well in many conditions.

- Good battery life, fast charging.

- Diverse AI features.

+ Limitations:

- Performance is not impressive in the segment.

- The back easily attracts fingerprints.

+ Editor's advice:

OPPO Reno16 5G is suitable for young users, especially women, with an eye-catching design and high-quality main camera system and selfie camera. The device also integrates a variety of AI features to support work and image editing.

For users who need to "plow" games and have heavy entertainment, this is not the right choice.

Compared to the predecessor Reno15 5G version, the Reno16 5G generation does not have too many changes in appearance. The most noticeable difference lies in the 3D back design with a floating effect like a miniature galaxy. However, the back surface is finished with glossy glass and often attracts a lot of fingerprints during use.

In addition, the device still retains the characteristics of the Reno product line. This design has been thoroughly applied by the company for many generations and creates a unique highlight for Reno products on the market. This is both a plus but can also be a limitation. This design is still youthful and eye-catching, but no longer creates the same freshness as the original

The machine is machined and finished relatively meticulously, approaching the quality of phone models in the high-end segment. Four curved corners combine with a compact size, providing a comfortable holding experience even when used with one hand for long periods of time.

This is also the first Reno series equipped with AI Snap Key physical buttons. This key supports customizing the sound mode, turning on the flashlight, quickly accessing the camera, sound recorder or accessing the mental space AI feature. Users can set different tasks for this key depending on personal needs.

Reno16 5G has a 6.32-inch LTPS AMOLED screen with 1.5K resolution. This screen provides good display quality, bright colors, wide viewing angles and deep black display, does not cause eye strain when used in dark environments.

The maximum brightness of the screen reaches 3,600 nits, making it easy for users to use even under bright sunlight. Notably, this screen supports a 144Hz refresh rate, which usually only appears on some high-end models or gaming devices. This upgrade makes swipe effects and scene transitions smoother.

The screen border is also thinned on all four sides, providing a large display space and good visual effects. The device also integrates a fingerprint sensor under the screen. Fingerprint provides fast and accurate recognition, but the sensor placement is quite low, making it not really convenient to use.

Reno16 5G also meets IP69, IP68 and IP69K dust and water resistance standards, helping users feel secure in using the product in many different conditions. Besides, the device also supports waterproof, oil-resistant and glove touch features, ensuring a stable experience in many usage conditions.

OPPO Reno16 5G is equipped with a 3-camera system, including a 50MP main lens that supports OIS optical image stabilization technology, a 50MP telephoto lens that allows 3.5x optical zoom, and a 50MP super wide-angle lens.

Tested taking photos in many different usage conditions, the image quality produced by this camera system is relatively stable and provides a good experience in terms of detail, color and contrast.

Although the telephoto camera only supports 3.5x optical zoom, the device still allows users to take photos with a maximum zoom level of up to 120x by combining camera hardware and AI system.

However, the level of detail and color of the image is best maintained when shooting at 7x zoom again in bright conditions and 3.5x or less in low light conditions. With higher zoom levels such as 20x or 120x, image details are significantly reduced and colors are also duller.

For many years, super wide-angle lenses have always been considered a common limitation on many high-end smartphone models. The Reno16 5G model has overcome this weakness by upgrading the ultra-wide-angle lens to 50MP resolution. The above improvements help deliver sharper images, better details and colors.

The device's camera also provides good image processing capabilities in low-light shooting conditions. Colors reproduce naturally, images are clear, not blurred. Street lights and LED lights on signs are also handled well, without causing glare or loss of detail.

For portrait photography mode, OPPO Reno16 5G supports 3 different zoom levels including 1x, 2x and 3.5x, corresponding to focal lengths of 26mm, 50mm and 85mm. Users can switch between focal levels depending on the scene and usage needs.

The camera system on Reno16 5G can accurately identify subjects, blurring natural backgrounds. In particular, difficult details such as glasses or strands of hair are handled harmoniously, without being erased from the subject. Other facial details and skin color are also reproduced naturally.

In addition, Reno16 Series also integrates the POP Cam feature with 9 color filters similar to older generation digital cameras. This feature helps users capture frames with nostalgic colors without using any additional bulky equipment or downloading third-party apps.

Selfie cameras have always been a strength on OPPO phones and Reno16 5G continues to maintain this advantage. The device integrates a selfie camera with 50MP resolution and 100-degree wide shooting angle. When rotating the camera horizontally, the selfie camera will automatically widen the shooting angle so users can take group photos or take selfies with the scenery behind them more easily.

The device also supports a series of AI image editing tools. In particular, the AI ​​Remix Collage feature will automatically support separating the subject background and creating dynamic stickers. Users can turn subjects from Motion Photos or short videos into animated stickers up to 6 seconds long.

The Popout 2.0 tool is also improved as AI can recognize contexts from architectural works to everyday objects. Users can combine a total of 9 photos in one composition, creating 3D frames.

OPPO Reno16 5G is equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 processor, 8GB RAM and 256GB internal memory. Tested with AnTuTu Benchmark performance evaluation software, OPPO Reno16 5G reached nearly 1.45 million points.

Compared with some competitors in the same segment, the iPhone 17e using the A19 chip reached 1.95 million points, the Galaxy S25 FE using the Exynos 2400 chip reached about 1.7 million points, while the Xiaomi 17T using the Mediatek Dimensity 8500-Ultra chip reached 2.15 million points.

Twitter on the scale of performance reviews, the score on Reno16 5G is about 30-35% lower than its competitors. In fact, the performance experience this product brings is not weak during daily use. However, this is not a suitable choice for users who need to "plow" heavy games.

Practical experience with some popular games such as PUBG Mobile and Lien Quan Mobile, the device can respond stably at 60fps at high graphics settings. For games with more complex graphics like Genshin Impact, the device can meet the needs of a stable experience at medium graphics settings.

However, during gaming or continuous use of heavy tasks, the device heats up quite quickly, especially in the edge and back areas near the camera cluster. This will not be a suitable choice for users who want to play a lot of games.

The battery that comes with the device has also been upgraded to a capacity of 6,700mAh, with SuperVOOC fast charging with a capacity of 80W. With the need for mixed multi-tasking and gaming, the device can easily handle more than a day of use.

OPPO Reno16 5G is installed with the ColorOS 16 platform based on the Android 16 operating system similar to the high-end Find X9s and Find X9 Ultra product lines. Therefore, the device inherits a series of AI features such as AI Mind Space, AI bill management, AI menu translation,...

The ability to connect to iPhone is also continued to be upgraded by OPPO. In addition to data transmission capabilities like its predecessors, Reno16 5G also supports sharing calls and messages from iPhone through the O+ Connect application.

OPPO Reno16 5G is sold in the Vietnamese market at a price of 19 million VND. The device competes directly with a number of competitors in the price segment such as iPhone 17e, Samsung Galaxy S25 FE, Xiaomi 17T and Honor 600.

The device has a youthful design, a stable camera, good battery life and a series of unique AI features. This is a worthy choice for female customers as the device integrates a high-quality selfie camera and many AI features to support beauty.

The device can handle most daily usage experiences stably. However, this is not a suitable product for heavy gaming and entertainment needs.