OPPO joins the AI hype with its new Reno12 Pro, but is it practical? Here’s our verdict.

If there’s one thing to know about me, it’s that I love photography and capturing moments with my phone. So it’s only natural that the first feature I noticed on the new OPPO Reno12 Pro was its camera.

Unlike its predecessors, all three of the OPPO Reno12 Pro’s cameras are arranged in a single alignment. The two lenses that were once kept in a tiny nook are now prominently displayed.

In some ways, this design choice reminds me of the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, which I’m not the biggest fan of because it traps dust more easily and makes it harder to clean.

But the back cover looking like ripples of waves somewhat makes up for it. Called the Fluid Ripple Texture, the cover uses the parallax effect to create visual ripples on a mirror-smooth surface. This design is only available in the shade Nebula Silver. If that’s too soft for you, the model also comes in Space Brown which has glossy and matte sections divided by a ribbon.

According to OPPO, its new Reno12 Pro is backed by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, which boasts ultra-flagship level resistance against impacts, drops, bending, and scratches. I didn’t really push the phone’s limits in this area, though it fared well after being tossed around daily in my tote bag.

OPPO also claims that the phone’s all-new 6.7” AMOLED Infinite View Screen is “the most advanced screen technology” available on any smartphone now. I can’t verify that for certain but their new Quad Micro-curve Design certainly enhances visual immersion, especially when watching videos.

But what really makes this phone shine lies in its GenAI features.

I’m sorry, Photoshop who?

I know, you’re probably sick of hearing “AI this” and “AI that”. However, that seems to be the way forward for large companies nowadays.

I’ve even heard entrepreneurs say that businesses would turn obsolete if they didn’t jump on the AI bandwagon. This seems to be the case in the consumer tech space too, and it’s not a bad thing. 

For one, the Reno12 Pro makes photographing in crowded spaces easier with its AI Eraser 2.0. If someone photobombs accidentally, you can easily remove it with one tap, and I really mean one tap. 

While others have similar AI tools (like Samsung’s Object Eraser), OPPO’s AI Eraser 2.0 offers a “Remove People” option. This means it automatically detects humans in the photo and relieves you of the time-consuming work of circling each individual.

I’ve used this a number of times and so far, it’s worked like a charm. For cases that don’t involve removing people, you can still use the “Smart Lasso” or “Paint Over” tools. 

Some other post-processing tools include the AI Clear Face and AI Best Face features. These allow you to enhance facial details like contours and hair density, as well as identify closed-eye expressions to correct them using AIGC (artificial intelligence-generated content).

Practical AI for everyday use

If you’re not into photo editing, the OPPO Reno12 Pro is still jam-packed with a few other AI features, like AI Writer.

AI Writer can provide some creative inspiration to help craft an email, Instagram caption, or even just a text. You can choose the tone that you’d like the text to be in, such as artistic, romantic, casual, humorous, emoji, or emotional. 

Unfortunately, you can’t change the tone after you’ve hit “generate”, which is a bit of a letdown because you’ll have to retype the prompt and choose a different tone each time. But I’m a writer by profession so I don’t feel the need to use it much.

What I did make full use of is the AI Summary feature. Say you’re looking up multiple articles to find information about a specific topic, but you’re strapped for time. The AI Summary tool helps, well, summarise them.

And it actually works pretty well, concisely condensing large bodies of information and highlighting the key points of the article. But to any students reading this, I’m sad to report that it doesn’t work with the phone’s PDF reader (part of WPS Office). So you’ll have to go through those scientific research papers for university the old-fashioned way.

On the other hand, if you want to read the full body of text but don’t feel like it, there’s the AI Speak option. It’s not that different from the usual text-to-speech function that most smartphones already have. 

What makes OPPO’s AI Speak different is that the speech sounds slightly more natural than a robot. Compared to my iPhone’s text-to-speech tool, I’m more inclined to use this AI Speak. In fact, I’ve used it a bunch of times in the past two weeks to get updates on current news while making tea in the morning.

Last but not least is the Recording Summary feature which helps note down all the important points in a recording. This is OPPO’s new GenAI feature based on Google’s Gemini Ultra, and currently supports speech-to-text conversion in Mandarin, English, and Hindi, with more languages to come soon. 

It’s a nifty tool, especially for meetings, but I wouldn’t rely on it 100% to get all the details. One improvement I’d like to see is the in-app option to translate the summarised audio transcription without having to use Google Lens. 

Verdict

In terms of performance, you’ve got a new custom MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Energy chipset and an upgraded 5,000mAh battery. Together, they provide a pretty smooth experience and good lasting power all day, so my power bank could stay home.

Using the phone outdoors wasn’t an issue either with its 1,200 nits peak brightness. This came particularly handy when taking cityscape photos around KL.

Camera-wise, the telephoto and selfie lenses were both upgraded from 32MP to now 50MP.

I also really like that OPPO has an AI Toolbox (with added support from Google Gemini) that sits in the sidebar. This makes it so much more convenient to access them. Based on what you’re doing on the phone, it can recommend AI features accordingly. 

So all things considered, the Reno12 Pro seems to be a good mid-range daily driver, improving the user experience with practical AI features.

It comes with 12GB RAM and 512GB storage and is available in Malaysia at a starting price of RM2,599. 

• Learn more about the OPPO Reno12 Pro here.
• Read more VP Verdicts here.

VP Verdict is a series where we personally try and test out products, services, fads, and apps. Want to suggest something else for us to try? Leave a comment here or send the suggestion to our Facebook page.