Design: Slim and Light The first thing I noticed when I picked up the Reno 13 Pro is how light and slim it feels. It’s the kind of phone that won’t weigh your pocket down or make your wrist hurt during long scrolling sessions. The grip is comfortable and one-handed use is surprisingly easy, especially for a phone with a big screen. But here’s the thing—while it feels nice to hold, the design just doesn’t excite me. It’s very minimal and clean, but also kind of boring. It looks like so many other mid-range phones out there. Oppo has played it very safe here. I do like the shadow effect on the back though—it catches the light in a subtle way and adds a bit of personality, especially if you go for the Mist Lavender colour. Still, I couldn’t help but wish Oppo had been a bit more bold with the design this time.
2/9
Display: Bright and Colourful, Gets the Job Done The screen on this phone is actually quite lovely. It’s a large 6.8-inch AMOLED panel, and it’s super bright and colourful. Watching Netflix, scrolling through Instagram, or even reading long articles feels good on the eyes. The refresh rate is fast enough to keep animations smooth, and even under direct sunlight, the screen stays readable. That said, if you’ve used flagship phones with higher resolution displays, you might notice that this one isn’t quite as razor-sharp. But honestly, for most people and for daily use, this display is more than good enough.
3/9
Cameras: Good for Everyday Shots, Telephoto is a Nice Surprise Now let’s talk about the cameras because that’s usually one of Oppo’s biggest selling points. The Reno 13 Pro comes with three cameras at the back—a main 50MP camera, a 50MP telephoto lens, and an 8MP ultra-wide camera. In daylight, the main camera clicks really nice photos. Colours look natural, details are sharp, and photos don’t come out overly processed or fake-looking. Low light shots are decent too, especially if you switch on Night mode, though if you zoom in, you’ll notice the images get a bit soft. The real surprise here is the telephoto lens. Most phones at this price don’t give you a proper zoom lens, but this one does. I was able to take 2x and even 3x zoom shots without them turning into a blurry mess. The ultra-wide camera is okay, but nothing to write home about—the edges of the frame tend to lose detail. Selfies from the front 50MP camera come out detailed and crisp. It even manages to focus properly, which is great if you want sharp solo selfies or clear group shots. One thing I noticed though—the front camera struggles a bit when there’s bright sunlight behind you. For video lovers, there’s 4K recording available from both front and rear cameras, which is rare at this price. Stabilisation works well enough for casual handheld shooting too.
4/9
Performance: Smooth Enough, But Not a Gaming Beast Using the Reno 13 Pro for daily stuff like WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, and even switching between apps feels smooth and fast. The phone handles multitasking without slowing down, and apps load quickly. But when I pushed it with heavier games like Call of Duty Mobile and Genshin Impact, I did notice it heating up a bit and dropping frames here and there. It’s not terrible, and casual gamers will be fine, but this isn’t the phone you buy if you want top-end gaming performance. For everyday users though, performance won’t be an issue.
Software: Smooth, But Bloatware is Annoying The Reno 13 Pro runs on ColorOS 15, and I have to say, it looks good. The animations are fluid, there are lots of customisation options, and day-to-day usage feels smooth. But here’s the part that annoyed me. For a phone that costs almost ₹50,000, there’s just too much pre-installed junk. Apps like Moj, Josh, ShareChat, and Dailyhunt are sitting there the first time you turn on the phone. Most of these you can uninstall, but I really wish Oppo would stop stuffing bloatware into their premium phones. It takes away from the whole ‘clean and premium’ experience.
6/9
Battery: Long-Lasting and Fast to Charge Battery life is a big plus here. Even with heavy use—lots of videos, photos, and social media scrolling—the Reno 13 Pro comfortably lasted me a full day with some juice left for the next morning. The 5800mAh battery is impressive for how slim the phone is. And when you do need to charge, the 67W SuperVOOC charger fills it up really fast. I got from zero to around 50% in about 30 minutes, and a full charge took less than an hour There’s no wireless charging, but given the fast wired charging and price point, I didn’t miss it.
7/9
Audio: Loud Enough The stereo speakers on the Reno 13 Pro are decent. They’re loud enough for YouTube, Netflix, or quick calls on speakerphone, but don’t expect deep bass or cinematic sound. There’s no headphone jack, so you’ll have to use the Type-C port or go wireless. If you use good Bluetooth earphones, you’ll be fine. It supports popular high-quality audio formats, so that’s nice if you’re a music lover.
8/9
Fingerprint and Face Unlock: Fast and Reliable The in-display fingerprint scanner is quick and works almost every time on the first try. Face unlock is equally fast and didn’t struggle even in low light. Little things like these make the overall experience smooth, and Oppo gets this part right. There are also a bunch of extra sensors packed in for better screen brightness adjustment and motion detection.
Verdict: Should you buy it? So here’s the big question—is the Oppo Reno 13 Pro worth Rs 49,999? If you’re looking for a phone that’s slim, easy to hold, takes great daylight photos, gives you good battery life, and handles daily tasks without drama, then yes—it delivers on those fronts. But if you want something with standout looks, a truly powerful gaming experience, or a clean software experience without bloat, you might feel a little underwhelmed. The design feels too safe, the ultra-wide camera is average, and the bloatware is plain annoying at this price. Still, if your priority is a reliable everyday phone with good cameras (especially for selfies and zoom shots), fast charging, and a big battery packed into a slim body, the Reno 13 Pro does its job well. It’s not exciting, but it’s dependable—and sometimes, that’s exactly what you need.
Ankita Chakravarti is a seasoned journalist with nearly a decade of experience in media. She specializes in technology and lifestyle journalism. She has worked with top Indian media houses like India Today, Zee News, The Statesman, and Millennium Post. Her expertise spans tech trends, phone launches, gadget reviews, and entertainment news. Ankita holds a Master's in Journalism and Mass Communication along with a degree in English Literature. She can be reached out at ankita.chakravarti@nw18.com
