This is the Oppo Reno 12FS. A new affordable phone in late 2024. Now, when it comes to buying a phone that costs less than £300. You might automatically be worried about how it looks and feels, you might be wondering what the durability is like and will the features, the software, camera, and battery specs all be watered down to match the price.

Well, this phone…this phone…the Oppo Reno 12FS might surprise you. So, let's run through all the things I just mentioned & at the end of this video. You can let me know if you're impressed or not.

First Impressions & Design

The first impression of the design, coming from someone who has tested so many phones over the years, is that it is good. The size is just right, it’s not too thick or chunky & not so light that it feels cheap. 

The frame and the back panel are made from plastic but could easily be mistaken for glass and metal. You'd only really notice the difference if you scratch the surface. The edges are flat & the corners are rounded, just like an iPhone.

The button placement is identical to the Samsung layout, with the power button and volume rocker on the right and left sides completely blank. 

Surprisingly, the Reno does have stereo speakers, with one speaker at the top of the screen and the second along the bottom. And they sound good especially for such an affordable phone. 

In regards to durability The Reno 12FS does have an official IP64 water and dust resistance rating, and this phone has a unique design inside. It's what Oppo calls its all-around armour… So, this phone has literally been designed to absorb impacts. As it has a kind of cushioned framework inside.

And here is something that was undoubtedly a pleasant surprise. It has a dual SIM tray and it’s a hybrid SIM tray. This means you can expand your memory with an SD card. Most flagships don't offer this anymore. That's a win for the Reno 12FS. And it does have a few more tricks up its sleeve that might impress you. More on that in a minute.

There are a few colour options, including a racing green and this Amber orange. Which has this nice wavey pattern and colour gradient on the back. It definitely doesn't look cheap. The camera array has been modelled on Oppo's flagship phones, which they call the Cosmos Ring design. 

Something that caught me off guard when I first saw this is that this cosmos ring has a built-in notification light around it. The colours and when they show can be customised in the software.

Display

The Reno 12FS uses an Optical in-display fingerprint scanner, which is nice and fast. And the display itself is much better than I was expecting. It's a 6.67" 120Hz OLED, which can decrease speed down to 60Hz to save power. It has an FHD+ resolution, 394PPi, and a local peak brightness of up to 2100nits. The colour range is 100% of the DCI P3 colour gamut. If you're unfamiliar with phone specs, just know that all of these specs on a budget phone display are impressive.

But it is worth noting that the screen-to-body ratio isn't flagship level & this is quite normal for affordable phones. The Reno 12FS has a 92.2% screen-to-body ratio. So the bezels around the display are slightly wider, and the lower edge is noticeably larger… again this is pretty standard at this price point.

Camera

But what about the cameras? Since Oppo had equipped the 12FS with such a nice display, they must have cut costs somewhere…and they have. But maybe not on the main camera & the Selfie camera that you'd likely use the most.

The Reno 12FS has a triple-camera setup. The primary camera is 50Mp f1.8. And for comparison, you're seeing camera samples side by side with an android phone that's 4 times the price.

The Ultra Wide is 8MP F.2.2, and it's not bad for the money. The third camera is a 2MP Macro F.2.4, and it's ok. The Selfy camera uses a 32MP sensor, and it's pretty good. 

So, it's clear that Oppo's focus here is on the primary camera. And if you're not that bothered about ultra-wide and really close-up shots. Then, you'll be happy with the camera quality of that 50MP shooter, and 32MP camera on the front..

Performance & Software

Now, the Software… the Oppo Reno 12FS is running on Android 14. So, the user interface will be familiar to anyone who has used Samsung or any Android device.  And you get 4 years of updates here.

It does use Oppo's ColorOS 14.0.1. Skin over android which brings a lot of customisation tweaks to the table in regards to styles, icons, and animations, as well as some great multi tasking tools for power users. As mentioned, you can fully customise the ambient light ring on the back. Which is one of my favourite design features here.

It also has some fun AI tricks, like an AI eraser for removing photo bombers and any distractions in a photograph. And, of course, you can set up Gemini as your default assistant.

The processor is a mid-tier chip from MediaTek. It's the Dimensity 6300, with 12GB of DDR4X RAM to back it up. The Storage is 512GB, which is an insane amount.

Overall, the performance here for daily tasks is perfect. Realistically, you'd only manage to get this phone to stutter and stumble when pushing it to its limits with some very graphically demanding gaming. But, with that said, you can enjoy gaming on the Reno 12FS with lower graphics settings.

Battery Life & Charging

The battery life here is awesome. You get a 5000mAh cell, which is flagship level, and charging speeds of up to 45 watts, which can also be considered flagship level compared to the iPhone or Samsung Galaxy. Zero to 100 on the Reno 12FS battery is around 70 mins.

Things To Consider

So, if you compare this to a phone, it costs two, three, or four times the price. Here are the things you need to consider. The FHD+ OLED display is fast and bright and will be enough for most people. However, it is an 8-bit panel. Most flagships will have 10-bit colours. The refresh rates are flagship speeds, but the display isn't LTPO, so it can slow down to save power. But the fact that it's FHD+ & that the 12FS has a large battery makes up for this.

While the exterior build quality is mainly plastic, it still looks and feels premium & has some significant advantages regarding shock absorption with its reinforced structure inside. However, you don't get Qi wireless charging here. But the 45 Watts charging speeds via the via make up for this.

The main cameras, front and back, are perfect spec, but if ultra wides, close-up macro or long-range photography is important to you. That's something that you'd need to pay more for.

While you don’t get the latest and greatest versions of the RAM & Rom, You do get a massive amount of both & so much storage as standard, so much so that you’ll probably never run out & if you do there’s always the option to expand…which is amazing.

So with all things considered. If you need an affordable phone that's a good all-rounder, the 12FS is built to last, the software is up to date and will be for up to 50months, you got some great Ai features and still more to come, the processing power is enough for the average consumer & the mains cameras from and back are not bad at all. So let me be impressed with the Reno 12FS, with its launch day price of 299?