The Oppo Reno Series is increasingly becoming a popular choice for Kenyans, with the series packaging one of the best-performing cameras in its class. Next up is the Oppo Reno 8 Series, which the Chinese company has confirmed will be first released on the 23rd of May in the Chinese market.
However, do not be alarmed as this is standard procedure for most Chinese OEMs, and we are bound to see the devices come to our Kenyan shores in the coming few months.
The Oppo Reno 8 Series will logically replace the Reno 7 Series. However, OnePlus, Oppo’s sister company, did not release the OnePlus 10, only debuting the OnePlus 10 Pro; and there are rumours flying around that the Oppo Reno 8 will more or less look to fill the gap left by the unreleased OnePlus 10.
Adding fuel to these rumours are the leaked images for the Oppo Reno 8 which have striking similarities to the OnePlus 10 Pro, especially in terms of the camera locations and arrangements, both for the rear and front-facing one.
Pricing for the Oppo Reno 8
At the moment, there is still no official word from Oppo regarding the Reno 8 pricing. For comparison purposes, the Reno 7 (8GB/128 GB) started at around Kshs 37,000 while the OnePlus 9 (8GB/128GB) started at around Kshs 73,000.
If the Reno 8 is planned to take the OnePlus 10’s standing in the market, then we are likely to see a starting price around the Kshs 50,000 mark. However, should Oppo stick to the Reno 8 being Reno 7’s successor, then a price around the Kshs 35,000 to Kshs 40,000 mark makes the most sense.
Multiple offerings for the Reno 8
There are currently 3 rumoured models for the Reno 8 Series: the Reno 8, Reno 8 Pro and Reno 8 SE. Furthermore, there is talk of a Reno 8 Lite, which is expected to be limited to some markets.
The Reno 8 Lite will reportedly feature a lot of similarities to the Reno 7 Lite 5G, including the design, and will more likely be released in the European market where the Reno 7 Lite 5G is not currently being sold.
The Reno 8 is expected to be the first device that ships with Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon SoC, the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1.
What is interesting is that the Reno 8 Pro will not be powered by the same chip. Instead, the MediaTek Dimensity 8100 chipset is expected to be used here. It will certainly be interesting to see how the two devices match up against each other.
The Reno 8 SE, on the other hand, is tipped to be shipped with the MediaTek Dimensity 1300 SoC, as well as having 6GB and 8GB RAM options.
Where the three models have something in common is their battery capacity and charging speeds. The rumours point to a 4,500mAh battery for the three devices and 80W fast-charging support.
With the three devices spotting significant differences in terms of their processing power, the price differences among them are also likely to be substantial. Most likely starting at around the Kshs 35,000 mark for the Reno 8 Lite rising all the way to around Kshs 80,000 for the Reno 8 Pro.
This kind of pricing across the 4 devices should ensure OPPO has a device in each segment of the middle range market.
