Oppo Reno 14 Review: A Feature-Packed Flagship Killer That Undercuts the iPhone 16

This is the brand-new Oppo Reno 14, a smartphone that’s being marketed as a mid-range contender, but honestly, it punches well above its weight. While it costs significantly less than the iPhone 16, it brings along a surprising number of features—enough to make any smartphone shopper pause and consider.

Now, to be clear, I’m not saying the Reno 14 is a direct competitor to the iPhone 16 in every way. They’re different devices meant for different audiences. But the iPhone is a familiar benchmark, so using it for context helps highlight what Oppo’s offering for a much lower price. And after using this device, I’d say Oppo is giving buyers a lot of reasons to save some money and still walk away happy.

Camera Capabilities: Breaking Down the Hardware

Let’s talk about what matters most to most users—the camera.

The iPhone 16 features a 40MP wide lens and a 12MP ultrawide. Not bad at all. But Oppo is stepping up with a 50MP wide lens, an 8MP ultrawide, and here’s the kicker—a 50MP telephoto lens with 3.5x optical zoom. That’s huge at this price point.

Both phones take great shots in daylight, but with different styles. The Reno 14’s photos tend to be more contrast-heavy and dramatic, while the iPhone goes for brighter images that lift shadows for more visible detail in darker areas. It really comes down to personal taste—some may love the drama of the Reno, others might prefer the iPhone’s more neutral palette.

In ultrawide shots, the iPhone takes the lead with a slightly wider 0.5x focal length compared to Reno’s 0.6x. Not a game-changer, but worth mentioning if wide-angle photography is important to you.

Zooming in on Performance

Where the Reno 14 truly shines is in zoom photography. The iPhone 16 doesn’t have a dedicated telephoto lens—it’s limited to a cropped 2x zoom from the main sensor. The Reno 14, meanwhile, gives you a true 2x optical zoom, then kicks things up with 3.5x optical zoom via the telephoto lens, and continues to an insane 120x digital zoom.

Of course, at 120x, the AI is doing most of the work to keep images stable and usable—but it still looks cleaner than the iPhone at 10x, which is its max. Even side-by-side at 10x, Reno’s images are sharper and more detailed.

Night Photography: Which Sees the Dark Better?

Low-light performance is where the real differences show up.

The iPhone 16 does a great job of reproducing warm tones, like tungsten lighting, with realistic warmth and color accuracy. The Reno 14 tends to brighten scenes, sometimes giving them a slightly cooler, bluish look. Again, it’s a matter of preference—but in some shots, the Reno’s telephoto lens helped get cleaner images in dark conditions.

There were moments where Oppo’s AI processing worked wonders, like capturing purple flowers with great detail. But in some scenes, like photographing bushes, the AI made them appear too dark, even when the iPhone captured the full texture—albeit with more noise.

4K Video and Selfie Camera Quality

Both phones handle 4K video at 30fps really well in daylight. The iPhone might come off as slightly more vibrant, but honestly, video quality is solid on both.

Now, the front-facing camera is a different story. The iPhone has a 12MP selfie shooter, while the Reno 14 packs a whopping 50MP front camera.

While the iPhone applies bright HDR effects—sometimes to the point of overexposure—the Reno captures more realistic skin tones and contrast. Your face won’t be blown out, and the details feel more natural.

Camera Features in Real Use

While recording video side by side, you can really tell how flexible the Reno 14 is. With its different zoom levels, you can switch between focal lengths seamlessly, something the iPhone can’t really match on its front camera.

The Reno also has a powerful set of AI-based editing features. You can reframe photos, change aspect ratios, enhance clarity, sharpen blurry images, and even remove window reflections—a feature that’s surprisingly handy when shooting through glass.

Design and Build: Unique and Premium

Holding both phones side by side, they feel similarly premium. Both use frosted glass, with the iPhone sporting Ceramic Shield and Oppo using its Crystal Shield. In the hand, the iPhone is a little softer around the edges, but the Reno stands out with its iridescent mermaid-like back that shifts colors under the light—purple, orange, blue. It’s really unique and eye-catching.

The iPhone has a dedicated camera control button, which can be re-mapped (I personally use it to launch the Blackmagic video app). It’s a nice extra, but not a game-changer.

On the Reno, you can long press the power button to launch Gemini, Google’s AI assistant—which, to be honest, leaves Siri in the dust. Gemini can summarize comparisons, give you pros and cons, and answer complex queries that Siri still fumbles.

Display and Refresh Rate

The Reno 14 features a 6.59-inch OLED display, while the iPhone 16 has a 6.1-inch OLED panel. Both have excellent resolution and clarity, with pixel densities being nearly identical.

The iPhone does get brighter—up to 2000 nits—versus 1200 nits on the Reno, but 1200 is still more than enough for outdoor use.

What matters more to me is refresh rate. The iPhone 16 is still stuck at 60Hz, while the Reno 14 offers a smooth 120Hz experience. If you’ve used a high refresh display, you know how hard it is to go back to 60Hz—it just feels laggy.

Performance and Thermals

The iPhone 16’s A18 chip is technically faster, and Apple silicon is always impressive. But the MediaTek Dimensity 8350 in the Reno 14 performs well in daily use.

I ran Diablo Immortal on the Reno, and it held a consistent 30 fps, with temperatures hovering around 33–36°C. The iPhone, meanwhile, ran slightly hotter. For emails, multitasking, social media, and light gaming—the Reno is more than fast enough.

Battery Life and Charging

Here’s where the Reno 14 crushes the competition.

• Reno 14: 6,000mAh battery

• iPhone 16: 3,561mAh battery

With the iPhone, you might make it through a day. With the Reno 14, you’ll make it through a full day, full night, and still have juice the next morning. Plus, 80W fast charging means you can recharge incredibly fast.

The iPhone, by comparison, only supports 30W wired charging, which feels slow these days.

The Reno 14 doesn’t have wireless charging, but the Reno 14 Pro does, and it even supports 50W wireless charging using Oppo’s AirVOOC tech.

Software: Android vs iOS

As always, software comes down to personal preference. The Reno 14 runs Android 15 with ColorOS, offering customization options like themes, transparency in notifications, and more. You can truly make the UI your own.

iOS on the iPhone is polished but very standardized. You get what you get—clean, functional, but not customizable.

Final Thoughts: Should You Buy the Reno 14?

Look, both the iPhone 16 and Reno 14 are excellent devices, but the value proposition of the Reno 14 is hard to ignore.

You get:

• A versatile triple camera setup with real telephoto

• A huge battery with ultrafast charging

• A beautiful 120Hz OLED display

• AI-powered photo editing tools

• A unique and eye-catching design

• Android 15 with full customization

• Gemini AI integration

And the best part? It’s all available at a significantly lower price than the iPhone 16.

If you want to save money without sacrificing camera quality, display smoothness, or battery life—the Oppo Reno 14 is a phenomenal choice. And if you want even more features like wireless charging or a better ultrawide camera, there’s the Reno 14 Pro.

Which one would you pick—Reno 14 or iPhone 16? Let us know in the comments!