The term “Pro” has seemingly become a ubiquitous label, slapped onto everything from earbuds and smartphones to chipsets and laptops, and many others. This oversaturation of the term has undeniably raised our expectations for these so-called Pro devices.
Today, we’re putting two “Pro” smartphones to the test: the OPPO Reno12 Pro 5G up against the POCO F6 Pro. These models have a stark contrast in terms of specs, especially pricing, but which one truly earns the “Pro” moniker?
Let’s find out in this comparison review.
Table of Contents
Taking a good look at these phones, both are going for distinctive design choices. The Reno12 Pro units that we have is in the Nebula Silver and Space Brown colorways that reflect soft ripples as the light hits it.
The back panel, which is made of glass, curves out gently to the sides complemented by a flat metal frame. Its camera island almost looked like Samsung’s design except it has a rectangular enclosure that features fluted bezels.
For added protection, the Reno12 Pro gets a stronger IP65 rating for dust and water resistance. Oppo even touts the device as ‘built to last’ as it comes with so-called “All-Round Armor”. This includes pressure resistance, anti-aging properties, and splash-proofing.
I could only test its splash proofing, and yes, the phone’s screen is still usable even when wet. Aside from that, expect the phone to be much more protected against everyday wear and tear.
On the other hand, the POCO F6 Pro sports a matte finish glass back. The phone’s design mimics a Calacatta marble-like pattern which I’m not really a fan of. Its back panel also curves out to its aluminum frame offering a comfortable grip.
The camera bump covers quite a big chunk of the phone’s back panel. It houses four camera rings but don’t be fooled, the fourth one is only an LED flash. Furthermore, the Black colorway even has these golden accented rings, which honestly looks to me like a desperate attempt at achieving a premium look.
This would probably be a hot take, but I actually prefer the camera design of last year’s POCO F5 Pro than the F6 Pro. On the bright side, we now get a matte finish back panel rather than a glossy one, so there’s that.
Unlike the Reno12 Pro, however, the POCO F6 Pro gets a weaker IP54 rating for dust and splash resistance.
OPPO Reno12 Pro 5G in Nebula Silver
In terms of design, I will go for the Reno12 Pro because it’s much more visually appealing to the eyes. Not to mention, it has a stronger ingress protection.
The White variant of the POCO F6 Pro is at least better looking than the Black one, but the phone’s overall design is merely acceptable. With that, the Reno12 Pro takes this round.
In the display segment, the POCO F6 Pro brings better specs: a 6.67-inch Wide QHD+ AMOLED display that translates to 3200 by 1440 resolution and a pixel density of 526 pixels per inch (ppi). Its peak brightness reaches an impressive 4000 nits for HDR and 1200 nits in high brightness mode (HBM).
Reno12 Pro (left) and F6 Pro (right)
The Reno12 Pro sports a tad bit larger 6.7-inch quad curved AMOLED display but is left with a Full HD+ resolution or 2412 by 1080 pixels and with 394 ppi only. While it can reach a peak brightness of 1200 nits, it doesn’t go as high as the F6 Pro.
Both phones deliver smooth visuals with a 120Hz refresh rate and feature Corning Gorilla Glass protection. Although, the Reno12 Pro benefits from the newer Victus 2 while the F6 Pro has Gorilla Glass 5.
Another key difference is the Reno12 Pro uses a quad curved panel as compared to the POCO F6 Pro’s flat screen — which is generally better in my book. What’s interesting though is that the Reno12 Pro’s display curvature is less pronounced so there’s less room for unwanted glares here.
Despite the major differences, viewing experience should be more than acceptable on both phones having support for dual stereo speakers. However, the POCO F6 Pro stands out by offering support for both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, bringing a more immersive audio-visual experience.
Therefore, the POCO F6 Pro earns the point this round.
Performance might be the biggest letdown for one of these two smartphones and guess what? It’s on the more expensive OPPO Reno12 Pro. Powering this phone is only a mid-range chip, the MediaTek Dimensity 7300-Energy, built on a 4-nanometer process node and can reach maximum clock speeds of up to 2.5GHz only.
In stark contrast, the POCO F6 Pro boasts a flagship-grade Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, another 4-nanometer chipset fabbed by Qualcomm but with a significantly higher clock speed at 3.19GHz.
As for configuration, the Reno12 Pro comes with a single variant offering 12GB of LPDDR4x RAM and 512GB of expandable UFS 3.1 storage. Meanwhile, the F6 Pro comes with up to 16GB of faster LPDDR5x RAM and up to 1-terabyte of UFS 4.0 internal storage. Sadly, no microSD expansion here.
Of course, we’re not basing off of chipset tiering and the spec sheet alone. Let’s pull up some numbers, shall we? Our benchmark results, as you would expect, reveal a massive gap in performance.
| Benchmark | OPPO Reno12 Pro | POCO F6 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Chipset | MediaTek Dimensity 7300-Energy | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 |
| AnTuTu V10 | 705,414 | 1,551,302 |
| 3DMark Wild Life | 3,137 | N/A |
| Geekbench 6 Single-Core | 735 | 1,151 |
| Geekbench 6 CPU Multi-Core | 2,005 | 4,288 |
| Geekbench 6 GPU OpenCL | 2,381 | 7,558 |
| Geekbench 6 GPU Vulkan | N/A | 8,355 |
| PC Mark Work 3.0 performance | N/A | 17,422 |
In AnTuTu, the POCO F6 Pro was able to pump out twice as much score at over 1.5 million points as compared to the Reno12 Pro’s 700K points. The same goes for other tests as well, particularly in Geekbench 6, showing more favorable scores for the POCO F6 Pro.
While these numbers are expected from a flagship chipset, they are certainly surprising given the POCO F6 Pro’s lower cost. In real word use cases, expect the F6 Pro to be miles ahead in day-to-day tasks, especially gaming.
We previously tested both of them by playing some games, including Genshin Impact. No doubt, the F6 Pro handled it with ease providing consistent frame rates at even high graphics. Whereas the Reno12 Pro stumbled at high graphics that we had to tone down the graphic settings just to get more stable frame rates.
For lighter tasks, the Reno12 Pro will do just fine. However, when it comes to heavy lifting, the POCO F6 Pro is your best bet.
Moving on to cameras, this is where the POCO F6 Pro takes a heavy blow from the Reno12 Pro. On paper, the latter boasts a better camera system that consists of a 50-megapixel main shooter, an 8-megapixel ultrawide, and another 50-megapixel telephoto lens.
In comparison, the POCO F6 Pro has a triple rear camera setup consisting of a 50-megapixel main sensor, an 8-megapixel ultrawide lens, and a less impressive 2-megapixel macro lens.
Putting the spec sheet aside, you can still capture some nice images out of the two phones. Clarity is sharp and color reproduction is vivid especially on the Reno12 Pro, all the while maintaining a natural look.
Selfies are also better on the Reno12 Pro, thanks to its 50-megapixel front camera with autofocus feature. The selfie shooter on the POCO F6 Pro isn’t on par either with only a 16-megapixel sensor and no autofocus support.
As for videos, both phones support optical image stabilization. However, only the POCO F6 Pro supports video capture of up to 8K at 30 frames per second (fps). The Reno12 Pro is capped at 4K at 30 fps.
To have a better idea on how these phones do photography, check out our sample shots as seen in their written reviews below:
Offering a more flexible camera setup, the Reno12 Pro evens out the match.
Battery-wise, both phones pack the usual 5000mAh unit. Having the same battery capacity, we could expect that they will have more or less the same battery life. But for some reason, they do not.
In our PCMark Work 3.0 battery life test, the Reno12 Pro managed to outlast the competition crossing 18 hours and 35 minutes — a pretty solid result. Meanwhile, the POCO F6 Pro only lasted 10 hours and 50 minutes.
This could be due to a couple of reasons. Like we discussed earlier, the F6 Pro has a higher resolution AMOLED display. The test involves the screen being turned on for the duration, so it may have been a factor to the phone’s shorter battery life.
Another potential reason that I could think of is software optimization. The battery life result may as well suggest that the Reno12 Pro has a more optimized software, leading to less power consumption. Or maybe this is just the Qualcomm-MediaTek diff.
To compromise, the F6 Pro has a faster 120W charging rate, minimizing downtime. The Reno12 Pro is left with an 80W charging rate.
In this area, it just makes sense to give it a tie.
On the software side, both phones run on Android 14 out of the box. The Reno12 Pro has ColorOS 14.1 overlay, and the F6 Pro is skinned with Xiaomi HyperOS.
Both software are good in their own rights, although I feel like there are some things that ColorOS does better than HyperOS. For example, Xiaomi has yet to figure out how to implement their version of the dynamic island. The Reno12 Pro and other Oppo phones already have a similar feature where some app operations can be minimized to the status bar as a pill.
That’s not an exact copy of Apple’s dynamic island but it’s surely an inspired one that Xiaomi needs to consider giving a shot.
As for update policy, I’m happy to report that both the Reno12 Pro and the POCO F6 Pro get up to three major OS upgrades and four years of security patches.
Connectivity-wise, both phones cover the essentials including 5G, NFC, but only the F6 Pro gets the latest Wi-Fi 7 technology. The Reno12 Pro gets Wi-Fi 6 support.
For biometrics, both have an under-display fingerprint sensor alongside face unlock. An advantage of the Reno12 Pro is having a microSD card slot for storage expansion which is always a plus in my book.
So, in this segment, I think the Reno12 Pro deserves credit for its more feature-packed operating system and the rare storage expansion feature.
Now we go back to the question, “Which one is the better pick?”
Both devices undeniably went head-to-head in this comparison with each one making a comeback in different key areas. However, processing power being one of the most crucial factors in choosing a smartphone, the POCO F6 Pro deserves the big win.
With a relatively lower price tag, starting at only PHP 26,999USD 460INR 39,003EUR 438CNY 3,351, the POCO F6 Pro delivers top-notch, flagship grade performance, and a stunning viewing experience. It falls a bit short in camera performance and some software quirks, but greater performance overshadows these drawbacks.
The OPPO Reno12 Pro, while it provides better camera prowess and better software experience, its price tag might be holding it back from being a compelling option, coming in at a hefty PHP 34,999USD 596INR 50,560EUR 568CNY 4,343.
Ultimately, the choice is yours. So, are you Team OPPO or Team POCO for this comparison and why? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Product links
• OPPO Reno12 Pro 5G | Lazada, Shopee
• POCO F6 Pro | Lazada, Shopee
| OPPO Reno12 Pro | POCO F6 Pro |
|---|---|
| PHP 34,999 | 12+512GB | PHP 26,999 | 12+256GB PHP 28,999 | 12+512GB PHP 32,999 | 16+1TB |
| 6.7-inch FHD+ 3D Flexible AMOLED (quad-curved) | 6.67-inch WQHD+ Flow AMOLED |
| 2412 x 1080 pixels, 120Hz, 394 ppi | 3200 x 1440 pixels, 120Hz, 526 ppi |
| 1200 nits (peak) brightness | 1200 nits (HBM), 4000 nits (peak) brightness |
| Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 |
| MediaTek Dimensity 7300-Energy | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 |
| 4nm, octa-core, up to 2.5GHz | 4nm, octa-core, up to 3.19GHz |
| 12GB LPDDR4x RAM | 8GB, 12GB, 16GB LPDDR5x RAM |
| 256GB, 512GB UFS 3.1 storage | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB UFS 4.0 storage |
| Expandable via microSD | |
| Triple rear cameras: | Triple rear cameras: |
| - 50MP f/1.8 main, AF, OIS | - 50MP F/1.6 main, OIS |
| - 8MP f/2.2 ultrawide, 112-degree FoV | - 8MP f/2.2 ultrawide 119° FoV |
| - 50MP f/2.0 telephoto, AF | - 2MP f/2.4 macro |
| 50MP f/2.0 selfie shooter, AF (hole punch notch) | 16MP selfie shooter (hole punch notch) |
| Dual nano-SIM | Dual nano-SIM |
| 5G, 4G LTE | 5G, 4G LTE |
| Wi-Fi 6, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax | Wi-Fi 7 |
| Bluetooth 5.4 | Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Beidou, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, A-GNSS | GPS, Beidou, Galileo, GLONASS, QZSS, NavIC, AGNSS |
| USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| NFC | NFC |
| Under-display fingerprint sensor (optical), face unlock | Under-display fingerprint sensor, face unlock |
| IP65 dust and water resistance | IP54 dust and splash resistance |
| Dual stereo speakers, Infrared remote control | Dual stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos/ Vision, IR blaster |
| ColorOS 14.1 (Android 14) | Xiaomi HyperOS (Android 14) |
| 5000mAh battery | 5000mAh battery |
| 80W charging (wired), SuperVOOC | 120W charging (wired) |
| 161.5 x 74.8 x 7.40mm | 7.45mm (Nebula Silver) | 160.86 x 74.95 x 8.21 mm |
| ~180g | ~181g (Nebula Silver) | 209g |
| Space Brown, Nebula Silver | White, Black |
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facundo says:
Grabe overpricing ng oppo as usual. Buti may bumibili pa ng products nila tsk tsk.