- Great battery life
- Solid primary and telephoto lenses
- Performance isn't in line with the asking price
- Pre-loaded bloatware
The ongoing component crisis has made 2026 a pretty weird year for phones. With storage and memory costs skyrocketing, the price of phones has also gone up, upsetting market norms. OPPO’s Reno F devices used to be phones that cost you under $700. The Reno 15 F sold for $679 at the start of this year, and 2025’s Reno 13 F was a $599 phone. Meanwhile, the Reno 16 F retails for $999, which is a $320 increase in less than half a year.
The Reno 16 F has gotten some solid spec bumps to go with the higher asking price, including a better chipset and a dedicated telephoto lens, but it doesn’t quite feel like a $1,000 phone. Or at least what a $1,000 phone used to feel like. While OPPO can’t be blamed for generative AI companies ruining the supply chain for the rest of us, the Reno 16 F is competing for your hard-earned money against phones that have been less impacted by the component crisis, or ones that were released earlier. It’s a bit of a pickle.
My main issue with the Reno 16 F is performance. It’s too sluggish for a $1,000 phone. While the Reno 16 F never felt unusable, it isn’t exactly zippy. Apps take a moment longer than I’d like to open, and I experienced little hangs when jumping from task to task. I wouldn’t go as far as to call the Reno 16 F’s performance frustrating, but the gap between it and other phones in this price bracket is noticeable. It definitely isn’t the best pick for any demanding games, however. Diablo Immortal was laggy even on the lowest settings.
Similarly, the Reno 16 F comes with a few too many pre-installed apps for a phone in this price bracket. There are at least seven games pre-installed out of the box, including two versions of Candy Crush. It’s easy enough to delete these, but it isn’t something you should have to do on a phone with a premium price tag.
The Reno 16 F isn’t without its strengths, however. In my testing, I was able to get up to ten hours of screen time per charge. That’s enough for two full days of moderate usage. You also still get a wall charger in the box, which is a welcome surprise in 2026.
The Reno 16 F’s camera ain’t bad either. The primary lens takes nice shots in most conditions without fuss. The 3.5x zoom lens does similarly well for the most part, but low-light shots can require steady hands or a few attempts to avoid blur. The 8MP ultra-wide lens is the only disappointing part here; with such a low resolution, the images it takes lack detail. This becomes even more noticeable at night.
OPPO Reno 16 F camera samples
Check out these camera samples taken on the Reno 16 F. Click or tap on any photo to see a larger version.
While the Reno 16 F doesn’t support wireless charging, it has a few other bells and whistles worth calling out. It has an IP69 rating for dust and water resistance, meaning it can survive high-pressure jets, and eSIM support. In addition, OPPO told WhistleOut the Reno 16 F will get five major operating system upgrades and six years of security updates. That's in line with what OPPO promises for its flagship devices like the Find X9 Pro and Find N6. That’s not quite as good as the Google Pixel 10a, which gets seven years of both operating system and security updates, but is very solid for what’s ostensibly a mid-tier phone.
OPPO Reno 16 F - Final Thoughts
The Reno 16 F has fantastic battery life and a solid camera that’s let down by performance that doesn’t live up to the price tag. While not sluggish enough to be frustrating, the Reno 16 F needs just a little more oomph considering the competition.
Nothing’s Phone 4a Pro offers better bang for buck as far as performance goes, even if the battery and software support aren’t as good as what OPPO promises. Google’s Pixel 10a is also a snappy alternative, but you do miss out on a telephoto camera and the phone has a much smaller screen.
The Reno 16 F becomes a bit more compelling if you can find it cheaper. JB Hi-Fi already has it discounted to $799, and it’s definitely more compelling at that kind of price point.
Alex Choros
Related Articles
