Overview
The Realme 8 was released on March 25, 2021, and surprisingly
it got a nice display for such a cheap phone. Another participant in the smartphone market. Although Realme 8 looks so like
the Pro variant, it is built around a 6.4" FullHD+ AMOLED screen with a
punch hole in the upper-left corner for the 16MP selfie camera. The password-less
unlocking fingerprint reader below surprisingly performs much better than the 8
Pros. But like 8 Pro, its rear panel houses a quad-camera system in the
top-left corner. However, the Realme 8 primary camera comes with a 64MP sensor all
the while retaining the rest.
In its belly rest the Mediatek Helio G95 chipset like the
Realme 7. It runs on an Android 11-based Realme UI 2.0. The Realme 8 is heavier
by at least a gram than the 8 Pro but 0.1mm slimmer despite having a bigger 5000
mAh battery. Realme has achieved a good job keeping the Realme 8 profile sleek
and slim, a form factor that makes it easier to hold.
Furthermore, the Realme 8 supports WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5.1, FM
Radio, and SatNav systems. But apart from the lack of 5G, it also missing the
NFC capabilities. So just keep that in mind if you often use this feature.
The Design -
The Display –
With forceful colors and inky blacks that one expects to see
from an AMOLED display, Realme 8 done attractively good! The display is a 6.4-inch
Super AMOLED panel with FHD+ resolution, the same screen as the Pro. It comes
with a pixel density of around 411ppi and still doing well at 1000 nits, a
cakewalk of sort even under the sun.
Furthermore, with a 180Hz touch rate, the screen is exceptionally
responsive, perfect for a few fast-paced cutthroat gaming. It also comes with a
display setting that allows choosing between Cool, Default, and Warm look. In
addition, it comes with OSEI visual effect making everything generally pleasant
and lively. And not only that, farther at the top, is a punch-hole cutout on the
screen’s left corner housing the 16MP front shooter. Overall, the Realme 8 does
offers a superior display with excellent illumination levels and viewing
angles.
The Cameras -
Foremost, the Realme 8 is a very capable shooter in daylight!
Why? Because the Realme 8 has a host of camera features. It comes with Starry
Mode, Neon Portrait, Dynamic Bokeh, Dual-view Video, and a new Tilt-shift mode.
With a quad-camera that consist of a 64 MP F1.8 main lens, an 8MP F2.3 119°
ultra-wide, a 2MP F2.4 macro, and another 2MP F2.4 for depth sensing, shooting
is a thing of the past. At the same time, the 16MP F2.5 camera is the favorite
to handles selfies.
Though the Realme 8 Pro does boast a larger rear camera, it does
not mean that a 64MP camera is not just as good. It still did get a good amount
of detail devoid of too much noise. While it is being said that Realme 8 does
not come with a high refresh rate screen, it has otherwise enhanced the panel
to offer clearer color reproduction, improved contrast, and an overall brighter
screen. It comes with it the possibility of getting that natural look.
Turning on AI Color enhancement does help in a few
situations, but then again it sometimes tends to look a bit oversaturated, notably
when it comes to nature and plants. It is nice to see that portrait mode does
work like magic with good subject-background separation. Realme 8 is likewise
capable of up to 10x Digital Zoom, though it is a long way from picture-perfect
when zoomed to the max, at any rate, it still gets the job well done.
The night mode does a fairly good job at improving the
exposure and reducing noise in poorly lit conditions. But it still getting a mixed
set of results depending on how much light is available for the camera to use. Shooting
in a spot with practically no source of light, it would not be getting much of a
difference except maybe make things a bit sharper with some added contrast. But
in a place with a fair amount of lighting, it does get a significant
difference.
The Performance -
Instead of a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, the Realme 8 is getting
a MediaTek Helio G95 processor coupled with a Mali-G76 MC4 GPU. It is the same
chipset used in the Realme 7. For avid gamers, the graphics and frame rate
setting will be set to high by default. And though it runs as smooth as it
already is, both can still be bumped up to a remarkably high and even have the
frame rate maxed out. Although far-off from being able to handle the maximum
quality setting, it is by far very much playable. And more importantly, it does
not stutter and hangs.
For the software, the Realme 8 runs on Android 11 with
realme UI 2.0 skinned on top and out of 128GB of storage. So there seems to be
111GB of usable space left, which is still a good amount of storage. Thus, loading
with a lot of apps and games would not be a problem. And with up to 1TB of
storage, more things can be stored, like multimedia files.
The Full Realme 8 specifications:
NETWORK:
Technology: GSM / HSPA / LTE
2G bands: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 /
1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2
3G bands: HSDPA 850 / 900 / 2100
4G bands: 1, 3, 5, 8, 38, 40, 41
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BODY:
Dimensions: 160.6 x 73.9 x 8 mm (6.32 x 2.91 x
0.31 in)
Weight: 177 g (6.24 oz)
Build: Glass front, plastic
frame, plastic back
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DISPLAY:
Type: Super AMOLED, 1000 nits (peak)
Size: 6.4 inches, 98.9 cm2
(~83.3% screen-to-body ratio)
Resolution: 1080 x 2400 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~411
ppi density)
Always-on display
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PLATFORM:
Operating System: Android
11, Realme UI 2.0
Chipset: Mediatek Helio G95 (12
nm)
CPU: Octa-core (2x2.05 GHz
Cortex-A76 & 6x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55)
GPU: Mali-G76 MC4
__________________________________________________________________
SPEED: HSPA
42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A
__________________________________________________________________
MEMORY:
Card Slot: microSDXC (dedicated
slot)
Internal: 128GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 6GB
RAM, 128GB 8GB RAM UFS
2.1
SIM: Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual
stand-by)
__________________________________________________________________
MAIN CAMERA:
Quad: 64 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.73", 0.8µm, PDAF
8 MP, f/2.3, 119˚, 16mm
(ultrawide), 1/4.0", 1.12µm
2 MP, f/2.4, (macro)
2 MP, f/2.4, (depth)
Features: LED flash, HDR, panorama
Video: 4K@30fps,
1080p@30/60/120fps, gyro-EIS
__________________________________________________________________
SELFIE CAMERA:
Single: 16 MP, f/2.5, (wide),
1/3.0", 1.0µm
Features: HDR, panorama
Video: 1080p@30/120fps,
gyro-EIS
__________________________________________________________________
SOUND:
Loudspeaker: Yes
3.5mm Jack: Yes
24-bit/192kHz audio
__________________________________________________________________
COMMS:
WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11
a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
Bluetooth: 5.1, A2DP, LE
GPS: Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
NFC: Yes (market/region
dependent)
Radio: FM radio
USB: USB Type-C 2.0, USB
On-The-Go
___________________________________________________________________
SENSORS: Fingerprint (under the display,
optical), accelerometer, gyro,
proximity, compass
___________________________________________________________________
BATTERY:
Type: Li-Po 5000 mAh, non-removable
Charging: Fast charging 30W, 50%
in 26 min, 100% in 65 min (advertised)
___________________________________________________________________
MISCELLANEOUS:
Colors: Cyber Silver, Cyber
Black
Models: RMX3085
Price: $ 212.99
__________________________________________________________________
Conclusion
The realme 8, despite lacking the pro title, is still quite
a great mid-range phone.
However, it is still a solid smartphone compared to other
devices in this segment. You get a 120Hz AMOLED display, a better set of
cameras, a decent performance, and stereo speakers. And if gaming enjoyment is
also the main concern for you, this might even be a better choice than the 8 Pro.
The realme 8 is the more affordable but still highly
capable version of its 8 Pro counterparts.