The Realme 8: Stuck in the Middle of the Pack?
Realme has stormed the Indian smartphone market in recent years, expanding its portfolio rapidly with devices across various price points. However, this aggressive strategy has resulted in a confusingly crowded lineup, with numerous models offering very slight differences at similar price points. The Realme 8, released alongside the Realme 8 Pro, is a prime example of this, launching at a price point where it competes against existing Realme phones, like the Narzo 30 Pro, as well as strong competitors from other brands such as the Redmi Note 10 Pro. This begs the question: Is the Realme 8 a compelling choice, or is it merely lost in the shuffle of its own sibling rivalry? Let’s dive into the review and find out.
Design & Display: A Familiar Feel with a New Screen
The Realme 8’s design prioritizes a sleek and lightweight form factor, succeeding in its goal with a comfortable weight of just 177g. This lightweight build, thanks to an all-plastic body and a slim 7.99mm thickness, is a significant improvement over the bulkier Realme 7. Despite its slimness, the Realme 8 boasts a large 5,000mAh battery. Unfortunately, the plastic back is prone to scuff marks, which could have been prevented with a glass back.
While the design is familiar, the display marks a significant change. It features a vibrant 6.4-inch Super AMOLED panel with a full-HD+ resolution, marking the first time a non-Pro model in Realme’s number series has received this screen technology. This upgrade brings a fast in-display fingerprint sensor, but it sacrifices the 90Hz refresh rate offered in its predecessor, the Realme 7. While a screen protector is pre-applied, there’s no official mention of reinforced glass, though Realme assures that Dragontrail glass is used.
The Cyber Silver color I received features a bold, rainbow-like effect across the back panel and prominently displays the "Dare to Leap" slogan – a design aesthetic that may not appeal to all. The Cyber Black option, with its more subdued look, would likely be a better choice for those seeking a less flashy appearance. Fingerprints become a significant concern with the Cyber Silver finish, as they are easily noticeable.
Specifications & Software: Inside the Familiar
The Realme 8 maintains the MediaTek Helio G95 SoC from its predecessor, which has shown its capability for smooth gaming at this price level. Three RAM variants are available – 4GB, 6GB, and 8GB – all paired with the same 128GB of UFS 2.1 storage. For this review, I tested the top-end 8GB variant.
Beyond the processor, the specifications include dual-band Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5.1, and a full suite of sensors and satellite navigation support.
The Realme 8 (alongside the 8 Pro) is one of the first phones to feature Realme UI 2.0 out of the box. Built on Android 11, it retains a similar aesthetic to its predecessor, with subtle refinements in design and animation transitions. The interface introduces an upgraded icon customization menu and incorporates the enhanced security and privacy features of Android 11.
However, the updated UI still retains a considerable amount of bloatware, including numerous third-party and redundant apps pre-installed. Most of these apps are removable, but some, like the Browser, which notoriously spams users with unwanted notifications, remain stubbornly unremovable.
Performance & Battery: A Reliable Daily Driver
The AMOLED display instantly enhances imagery and videos, making the Realme 8 a solid choice for media consumption. The display delivers impressive contrast levels and brightness, sufficient for outdoor use. The in-display fingerprint sensor is notably quick in authentication, and face recognition provides reliable performance. The bottom speaker delivers a decent level of loudness, although stereo speakers would have been a welcome addition.
Performance-wise, the Realme 8 feels responsive. Although I missed the smooth scrolling experience of a 90Hz display, usability remains satisfactory. The Helio G95 SoC achieves respectable benchmark scores, scoring 2,89,587 points in AnTuTu. No heating issues were encountered, even after extended gaming sessions. Games run smoothly and look visually appealing on the display.
Battery life is exceptionally solid. The 5,000mAh battery effortlessly lasted a full day of heavy usage, and even longer with a lighter usage pattern. Our HD video loop test yielded an impressive 24 hours and 11 minutes of playback. The 30W fast charging allows for a full charge in approximately 65 minutes. Additionally, there’s support for USB Type-C Power Delivery (PD) fast charging, with a maximum speed of 15W.
Cameras: A Step Backwards?
On paper, the rear camera setup mirrors that of the Realme 7, with a 64-megapixel primary camera, 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera, 2-megapixel macro camera, and a 2-megapixel monochrome camera. Notably, the primary 64-megapixel sensor is now manufactured by Omnivision instead of Sony, which was used in the Realme 7. The front-facing camera comes equipped with a 16-megapixel selfie sensor. The camera app offers a range of shooting modes, consistent with previous Realme smartphones.
However, picture quality falls short of the performance displayed by the Realme 7. Landscape shots, while acceptable on the phone’s screen, reveal a lack of detail and texture upon closer inspection. The ultra-wide camera produces an even less detailed output, as expected, with noticeable barrel distortion at the edges. Although close-ups exhibit superior detail, they appear excessively processed when magnified. The AI scene enhancer tends to exaggerate colors, so those seeking a more natural look may want to disable this feature.
Low-light pictures generally exhibit a grainy appearance, unless Nightscape mode is utilized. This mode helps capture usable low-light shots even with the ultra-wide camera. In close-up situations, the autofocus struggles to lock onto subjects accurately in less-than-ideal lighting, requiring multiple attempts to achieve a successful shot.
The Realme 8 can record video at up to 4K 30fps, but lacks any form of stabilization. Video quality is considered average overall. Although stabilization is attempted at 1080p resolution, the results are far from ideal. Video capture is also possible with the ultra-wide camera, but quality suffers further with no stabilization available. Unsurprisingly, video quality in low-light situations is underwhelming unless the subject or scene is exceptionally well-lit.
Selfies taken during daylight conditions appear decent, while low-light selfies fall into the merely average category. The macro camera allows for extreme close-ups, but the resulting image quality is far from impressive. Portrait mode delivers acceptable performance, and users have access to a variety of filters for their creative explorations.
Although the cameras on the Realme 8 are functional in suitable conditions, they don’t offer a noticeable improvement over the Realme 7 in terms of features or picture quality.
Verdict: A Frustratingly Unremarkable Offering
After spending a week with the Realme 8, it’s difficult to escape the conclusion that it is simply a Realme 7 with an AMOLED display and slightly inferior camera performance. Considering that the Realme 7 remains less expensive, offers a 90Hz display, and is likely to receive an Android 11 update soon, it’s hard to justify choosing the Realme 8. The only genuine advantage the Realme 8 possesses is its slimmer, lighter design. With the imminent launch of a 5G version of the Realme 8, potentially priced between the Realme 8 and 8 Pro, it’s wise to hold off on a purchase for now.
The top-end variant of the Realme 8 presents a more difficult choice compared to the base model. The Realme Narzo 30 Pro, which is priced identically, offers a more powerful 5G SoC and a 120Hz display. Another strong contender is the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro, which outperforms the Realme 8 in practically every aspect on paper and commences at the same price point of Rs. 16,999. Furthermore, the Redmi Note 10 Pro shares the same core specifications with the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max, a device we have already reviewed and appreciated significantly.
While the Realme 8 may not harbor any glaring flaws, it fails to deliver anything genuinely distinctive, even compared to its own siblings. This lack of a compelling selling point makes it a challenging device to recommend.
