The Realme 8i arrives in India as the successor to the Realme 7i, aiming to capture a slice of the highly competitive budget smartphone market. Priced starting at Rs. 13,999, the 8i boasts a compelling combination of features like a 120Hz display, the powerful MediaTek Helio G96 SoC, and a substantial 5,000mAh battery. But can it hold its own against the plethora of compelling options in this price segment? We subjected the Realme 8i to a rigorous evaluation to uncover its strengths and weaknesses, and determine whether it truly stands out from the crowd.
Realme 8i Pricing and Availability in India
The Realme 8i is available in two configurations:
- 4GB RAM + 64GB storage: Rs. 13,999
- 6GB RAM + 128GB storage: Rs. 15,999
Buyers have the choice between two stylish color options: Space Black and Space Purple. Our review unit was the top-end Space Purple variant.
Realme 8i Design
The Realme 8i reveals a subtle increase in size compared to its predecessor, sporting a larger display with a punch-hole cutout in the top-left corner for the front camera. While the side bezels are impressively thin, the top and bottom bezels are noticeably thicker.
The power button, doubling as a fingerprint sensor, is conveniently positioned on the right side of the frame, while the volume rockers reside on the left, easily reachable without any awkward stretching. The left side also houses the hybrid SIM tray.
The top and bottom frames feature a flat profile. The top boasts a clean, uncluttered design, while the bottom houses a bustling array of ports and features, including a 3.5mm headphone jack, primary microphone, USB Type-C port, and a loudspeaker.
The Realme 8i’s unibody is constructed from plastic, and the rear panel boasts an "arc beam" texture that truly pops when illuminated, adding a touch of visual flair. However, this glossy panel is prone to attracting fingerprints, making smudges particularly noticeable on lighter color options. The camera module, situated in the upper left corner, protrudes slightly from the rear panel and features a "quad-camera" design illusion, despite only housing three cameras.
Despite the 5,000mAh battery, the Realme 8i manages to maintain a slim profile at just 8.5mm. However, the weight of 194g is noticeable, a common trade-off for devices packing a large battery.
Realme 8i Specifications
The Realme 8i showcases a collection of desirable specifications, making it a compelling offering in its price category:
- Display: 6.6-inch LCD with Full-HD+ resolution (1080 x 2412 pixels) and a 120Hz refresh rate
- Processor: MediaTek Helio G96
- RAM and Storage: 4GB + 64GB and 6GB + 128GB
- Rear Cameras: 50MP (main) + 2MP (Mono) + 2MP (Macro)
- Front Camera: 16MP
- Battery: 5000mAh with 18W fast charging
- Operating System: Realme UI 2.0 based on Android 11
The 8i represents a significant upgrade over the Realme 7i, boasting a 120Hz refresh rate display compared to the 7i’s 90Hz panel and a higher 720p resolution. Additionally, the Realme 8i introduces a "dynamic refresh rate" feature, intelligently toggling between six predetermined refresh rates (30Hz, 48Hz, 50Hz, 60Hz, 90Hz, and 120Hz) to optimize power consumption based on the user’s on-screen activity. Further boosting the user experience is a 180Hz touch sampling rate and a peak brightness of 600 nits, ensuring smooth responsiveness and excellent visibility even in bright outdoor settings.
The Realme 8i is the first smartphone in India to feature the MediaTek Helio G96 SoC, a powerful processor designed for demanding gaming and everyday performance. The smartphone offers 4GB and 6GB RAM variants, paired with 64GB and 128GB storage options, respectively. Realme’s innovative Virtual RAM technology allows users to tap into storage space to augment available RAM, effectively increasing performance. The 6GB RAM variant of the 8i supports up to 5GB of Virtual RAM.
Expandability is a welcome feature, thanks to a dedicated microSD card slot. Dual Nano-SIM slots cater to modern users, with both supporting 4G and VoLTE. The 8i is equipped with dual-band Wi-Fi ac for fast internet connections, Bluetooth 5 for seamless wireless connectivity, and support for three satellite navigation systems for accurate location tracking.
Running Realme UI 2.0 on top of Android 11, the Realme 8i provides a user-friendly and feature-rich experience. While our review unit came with the September Android security patch, pre-installed bloatware applications like Facebook, Snapchat, Amazon, Dailyhunt, Moj, and Josh were present. Thankfully, most of these apps can be uninstalled. However, several Realme first-party apps were also pre-installed, and we observed push notifications from the Themes and Realme Store apps during testing.
Realme 8i Performance
The Realme 8i consistently delivers a smooth and responsive user experience. The 120Hz refresh rate display significantly contributes to smooth scrolling and navigation. We found app load times to be consistently within acceptable ranges, and multitasking is a breeze. The default Virtual RAM setting on our review unit was 2GB, which can be adjusted to 3GB or 5GB as needed.
unlocking the smartphone is a swift process thanks to the fast, responsive side-mounted fingerprint sensor. The expansive display is a major draw, able to attain sufficient brightness for effortless outdoor viewing. Users can select from two distinct color modes, "vivid" and "gentle," and fine-tune the color temperature according to their preference.
While the loudspeaker delivers adequate volume, sound quality becomes a bit tinny at higher volumes.
To objectively gauge the Realme 8i’s performance against rivals, we subjected it to our standard benchmark suite. In AnTuTu, the device notched an impressive 337,297 points. Geekbench 5’s single-core and multi-core tests yielded scores of 538 and 1,714 points, respectively. PCMark Work 3.0 resulted in a score of 8,477 points.
Notably, these scores surpass those achieved on the Redmi Note 10S, a strong contender within this price bracket. As for graphics benchmarks, the Realme 8i achieved scores of 3,332 in 3DMark SlingShot, 55fps in GFXBench’s T-Rex test, and 12fps in the Car Chases test.
We put the Realme 8i’s gaming prowess to the test using BGMI, where the device defaulted to HD graphics and High frame rate. The game ran flawlessly at these demanding settings. After a 28-minute gaming session, we observed an 8 percent battery drop and a slight warming of the device. These are unsurprising outcomes considering the demanding nature of the game and its relatively long duration.
The Realme 8i consistently delivers impressive battery life. Our testing revealed that the device comfortably outlasts a full day of moderate use and can even stretch to two days with lighter usage. In our stringent HD video loop test, the Realme 8i persevered for 21 hours and 17 minutes, surpassing the endurance of many competing devices in this price segment. The inclusion of an 18W fast charger in the box helps to mitigate the time spent topping off the battery. This charger can bring the battery to 30 percent capacity in 30 minutes and to 56 percent in an hour, providing a decent charging speed, although some competitors offer faster charging rates.
Realme 8i Cameras
The Realme 8i presents a camera module that initially appears to boast a quad-camera setup, but deceptively contains only three sensors. The primary camera utilizes a 50-megapixel Samsung sensor coupled with an f/1.8 aperture. The supporting cast includes a 2-megapixel B&W camera and a 2-megapixel macro camera.
The Realme camera app feels familiar and user-friendly, with shooting modes conveniently laid out at the bottom of the viewfinder, enabling swift switching between modes. At the top of the viewfinder, users can toggle AI mode, which automatically detects the subject being captured and applies relevant adjustments. A "50MP" mode lets users capture images at the full resolution of the primary sensor, capturing even finer details.
The Realme 8i leverages pixel binning technology, combining four pixels into one to produce 12.5-megapixel output from the 50-megapixel sensor. In daylight conditions, the Realme 8i captures decent photos, though the level of detail for distant objects is less than ideal. The phone’s postprocessing algorithm tends to sharpen images, which can be slightly unnatural. The lack of an ultra-wide-angle lens limits the photographic scope, but the full 50-megapixel mode can be employed for capturing more detail, particularly in distant subjects.
Close-ups captured using the Realme 8i demonstrate impressive color accuracy and a gentle background depth effect, further enhancing the subject’s focus. The Portrait mode delivers satisfactory results, allowing users to adjust the level of background blur before capturing the shot. Edge detection is generally reliable, effectively isolating the subject from the background, and achieving satisfactory sharpness in the subject. The dedicated macro camera enables capturing extremely close-up shots, delivering acceptable results, albeit with a limited 2-megapixel resolution limitation.
Low-light camera performance, however, falls short of expectations compared to some other devices in this price range. While images produced are relatively noise-free, detail is noticeably lacking. The phone also struggles to accurately capture darker areas of the frame. Activating Night mode helps to improve detail in shadowed areas, leading to brighter images and a notable enhancement in detail and sharpness.
Selfies using the Realme 8i produce decent results in both daylight and low-light conditions. The Portrait selfie mode delivers good separation between the subject and the background, but automatic beautification is applied by default.
Video recording on the Realme 8i is capped at 1080p for both the primary and selfie cameras. Unfortunately, footage is not stabilized by default, making shakes visible. While there is an Ultra Steady mode, it does not drastically improve video stabilization.
Realme 8i Verdict
The Realme 8i enters a fiercely competitive sub-Rs. 15,000 market in India, facing a formidable array of competitors, including several offerings from Realme itself.
The Realme 8i’s most compelling attributes are its performance and display. The powerful MediaTek Helio G96 SoC and the 120Hz display combine to deliver a smooth and responsive user experience. Battery life also deserves praise, though the bundled 18W charger feels inadequate, especially when compared to devices like the Realme Narzo 20 Pro that offer charging rates of up to 65W.
While the Realme 8i presents a solid overall package, its camera performance falls short of expectations. If photography and videography aren’t top priorities, the Realme 8i is a worthy consideration. However, for those seeking a device that excels in all aspects at this price point, the slightly older but more feature-rich Realme 7 might be a better option.
