After the realme X7 Pro, realme has launched two new smartphones in its realme 8 Series – the realme 8 Pro and the realme 8 and we have the realme 8 Pro featuring the massive 108 MP camera. Other features include a bright Super AMOLED display, 50W fast charging, and a slim design. Here’s what we have to say about the realme 8 Pro in our realme 8 Pro review.
realme 8 Pro Specifications
- Display: 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display, 60 Hz refresh rate, 180 Hz touch sampling rate
- Software: realme UI 1.1, Android 11
- CPU: 8 nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G octa-core SoC
- GPU: Adreno 618 Graphics
- Memory: 6 GB OR 8 GB RAM
- Storage: 128 GB storage on-board, external microSD card support (dedicated)
- Main Camera: Quad Cameras (108 MP Samsung HM2 primary + 8 MP ultra-wide-angle + 2 MP macro + 2 MP B&W depth), LED flash
- Selfie Camera: 16 MP
- Connectivity: USB Type-C, 3.5 mm port, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS
- Security: In-display fingerprint scanner, Face unlock
- Cellular: Dual 4G network, nano SIMs, microSD card slot (dedicated)
- Battery: 4,500 mAh
- Charging: 50W SuperDart Charge fast charging, 100% in 47 minutes, 50% in 17 minutes
- Price: ₹17,999 (6 GB RAM + 128 GB Storage), ₹19,999 (8 GB RAM + 128 GB Storage)
- Availability: 25th March 2021 on Flipkart, realme.com, and offline stores.
Design, Display, & Build
The realme 8 Pro features a matte finish Infinite Bold design, the backside has a sleek plastic matte body that uses the AG-Crystal process for a crystalline effect. You will find a 108 MP quad-camera setup on the top-left and you will see Dare To Leap slogan written in big.
No glass body or metallic frames found on the phone, realme 8 Pro has a slim form factor and light-weight design. The overall build quality is solid and comfortable to hold.
Speaking of the front side, it has a full-screen punch-hole camera design with a 16 MP selfie camera. You will find an amazing 6.4-inch display utilizing the Super AMOLED panel with a Full HD+ resolution.
Moreover, it has a 180 Hz touch response rate and a 60 Hz refresh rate, this may be sad especially for gaming users since the competition is already ahead in terms of refresh rate. At least a 90 Hz display would be expected from it, although the display type is Super AMOLED which is far better than cheaper IPS LCDs.
On the sides of the phone, the bottom has a USB Type-C port with fast charging support, a loudspeaker, a microphone. The top side has nothing but a second microphone.
The left side has a dual SIM tray in which you have the option to add a microSD card in a dedicated slot, the rest are two 4G SIM slots. The right side has a power key and volume control key.
Here’s our unboxing and first impressions of the realme 8 Pro below.
Software & User Interface
Finally, the Android 11 build is here, realme 8 Pro debuts with its new realme UI 2.0 software that uses the new Android 11 out-of-the-box. The Android 11 on the phone uses a security patch dated 5th February 2021.
The home-grown UI has been upgraded with 100+ customizations including theme color, dark modes, icon packs, and more. The realme UI 2.0 feels smooth, light in weight, less bloatware that can be further removed if not required.
You get a handful of third-party apps like Facebook, Flipkart, Snapchat as well as a few apps from realme such as the realme Link. You can remove them if not need, the interface is ad-free as far as we have used it and does not hamper the user experience.
Hardware, Performance, & Gaming
The realme 8 Pro packs an 8nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G octa-core CPU clocked at 2.3 GHz coupled with as much as 8 GB RAM and 128 GB onboard storage. The base variant has 6 GB RAM with no other storage option, but 128 GB onboard that expands via a microSD card in a dedicated SIM tray combo slot. It offers Adreno 618 GPU for graphics applications and gaming.
The Snapdragon 720G is a mid-range octa-core CPU with support for a 4G modem, not the 5G, and if you have expected the realme 8 Pro with 5G support, then sadly, the realme 8 Pro doesn’t offer 5G support.
Other than that, this price segment may offer a slightly better Snapdragon 730G CPU or even higher Snapdragon 750G (Xiaomi Mi 10i, Motorola G), the realme 8 Pro is using a chip that we saw in last year’s smartphones, however, when it comes to performance, there’s no major noticeable difference upon using the phone, however, the benchmarks will indicate it’s inferior to the Snapdragon 750G or similar chips.
The Geekbench 5 CPU benchmark scores 562 points in single-core and 1,641 in multi-core. Geekbench 5 GPU benchmark scores 1,242 points.
On the gaming front, the Adreno 618 GPU is as good as the Adreno 619 or Adreno 620, what you see in the Snapdragon 750G and Snapdragon 765G respectively. The GPU is good for casual and mainstream gaming, not for heavy gaming, and therefore able to run most games fluently on medium settings.
Cameras
The realme 8 Pro packs quad-cameras with a massive 108 MP camera utilizing the Samsung’s HM2 f1/1.52″ primary sensor with support for 9-in-1 pixel binning, ISOCELL Plus, and Smart-ISO.
The other three cameras include an 8 MP 119° ultra-wide-angle lens for wide-angle shots, a 2 MP B&W portrait lens for portrait shots, and a 2MP macro camera for 4 CM macro shots. The front side offers a 16 MP f/2.45 Sony IMX471 camera for selfies and video calling.
The interface offers a bunch of features which include the new modes such as the Dual View mode, AI Mix Portrait mode, Starry mode, Movie mode, and 108 MP mode, aside from the usual modes. The image quality is impressive, the quality of the photos is crisp, daylight shots are brilliant, and appear to be sharper and vibrant in colors. Check the samples we have shared.
The Dual-View mode can be used to record from both the cameras simultaneously, the front and the back. This isn’t a new feature, we have seen it before on a few smartphones such as Nokia and LG phones, but it seems realme has added this feature to give users more flexibility to the camera for a variety of creative and interesting short videos.
Aside from this, you have the new Starry mode that adds a brightening effect and noise reduction to the photos you take. It also offers a Starry time-lapse video. This feature needs a tripod or has to be used in a steady position for better image quality.
The camera records 4K at 30 fps and not in 60 fps, the Movie mode offers a wide Cinema view with manual controls, the camera can record in widescreen utilizing the full screen in this mode.
realme 8 Pro Camera Samples
Battery Life & Charging
Similar to the realme 7 Pro, the realme 8 Pro also offers a battery of 4,500 mAh capacity with fast charging support. The difference here is the charging rate, despite having a 65W charger in the box, the realme 8 Pro is capable of supporting a charging of 50W which is still faster than many smartphones in the segment while the realme 7 Pro is even faster charging at 65W, this might seem a downgrade as you can see.
The battery performance is likely to be fair for its above-average battery, the 4,500 mAh battery should provide a battery life of up to 2 days on average use. With even 5% of battery capacity, the phone is capable of providing up to 32 hours of standby time and that’s enough time for you to grab the charger for it.
realme 8 Pro offers as much as 33 hours of Talktime, 82 hours of music playback (Spotify), 8 hours of gaming, 22 hours of WhatsApp use, and 20 hours of YouTubing, all in a single charge. Since you have the midranger Snapdragon 720G which has power-efficient cores, and the new realme UI 2.0 with battery optimizations.
Talking about the SuperDart technology, the charging speed here is really fast, with 47 minutes of charging, the phone can charge from 0% to 100% in one go and takes 17 minutes to charge 50% battery. The realme 7 Pro, on the other hand, charges the battery in 34 minutes from 0% to 100% with its 65W fast charging support.
Verdict
The realme 8 Pro has surprised us with its 108 MP impressive camera, the daylight shots are brilliant and appear to be sharper and vibrant in colors. It turns out that the realme 8 Pro could be one of the rare smartphones to feature a 108 MP camera under a ₹20,000 budget.
Other aspects of the phone are its Super AMOLED display, slim form factor, Android 11 out-of-the-box, and 50W fast charging which can be considered. The price for the realme 8 Pro is ₹17,999 for its 6 GB RAM and 128 GB storage variant while the 8 GB RAM is at ₹19,999.
When we compare it to its predecessor, it seems realme has focused mainly on the camera division. It is worth mentioning that the refresh rate of the realme 8 Pro is at 60 Hz whereas the competition may be ahead in terms of refresh rate (90 Hz or 120 Hz), however, the Super AMOLED display is far better than cheaper IPS LCDs.
The realme 8 Pro offers 50W super-fast charging that charges the phone fully in about 47 minutes, now that’s super-fast charging, but when we compare it with its predecessor, the realme 7 Pro is even faster with its 65W charging support, it’s capable of charging the phone in just 34 minutes, this may seem downgrade if you are upgrading from the realme 7 Pro. For the rest, the realme 8 Pro can be considered knowing the downside that it has a 60 Hz refresh rate.
Strength
- Impressive 108 MP Camera
- Super AMOLED Display
- 50W Super Fast Charging Support
- Slim Design | Matte Finish Back
- Plenty of RAM & Storage (8 GB + 128 GB)
- Good Performance (Snapdragon 720G)
- Dedicated microSD Card Slot
Weakness
- Standard 60 Hz Refresh Rate
