This is the realme 8, launching officially in the Philippines later this month. It’s said to be an upgrade compared to its predecessors, to which we’ll look in this hands-on.
realme 8 specs:
- 6.4-inch FHD+ super AMOLED display, 1080 x 2400px
180Hz touch sampling rate - MediaTek Helio G95 processor
ARM Mali-G76 GPU - 8GB LPDDR4X RAM
- 128GB UFS 2.1 internal storage
with dedicated microSD slot for up to 512GB - Quad-rear cameras
64MP F1.79 main
8MP F2.25 ultrawide
2MP F2.4 macro
2MP F2.4 b&w - 16MP front camera
- 4G LTE, Dual-SIM (nano)
- WiFi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.1, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
- Fingerprint scanner (in-display), Face Unlock
- USB Type-C
- realme UI 2.0 (Android 11)
- 5,000mAh battery
30W dart charge - Colors: Cyber Silver, Cyber Black
The realme 8 packaging contains the usual stuff you’d find on their retail boxes — the phone itself, a USB Type-C cable, documents for manual and warranty information, a SIM tray ejector, a grayish TPU case, and the 30W Dart Charge adaptor.
There are so many things to look out for the realme 8. If we’re going to compare it to the realme 7 released last year, it’s taller, slimmer, and a lot brighter. The brand has upgraded the display with a Super AMOLED screen oftentimes used in its Pro counterpart. The punch hole area for the 16-megapixel camera is still at the upper-left corner. Instead of a smooth refresh rate, we’re treated with the always-on display feature which you can toggle on the device settings.
It all remains the same at the bottom part. The layout is basically a realme signature design with the 3.5mm audio jack, the microphone, the USB Type-C port, and the bottom-firing loudspeaker all lined up nicely.
The right side has the volume and power/lock buttons. They’re easily accessible by one hand and provides nice feedback.
At the left part, near the front camera, is the slot for two nano-SIM cards and a MicroSD card. It’s easy to pop out and push back in.
The rear part has that oh-so-shiny Cyber Silver colorway that provides a tone of rainbow colors when you look at from a lot of angles with a light source. It’s surprisingly flashy, and essentially capturing the youthful aesthetic we’ve noticed with them since realme 6.
The the back is a mirrorized part with the Dare to Leap logo, which produces the rainbow colors when swayed around. The protruding part under the quad camera also does that. There’s the realme logo at the lower left corner. If you’re looking for the fingerprint sensor anywhere and you haven’t seen it yet, it’s now under the display with is a huge upgrade from the side fingerprint scanners we got from the realme 6 and 7.
The quad-rear camera setup features a 64-megapixel rear camera, an 8-megapixel ultrawide, and two 2MP modules for depth and monochrome. Here are some initial camera photos we took with the device:
The realme 8 comes with realme UI 2.0 out of the box, which is powered by Android 11. It’s fresh, it’s smooth, and it’s quite a pleasing treat. It features realme’s own suite of apps including SoLoop, Game Center, HeyFun, and 92 (which seemed to be an Instagram competitor).
There’s no price yet for the realme 8, but it’s said to be launched on May 11, 6PM, at the brand’s official online channels. We’re taking the device for more tests and full review in the coming days.
