The realme brand is finally stepping up with its numbered series lineup of smartphones by introducing the new realme 8, a midrange device that immensely looks and feels different than its predecessor, the realme 7.
From the striking and eye-catching design cues that make it seem like a flagship offering, to specs that will blow similarly priced competition out of the water, the realme 8 is a generational upgrade finally done right.
The jump from the realme 5 to the realme 6 was marginally good, but the arrival of the realme 7 was simply uninspired and downright boring since it was essentially a realme 6 with a better charging feature — a rushed upgrade and premature release in its entirety. That is why the new realme 8 is a no-brainer for consumers and the brand’s fans, here’s why.
The exterior alone makes the new device a stranger to the series: the design language is inspired and well-balanced, which the brand dubs as “Infinity Bold”. The camera tray is well-accented with the flash housing in the transparent glass material. The reflective logo is also a step-up to the realme 7’s boring branding and the strong line that shifts the back design from a regular reflective silver to a multichromatic surface is more powerful than the subtle one from its predecessor.
Although the chassis is still a plastic frame with a plastic back, the newer model exudes a more premium feeling, looks more streamlined, is lighter and more compact, with a thinner profile. There’s nothing new with the battery capacity and charging with the realme 8, but the fingerprint sensor is now under the display and not on mounted on the side.
The AI-powered 64MP quad camera will also debut the brand’s latest imaging features and functionalities – the upgraded tilt-shift mode, starry mode, neon portrait, dynamic bokeh, and dual-view video. To get a clearer view on how the realme 8 performs, refer to our official camera test.
The realme 8 runs the new realme UI 2.0 on top of Android 11. This OS skin offers a near-stock Android experience. Despite being an upgrade, the device still has the same gaming chipset seen on the realme 7, a Mediatek Helio G95 12nm processor paired with a Mali-G76 MC4 GPU. These internals are now cooled with a Copper Liquid Cooling system instead of carbon fiber which was used on the older model.
For the Geekbench test, the device scored 536 for single core and 1703 for multi-core, above the Samsung Galaxy A71 but underperforms to the cheaper Poco X3 NFC on both situations. In OpenCL, it performs better than the Pocophone F1 but is beaten by the older Mi 9T Pro.
Conclusion
The realme 8 is the comet that will make its predecessors obsolete, heralding in a wave of new expectations on what the brand has in store for the future of its numbered series. The device is a generational upgrade that changes the identity of its lineup — from striking aesthetics, brighter and punchier visuals, better imaging, and quicker charging. It could be improved if the brand veers away from slapping its slogan on the back of the phone and add NFC functionality to a higher-tier midrange device like the realme 8.
