realme 8 5G review, modern connectivity and 90Hz screen within everyone's reach

realme 8 5G review

After having tested the new top model of the realme "Number" product series closely, it is finally time to take a look at the other members of the family.

With an aggressive price and technical features that put it in direct competition with other products in its price range, realme 8 5G aims to lower the cost of entry into the world of new generation connectivity but to do so the company has had to make some compromises.

Let's find out in our full review how this particular product performs in everyday life and if it is worth buying for its peculiarities!

realme went on the safe side

When it designed realme 8 5G , the company did not want to take too many risks. The design of this device is classic enough for modern smartphones with a curved polycarbonate shell that makes it more ergonomic to grip.

Unlike matte plastic bezels, the glossy finish shell captures many fingerprints and is quite difficult to keep clean. The opaque shell of realme 8 Pro, despite being made of plastic, was definitely a better choice.

The use of polycarbonate was justified by the company with the aim of keeping the weight and thickness reduced to the minimum, all without sacrificing strength.

For a product with new generation connectivity, realme 8 5G is in fact particularly light, only 185g, and thin, 8.5mm. It can therefore be said that realme has achieved the goal it set for itself, at the same time creating a smartphone that is quite elegant and pleasant also from an aesthetic point of view.

The capacitive fingerprint reader is positioned laterally on the power key and can be set to read biometric data when touched or only after pressing the power key on which it is placed, a solution that some of you will surely appreciate it.

The fact that the key is positioned in a recess in the frame facilitates its recognition by touch and therefore immediate use without too many failed attempts due to finger-sensor misalignment.

IPS and 90Hz, the right choice

When deciding which type of panel was best to use on this smartphone, realme found itself at a crossroads: better an AMOLED display with only slightly visual characteristics better than an IPS of the same category or to focus on the latter technology to use the difference in budget in a panel with a higher refresh rate?

Fortunately for us users, the company a has opted for a 6.5 ″ IPS-type panel with a resolution of 1080 × 2400 pixels and a refresh rate of 90Hz.

It seems trivial but the transition from a frequency of 60Hz to 90Hz (or higher) completely changes the way of experiencing the smartphone. For the same phone, once accustomed to the higher frequencies, the 60Hz displays make the products seem less performing even if the speed of operations is actually the same at the end of the day.

The maximum brightness of 600 nit (480 nit typical) is sufficient for outdoor use but not in situations where the sun is high in the sky and hits directly on the display. Overall, however, the quality of the panel is very good and for the price range in which we find ourselves it is difficult to ask for more.

The colors are very vivid and the contrasts high. You can tell that this is not an AMOLED display at first glance just by looking at the slight bleeding typical of LCD panels around the hole for the front camera and noting the lack of the always on display function.

A chip making its debut in Italy

The company said a higher frequency display was chosen to accompany what they call a gaming chip. In fact, a Mediatek MT6833 Dimensity 700 5G is mounted under the body and this is the first smartphone in Italy to use this processor.

Of course, defining it as a gaming processor is perhaps a great leap in the imagination of the company but all in all in the daily tasks, in scrolling through the long social media feeds and, why not, even in some moderately complex mobile titles realme 8 5G managed to get by without too many problems, perhaps also thanks to the support of 8GB of RAM which certainly does not spoil. In our country only the variants with 6GB or 4GB of RAM will arrive but I doubt you will notice the difference.

Every now and then I have noticed some slight slowdown immediately after unlocking the terminal, a slowdown that practically disappeared immediately . It is very likely that realme 8 5G will go into an advanced energy saving state and take a little more than an instant to reactivate at 100% of its potential. In my experience, I believe that this is a behavior that depends on the software and could be solved with an update because, after the first moment, the smartphone slides smoothly between each screen.

The internal memory to be 64GB / 128GB is undoubtedly more than enough to house all the apps, games, photos and videos you can imagine. Not enough for you? Thanks to the Micro SD slot it will be possible to add up to a maximum of 1TB of extra space, really not bad.

The 5G network is supported for both SIM slots in DSDS mode (Dual SIM Dual Standby) and it is possible connect to both SA (Standalone) and NSA (non-standalone) networks. The use of a second SIM will not deprive you of memory expansion as realme 8 5G has three separate slots.

Although the audio can only be played by the single speaker positioned next to the USB charging port Type -C, at least realme has decided to keep the much loved 3.5mm headphone jack.

Cameras in line with the rest of the market

The photographic sector is composed from a 48MP f / 1.8 main camera, a monochrome sensor and a macro capable of shooting at a minimum distance of 4cm, both from 2MP f / 2.4. Selfies take care of a 16MP f / 2.1 sensor.

The shots may not allow you to win a photo contest, however for the amount required for the purchase of the terminal it is really difficult to ask for more. The company's choice to disguise an "AI" logo in what appears to be the fourth rear camera, but which obviously has no photographic sensor, is curious.

The colors are a bit flat and the dynamic range it's just enough. It is possible to take some photos at the maximum resolution of 48MP but it is only advisable in impeccable lighting conditions and the smartphone takes too long in the shot to be able to really make good use of it, unless you are photographing statues, buildings, landscapes or otherwise subjects static.

There is a night mode that will help you capture better photos as the sun goes down. The company has included five different pre-sets that will allow you to customize the mood of the night photos, but don't expect miracles. As it was obvious to expect, realme 8 Pro in the photographic field is definitely a more interesting choice if your budget allows it.

Staying on this budget, however, examples of smartphones capable of doing better are rare. fund, however, for this figure you cannot have top-of-the-range claims.

The misstep is around the corner

Installed aboard realme 8 5G obviously the last one could not miss Android version available. As in the other products of the brand, the operating system is customized with what the company calls realme UI 2.0, the second generation of software derived from Oppo's ColorOS which, unlike the skin from which it derives, has a tendency towards a more close to Android stock.

Like the first version of the made in realme customization, the software is quite clean and the only additions we find are very useful and practical. The only complaint about it is perhaps the presence of a few pre-installed apps too many, something I had never noticed before in a product of the brand, but it is clear that agreements have been made to keep the price of the terminal as low as possible. Fortunately these are all uninstallable.

The alternative app store to the Google Play Store called App Market is also part of these additions. It is particularly strange to find it present on a terminal designed for the West but at the same time it is not too invasive if ignored.

We hope that in the future realme does not get too carried away and does not succumb to the temptation to send the their terminals with annoying pre-installed bloatware. It would be a real shame to spoil an otherwise very promising start!

If only the charging were a little faster…

As is the case with other competitors in this price range, realme 8 5G mounts a 5000mAh battery under the body. This unit is able to keep the smartphone alive for two days of use without too many problems, even using it to its full capacity.

The not too energy-intensive chip certainly contributes to the long life of the smartphone but also on the software side realme has implemented some interesting features that can never make you remain with the phone completely discharged.

For example, there is a "Super" energy saving mode that can make smartphones resist standby up to 34.2 hours with only 5% battery in case of need. A real life saver!

Using both SIMs on 5G networks is certainly one of the settings that has the most impact on the total battery life, but this at the most reduces its resistance to a whole long day instead of two. However, a very respectable result.

Unlike realme 8 Pro and other products of the brand, there is no Dart Charge charging system but the smartphone is still able to receive a maximum of 18W from the USB socket Type-C.

Recharging is therefore fast enough, even if those who are used to products capable of recovering energy more quickly will perhaps feel the difference. However, since you hardly ever have to charge your smartphone during the day, you will hardly notice this compromise made by the company.

Conclusions

We are faced with a smartphone that does exactly that. which promises without exaggerating in raising user expectations. At the same time, however, there is hardly anything to complain about for a selling price that is really aggressive to compete in a ruthless market.

The 199.00 euro figure this smartphone is offered for price list is in itself a good deal in relation to the quality and performance that are obtained; by taking advantage of the continuous promotions, such as the launch ones just announced by the brand, you could give even more value to every single euro invested.

Always take into consideration the amount you are spending and do not expect the quality and performance of a flagship, but for less than 200 euros realme 8 5G is certainly a product that will be able to accompany you in the best possible way for the near future in all your adventures!