realme 8 Pro announced: A 108MP upgrade, but is that it?

realme launched the last iteration of its eponymous series in September 2020 in the form of the realme 7 line. Now, the series is due for an upgrade. The realme 8 and realme 8 Pro are now official and seemingly follow a similar formula to their predecessors. However, there are some key differences, debatable improvements, and some misses.

Aesthetically, the new series is quite different from the old phones. The realme 8 series gains a square camera array with the Dare To Leap slogan now emblazoned on its flashy rear plate. It’s a departure from the more oval array and understated stylings of the previous line. The new look may not be to everyone’s taste but it certainly makes the phones more distinctive. We talk all about it over in our realme 8 Pro review.

Both realme 8 series models are considerably lighter and thinner, too. The realme 8 weighs in at 177 grams with an 8mm-thick body. Its Pro sibling comes in at 8.1mm thick with a 176-gram build.

realme 8 series: Too much of the same?

If you’re looking for similar sweeping changes beneath that skin, you’ll be decidedly disappointed. Both the realme 8 and realme 8 Pro keep the chipsets used by their predecessors. For the realme 8, that’s the MediaTek Helio G95. The realme 8 Pro uses the Snapdragon 720G.

Both phones are also powered by the same capacity batteries as the outgoing models. The realme 8 gets the larger 5,000mAh battery but it’s paired with slower 30W charging speeds. The realme 8 Pro employs a 4,500mAh battery but packs 50W charging. Notably, the latter is a decrease from the realme 7 Pro’s 65W capabilities, but a 65W charger is included in the box nevertheless.

Our verdict: realme 8 Pro review: A leap behind the competition

The realme 8’s camera loadout is largely unchanged from the realme 7’s. A 64MP primary shooter features an 8MP ultrawide, 2MP macro lens, and 2MP portrait shooter as support. Up front, a 16MP sensor with a larger f/2.45 aperture now features.

The realme 8 features three RAM configs with 4GB, 6GB, and 8GB options. The Pro model packs 6GB and 8GB variants. Both phones offer a single storage option of 128GB.

As for software, the realme 8 series is the first to come with Android 11-based realme UI 2.0 out of the box.

The key differences

So what else is new? The realme 8 series does see a few notable advancements over the previous version. For starters, it gains a 6.4-inch 60Hz AMOLED display with a peak brightness of 1,000 nits. An in-display fingerprint sensor also features. While it drops the 90Hz LCD panel used by the realme 7, the AMOLED screen should offer deeper contrasts and better power consumption. Users who are looking for a mid-range phone for gaming should consider another device, though.

The Pro does improve its camera loadout though, and it’s the headline change for the series. It now features a 108MP Samsung HM2 sensor with an f/1.88 aperture as the primary shooter. You can snap in 108MP mode or opt for 12MP snaps using nonabinning technology. This camera also packs what realme calls the world’s-first tilt-shift timelapse mode and Starry Timelapse Video. The latter shoots 16 photos of the night sky every 15 seconds for four minutes. It combines the final product into a 30fps video. An 8MP ultra-wide, 2MP macro, and 2MP portrait shooter also feature. Up front, the Pro also uses a 16MP selfie camera.

Price and availability

The realme 8 Pro will make its bow in the UK with preorders kicking off on March 24. The 8GB/128GB variant will retail for £279 (~$384) on Amazon and will begin shipping on March 31. It’ll be available in Infinite Blue, Infinite Black, and fluorescent Illuminating Yellow colorways.

That’s in a similar ballpark to the realme 7 Pro which first debuted in Europe at €299 (~$355). As for other 108MP camera phones in this price range, the Redmi Note 10 Pro still looks like the better prospect on paper if you can find one.

In India, the realme 8 Pro is priced starting at Rs. 17,999 for the 6GB RAM and 128GB storage variant. Meanwhile, you’ll have to dish out Rs. 19,999 for the top-end 8GB RAM version. The phone goes on sale starting March 25.

The regular realme 8 will run you a bit cheaper with prices starting at Rs. 14,999 for the base variant with 4GB of RAM. Expect to pay Rs. 15,999 and Rs. 16,999 for the 6GB and 8GB RAM variants respectively.

There’s still no concrete pricing or availability details regarding the standard realme 8. There are plans to launch the phone in the UK and Europe later this year realme told Android Authority in an email. Going by the realme 7’s European pricing, we expect the realme 8 to come in around the €249 (~$295) mark. When it does arrive, it’ll be available in Cyber Silver and Cyber Black colorways.