As I eagerly wait for Realme to launch a flagship device in the UK this year, they have whetted my appetite for what might come with the Realme 8 Pro.
The Realme 8 Pro is launching in the UK as the first sub-£300 phone to feature a 108MP camera.
Specification – Realme 8 Pro vs 7 Pro vs 6 Pro
- 108 MP ultra quad camera: Starry time-lapse video...
- 50w superdart charge: Charge 50 Percent in 17...
- 4500mAh massive battery: Super power saving mode
- Infinite stars design: 176 g and 8.1 mm Slim and...
Realme 8 Pro | Realme 7 Pro | Realme 6 Pro | |
Display | 6.4 inch AMOLED 2400×1080 1000nits peak brightness 60Hz refresh rate 180Hz touch sampling | 6.4 inch AMOLED 2400×1080 | 6.6 inch IPS 2400×1080 90Hz, 480 nits |
Chipset | Snapdragon 720G | Snapdragon 720G | Snapdragon 720G |
RAM | 8GB | 8GB | 8GB |
Storage | 128GB MicroSD slot | 128GB MicroSD slot | 128GB MicroSD slot |
Rear Camera | 108 MP Samsung HM2 1/1.52″ 8 MP ultra-wide 2 MP macro 2 MP B&W Lens | 64 MP Sony IMX682 1/1.73″ Wide 8 MP ultra-wide 2 MP macro 2 MP depth | 64 MP Samsung 1/1.72 12MP 2x telephoto 8MP ultrawide 2MP macro |
Front Camera | 16MP Sony IMX471 | 32 MP | 16 MP |
Battery | 4500 mAh 50W charging (but 65W charger) | 4500 mAh 65W charging | 4300 mAh 30W |
Other | Dual sim + microSD 3.5mm headphone jack | Dual sim + microSD 3.5mm headphone jack | Dual sim + microSD 3.5mm headphone jack |
Dimensions | 160.6 x 73.9 x 8.1 mm 176g | 160.9 x 74.3 x 8.7 mm 182g | 163.8 x 75.8 x 8.9 mm 202 g |
Price | £279 | 8GB/128GB launch price £279 Current price £239 | 349.90 Euros (£305) |
The excellent Realme 6 Pro was launched in March 2020, with the Realme 7 Pro landing in October and now the 8 Pro, so we are looking at a 6-month launch cycle. This inevitably means not much changes with each release.
The main difference going from the Realme 6 Pro to 7 Pro was that it ditched the IPS display in favour of an AMOLED which was quite unique at the time with most affordable phones using IPS.
The Realme 8 Pro then also only has one significant improvement. The primary sensor has been switched from the already good 64MP Sony IMX682 sensor to the brand new Samsung 108MP HM2 sensor.
This new 108MP camera isn't quite the same as you see on £750+ flagship phones from the likes of Xiaomi and Samsung, but it is not far off. The main difference is that the sensor is a touch smaller at 1/1.52″ vs 1/1.33″, reducing the pixel size to 0.7 μm from 0.8 μm.
Disappointingly, there hasn't been an improvement from the Snapdragon 720G, which itself wasn't much different from the Snapdragon 730G, which proceeded it, so the chipset is effectively 2 years old now.
In defence of Realme, Qualcomm has left its 7-series platform to go a little stale. The only realistic upgrade would have been the 5G Snapdragon 750G.