Realme, the newly crowned top smartphone vendor in the Philippines for the first quarter of 2021, has officially launched the latest entries to its number series on the local market, with Filipina celebrity Kathryn Bernardo endorsing the Realme 8 and Realme 8 Pro.
(Update, May 21: Realme 8 or Realme 8 Pro? We decided to review the lineup in one go and give our honest recommendation at the end of our comparison review!)
Locally, the Realme 8 has a suggested retail price of P13,990 or around $293. The Realme 8 Pro, on the other hand, costs P16,990 ($355). Both come equipped with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. They’ll be available for purchase when the clock strikes 12 on May 12 on e-commerce site Lazada (click here for the Realme 8 and here for the Pro version) — with a P1,000 ($21) discount to boot.
Realme 8 and Realme 8 Pro preview
The Realme 8 comes in Cyber Black and Cyber Silver, which we find very attractive, while the Realme 8 Pro is available in Infinite Black and Infinite Blue colors.
Personally, we recommend spending extra for the Pro model. The camera upgrade, as well as the better and more efficient chipset and faster charging (50 watts compared to the vanilla variant’s 30-watt standard), are all worth the added cost.
While we find the Realme 8 in Cyber Silver more attractive, we recommend spending extra for the Realme 8 Pro
Both smartphones boast Super AMOLED screens with fingerprint-sensing capabilities and always-on functionality; long battery life with fast-charging support; Realme UI 2.0 on top of Android 11; and high-resolution main cameras. The Realme 8 Pro is actually the brand’s sharpest camera phone to date, packing a flagship 108-megapixel Samsung Isocell HM2 sensor with some seriously impressive daylight and low-light chops.
On the inside, the Realme 8 is powered by a MediaTek Helio G95 processor, whereas the Pro uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G with Adreno 618 graphics. Stay tuned for more in our review of the Realme 8 series.
Realme 8 specs
- 6.43-inch Super AMOLED display, 2,400 x 1,080 resolution, 60Hz refresh rate
- 12nm octa-core MediaTek Helio G95 processor
- Mali-G76 GPU
- 4GB/6GB/8GB RAM
- 128GB storage
- Quad 64-megapixel (main), 8-megapixel (ultra-wide), 2-megapixel (macro), 2-megapixel (mono) rear cameras
- 16-megapixel front camera
- Fingerprint reader (in-display)
- 5.000mAh battery with 30-watt USB-C charging
- Realme UI
- Color options: Cyber Black, Cyber Silver
Realme 8 Pro specs
- 6.43-inch Super AMOLED display, 2,400 x 1,080 resolution, 60Hz refresh rate
- 8nm octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G processor
- Adreno 618 GPU
- 6GB/8GB RAM
- 128GB storage
- Quad 108-megapixel (main), 8-megapixel (ultra-wide), 2-megapixel (macro), 2-megapixel (mono) rear cameras
- 16-megapixel front camera
- Fingerprint reader (in-display)
- 4,500mAh battery with 50-watt USB-C charging
- Realme UI
- Color options: Infinite Black, Infinite Blue
Realme Philippines’ press release
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