Now, it can be said: The lone 5G model of the Realme 8 series is coming to the Philippines.
(Update, July 1: Our Realme 8 5G review is up!)
(Update, June 24: The Realme 8 5G is official in the Philippines with a P1,500 [$31] introductory discount. Details here!)
The brand, currently the No. 1 in the local smartphone space, has confirmed that the Realme 8 5G will be launched in the country June 24. The event will be livestreamed at 6 p.m. on that day on Realme‘s Facebook page and YouTube channel. So stay tuned to see how much the phone is going to be and if there are any special limited-time offers. In Thailand, though, the version with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage is priced at ฿9,999 (roughly P15,476 or $319 converted sans taxes).
We are ready, so are you?#CaptureInfinitePossibilitiesWith5G #realme85G @bernardokath @AlodiaAlmira pic.twitter.com/eWFhrq63Pc
— realme Philippines (@Realme_PH) June 17, 2021
Philippine launch teaser for the Realme 8 5G, endorsed by Filipino celebrities Kathryn Bernardo and Alodia Gosiengfiao
We’ve been using the Realme 8 5G for some time now. We’re holding off publishing our review until after the device is launched, but there are some things we’d like to point out now:
- Just like other, mostly premium 5G-ready handsets we reviewed in the past, it’s easy to connect to a 5G network provided you’re in an area with 5G coverage. We can already get Smart Communications’ 5G signal in our room. And it was such a blessing to have a smartphone like the MediaTek Dimensity 700-powered Realme 8 5G during the three times we were affected by power interruption this month. With this Realme, we consistently achieved download speeds of around 250Mbps — higher than what our home connection offers. It has two SIM-card slots, along with one more slot for SD cards up to 1TB, and you can use both to be able to connect to two different 5G networks.
- Navigating the Realme 8 5G’s user interface is a smooth experience, thanks to the smartphone’s 90Hz screen. Once we got a taste of 90Hz and above, it was hard to use devices whose display don’t have high refresh rates. More and more budget-friendly units already have that feature, so our advice? Don’t compromise on this.
- Our problem with 5G devices usually has something to do with the battery. But thanks to the power-efficient Dimensity 700 chip and the LCD screen (one of those times we’re okay with having this type of panel), battery drain when on 5G is more acceptable.
- While we still prefer the bold design of the Realme 8 and Realme 8 Pro, we like that the Realme 8 5G is slim and light even with a 5,000mAh battery. But no, it’s not so light that it already feels cheap; there’s still a certain heft to it, making it feel more expensive than it is.
Again, those are just some of our initial impressions of the Realme 8 5G. We’ll share the whole shebang — speed tests, benchmarks, camera samples… everything — as soon as Realme announces the price of the unit. Till then.
Realme 8 5G specs
- 6.5-inch IPS LCD display, 2,400 x 1,080 (FHD+) resolution, 90Hz refresh rate, 180Hz touch sampling rate, 90.5% screen-body ratio, up to 600 nits brightness
- 7nm octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 700 processor with 5G
- Mali-G57 MC2 GPU
- 4GB/8GB RAM
- 64GB/128GB storage, expandable up to 1TB
- Triple rear cameras: 48-megapixel main; 2-megapixel black and white; and 2-megapixel macro
- 16-megapixel front camera
- Fingerprint reader (side-mounted)
- 5,000mAh battery with 18-watt USB-C charging
- Realme UI 2.0 based on Android 11
- Color options: Supersonic Blue and Supersonic Black
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