Realme 8 Pro: Affordable smartphone with “high-end camera” presented

Bit by bit, Realme is also making a name for itself in this country. That is not so easy. After all, other Chinese smartphone manufacturers like Huawei, Xiaomi and Oppo have already established themselves in our country. How does Realme want to compete with this renowned competition? The soon to be released Realme 8 Pro is supposed to be the key to success. Here, the company promises nothing less than a high-end camera and some other impressive features for under 300 Euros. Is that possible? We take a closer look.

Huawei’s descent as an opportunity

As economic relations between the U.S. and China continue to falter, smartphone giant Huawei is doing increasingly poorly – even here at home. After all, our local market is determined more by the West than by the Far East. But that doesn’t mean that all Chinese companies are suffering from the dispute. Quite the contrary. According to the motto “when two quarrel, the third is happy”, other Chinese manufacturers like Xiaomi are celebrating real success in Europe. Realme now also wants to seize this opportunity. The company’s formula for success is not new. It tries to deliver good technology at a low price. And Realme’s prices are truly impressive. This is made clear not least by the now presented Realme 8 Pro.

Not only the price is an eye-catcher

The special features of the Realme 8 Pro already start with the design. This is by no means 0815, but instead sets pleasing accents. Above all, the back is supposed to be a real eye-catcher. Realme not only gives its mid-range smartphone a pretty color gradient that makes the camera module stand out. On top of that, a lettering with the words “DARE TO LEAP” is emblazoned on the back. So does Realme want to take a leap into the future according to these words?

The real highlight of the smartphone is the camera. Here, Realme installs a main camera with 108 MP, an ultra-wide-angle camera with 8 MP, a macro camera with 2 MP, and a monochrome camera with 2 MP. Apart from the quad camera on the back, Realme also installs a front-facing camera with a resolution of 16 MP. Above all, the main camera should be able to provide great results. The reason for this is not only the number of megapixels, but especially the so-called “pixel binning”. A total of 9 pixels are added to one. In the end, this feature is supposed to ensure that you can capture more light especially in dark environments. The images should be much sharper in the result.

What’s under the hood?

Okay, the camera is really impressive considering the low price – At least on paper. But what is the smartphone capable of? It is hardly surprising that the Realme 8 Pro does not feature state-of-the-art technology. That would simply not be possible considering the price. Realme itself describes the hardware as “useful”. There is probably no other way to describe Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 720G. Since it was launched at the beginning of 2020 specifically for mid-range smartphones, it is already very old. That is certainly not a knockout criterion for the Realme 8 Pro. Nevertheless, a newer CPU would definitely have been advantageous. Thus, a processor with a 5G module could have become a real killer argument for the inexpensive smartphone.

The Snapdragon 720G comes with a total of 8 cores and offers a maximum clock rate of 2.3 GHz. It is supported by either 6 GB or 8 GB of RAM. Thus, you would have to use very demanding applications to push the smartphone to its limits. Unlike the working memory, the customer does not have a say in the storage space. You always get 128 GB here. However, it can be increased by a maximum of 256 GB. That’s something you rarely see nowadays.

Super AMOLED display

Those who find the innards somewhat disappointing will find a positive aspect in the display. Realme installs a Super AMOLED display with a screen diagonal of 6.4 inches and a resolution in Full HD. However, features like 120 Hz are not available. Instead, you have to settle for a refresh rate of 60 Hz. The battery and charging are also positive.

Realme uses a construction of several battery cells, which is supposed to offer a total of 4,500 mAh. If the battery runs out of steam, it can be quickly recharged via SuperDart Charge with 50 watts. The fast charging technology is supposed to ensure that just under half of the battery is recharged after 17 minutes. That sounds really impressive.

Price and Availability

Pre-ordering the Realme 8 Pro has already been possible since March 24. Those who are patient until March 31 can also secure the new mid-range smartphone “made in China” directly in stores. Depending on the configuration, the RRP is 279 Euros (6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage) or 299 Euros (8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage). You can buy the device on the official website of Realme.