Realme has made its name in the Indian budget smartphone market by offering top-notch features in competitively priced smartphones. Its strategy has paid dividends, making Realme one of the most trusted smartphone brands in India. Realme’s latest offering, the Realme 8 5G, builds upon this legacy by offering high-end features like a high refresh-rate screen, 5G connectivity, big battery, and more, at a starting price of only Rs 14,999. Let me explain why Realme 8 5G should be on top of your list if you are looking for a new budget device.

Realme 8 5G is India’s first smartphone powered by MediaTek Dimensity 700 chipset

The Realme 8 5G brings 5G connectivity at an affordable price. This is made possible by the MediaTek Dimensity 700 chipset that is powering the device. The MediaTek Dimensity 700 is an octa-core (4×2.2 GHz Cortex-A76 & 4×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55) chipset that is built on the leading 7nm architecture. The architecture allows the processor to not only deliver powerful performance but also makes it power efficient. Speaking of power efficiency, the SoC comes with MediaTek 5G UltraSave which ensures that the 5G connectivity utilises power-saving technologies. Connectivity-wise, the Dimensity 700 supports both 5G SA and NSA bands along with offering Dual SIM Dual Standby capabilities. 

Apart from the performance boost and 5G connectivity, the MediaTek Dimensity 700 also allows Realme to add a high refresh-rate screen, powerful camera hardware with AI features, and more.

Realme 8 5G is India's first smartphone powered by MediaTek Dimensity 700

Beautiful and super smooth 90Hz display

One feature that differentiates Realme 8 5G from other budget smartphones in this range is the inclusion of a high refresh-rate display which is rare at this price point. The Realme 8 5G packs a 6.5-inch fullHD+ display with a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels (~405 PPI). The display looks beautiful, and with 600 nits of peak brightness, it is easily visible in the sunlight. All that said, the defining feature of the display is its 90Hz refresh rate made possible by the powerful Mali-G57 MC2 GPU of Dimensity 700. Thanks to the high refresh-rate screen, the phone will feel even snappier, and you will also be able to play high frame rate games without a hitch.

Beautiful and super smooth 90Hz display

A massive battery that alleviates any charging concerns

Power users will be happy to know that the Realme 8 5G has a massive 5,000mAh battery inside that will easily last them for a day and change. If you are a conservative user like me, the phone can easily last two days on a single charge. Apart from the big battery, the main reason the Realme 8 5G can deliver such good battery life is the highly efficient MediaTek Dimensity 700 chipset. Thanks to this chipset, you can get an incredible 655 hours of standby time or 16 hours of video playback under ideal conditions. The massive battery is supported by the 18W fast charger in the box, which can quickly top up the device. There’s also a Super Power Saving Mode, which when turned on, allows the phone to be on standby for 34.2 hours on 5 percent power, or you can chat for 89 minutes online. Needless to say, battery life will not be a concern.

A massive battery that alleviates any charing concerns

A triple camera system that can capture beautiful photos

Not many people realise that the camera system in a smartphone is limited by the processor it is using. The chipset determines the hardware specification of the camera module and also enables the computational camera features. Thanks to the MediaTek Dimensity 700 chipset that supports up to 64MP cameras, a multi-camera system, and AI-powered features, Realme has packed in a capable triple-lens camera system inside the Realme 8 5G. Heading the triple camera module is a 48MP, f/1.8 lens, which is supported by a 2 MP, f/2.4 macro lens and a 2 MP, f/2.4, black and white portrait lens.

Nightscape feature

The 48MP primary lens should capture photos with extreme details. It also has a Nightscape feature which should result in better low-light photography. The 2MP depth lens should allow the phone to capture enough depth details to let you capture beautiful portrait photos with ease. There’s also the 16MP AI Beauty Selfie camera at the front that can capture beautiful selfies. Realme phones are known for their strong selfie performance, and the Realme 8 5G is no different.

selfie

Other Impressive features

Apart from the features that we have discussed above, Realme 8 5G also brings several other minor improvements that enhance the overall smartphone experience. The phone comes with a three-card slot, two of which support nano SIMs. The third one is a microSD card slot that supports up to 1TB additional storage. To ensure smooth performance, Realme is offering Dynamic RAM Expansion Technology (DRE) on the handset. As the name indicates, this tech allows the Realme 8 5G to utilise 3GB of storage as virtual RAM. According to lab tests, 4GB RAM can turn into 5GB, while 8GB RAM can go up to 11GB with the DRE feature. 

In terms of the design, there’s a side-mounted fingerprint sensor that makes the smartphone secure and easy to unlock. Coming at just 8.5mm and 186 grams, the phone is super-slim and light, and you won’t have any problem handling the device. The smartphone uses a high-gloss indium plating process and lenticular pattern process, which provides it with a premium mirror finish.

Available in two gorgeous colours, supersonic blue and supersonic black, the phone starts at just Rs 14,999 for the 4GB+128GB version. The phone also has an 8GB+128GB option that costs Rs 16,999. The Realme 8 5G will go on sale at noon on April 28th and will be available to buy from Flipkart.com, Realme.com, and select offline stores.