realme 8 Pro
Our embargo to post something about the realme 8 Pro lifts today. Today is the day when we can post our initial thoughts and our unboxing video. If you’re looking for our unboxing video, you can head over to our TikTok account or on this link.
The focus of this quick impression is its 108MP camera as it is the phone’s most celebrated feature. In fact, we have so many things to say about it, which will be the basis of our upcoming in our upcoming YouTube video.
Before I give my first impressions, here’s a quick look at the phone’s specifications.
realme 8 Pro specifications:
- Operating System: Android 11, Realme UI 2.0
- Display: 6.4inches SuperAMOLED (1080 x 2400 resolution)
- Chipset: Qualcomm SM7125 Snapdragon 720G (8 nm)
- CPU: Octa-core (2×2.3 GHz Kryo 465 Gold & 6×1.8 GHz Kryo 465 Silver)
- GPU: Adreno 618
- Storage: 128GB
- RAM: 8GB
- Main Camera: 108 MP, f/1.9, 26mm (wide); 8 MP, f/2.3, 119˚, 16mm (ultrawide); 2 MP, f/2.4, (macro); 2 MP, f/2.4, (depth)
- Selfie Camera: 16 MP, f/2.5, (wide)
- I/O: 3.5mm jack, USB Type C
- Battery: Li-Po 4500 mAh
Let’s have a quick drill-down of the specs. realme 8 Pro packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G. It is powered with octa-core processor, which includes two cores of 2.3GHz Kryo 465 Gold and six cores of 1.8 GHz Kryo 465 Silver. It is the same chipset you’ll find on the Samsung Galaxy A52, realme 6 Pro and last year’s realme 7 Pro. Obviuosly, the realme 8 Pro still did not receive a chipset upgrade, which understandably upset some people. This may be a different case though if a consumer is coming from a realme 5 Pro, which has a Snapdragon 712.
realme 8 Pro is installed with a Super AMOLED display, albeit stuck at 60Hz refresh rate. If there’s anything that they actually improved on its display is its touch sampling rate, which they have upgraded to 180hz. This means that while its max refresh rate is 60Hz, the sensitivity has been drastically upgraded thereby reducing touch latency.
Objectively, Snapdragon 720G is something that you can use to play mobile titles like Wild Rift and Call of Duty at medium settings. It will struggle to reach 60fps at high or max settings. Pro gamers and streamers usually favor consistent frames and performances over aesthetics. Their settings is usually set a low to medium to be able to reach at least 60fps in favor of foliage and other extra settings. If you combine a consistent frame rate – for as long as its 60fps – and a good touch latency rate, then you have an eSports-capable smartphone.
Let’s now focus our attention to its cameras. One of the major upgrades in this iteration is its primary camera. You’ve got 108 MP, f/1.9, 26mm (wide); 8 MP, f/2.3, 119˚, 16mm (ultrawide); 2 MP, f/2.4, (macro); and, 2 MP, f/2.4, (depth).
This phone’s camera is what makes this a stunning choice especially to those who are coming from realme 5 Pro. If you cannot jump to realme’s more premium offerings like realme X50 Pro 5G or X3 SuperZoom, you can settle with the realme 8 Pro.
Every megapixel counts, and in the case of this device, it is able to capture specific details that would normally look blurred or unclear when you enlarge or zoom a photo with your fingers. I truly appreciate this because while most of us are staying at home, we would want to capture experiences down to the smallest detail. It is daring for realme to even try this and eventually pull something fantastic.
I believe it’s best for me to show you sample photos that I took using 108MP mode, and use this as a preface to upcoming video.
Now, as you can see, the realme 8 Pro’s 108MP camera works really well and can deliver photos with good quality. As for my shooting experience, I noticed that the focusing speed and responsiveness of the sensor are quite at par with some of the camera smartphones I tested. Focusing speed is similar with Galaxy A52 and Redmi Note 10 Pro.
Apart from the 108MP mode, realme 8 Pro features a bevy of photo and video features that consumers may find super interesting. As this series’ penultimate feature, I believe that it’s just apt for realme to put everything they’ve got on this device’s camera. There’s starry mode, which I will show on my upcoming video; dual-video, slo-mo, time-lapse, AI mixed portrait, movie, expert, pano, text scanner and ultra-macro. All these is made possible with the healthy combination of its lens. I won’t feature every bit of it in this first impression but do expect it on my new video.
First Impressions
realme 8 Pro shows a lot of promise especially in the camera department. It may just be one of the affordable smartphones that feature 108MP sensor. The missing expected upgrade in terms of chipset may be perceived quite indifferently by those who recently bought a realme 7 Pro. However, it seems ‘iteration’, for realme, does not mean an overall upgrade of everything; but a refocus of new features that they believe will attract new fans to the brand and the series.
realme will unveil more details on May 11, 6PM on realme’s official Facebook page and YouTube channel. As I mentioned earlier, I’ll be posting my video about this on our YouTube channel.
Giancarlo Viterbo is a Filipino Technology Journalist, blogger and Editor of gadgetpilipinas.net, He is also a Geek, Dad and a Husband. He knows a lot about washing the dishes, doing some errands and following instructions from his boss on his day job. Follow him on twitter: @gianviterbo and @gadgetpilipinas.
