The Realme 8 Pro will debut with the 108MP ISOCELL HM2 sensor

Realme's annual Camera Innovation Event (March 2, 2021) focused on its "leap to 108MP" in 2021. It has confirmed that, not only can it now offer this top-end spec, it comes in the form of the latest, third-gen ISOCELL HM2. This advanced 0.7 micron-pixel, 1/1.52-inch sensor might already be somewhat familiar to fans of flagship Samsung mobile CMOS; however, Realme asserts that it has also put its own spin on it.

The HM2 will still have the Smart ISO, lossless zoom and Galaxy S21 Ultra-esque nonapixel binning some consumers might be waiting for when it shows up in Realme hardware. However, the OEM has also developed an algorithm that, as it claims, brings the sensor's clarity up to the level of 3x optical telephoto lenses.

Realme has also apparently developed a new "time-lapse Starry Mode", which involves a second "exclusive" algorithm time-lapse video. It is rated to generate a 1-second night-sky time-lapse using just 30 individual shots taken over 480 seconds.

The OEM will also debut a tilt-shift photography mode in its first 108MP camera phone, although this one is purely software-based (and, thus, requires yet another new algorithm). Nevertheless, Realme is confident that it can even support video, while also zooming in or out.

Finally, Realme's Camera Innovations are rounded out with new Neon, Dynamic Bokeh and AI Color Portrait Modes. The phone to feature all of these new attributes on launch is now officially the 8 Pro, a name Realme dropped casually all the way through its presentation. 

Accordingly, all of its "number-series" successors will also focus on camera performance, thus forming the second half of Realme's new "Dual-platform Dual-flagship" product-cycle model going forward. The 8 Pro was also teased as a quad-camera device that outdoes even some Redmi phones in adopting a 'stove-top' look for this module.

Therefore, this upcoming 108MP phone should compete effectively with that rival brand's Note 9 Pro 5G, which also has the ISOCELL HM2 sensor. Then again, Realme neve did get around to mentioning a launch date for its new camera flagship during its event.

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