Realme 8 Pro smartphone review - Lightweight 300-Euro-phone without 5G
Possible competitors in comparison
Rating | Rating Version | Date | Model | Weight | Drive | Size | Resolution | Price from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 82.2 % v7 (old) | v7 (old) | 04 / 2021 | Realme 8 Pro SD 720G, Adreno 618 | 176 g | 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash | 6.40" | 2400x1080 | |
| 79.3 % v7 (old) | v7 (old) | 03 / 2021 | Samsung Galaxy A32 5G Dimensity 720, Mali-G57 MP3 | 205 g | 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash | 6.50" | 1600x720 | |
| 81.3 % v7 (old) | v7 (old) | 02 / 2021 | Motorola Moto G 5G SD 750G 5G, Adreno 619 | 212 g | 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash | 6.70" | 2400x1080 | |
| 79.9 % v7 (old) | v7 (old) | 01 / 2021 | Vivo Y70 SD 665, Adreno 610 | 171 g | 128 GB UFS 2.0 Flash | 6.44" | 2400x1080 |
Case, features and operation - Lightweight and without fingerprints
The realme 8 Pro is available in three color variants. Exactly, you only have the choice between blue and black, but there are two black variants: One is decorated with the realme slogan "Dare to leap", the other does without it. The blue variant also comes with a slogan. The back is fancy designed and refracts the light with numerous small particles. Since the back is also matte, it is insensitive to fingerprints.
At 176 grams, the realme 8 Pro is quite a light smartphone and feels good in the hand due to rounded edges. The casing is averagely pressure-sensitive.
realme offers 2 storage variants, but they only differ in the working memory; the mass storage is always 128 GB UFS 2.1 memory. The price difference between the variants with 6 and 8 GB RAM is 20 Euros, we test the larger variant. 2 SIM slots and a dedicated microSD reader are found in the smartphone.
The realme 8 Pro supports Wi-Fi 5. According to our tests with the reference router Netgear Nighthawk AX12, the speeds are good but slightly slower than comparable smartphones. The Motorola Moto G 5G shows that more speed is also possible.
There are a few 4G frequencies, but the realme 8 Pro is not a real world phone. It is somewhat surprising that the realme 8 Pro does not support 5G, since most other devices in this price range are now equipped with the latest mobile standard. Although the network coverage in Central Europe is still moderate, 5G is important for future viability.
| Networking | |
| iperf3 transmit AX12 | |
| Motorola Moto G 5G | |
| Samsung Galaxy A32 5G | |
| Realme 8 Pro | |
| Vivo Y70 | |
| iperf3 receive AX12 | |
| Motorola Moto G 5G | |
| Samsung Galaxy A32 5G | |
| Vivo Y70 | |
| Realme 8 Pro | |
Cameras - 108 megapixels, but mostly only 12
The high-resolution 108-megapixel camera is realme's pride and joy; pictures in the full resolution can be recorded in a special mode. By default, pictures are recorded with 12 megapixels. We like the brightening and color reproduction quite well, but the detail sharpness could be a bit higher. The image is also decent in low light and high contrasts.
A wide-angle lens with 8 megapixels and a macro camera with 2 megapixels provide further shooting options. The macro camera is only used in ultra-macro mode, it is only possible to switch directly between the wide-angle and main camera, there is no zoom in several steps.
Tilt-shift is a photo technique that was actually invented to compensate for distortions in straight lines in architectural photography. Today, however, the effect is best known for making people and buildings look like miniatures. The realme 8 Pro mimics this effect by blurring the top and bottom of the camera, and it takes a bit of practice to really make the miniature effect work. We have collected tips gathered from the OnePlus 9 Pro, which also supports this mode. A star mode is also supported, which is supposed to guarantee a particularly good image of the starry sky via long exposures.
Videos can be recorded in 4K, but only with the main lens and at 30 fps. A tilt-shift effect can be added here as well.
Image Comparison
Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.
Hauptkamera BlumeHauptkamera UmgebungHauptkamera Low LightWeitwinkelkamera
Display - Bright screen with 60 Hz
An AMOLED screen is available in the realme 8 Pro, and the resolution is on par with the class with an expanded Full HD. With a refresh rate of only 60 Hz, the smartphone cannot distinguish itself from its similarly priced rivals. Already the cheaper OnePlus North N100 or the new Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro offer much snappier screens, which not only make the scrolling look better, but also improve the perceived speed of operation. After all, realme offers a sampling rate of 180 Hz for the touchscreen.
The screen is quite bright with an average of 563 cd/m², so you can also work with the realme 8 Pro outdoors. We measured the typical PWM flickering for OLED displays, which extends over almost the entire brightness. Colors and grayscale are displayed reasonably accurately. There are higher deviations than in some other smartphones, but as long as you do not want to use the screen for professional image editing, these are probably tolerable.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 86 %
Center on Battery: 581 cd/m²
Contrast: ∞:1 (Black: 0 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 4.34 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.86
ΔE Greyscale 4.9 | 0.09-98 Ø5.1
99.9% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.327
| Realme 8 Pro AMOLED, 2400x1080, 6.4" | Samsung Galaxy A32 5G TFT-LCD, 1600x720, 6.5" | Motorola Moto G 5G LTPS LCD, 2400x1080, 6.7" | Vivo Y70 AMOLED, 2400x1080, 6.4" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Response Times | -658% | -363% | 37% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 8 ? | 66.8 ? -735% | 42 ? -425% | 4.8 ? 40% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 6 ? | 40.8 ? -580% | 24 ? -300% | 4 ? 33% |
| PWM Frequency | 114.7 | 217.4 ? | 245.1 ? | |
| Screen | -13% | 24% | 21% | |
| Brightness middle | 581 | 543 -7% | 586 1% | 573 -1% |
| Brightness | 563 | 512 -9% | 565 0% | 572 2% |
| Brightness Distribution | 86 | 85 -1% | 88 2% | 97 13% |
| Black Level * | 0.63 | 0.61 | ||
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 4.34 | 4.9 -13% | 1.74 60% | 2.7 38% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 7.15 | 8.6 -20% | 4.09 43% | 4.9 31% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 4.9 | 6.3 -29% | 3 39% | 2.9 41% |
| Gamma | 2.327 95% | 2.23 99% | 2.244 98% | 2.19 100% |
| CCT | 7658 85% | 8120 80% | 6000 108% | 6665 98% |
| Contrast | 862 | 961 | ||
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -336% /
-174% | -170% /
-73% | 29% /
25% |
* ... smaller is better
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 6 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 3 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 3 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 16 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (20.7 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 8 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 5 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 3 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows fast response rates in our tests and should be suited for gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 18 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (32.3 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM detected | 114.7 Hz |  | |
The display backlight flickers at 114.7 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) . The frequency of 114.7 Hz is very low, so the flickering may cause eyestrain and headaches after extended use. In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8437 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. | |||
Performance, emissions and battery life - Sufficiently fast, but quite warm
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G is a good SoC in the mid-range smartphone and provides performance rates on par with the class. The Moto G 5G is a bit faster, but there is enough power for everyday tasks.
The UFS 2.1 memory is slightly slower than in the comparison devices. At 45 °C on the front, the device heats up considerably under prolonged load. However, the performance does not suffer from that. According to the 3DMark Wild Life Stress Test, the smartphone still delivers the same power as at the beginning after 20 test runs.
The mono speaker on the bottom edge can get quite loud and delivers decent sound. However, trebles are emphasized a bit too much from time to time. A 3.5 mm port for headphones is available.
With 4,500 mAh, the smartphone is a bit below other devices in its price range, but the runtime of 16:46 hours in our WLAN test is not bad. Thanks to 50-watt fast charging, the battery is also full again in just under an hour.
| PCMark for Android - Work 2.0 performance score (sort by value) | |
| Realme 8 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy A32 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G 5G | |
| Vivo Y70 | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G (7673 - 10181, n=7) | |
| GFXBench | |
| on screen Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Onscreen (sort by value) | |
| Realme 8 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy A32 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G 5G | |
| Vivo Y70 | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G (17 - 17, n=7) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (5.5 - 166, n=202, last 2 years) | |
| 1920x1080 Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Offscreen (sort by value) | |
| Realme 8 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy A32 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G 5G | |
| Vivo Y70 | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G (15 - 19, n=6) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (3.4 - 321, n=202, last 2 years) | |
| on screen Aztec Ruins High Tier Onscreen (sort by value) | |
| Realme 8 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy A32 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G 5G | |
| Vivo Y70 | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G (11 - 11, n=7) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (0.85 - 144, n=203, last 2 years) | |
| 2560x1440 Aztec Ruins High Tier Offscreen (sort by value) | |
| Realme 8 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy A32 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G 5G | |
| Vivo Y70 | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G (6.8 - 7.1, n=7) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (1.2 - 129, n=202, last 2 years) | |
| Realme 8 Pro | Samsung Galaxy A32 5G | Motorola Moto G 5G | Vivo Y70 | Average 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash | Average of class Smartphone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AndroBench 3-5 | 89% | 63% | 24% | 53% | 393% | |
| Sequential Read 256KB | 474 | 858 81% | 822 73% | 509 7% | 760 ? 60% | 2043 ? 331% |
| Sequential Write 256KB | 191.7 | 381.7 99% | 243 27% | 218.5 14% | 297 ? 55% | 1659 ? 765% |
| Random Read 4KB | 98.5 | 174.6 77% | 157.8 60% | 149.5 52% | 152.9 ? 55% | 285 ? 189% |
| Random Write 4KB | 84.8 | 167.1 97% | 167.8 98% | 164.3 94% | 131.6 ? 55% | 327 ? 286% |
| Sequential Read 256KB SDCard | 62.7 ? | 86.6 ? 38% | 43.11 ? -31% | 76 ? 21% | ||
| Sequential Write 256KB SDCard | 35.3 ? | 64.9 ? 84% | 37.03 ? 5% | 59.6 ? 69% |
Temperature
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 45 °C / 113 F, compared to the average of 35.1 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 63.7 °C for the class Smartphone.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 42.3 °C / 108 F, compared to the average of 33.9 °C / 93 F
(±) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 33.1 °C / 92 F, compared to the device average of 32.8 °C / 91 F.
Loudspeaker
Realme 8 Pro audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (84.7 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 32.3% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (11% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 4.5% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (5.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 3% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (4.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (22.8% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 48% of all tested devices in this class were better, 6% similar, 46% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 36%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 65% of all tested devices were better, 6% similar, 29% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Motorola Moto G 5G audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (82.5 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 67.3% lower than median
(+) | bass is linear (0% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(-) | nearly no mids - on average 67.3% lower than median
(+) | mids are linear (0% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(-) | nearly no highs - on average 67.3% lower than median
(+) | highs are linear (0% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(-) | overall sound is not linear (119.1% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 87% of all tested devices in this class were better, 9% similar, 4% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 36%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 96% of all tested devices were better, 3% similar, 1% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Battery life
| Realme 8 Pro 4500 mAh | Samsung Galaxy A32 5G 5000 mAh | Motorola Moto G 5G 5000 mAh | Vivo Y70 4100 mAh | Average of class Smartphone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | |||||
| WiFi Websurfing | 1006 | 1235 23% | 1056 5% | 819 -19% | 1035 ? 3% |
Pros
Cons
Verdict - Portable, enduring and flexible
The realme 8 Pro is clearly something for fans of light, slim smartphones. You should not attach importance to 5G, and you also have to get used to the 60 Hz display. The device is cleanly manufactured and is insensitive to fingerprints on the back
However, there are even faster devices for the same money in many areas: This applies to the Wi-Fi, the storage, and the processor performance. The realme 8 Pro does not do a bad job here, but it is not in first place either.
The realme 8 Pro is a good mid-range smartphone with a light casing, good runtimes and a flexible camera. 5G is missing, though.
The main camera takes quite good pictures, is flexible and also offers a lot to try out with the tilt-shift and star modes.
Overall, realme offers a decent package with the 8 Pro, but it has to face strong competition that is slightly superior in some areas.
Price and availability
The realme 8 Pro is not yet available from many online retailers at the time of review. However, it is available on Amazon.
Realme 8 Pro
- 08/31/2022 v7 (old)
Florian Schmitt
Price comparison
