What a difference a couple of years make for 5G availability in mobile devices. What was once a specification unique to top-end flagships is now available in less expensive entry-level releases. The likes of Xiaomi, OnePlus, and Samsung have all come out with mid- to budget-range devices that support the new network standard. 

Not to be outdone is Realme, launching the Realme 8 5G with a suggested retail price of P11,990. It’s only P2,000 more expensive than the Redmi Note 10 5G, which is the most affordable 5G phone in the Philippines so far. 

What do those extra thousands get you? Close to the same experience, plus arguably better camera performance. Having also reviewed the Redmi Note 10 5G, there’s actually not a lot of differences between the two phones, spec-wise. Both have 6.5-inch screens, Dimensity 700 chipsets, 5,000mAh battery packs, and, of course, 5G support. 

The comparison is not a knock on the Realme 8 5G. In a way, it’s actually a compliment, given how well the Note 10 5G delivers on the value front. It’s practically the same here. The Realme 8 5G covers all the basics of a modern phone: decent performance, social media-ready cameras, and a fairly appealing design, to name a few.

There are compromises here and there, which is to be expected. But when you’re not after flashy party trick features, this is a solid 5G-ready package that won’t burn a hole through your pockets. 

The phone shares a lot of aesthetic similarities with the Realme 8 and 8 Pro, being that it’s a variant of that series. It has that same base design with the curved edges, the sleek camera array, and the average-sized cutout at the top left corner of the screen, albeit that it’s on a much thicker body. That thickness is even more apparent when viewed from the sides. The good thing is there’s not much heft to it and it still feels very ergonomic in-hand. 

I like how the lenses do not protrude out of the camera array, though the array itself adds a considerable bump on the back. The glossiness of the plastic back also adds to the appeal of the design, as most other phones do. It’s not a bad-looking phone; it’s just rather generic. 

Moving on to the display, the full HD LCD screen is big and bright. And at 6.5-inches, there’s definitely a lot of screen real estate to work with. It also supports 90Hz screen refresh rate, which has sort of now become standard for phones in this segment.

The choice to go with an LCD screen is a bit disappointing, but I understand that this is the tradeoff to fit the higher refresh rate option of the screen. Admittedly, I much prefer the sharper AMOLED of the base 8 and 8 Pro models, which are stuck with the 60Hz refresh rate. LEDs generally provide more vivid colors and better contrast over LCD. All things considered, however, the display here is still very good for just about everything you’ll need it for. 

For cameras, the Realme 8 5G packs a triple rear-camera setup consisting of a 48MP main sensor, a 2MP macro sensor, and a 2MP depth sensor. Personally, I’d replace the macro sensor with an ultra-wide or telephoto to make the setup a bit more flexible.

Photo by Kyle Chua/Rappler

Then again, that might just kick the price up and make it more expensive than it should be. I’m fine with what’s here, but from my experience with Realme’s previous releases, the macro sensor is a bit too fiddly for my liking. It’s worth pointing out that the macro sensor doesn’t come with auto-focus, which can sometimes make taking good photos a chore.

At least the 48MP main sensor performs really well. After all, it does most of the heavy lifting. It comes with a f/1.8 lens and pretty good focusing speeds. Photos come out looking natural and sharp, plus there’s plenty of detail to go around. Night photography is not too shabby either, although noise is almost always present. Everything just feels about right for the price point. I might even go as far as say that the cameras here are a notch better than the Redmi 10 5G phones. 

The phone also features a 16MP front-facing camera with an f/2.1 lens. 

Under the hood, the Realme 8 5G houses a MediaTek Dimensity 700 chipset, along with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It’s fairly run-of-the-mill, but it’s capable enough to run graphically-demanding games like Call of Duty: Mobile and Genshin Impact in low-to-medium settings. 

There’s also the option to boost the phone’s memory via virtual RAM expansion. It’s a process that involves using a part of the internal storage as temporary RAM for a period of time. While it doesn’t compare to actually adding physical memory, it supposedly helps boost general performance for a phone. 

The Realme 8 5G lets you get up to 5GB of extra memory. I didn’t really notice a significant difference in speed and smoothness, but enabling the option seemed to have helped me run more background apps without experiencing any sort of slowdown. Your mileage will probably vary from mine depending on what game or apps you’re running. The option can be found in the phone’s settings. 

As for the battery, the phone has a 5,000mAh pack that supports fast charging of up to 18 watts. The battery itself lasts quite long, which is great, of course. It just doesn’t charge as fast as the 8 Pro’s 50 watts and base 8’s 30 watts. Using 5G connections and toggling the 90Hz screen refresh rate will likely hasten battery drain, so having faster fast-charging might help remedy that issue. 

The phone takes about 2 and a half hours to fully charge. It’s not too slow, but it’s not fast either. At least the battery can last more than a day with moderate usage. The battery seems to be optimized in a way where it’s not draining juice when you’re not using it. This allows you to get more use out of it, granted that you’re not the type to have a lot of apps running at any one time. 

Oh, I also love that it features a headphone jack because the speakers are really nothing to write home about. 

When I reviewed the Redmi Note 10 5G last month, I thought that there was no way another 5G phone could come close to it in terms of value for money. Boy, was I wrong. Here’s the Realme 8 5G, a phone with nearly identical specs but touts better camera performance for just P2,000 more. If you’re looking for a budget 5G phone, you can’t go wrong with this one. I personally recommend forking the extra cash for this over the Redmi Note 10, if cameras matter to you. – Rappler.com

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