Realme 8i is the latest release from the smartphone company, Realme. It recently launched a budget smartphone Realme C21Y in Nepal. Realme has been active these days as it is targeting a new set of audiences for its smartphones. The upgrades and features in the latest releases seem it will be giving tough competition to the leaders Mi and Samsung in the coming days.
Today, we have Realme 8i on our hands and will provide you the detailed specification of the phone. Using this, we have found the phone quite impressive, of course, given the price it comes at. In all respects, from display and camera to performance and storage, the phone looks a fair bargain or even cheaper. The company has improved on the camera aspect that we had identified as a problem in its previous model, Realme C21Y.
Yet, there are some minor problems that the company still needs to work on.
So, what are the strengths and weaknesses of the phone? Read below.
Specifications
| Dimension | Length: 164.1mm Depth: 8.5mm Width: 75.5mm Weight: 194 grams |
| Display | 6.6 inches IPS LCD, 600 nits 120Hz refresh rate 180Hz touch sampling rate 90.8% screen to body ratio |
| Resolution | 1080*2412 pixels |
| Camera | Front: 16MP Rear: 50 MP, f/1.8 2 MP, f/2.4 (macro) 2 MP, f/2.4 (depth) |
| OS | Android 11, Realme UI 2.0 |
| Chipset | Mediatek Helio G96 (12nm) |
| GPU | Mali-G57 MC2 |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Storage | 64GB |
| Battery | Li-Po 5000 mAh, non-removable 18W fast charging |
| Loudspeaker | Loudspeaker, 3.5mm jack |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11, dual-band, Bluetooth 5.1, USB Type-C 2.0 |
| Sensors | Side-mounted fingerprint sensor, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass |
| Colours | Space black and space purple |
Inside the box
Upon unboxing this phone, you will get:
- Realme 8i
- USB Type-C Cable
- 18W charge adapter
- Sim card needle
- Screen protect film
- Protect case
- User manual
Design and display
At the first glance, the Realme 8i phone looks dazzling. The phone has a glass front, a plastic frame and a plastic back. The gloss finish at the back makes the phone look more impressive, but you will have to deal with the fingerprints on the phone. The phone has an 8.5mm thickness and weighs 194 grams and is comfortable on the hands.
Along with traditional pin code, for security, Realme 8i has a face lock and fingerprint sensor. The fingerprint sensor is on the side of the phone and it sure is fast. The face unlock system is also fast and has an interesting animation.
There is a 6.6-inch IPS LCD display on the phone with a peak brightness of 600 nits and a maximum resolution of 1,080*2,412 pixels. Since the phone supports a high refresh rate of 120Hz, swiping through the phone is very smooth and with six refresh rates, the phone also conserves battery power. The phone also has a touch sampling rate of 180Hz. A large screen along with a smooth touch experience is something really good to have in a smartphone. The phone also has a whopping 90.8% screen-to-body ratio which means the user will enjoy a bigger part of the screen.
Camera
Realme 8i has an AI triple camera setup on the back. The primary is a 50MP camera housed together with a 2MP macro, 2MP depth sensor along with an LED flash. You can capture videos at 1080p both with the front and rear cameras.
The photos taken by the camera are pretty impressive for its category. The photos look sharp and clear. Even the selfies are good. The camera has some impressive features for the users like slo-mo, time-lapse, movie, pro mode, panorama mode, ultra macro mode, night mode and dual-video mode. There is also a 50MP camera option, with which you can capture photos with a bigger resolution. A bigger resolution automatically means a bigger space.
Night mode and dual-video mode are definitely the highlights of Realme 8i. Through the dual-video mode, one can easily capture the videos of both front and back ends. This is something really exciting as you can capture the view as well as your reaction at the same time.
Similarly, the night mode of the phone is also exciting. Even with minimal light, with night mode on, you can capture decent photographs. Another impressive feature about the camera of Realme 8i is that the front camera also has a panorama mode which can take a wide-angle photo for you.
Performance and battery life
Realme 8i runs on Android 11 with Realme UI 2.0 on top. There is a Mediatek Helio G96 chipset on the phone while the graphics are handled by Mali-G57 MC2. The phone has smooth performance and switching between the apps is easy and effortless.
We opened and used more than 10 apps at once and most of the time, there was no problem switching between the apps. The transition between the apps was pretty smooth. We also tested some games, and, surprisingly, those games ran without any lags.
Giving power to the phone is a 5000 mAh non-removable Li-Po battery that supports an 18W fast charging. Realme 8i has a super power-saving mode, with which the users can get up to 2.4 hours of calls, 1.3 hours of online chats and up to two hours of music even with only 5% power. The company claims with a full charge, you can game for eight hours.
The battery backup of the phone during our use was also pretty good. Even with excessive use, the phone had a decent 35-45% battery left every day.
Storage, connectivity and price
The phone has two versions in the market currently. The first has 4GB RAM and 64GB internal memory. Likewise, the second has 6GB RAM and 128GB internal memory.
There is an option of extending the memory with an SD card and the phone has a dedicated slot for it.
Connecting the phone are Wi-Fi 802.11, dual-band, Bluetooth 5.1 and USB Type-C 2.0. For audio, the phone has a loudspeaker as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack.
The price for Realme 8i in Nepal is Rs 23,799 for a 4/64 GB version and Rs 27,199 for a 6/128GB variant.
Verdict
This is yet another well-performing smartphone from Realme. It directly rivals Redmi 10 prime and Samsung F22. But, with only a price tag of Rs 23,799, the phone offers a 120Hz display, triple AI camera, big battery backup, fast charging and a great display. These are a pretty rare combination for smartphones in this price category.
It also has pretty interesting features that make this smartphone fun to use. The user interface of the phone is smooth; the camera quality is equally impressive; the battery is durable; the processor is better as well. The phone is comfortable on the hands and looks impressive as well. The gloss finish gives an eye-catching look to the phone.
You will, however, have to constantly wipe your fingerprints from the back of the phone if you are using it without any cover. With a cover, this should not be a problem. Also, there is no Gorilla Glass protection for the screen. This can be a problem for Realme as their rival Mi are providing the Gorilla Glass protection on their smartphone of a similar price category.
There are also some pre-installed apps on the phone and some Realme apps as well. The ads from those apps can be a little annoying. Other than that, Realme 8i might probably be one of the best smartphones under a budget of Rs 25,000.
