Realme 8i review

The competition

The Realme 8i is a particularly interesting smartphone on a budget because of its 120Hz adaptive display and the 50MP primary camera. We were also impressed by its battery life, smooth and responsive interface, and we did like its design.

There are a couple of interesting offers in this price bracket, so let's take a look at them now.

The biggest threat to the Realme 8i is, of course, the Redmi 10 that's priced precisely the same. It has a slower 90Hz display of a similar size and somewhat inferior performance, but it trumps the Realme with stereo speakers and an ultra-wide camera. We guess you should choose whether camera or performance matter the most to you.

The Poco M3 Pro 5G, another Xiaomi-made phone, is priced closely to the Realme 8i and is interesting for its 5G connectivity and 90Hz display. The Poco is as fast as the Realme, but its camera quality is not as good.

The Moto G30 is even cheaper than the Realme 8i in some markets, and it impresses with a 90Hz display within a water-repellent body. The G30 has a quad-camera with a 64MP primary and an 8MP ultrawide shooter, can do 60fps videos, and there is FM radio - something that's quite rare these days. We also liked the clean Android 11, and the Moto app perks. There is a catch, of course - the Moto G30 is not as fast as the Realme 8i, and cannot offer a 120Hz display refresh rate, obviously.

Xiaomi Redmi 10 • Xiaomi Poco M3 Pro 5G • Motorola Moto G30

The other phones from Realme Series 8 are also worth considering. The Realme 8 will give you a 60Hz AMOLED screen and equally powerful hardware, plus, you will get an additional 8MP ultrawide shooter and faster 30W charging. The Realme 8 is about 15% more expensive than the Realme 8i, but we think there are people that will consider getting this over the 8i.

The Realme 8 5G costs as much as the Realme 8i, and for downgrading your screen refresh rate to 90Hz, you'd get 5G connectivity.

Or, if you live in India, the Narzo 30 is a great alternative as it's a rather similar phone at the same price, but you get 30W fast charging and 4K video capturing at the expense of a slower 90Hz refresh rate for the screen.

Realme 8 • Realme 8 5G • Realme Narzo 30

Our verdict

The Realme 8i is good at what it was made to do - offering an incredibly smooth Android+RealmeUI experience and snappy performance, it can last you impressively long with the 5,000mAh battery, and its camera is dependable day and night. We had nothing but positive impressions from the display, too, and it is one of the most adaptive on the market right now.

The Realme 8i is not ideal, but no budget phone can be perfect. It doesn't offer an ultrawide shooter or 30W+ fast charging, and there is no stereo sound unless you plug some headphones into its 3.5mm jack.

But hey, for as little as INR 13,999 or $190, the Realme 8i offers great design, screen and camera, and won't disappoint you with performance, connectivity and even speaker quality. If it ticks the right boxes on your checklist, the Realme 8i is a phone worth buying and having for your daily driver, and we do recommend it.

Pros

• Eye-catching design.
• Incredibly adaptive 120Hz LCD with good contrast.
• Outstanding battery life.
• Acceptable performance.
• Excellent photo quality, good Night Mode.
• Realme UI with RAM expansion.
• Affordable at launch.

Cons

• No splash resistance.
• No ultrawide camera.
• Quiet single speaker.