Every few years comes a challenger in the smartphone market and that brand at the moment is Realme, which is going all out on hardware and experience. Though the company is releasing one phone after another, besides having plenty of IoT offerings, it’s mostly good... mostly. The latest is Realme 8S 5G smartphone, which fires on many cylinders, especially display and performance.
A budget device, but it comes with a well-tuned primary camera that can take crisp, contrast-y photographs under all kinds of lighting. The 64MP primary shooter reminds one of the Realme 8 and it offers a good dynamic range, which we found useful while taking snaps under overcast situations. Where the real improvement resides is in low-light capabilities, which turn out some great shots even though the sensor size is not the largest you get in the segment. There is a dedicated night mode that actually works, minus too much noise. Giving support to the primary camera are two 2MP shooters —macro and depth. The depth camera works well but the macro sensor is pretty much the same as what you find on most phones. Missing is an ultra-wide shooter, which would have made a difference to those who take a lot of photos.
In way of display, this is very good quality IPS LCD panel with 90Hz refresh rate. You get FHD+ and WideVine L1 support for HD content on OTT platforms. Bright and well calibrated, the colours jump at you and browsing is super smooth. Coming to performance, it’s driven by Dimensity 810 octa core processor that allows a lag-free experience. It’s not meant to be a gaming device, yet it can handle most titles minus ultra-high graphics settings but there’s fluidity and consistency. We had for review the 8GB variant with an extra 3GB virtual RAM, which seems to be becoming the norm on many Android devices. It especially helps with app switching and browsing on budget phones. The other area Realme is pushing itself constantly is UI, keeping it simple. There is some bloatware but it can be deleted.
Coming to battery, the 5,000mAh slab supports 33W fast-charging, taking it from zero to 100 in less than 90 minutes. Since this is not a demanding processor, we were easily able to get one and a half days, even after quite a bit of streaming as well as browsing.
When it comes to purchasing decision, don’t base it on 5G which the phone offers because by the time the technology is made available in India, you will be ready to get a new phone. If an ultra-wide shooter or stereo speakers is important to you, try the Realme 8 Pro or the Samsung Galaxy A22 or Redmi Note 10 Pro. Realme 8S 5G is for those who want a decent camera that doesn’t fail at night.
At a glance
The Telegraph
Device: Realme 8S 5G
Price: Rs 17,999 onwards (6GB+128GB)
High notes
• Bright display
• Good performance
• Excellent nighttime photography
Muffled notes
• Missing ultra-wide lens
• No stereo speakers
