Realme GT 8 Pro review

Pricing

These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales.

256GB 12GB RAM	$ 1,669.00	£ 1,245.00
512GB 16GB RAM	$ 1,199.00	$ 1,311.66
Show all prices

Introduction

Super bright display, massive battery, high-end chipset - that was the Realme GT 7 Pro. Well, the GT 8 Pro has those things too, but builds on those pillars, adding another level of excellence - it's now got cameraphone aspirations too.

To signal this new development, the brand has collaborated with Ricoh - it's not quite as high-profile a camera maker as Leica or Hasselblad, but it's something. A significantly better telephoto camera and an improved ultrawide module promise nicer images, while replaceable camera island covers mean you can shoot in style too.

The already bright display of the predecessor has gotten even brighter for this year's model, now peaking at 7,000nits. Another 7,000 can be seen in the battery capacity field of the GT 8 Pro's specsheet, up from what was an impressively-equipped GT 7 Pro. And, sure enough, this latest model's chipset is the newest Snapdragon Elite that Qualcomm has to offer.

The list of niceties includes trivial but still premium stuff like the ultrasonic underdisplay fingerprint sensor, a pair of symmetrical speakers, Dolby Vision support for playback and recording alike, extra-tight dust and water sealing, extra fast charging capability - the GT 8 Pro is shaping up to be quite the complete package.

Realme GT 8 Pro specs at a glance:

• Body: 161.8x76.9x8.2mm, 218g; Glass front, aluminum frame, fiber-reinforced plastic back or silicone polymer (eco leather) back; IP68/IP69 dust tight and water resistant (high pressure water jets; immersible up to 2m for 30 min).
• Display: 6.79" AMOLED, 1B colors, 144Hz, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, 1000 nits (typ), 2000 nits (HBM), 7000 nits (peak), 1440x3136px resolution, 19.6:9 aspect ratio, 508ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8850-AC Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (3 nm): Octa-core (2x4.6 GHz Oryon V3 Phoenix L + 6x3.62 GHz Oryon V3 Phoenix M); Adreno 840.
• Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 256GB 16GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM, 1TB 16GB RAM; UFS 4.1.
• OS/Software: Android 16, up to 4 major Android upgrades, Realme UI 7.0.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, 22mm, 1/1.56", 1.0µm, multi-directional PDAF, OIS; Telephoto: 200 MP, f/2.6, 65mm, 1/1.56", 0.5µm, multi-directional PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 50 MP, f/2.0, 16mm, 116˚, 1/2.88".
• Front camera: 32 MP, f/2.4, 24mm (wide), 1/3.1".
• Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@30fps, 4K@30/60/120fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, gyro-EIS, HDR, Dolby Vision, 10-bit LOG; Front camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps; gyro-EIS, HDR, Dolby Vision.
• Battery: 7000mAh; 120W wired, 120W UFCS, 14.4W PD, 55W PPS, 14.4W QC, 15 min to 50%, 43 min to 100%, 50W wireless, 79 min to 100%.
• Connectivity: 5G; eSIM; Wi-Fi 7; BT 6.0, aptX HD, LHDC 5; NFC; Infrared port.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, ultrasonic); stereo speakers.

Realme GT 8 Pro unboxing

Our GT 8 Pro review unit arrived in a full-size box like in the good old days, and in it there was a charger too - don't count on getting one if you're in most of the EU. If you do get one, it should be the 120W SuperVOOC one that supposedly maxes the phone's charging speed. A USB-A-to-C cable should be part of the package regardless of where you are. Also included is a protective case for the phone.

The thing with the case is that its camera opening isn't going to be compatible with all possible shapes of camera island covers (more on that on the next page), and the phone may come with more than one of those. We're not entirely sure how all that's going to work. There's a tiny screwdriver in the box - that one works as expected.