Everyone’s looking for that bang-for-your-buck smartphone these days. Recently, Xiaomi unveiled the Redmi 8, a successor to the Redmi 7 that launched early this year. Realme, on the other hand, came out with their latest budget smartphone, the Realme 5. If you’re considering both smartphones, maybe this comparison article will help you out.
| REDMI 8 | REALME 5 |
|---|---|
| 6.22" IPS Dot Notch display, 1520 x 720 HD+ 270ppi, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 | 6.5" Mini-drop HD+ (1600 x 720) Full-screen display, Corning Gorilla Glass 3+ |
| Qualcomm Snapdragon 439 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 |
| Adreno 505 | Adreno 610 |
| 3GB / 4GB RAM | 3GB / 4GB RAM |
| 32GB / 64GB storage | 32GB / 64GB / 128GB |
| Expandable up to 512GB via microSD | Expandable storage up to 256GB via microSD |
| 12MP + 2MP dual rear cameras | 12MP F1.8 main + 8MP F2.25 Ultra-Wide lens + 2MP Portrait + 2MP Macro quad-cameras |
| 8MP front camera | 13MP front camera |
| Dual SIM | Dual SIM |
| 4G LTE | 4G LTE |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth |
| Rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, AI face unlock | Rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, Face unlock |
| IR blaster | No IR Blaster |
| 3.5mm headphone jack | 3.5mm headphone jack |
| USB-C | microUSB |
| 5,000mAh battery with 18W fast charging support | 5,000mAh battery with 10W charging |
| MIUI 10 (Android 9 Pie) | ColorOS 6 (Android 9 Pie) |
Advantages of each smartphone:
- Corning Gorilla Glass 5
- Expansion up to 512GB
- USB-C
- 18W fast charging support
- IR blaster
Realme 5
- Larger display
- Snapdragon 665
- 128GB storage option
- Quad rear cameras
Starting off with the displays, the Realme 5 sports a screen measuring at 6.5-inches, bigger than the Redmi 8’s 6.22 inches. Both devices have a drop notches up top, with thin bezels running along the sides of the screen. The Redmi 8 has a heftier chin with the Redmi logo printed across it while the Realme 5’s chin is quite slimmer compared to it. The Redmi 8 does win when it comes to screen protection, as the device comes equipped with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 while the Realme 5 only has Corning Gorilla Glass 3+.
Diving into the hardware, the Redmi 8 gets the Snapdragon 439 chipset that’s mostly found in entry-level smartphones. The Realme 5, on the other hand, blows the Redmi 8 out of the water with its mid-ranger Snapdragon 665 chipset. The Redmi 8’s choice of processor is rather odd, given that its predecessor, the Redmi 7, had a Snapdragon 632 chipset. Both the Redmi 8 and the Realme 5 offers two RAM variants: 3GB and 4GB.
On the storage front, the Redmi 8 offers consumers two configurations, namely 32GB and 64GB. The Realme 5 not only offers the two mentioned storage spaces, but it also adds on a 128GB option to its choices. The devices both have a dedicated microSD card slot for additional storage; the Realme 5 can only expand up to 256GB, while the Redmi 8 can bump it up to 512GB.
As for cameras, the Realme 5 brings a quadruple rear setup to the table, composed of 12MP + 8MP ultra-wide + 2MP portrait + 2MP macro shooters. Meanwhile, the Redmi 8 only has half the number with its 12MP + 2MP dual rear camera setup. Upfront, the Redmi 8 has an 8MP lens, while the Realme 5 carries a 13MP one. A quick glance at the numbers and higher resolutions shows that the Realme 5 has the upper hand but of course, it doesn’t exactly mean it’ll be the case with the photo quality. We’ve yet to see the photos produced by the devices, though.
The smartphones both have a massive 5,000mAh battery capacity, but they differ in the part that the Redmi 8 supports 18W fast charging while the Realme 5 has 10W charging. The Redmi 8 comes with a USB-C port, while the Realme 5 is stuck with a sad, outdated microUSB port. A 5,000mAh battery plus a microUSB port is not exactly the kind of combination users would want, and so the Redmi 8 definitely trumps this round.
Both handsets have rear-mounted fingerprint scanners and face unlock as their biometrics options. An IR blaster is included with the Redmi 8, and it’s a feature that the Realme 5 doesn’t have. Wired headphones users can also rejoice for the two devices sport the 3.5mm headphone jack. For operating systems, both the Redmi 8 and Realme 5 have Android 9 Pie; their difference is that the former has Xiaomi’s MIUI 10 skin, while the latter has ColorOS 6.
The devices and their respective configurations are priced as follows:
- 3GB + 32GB – PHP 6,490
- 4GB + 64GB – PHP 6,990
Realme 5
- 3GB + 32GB – PHP 6,990
- 3GB + 64GB – PHP 7,990
- 4GB + 128GB – PHP 9,990
The Redmi 8 looks to be the more affordable one out of the two, with the prices beginning at PHP 6,490 while the Realme 5 starts at PHP 6,990. If you’re under a tight budget and fond of having a massive battery, go for the Redmi 8. However, if you’d rather have quad cameras and a midrange chipset, get the Realme 5.
Isn’t the Redmi Note 8 the better competing product from Redmi?
It should be the Redmi Note 8 that is compared with the Realme 5. Both have similar specs and similar prices.
Why use the Redmi 8 to compare to Realme 5 instead of the Redmi Note 8?