Redmi Note 10 vs realme 8: Which one should you buy?

Xiaomi’s Redmi and close competitor realme have both launched their marquee mid-range smartphones for 2021. The Redmi Note 10 and the realme 8 compete against each other for the attention of consumers looking for maximum bang for their buck. Their specs, features, and pricing are very similar, making it all the more difficult to choose between the two. So, which one comes out on top? Let’s find out in this Redmi Note 10 vs realme 8 comparison.

Redmi Note 10 vs realme 8

Specs

Design

If you put the Redmi Note 10 and the realme 8 side by side, the former is definitely more subtle and minimalistic in terms of design.

Xiaomi’s refreshed “Evol” design is a definite step-up over its predecessor. The large camera module at the back is the most noticeable change, and it’s now placed on the side rather than the center. The body of the device is all plastic with rounded sides and it’s available in three colors — Frost White, Shadow Black, and Aqua Green. The first two color options are uniform across the back panel, while the Aqua Green variant offers a slight gradient.

Coming to the realme 8, the company is gunning for a much bolder look that may not appeal to everyone. While the realme 7 had a basic brand logo at the back, the realme 8 goes all-in with the “Dare to Leap” slogan emblazoned right across the rear panel. realme calls this an “Infinite Bold Design,” but we’re not too hot on it. The device is available in Cyber Black and Cyber Silver colorways, both with plastic bodies.

In terms of dimensions, the Redmi Note 10 measures 160.46 x 74.5 x 8.29mm, while the realme 8 comes in at 160.6 x 73.9 x 7.99mm. So there’s not much of a difference here, and the minor difference in thickness is not very noticeable.

Features

The Redmi Note 10 and the realme 8 are quite similar when it comes to specs and features. The one major difference is the processor — Snapdragon 678 on the Redmi and the MediaTek Helio G95 on the realme. Both are octa-core mid-range CPUs with LTE/4G connectivity. However, the Snapdragon offers slightly higher clock speeds than its MediaTek counterpart (2.2GHz vs 2.05GHz).

While the real-world performance of the two phones should be largely comparable, you can expect the Qualcomm chipset to be slightly better at gaming and power optimization. We’ve already seen what the Helio G95 can do on realme phones as it’s the same SoC the company also used on the realme 7.

In terms of RAM, the realme 8 one-ups the Redmi Note 10 by offering 8GB of RAM at the top end. Meanwhile, the Note 10 falls a bit short at 6GB RAM.

Interestingly, the Redmi Note 10 starts off with a 64GB base variant, which should save you a bit of money if your requirements are more frugal. You can always buy a microSD card should you require more storage later. In contrast, the realme 8 only comes in a single 128GB expandable storage option.

Also read: The best phones under 20,000 rupees in India

Elsewhere, both the Redmi Note 10 and the realme 8 pack 6.4-inch FHD+ AMOLED displays with a 60Hz refresh rate and punch-hole selfie cameras. The duo also has the exact same 5,000mAh battery capacity, but you get slightly faster 33W charging on the Note 10 compared to the realme 8’s 30W charging.

Coming to the cameras, the realme 8 houses a higher resolution 64MP main camera compared to the Redmi Note 10’s 48MP primary shooter. Both phones also have an 8MP 119-degree ultra-wide camera, a 2MP macro shooter for those ultra close-up novelty clicks, and a 2MP depth sensor for portrait shots. The realme 8’s depth camera is the same black-and-white camera we’ve previously seen on the company’s Narzo series of devices.

Photography features on the realme 8 include a Dual-View mode that allows users to capture videos from both the front and rear cameras simultaneously. The Redmi Note 10 lacks this trick.

Lastly, the realme 8 features an in-display fingerprint sensor which is rare at its price range. The Redmi Note 10, on the other hand, sticks to a tried-and-tested physical fingerprint sensor housed in the power button.

Price

The Redmi Note 10 is available in India at Rs. 13,999 for the 4GB/64GB model and Rs. 15,499 for the 6GB/128GB variant.

The realme 8 comes in more expensive at Rs. 15,999 for the base 4GB variant, and Rs. 16,999 and Rs. 17,999 for the 6GB and 8GB RAM variants, respectively.

Redmi Note 10 vs realme 8: Which one should you buy?

As you might have concluded, both the Redmi Note 10 and the realme 8 are quite similar in what they have to offer. However, our money is on the Xiaomi phone for several reasons.

The standard Redmi Note 10 variant is significantly cheaper than the realme 8’s base model without making many compromises. Yes, it offers less internal storage, but you can always tack on some more with its dedicated microSD slot. In fact, for the price of the 6GB realme 8, you can actually get the Redmi Note 10 Pro which will give you a 120Hz display and a 108MP camera — a much superior device.

We also reviewed the realme 8 Pro and found that the in-display fingerprint sensor functioned very poorly. That’s also the case with the regular realme 8, much to our disappointment. On the other hand, the Redmi phone sticks to a physical fingerprint sensor that just works.

We are also not a fan of realme’s custom UI and found it to be quite buggy and unreliable. MIUI is not perfect either, but the reduced number of ads and a much higher degree of refinement in daily use stands out.

Between the two phones, we’d opt for the Redmi Note 10 simply because it feels like a much more polished product compared to the realme 8. The Redmi Note 10 could be your best bet at its sub-Rs. 15,000 price.