Realme launched the Realme 8 5G in India a couple of months ago and launched a new variant a while back. But the budget segment seems incomplete if we don’t talk about Xiaomi, and that’s where the brand steps in with the Redmi Note 10S.
The Redmi Note 10S and the Realme 8 5G are the toughest of competitors when it comes to the budget segment. Where the Realme 8 5G is priced at Rs 13,999 for 4GB + 64GB variant, Rs 14,999 for 4GB + 128GB variant and Rs 16,999 for the 8GB + 128GB variant, the Redmi Note 10S is priced at Rs 14,999 for the 6GB RAM + 64GB storage variant and Rs 15,999 for the 6GB RAM + 128GB storage model.
So let’s put them against each other in a spec comparison to see which one is a better pick over the other.
Design & Display
Both the phones have a traditional and ordinary-looking design with the camera array on the top left and the branding on the bottom left. Both the Realme 8 5G and Redmi Note 10S come with a rectangular camera array, but the one on the Redmi Note 10S has a different design that lies along the Mi 11. In our opinion, design-wise, the winner would be the Redmi Note 10S.
Coming to display, the Realme 8 5G sports a 6.5-inch full-HD (1,080×2,400 pixels) display with a 90Hz screen refresh rate, 90.5 percent screen-to-body ratio, 405ppi Pixel density, and 600 nits of peak brightness.
The Redmi Note 10S, on the other hand, sports a 6.43-inch FHD Super AMOLED Display with a 20:9 AMOLED screen, up to 1100 nits brightness, 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection.
Considering brightness and colours are the priority for a user, the Redmi Note 10S is a better pick as it comes with an AMOLED display which will output better and punchier colours than an IPS LCD display found on the Realme 8 5G and will also be considerably brighter. However, if the Refresh Rate is a priority for the user, the Realme 8 5G would win here with a 90Hz refresh rate compared to 60Hz on Note 10S.
In our opinion, an AMOLED display will provide a better end-consumer experience and will prove to be successful in more scenarios than a 90Hz refresh rate. So we would give this round to the Redmi Note 10S once again.
Performance & Software
The Redmi Note 10S is powered by the MediaTek Helio G95 SoC paired with Mali-G76 3EEMC4 GPU. The smartphone comes with up to 6GB of RAM and up to 128GB storage which is expandable up to 512GB via microSD card. The phone runs on MIUI 12.5 based on Android 11.
On the other hand, the Realme 8 5G is powered by a Dimensity 700 SoC coupled with up to 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. The phone runs on Realme UI 2.0 based on Android 11.
The Dimensity 700 can be considered a very slight upgrade over the MediaTek Helio G95 chip. Performance-wise, both the phones won’t disappoint you, and gaming should also be similar on both of them. But the Realme 8 5G gets the EDGE here with more RAM. Apart from that, the software can be a deciding factor here as MIUI is a more heavily skinned version of Android. At the same time, Realme UI is more cleaner comparatively, in our opinion. So in this segment, we would say the Realme 8 5G bounces back and gets the point.
Camera
You get a triple camera setup on the Realme 8 5G lead by a 48-megapixel primary camera with an f/1.8 lens, a 2-megapixel f/2.4 Monochrome portrait lens and another 2-megapixel f/2.4 macro lens. The Realme 8 5G has a 16-megapixel front camera for selfies and video calls.
For the optics, the Redmi Note 10S sports a quad-camera setup with a 64-megapixel primary sensor. The phone may come with an 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera, a 2-megapixel macro sensor, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. On the front, it features a 13-megapixel selfie shooter housed in a punch-hole.
Here, we would say the Redmi Note 10S is a clear winner with an extra Wide-Angle sensor with more useful scenarios than monochrome or a macro lens. The camera setup on the Realme 8 5G isn’t as useful as it is on the Redmi Note 10S. Apart from that, we would have to check the real-life samples for declaring a winner regarding which of them takes better pictures. But in terms of on-paper specs, the Redmi Note 10S has once again scored a point.
Battery & additional features
A 5,000mAh battery backs the Redmi Note 10S with support for 33W fast charging. It has a side fingerprint sensor. You also get a dual stereo speaker setup, 3.5mm Headphone jack, and an IR Blaster. The Redmi Note 10S only has 4G LTE connectivity.
The Realme 8 5G is backed by a 5000mAh battery but comes with a slower 18W quick charge support. The device also has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, single bottom-firing speaker, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The Realme 8 5G comes with 5G support.
The Redmi Note 10S again wins with faster-charging speeds, dual speakers, and an IR blaster missing on the Realme 8 5G.
Apart from Software and a slightly better Processor on the Realme 8 5G, we can say that the Redmi Note 10S does seem to be a better overall package that provides a decent value for the price. The Realme 8 doesn’t seem like a bad phone but is just missing out on the value which the Note 10S provides. However, if software, 90Hz display and 5G connectivity matter the most to you, the Realme 8 5G is a decent pick as well.