I have never put my hands on a realme phone before this review of the realme GT 8 Pro. My time at Computex led me to believe that the brand was dedicated to trendy and somewhat gimmicky devices, aimed at younger audiences (have you seen the Game of Thrones phone, or the colour-changing 14 Pro?). That certainly has a place in the smartphone market, and I respected that. When I agreed to review the realme GT 8 Pro, I thought I would be taking on something fun and cute. I was pleasantly surprised when I looked under the hood and saw all the GT 8 Pro had to offer.
Unboxing the realme GT 8 Pro was a pretty standard affair. Coming with a paper-like leather finish in Diary White and Urban Blue (and an Aston Martin variation somewhere in the world), I was shipped an Urban Blue model outside my region. So in the box I received the device, a USB-A to USB-C cable, a 120W charger (that I can’t use in Canada, but can take when I travel!), a SIM ejector tool, a black case and the usual paperwork. However, there was a second box, and that made the entire process just a little bit more interesting.
The second box was labelled “Detachable Camera Decoration Protective Cover Set”. That’s a mouthful, but what it boils down to is a removable piece that changes the camera cover of the realme GT 8 Pro from a circular bump to a square. A thin metal bracket, the world’s tiniest screwdriver, additional screws and a case to match the square bracket were included in the box. It is a totally new way to customize your phone. I’ve never seen anything like it.
“I was pleasantly surprised when I looked under the hood and saw all the GT 8 Pro had to offer.”
This falls into that gimmicky area that I thought realme thrived in, and I wasn’t entirely wrong. Is this necessary? Absolutely not. Is it neat? It is! There was a period of time where smartphones would not stop coming out with bigger and bigger circular camera bumps—and some that never stopped. I’m looking at you, Xiaomi 15 Ultra. But right now, we are seeing that trend dissipate, and smartphones are moving more toward the iPhone aesthetic, like with the OnePlus 15.
If you are on the fence or like to switch things up, the realme GT 8 Pro has you covered, though buying cases you like will ultimately leave you picking a side, unless you’re all set with the included standard black case. The piece is shockingly easy to remove and replace, though those screws are ultra tiny. Nice of them to include extra, since there is no world in which I won’t lose one. It’s a neat feature that was fun to play with, and I landed on the square bump. I like staying trendy.
Gimmicks aside, the realme GT 8 Pro is a force to be reckoned with. I was able to attend the Snapdragon Summit a few months ago to learn about the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, and this is the first device I have had the chance to really put to the test—EIC Brendan Frye took the OnePlus 15 and had some great things to say—so I was eager to dive in. That comes with the Adreno 840 GPU, Android 16, Realme UI 7.0 and my device has 512GB of storage with 16GB of RAM. There are several configurations available with 12 or 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage.
“Gimmicks aside, the realme GT 8 Pro is a force to be reckoned with.”
The realme GT 8 Pro is filled with the latest and greatest internals and software, with the option for storage and RAM to suit your needs. This is definitely a premium smartphone, with the specs and performance to live up to that title. Realme boasts that the GPU alone features 23% higher performance and 20% better efficiency versus the realme GT 7 Pro. Sadly, I have not had the pleasure of using the previous generation, but I can note that this gen is blazingly fast and has done nothing but keep up with whatever I throw at it.
If you’ve ever seen the OnePlus videos before their phones launch, there is always someone powering through opening and closing apps to show how the UI never stalls or fails. I am happy to report that the realme GT 8 Pro lives up to the test, and the Realme UI 7.0 remains liquid smooth. Adding themes and live wallpapers never slowed this down, either.
In gaming, I gave a few different titles with different demands a spin. The first thing I noticed was how quickly Civilization VI loads on the realme GT 8 Pro. On past devices like the Xiaomi 15 and the OnePlus 13, load screens were pretty painful. Here, they are mere seconds, really showcasing what that Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 brings to the table. The game sat at a solid 30FPS (only because it doesn’t need more), and gliding across the map was incredibly fluid.
Playing Fortnite was also a pretty great experience on the realme GT 8 Pro. Of course, I wasn’t sitting on high settings or anything like that, but on lower settings, I was able to sit at over 40 FPS in the thick of a fight, with well over 90-100FPS running around the world. The device and game did record separate frames per second, though, with the game slightly lower. The graphics aren’t stunning, a bit grainy even, but it doesn’t affect gameplay in any way.
I did notice that the realme GT 8 Pro heated up a bit during gameplay in Fortnite, but didn’t see an issue with Civ VI in the slightest. The device hosts a 7K Ultimate VC Cooling System, and in practice, I was usually satisfied with the smartphone’s temperature. Even while transferring data from my last device, the GT 8 Pro stayed cool, whereas other devices have not. It was just my time playing Fortnite when I noticed it was slightly warmer.
The realme GT 8 Pro smartphone also features a 3200Hz Instant Touch Sampling rate, which really furthers your performance in gaming, or hinders you if you often press the wrong buttons. I would rather a mobile controller, but on-screen controls are ultra-responsive. Even the fingerprint sensor is lightning fast, making for a smoother overall experience.
“I am happy to report that the realme GT 8 Pro lives up to the test, and the Realme UI 7.0 remains liquid smooth.”
There are plenty of options in-game on the realme GT 8 Pro as well. You can create custom filters, adjusting the hue, saturation, contrast, brightness, etc., turn on AI Eye Comfort, Bypass Charging, and it even has a voice changer. Something called Championship Mode is also available. This turns off all alarms, notifications, calls, and more, and enables performance improvements like stabilizing refresh rates, and boasts a more immersive experience. It does warn that it can cause heating up and higher power consumption, however.
The display is yet another area where the realme GT 8 Pro is not messing around. I keep a handy little spreadsheet of smartphone specs since I write these reviews so often, and the GT 8 Pro is blowing them out of the water. I genuinely needed to double-check my specs because something seemed very wrong. The realme GT 8 Pro has a 6.79-inch’ LTPO AMOLED 2K display, which reaches a 144Hz refresh rate.
For reference, this beats out several flagships like the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, iPhone 17 Pro, Galaxy S25 Ultra and more that max out their displays at 120Hz, with the OnePlus 15 sitting at 165Hz. That being said, it isn’t even the surprising part. The realme GT 8 Pro reaches 7000 nits of peak brightness. The competition isn’t coming anywhere near that, with the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL at 3300 nits. This is complete overkill on realme’s part, but it sends a message that they are not to be topped.
In practice, I blinded myself a few times, accidentally blasting my screen in the dark. In all seriousness, games and media look outstanding on the realme GT 8 Pro, thanks to the rich colours, fast refresh rate, and overall clarity of the device. It showed me the darkest parts of Netflix’s new Frankenstein film with ease, even in my overexposed desk setup. I am more than happy with this display.
With the internals, display, and gaming performance all exceeding my expectations, it’s time to dive into the cameras. This can be a touchy subject in the smartphone world, with different brands prioritizing some things and sacrificing others. In realme’s case, it was the telephoto lens that received the biggest upgrade at 200MP compared to the GT 7 Pro’s 50MP, with the ultra-wide being improved from 8MP to 50MP.
I wish I were somewhere nicer for this review, like when I reviewed the Xiaomi 15T Pro in Hawaii. It’s very grey and cold in Ontario right now, so photos are lacking and could use some better locations. Let me tell you, though, grey or not, this telephoto lens impressed. From my apartment, I could easily zoom in up to 32x and snap photos with fairly clear text, clean lines, and even moving cars were pretty clear. With past devices, you could very clearly see where AI took over to clean up a photo, but the realme GT 8 Pro was able to produce decently clear images, no matter the distance.
The standard Sony IMX906 50MP lens performed well overall, too. As a true smartphone tester, I obviously relied on photos of my cats for testing. Where one cat tends to never sit still, the realme GT 8 Pro struggled to keep up, even while holding the shutter button for rapid photos. Her fur was more blurred than not. In still photos, the device was able to capture the details in their fur as well as small colour inflections that added a nice touch.
Photos of people were also pretty good overall, though they lost detail when you blew them up and examined them closely. Colours were a little brighter than life in the regular photo mode, which really made things like flowers—or the sprinkles on my birthday ice cream—stand out. I do think that the realme GT 8 Pro struggles a little in lower light, with pictures in restaurants or around my home at night feeling dull. They were still clear, though not as full of detail.
Realme has been in partnership with RICOH Imaging to develop the RICOH GR mode. For me, I tend to really focus more on quick snaps of real-life moments, but I was pleasantly surprised with what I got out of this mode. Even just a quick snap at my desk of something simple like a Coke can featured colours that were richer and more true to life than the standard camera mode.
Of course, it wouldn’t be 2025 if we didn’t have to talk about the AI capabilities of the smartphone, too. The realme GT 8 Pro has plenty of AI tools, for photos especially, and I was impressed with what it brings to the table. AI Eraser on the GT 8 Pro is one of the best I have used, able to remove items and people near flawlessly, and create new backgrounds that look surprisingly real.
Perfect Shot will scan your photos and allow you to put a new version of your face on your body, but does so in a way that looks completely natural. Even Unblur helped me clear up those photos of my constantly moving cat. Call me impressed.
Battery is the final thing that I want to touch on with the realme GT 8 Pro, and, big surprise, it is FANTASTIC. The device features a 7000mAh battery, which supports 120W wired and 50W wireless charging. Charging didn’t completely impress me, but it was more than sufficient. As the 120W charger was not for my region, I used a 130W device in Quiet Charging mode to get about 15% in 10 minutes. You can swap out of this mode for more performance, though.
“I thought I was getting into a cute and trendy phone, and I have been blown away by the realme GT 8 Pro.”
The real surprise was how hard it was to kill the battery on the realme GT 8 Pro in the first place. With extensive use including streaming, scrolling, listening to music and heavy texting/emails, I would still get into bed after about 15 hours with over 50% battery. I have had zero problems with all-day use.
The only place I am still left unsure is with the price of the realme GT 8 Pro. Rumours are swirling that the device will be around €1199 (near $1400 USD), which would put it on par with other flagships from Xiaomi and Samsung. OnePlus is still the leader in affordable flagships; however, at $999 USD for their 512GB model. In terms of value and price, OnePlus continues to strike the best balance, but the realme GT 8 Pro smartphone is going blow-for-blow with some of the best devices out there. This is all speculation, though, and we will get correct pricing at the official launch.
The realme GT 8 Pro is being boasted as the company’s “Best Flagship in realme History,” and the company has really backed up that claim. The device’s performance speaks for itself. I thought I was getting into a cute and trendy phone, and I have been blown away by the realme GT 8 Pro. This is a flagship to compete with, and it puts realme on the map in a way that can rival the biggest smartphone companies out there today.
