The Realme 8 Pro has just launched alongside the Realme 8 in India. The Realme 8 Pro is a follow-up to the Realme 7 Pro and aims to take on the likes of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro Max with features like 108MP quad cameras, 50W fast charging support, Super AMOLED display and runs on Android 11 out-of-the-box.
On the other end of the spectrum, we have Xiaomi’s blue-eyed boy, the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max that launched earlier this month starting at Rs 18,999. Here we compare the Realme 8 Pro with the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max to see which one is the better camera and performance champion.
Also Read: Realme 8 Pro review: Good cameras, but are they enough?
The Realme 8 Pro starts at Rs 17,999 for the 6GB+128GB storage variant and Rs 19,999 for the 8GB RAM option with 128GB storage.
Meanwhile, the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max is priced starting at Rs 18,999 for the base variant with 6GB RAM + 64GB storage, Rs 19,999 for the 128GB storage and Rs 21,999 for the 8GB+128GB variant.
Also Read: Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro Max review: The new value for money king?
The Realme 8 Pro and the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max have the same 108MP primary camera that has an f/1.9 aperture with 9-in-1 pixel binning for high-res pictures. The main camera uses a Samsung ISOCELL HM2 sensor with PDAF support on the 8 Pro and dual Pixel PDAF support on the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max.
This is followed by an 8MP secondary ultra-wide-angle camera on the Realme 8 Pro and Redmi Note 10 Pro Max with 119-degrees and 118-degrees field-of-view respectively. Then there’s a 2MP macro camera and a 2MP depth sensor on the Realme 8 Pro while the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max has a 5MP macro camera and a 2MP depth sensor.
In our tests, we found the cameras on both phones to be on par with each other when it comes to well-lit environments. The Realme 8 Pro and the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max produce well-detailed pictures with natural colours. However, we found the pictures from the Realme 8 Pro to have more details in shadow areas and highlights.
The dedicated 108MP high-resolution mode is present on both phones. The Realme 8 Pro produces slightly better-detailed images but we also found the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max to work better in low-lit environments and in creating detailed macro shots.
Both phones are capable of producing good portrait pictures but the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max has better depth perception and edge detection in comparison to the Realme 8 Pro. Realme has done a good job with the camera's on the 8 Pro but yes there are areas where the company could have improved.
When it comes to the overall camera performance, our pick between the two phones has to be Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 10 Pro Max as it offers the most complete and balanced camera system with equal focus on the macro and portrait cameras. It has better low-light performance thanks to the Night Mode 2.0 and just generally produces good pictures that are pleasing to look at and can be directly shared on Instagram.
The Realme 8 Pro and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro Max also go head to head when it comes to raw performance under the hood. The Realme 8 Pro is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G processor that we have previously seen on the likes of the Realme 7 Pro and Redmi Note 9 Pro Max. So yes, it is not entirely a new processor but the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max does get an upgrade in the form of the Snapdragon 732G processor.
The Snapdragon 732G is said to offer a 10% jump in CPU performance and 75% improvement in GPU performance over the Snapdragon 720G. The Realme 8 Pro has an octa-core CPU with Kryo 465 cores running at upto 2.3GHz while the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max has slightly newer Kryo 470 cores running at 2.3GHz. This is paired with upto 8GB RAM and 128GB UFS 2.1 storage on the 8 Pro and UFS 2.2 standard storage on the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max.
We tested both the Realme 8 Pro and Redmi Note 10 Pro Max across a multitude of benchmarking apps as well as used the phones to browse the internet, use popular apps, play graphic-intensive games and more. Surprisingly, the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max did not rake up great results in benchmarking apps and scored lower than the MediaTek Dimensity 800U that we saw on the Realme Narzo 30 Pro.
During the benchmarking tests, the Realme 8 Pro managed to score 288127 points on the AnTuTu benchmark while the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max received a score of 238136 points.
On Geekbench, the Realme 8 Pro received a score of 568 in single-core tests and 1677 points in multi-core tests. Meanwhile, the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max was only able to achieve 560 points in single-core tests and 1761 points in multi-core tests.
In 3DMark’s Wildlife test, the Realme 8 Pro scores 1047 points while the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max received 1109 points. When playing games on the phones such as Call of Duty: Mobile the median FPS recorded was 53FPS with 98% stability whereas Asphalt 9 ran at a median of 30FPS with 98% stability.
On the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max, we recorded the median FPS while playing COD: Mobile to be 58FPS with 98% stability and 30FPS at 99% stability when playing Asphalt 9.
In real-world use, we did not witness any lag or stutters on the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max as the phone can handle graphic-intensive games and offer a sustained overall performance. The same, however, cannot be said for the Realme 8 Pro as we found the phone to be burdened under pressure when powering games like Asphalt and Call of Duty. That being said, the Realme 8 Pro is a decent performer when it comes to running apps, switching between them and handles basic browsing and apps like Chrome and Instagram very well.
Between the Realme 8 Pro and the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max, the latter takes the cake for offering buttery smooth performance, in part due to the support for a high-refresh-rate which is sadly missing from the Realme 8 Pro. The Realme 8 Pro with its feature set is a good deal for its asking price, just that the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max makes a better case for itself with its quad cameras, 120Hz high-refresh-rate display and overall balanced performance.