Realme 5i or Redmi Note 8: Which One Should You Buy?

Xiaomi and Realme are battling it out once again.

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By Pranay Parab | Updated: 10 January 2020 19:12 IST

Realme 5i price in India is Rs. 8,999

Realme 5i price in India has been revealed and having reviewed this smartphone, we're here to talk about it on our weekly podcast — Orbital. Reviewer Aditya Shenoy joins host Pranay Parab to discuss what makes this smartphone different from other Realme 5 series devices and whether it is worth buying. We begin this episode by talking about the Realme 5i's design. This is where there have been some subtle but useful changes on the Realme 5i. We talk about some curious design choices that make the Realme 5i feel outdated as well.

Next we talk about Realme 5i price in India and how it affects its camera quality. While the price is low enough for us to not have too many expectations from Realme 5i's camera, but you still have a right to expect a certain level of camera performance. Does the Realme 5i meet these expectations? We discuss at length. Then we talk about the software, performance, and battery life on the Realme 5i and whether the phone is worth buying.

Finally we talk about the competition for the Realme 5i. As we mentioned in our review, the Realme 5i faces stiff competition from Redmi Note 8 (Review), which offers a lot more for a slightly higher price. Which smartphone should you buy? We help you decide that on this episode.

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That's all for this week's episode of Orbital, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

 
REVIEW
  • Design
  • Display
  • Software
  • Performance
  • Battery Life
  • Camera
  • Value for Money
  • Good
  • Decent build quality
  • Very good battery life
  • Good daylight camera performance
  • Dedicated microSD card slot
  • Bad
  • No fast charging
  • Below average low-light camera performance
 
KEY SPECS
Display 6.52-inch
Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 665
Front Camera 8-megapixel
Rear Camera 12-megapixel + 8-megapixel + 2-megapixel + 2-megapixel
RAM 4GB
Storage 64GB
Battery Capacity 5000mAh
OS Android 9
Resolution 720x1600 pixels
NEWS
REVIEW
  • Design
  • Display
  • Software
  • Performance
  • Battery Life
  • Camera
  • Value for Money
  • Good
  • Good battery life
  • Full-HD+ screen
  • Bad
  • Not great for gaming
  • Camera quality and UI could be improved
  • Bloatware and spammy notifications in MIUI
 
KEY SPECS
Display 6.30-inch
Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 665
Front Camera 13-megapixel
Rear Camera 48-megapixel + 8-megapixel + 2-megapixel + 2-megapixel
RAM 4GB
Storage 64GB
Battery Capacity 4000mAh
OS Android 9 Pie
Resolution 1080x2280 pixels
NEWS
VARIANTS

Catch the latest from the Consumer Electronics Show on Gadgets 360, at our CES 2026 hub.

Further reading: Podcast, Orbital, Realme 5i, Redmi Note 8
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