Realme XT vs. Redmi Note 8 Pro: Which should you buy?

Xiaomi and Realme have launched their first phones with 64-megapixel cameras, and interestingly enough, both brands are using identical quad camera arrays at the back. The rest of the hardware isn’t all that bad either, and with both phones set to make their way to global markets shortly, here’s what you need to know about the 64-megapixel revolution.

Two devices with near-identical specs

The rivalry between Xiaomi and Realme has intensified over the course of 2019, with both brands maintaining a frenetic pace. For Xiaomi, the stakes are high: the brand has stood at the summit of India’s handset market for eight straight quarters, and it doesn’t want to relinquish the crown. Realme, meanwhile, is breaking records of its own, picking up a market share of 9% in just 15 months.

There’s so much in common here that you’d be forgiven for thinking both phones are from the same brand.

In that context, it makes sense that both brands rolled out their 64-megapixel offerings in the same week. That said, Xiaomi has kicked off sales of the Redmi Note 8 Pro in China, whereas Realme is yet to formally launch the XT. An Indian launch is slated for a few weeks from now, which is when we’ll know how much the device costs.

With that out of the way, let’s get to the devices. I’m going to start with the Realme XT, because there are a few key changes on the design side of things. The phone now has a glass back with a gradient pattern, and both the front and back panes of glass are protected by Gorilla Glass 5. That’s a big deal for Realme, which has fielded polycarbonate designs in this segment this year. The switch to a glass panel makes the XT that much more premium.

Xiaomi, meanwhile, has been offering glass-backed designs for some time now. The Redmi Note 8 Pro picks up rounded corners and subtle curves at the back that make it easier to hold. The fit and finish is excellent, and the green color variant in particular looks stunning. Xiaomi is also offering a layer of Gorilla Glass 5 at the front and back.

The Redmi Note 8 Pro is marginally taller and wider than the Realme XT, likely because of the larger 4500mAh battery — versus the 4035mAh in the XT. The larger battery on the Redmi Note 8 Pro delivers better battery life as you’d imagine, but the Realme XT is no slouch either; you’ll easily get two days’ worth of use from both devices.

Dominating the front of the Redmi Note 8 Pro is a 6.53-inch FHD+ IPS LCD panel. The screen itself is near-identical to what Xiaomi fielded in this segment earlier this year, and you get decent colors and zero issues with sunlight legibility. The Realme XT, however, features an AMOLED screen that has more vibrant colors.

The Realme XT has an in-screen fingerprint sensor, but the Redmi Note 8 Pro has NFC and an IP52 rating.

The combination of face unlock and in-screen fingerprint module give the Realme XT an edge over the Redmi Note 8 Pro. Xiaomi is still using a traditional sensor at the back, and it’s located within the camera housing, with the fourth lens located below the LED flash. The location combined with a smaller sensor and lack of an indent makes it hard to access the sensor reliably with your finger. It works very well once you do get to it, but this is a change that Xiaomi could have done without. Xiaomi said that the decision to put the sensor in the camera housing was to create a more seamless design at the back, but it hasn’t worked to the manufacturer’s benefit in this instance.

Where the Redmi Note 8 Pro wins, however, is with water resistance. For the first time, Xiaomi is offering an IP52 rating for one of its budget devices, and that should make the phone that much more resistant to dust or water ingress. Another welcome change on the Redmi Note 8 Pro is NFC; the feature is now standard across all variants of the device, and that makes the phone a much more attractive option in global markets.

I haven’t used the Redmi Note 8 Pro enough to get an accurate reading on how good the Helio G90T is at everyday tasks, but the little I used suggests it should be on par with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7xx series. That’s a good thing, because the Realme XT is powered by the Snapdragon 712. I’ll update the post once I’ve used the final variant of either device, but this area should not be an issue. Both Xiaomi and Realme offer 64GB of storage as standard, and memory options of 6GB or 8GB.