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

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

Xiaomi and Realme are battling it out once again.

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

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

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 We talk about some curious design choices that make the Realme 5i feel outdated as well.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.

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.

Realme 5i

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

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

Read detailed Realme 5i review

Redmi Note 8

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS
Variants

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

Read detailed Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 review

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For details of the latest launches and news from Samsung, Xiaomi, Realme, OnePlus, Oppo and other companies at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, visit our MWC 2025 hub.

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