If you’re confused between the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro and the Realme X2, you’re not alone and it’s completely all right to be frustrated. The two brands have been offering a lot in the two devices and there’s so many features in the Redmi Note 8 Pro as well as Realme X2 that you’d want to choose one of them but there are certain areas of confusion where you would be wondering which phone would be the right choice for the same.
Xiaomi has launched the Redmi Note 8 Pro with the MediaTek Helio G90T processor and there’s the quad-camera setup offered on the device, while on the other side the Realme X2 has a similar camera setup but the phone offers the Snapdragon 730G processor. A winner surely cannot be determined based on only these factors, so read along to see which phone is better in aspect, and which should be the phone you choose with a budget under Rs. 20000.
Design and Display Comparison
The two phones here are made similarly, with a glass back on each of them and also having the same Gorilla Glass 5 protection, so, fortunately, there is no compromise on the Realme device, which is something new here after a few recent Realme phones had polycarbonate back panels. The phones feel quite good and easy to hold, while there is one difference here with the placement of the cameras – the camera module on the Redmi Note 8 Pro is on the center top area, while the one on the other phone is towards the corner left, so the rocking of the phone seems more and uncomfortable on the Realme X2.
Also, on the back of the Redmi Note 8 Pro is the fingerprint scanner just below the set of cameras, and the absence of that on the Realme X2 indicates that the phone is having an in-display fingerprint scanner.
The choice of color on the back panel is a personal preference, though the green one on Realme X2 is a refreshing color while the white one on the Redmi Note 8 Pro would be my personal preference here. The phones don’t miss out on the major connectivity options and the ports are all almost the same, except for the fact that the Redmi Note 8 Pro has an IR blaster on the top to help as a quick remote.
The display technology has a major difference here, with the Realme XT having a Super AMOLED display that boasts a great color output. On the other side, the Redmi Note 8 Pro has an IPS LCD display. Not to be any partial towards the Redmi phone here, this series has always had good looking displays, despite the fact that the company hasn’t opted to go with AMOLEDs yet. But hey, the difference is surely there and even though you cannot write off the quality of the display on the Note 8 Pro, the colors do look much more vibrant on the Realme XT and that’s a major plus for Realme in this case, with the resolution and notch being the same, but the display technology difference does count here.
Performance – Not just MediaTek vs Snapdragon
The Redmi Note 8 Pro from Xiaomi is the first phone in the market to have the MediaTek Helio G90T chipset, while Realme already has the well-tested Snapdragon 730G, which Xiaomi has used on the Redmi K20. Both the chipsets, in this case, are dedicated to gaming, with an improvement in the CPU and GPU performance when compared to the regular variant of those chipsets. The benchmark scores are surely better on the Helio G90T because of the higher clock speeds even on the power-efficient cores. It isn’t about benchmarks always, but still, whatever the benchmarks show here proves the actual point – the performance is really smoother and better on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro, especially while gaming.
For the PUBG Mobile lovers, here’s the fact. You are getting better graphical settings on the phone powered by Helio G90T compared to the one with Snapdragon 730G. The best part for the gamers is the possibility of getting 60fps (extreme) under Smooth gameplay on the Redmi Note 8 Pro, but on the other side, the Realme XT has the option for up to 40fps (ultra) under the same Smooth gameplay. The regular performance is quite similar to the custom interfaces of the two phones, but with gaming, there’s a clear winner for us. Although there was initial talk about the heating of the phone when it was launched, the liquid cooling provided in the Redmi Note 8 Pro controls things pretty well, making the phone an obvious choice when we talk about this particular aspect – performance.
Camera Comparison – Same same, but really the same?
Even before Xiaomi launched the Redmi Note 8 Pro with the 64MP camera as the primary shooter, Realme had launched the XT with the same sensor, and now came the Realme X2 with the same sensor, but frankly, the optimization by the ISP of Snapdragon 730G is much better and does a brilliant job of capturing 16MP and 64MP pictures. The Redmi Note 8 Pro is not far behind either, but it doesn’t reach the quality levels of the Realme X2. The Samsung GW1 is a great sensor and it all depends on how well does the software optimization work in bringing out the final pictures.
Interestingly, the other three cameras also are the same on both the phones. An 8MP wide-angle lens, a 2MP macro lens, and a 2MP depth sensor are the common ones, but the wide-angle captures seem a bit more stretched on the Redmi Note 8 Pro.
Now, to get more into the details of the captures on the two phones, the ones that were taken on the Realme X2 had more dynamic range and the details captured seem to be better on the shots with this phone when compared to the ones taken on the Redmi Note 8 Pro. But again, in some low light shots, we saw the Redmi device to come up with more stable shots than the Realme counterpart.
In terms of video recording, both the devices offer a similar video output and since there is no stabilization done by hardware, the EIS can do only so much to stabilize the videos.
Battery life – Better capacity means a better life?
Knowing about the manufacturing process used to make the Helio G90T chipset, Xiaomi has packed a higher-capacity battery on the Redmi Note 8 than its predecessor. It’s a 4500 mAh battery offered on the device when compared to the 4000 mAh one on the Realme X2. But, let’s talk about battery life here because capacity isn’t the only thing to consider.
The Realme X2 with Snapdragon 730G has a better battery efficiency and with the capacity of 4000 mAh, it still is able to offer a great battery life with a day’s usage and about 7 hours of screen-on time with ease on average, which is the same offered by the Redmi Note 8 Pro, despite having a better capacity battery.
But the major advantage here for the Realme X2 is the fast charging possibility here, with the VOOC 4.0 charging with 30W speeds, which makes it easier to charge the phone fully in around 70 minutes. Not that the 18W charging on the Note 8 Pro is any bad either again, but you know the advantage of having a faster-charging battery comparatively. Though, this again raises questions about the battery’s health in the longer term when you always charge batteries with those speeds always.
Other Aspects
The in-display fingerprint scanner on the Realme X2 actually works great and is a much better option than the one on the rear side of the Redmi Note 8 Pro, and we say this because it works great, unlike some early solutions that were not reliable enough and not quick with the recognition and unlocking of the phones. And to use a sensor on the front is easier because it doesn’t need you to lift the phone always to place the finger on the sensor area to unlock the device.
The software would have been another big topic to discuss but both, the ColorOS as well as MIUI have a lot of features that are similar and if we are to discuss the presence of ads on one of the UIs, it’s no guarantee that the other one wouldn’t have it in the future. It all depends on the user’s preference when we talk about UI features. Also, updating the phone to Android 10 is not currently available on both the phones, and it doesn’t matter with the Android version when the devices have such a customized OS.
Final Verdict – Who’s the winner?
Let’s break it down into what we’ve discussed so far in every aspect.
- Design – Personal preference
- Display – Realme X2
- Performance – Redmi Note 8 Pro
- Battery and Charging – Realme X2
- Camera – Realme X2 (not a lot ahead)
- UI – Personal preference
So, overall as a complete package, the Realme X2 seems like the winner in this case, but if you are a smartphone gamer and are looking for a phone that does it really well, the Redmi Note 8 Pro is what you should consider, knowing the fact that it doesn’t lag behind by a lot in the camera and display department, but if you are someone who sees all factors importantly, the Realme X2 is a choice to go with.
