Realme Neo 8 Launched With Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, 8000mAh Battery, 165Hz Display

Realme has officially pulled the curtain back on the Realme Neo 8, and this launch feels less like a routine refresh and more like a statement. In a market crowded with “flagship killers,” Realme has gone straight for the jugular, packing top-tier performance, an enormous battery, and gamer-first features into a phone that still undercuts many premium rivals on price.

Launched in China on January 22, 2026, the Realme Neo 8 is the first Neo-series phone to feature Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset. On paper, it looks overpowered. In reality, it might just reset expectations for what a performance-focused smartphone should offer in 2026.

Realme Neo 8 Launch Highlights 

Before diving deeper, here’s what immediately stands out about the Realme Neo 8:

• Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 (3nm) flagship chipset
• Massive 8,000mAh battery with 80W fast charging
• 6.78-inch Samsung M14 AMOLED display with 165Hz refresh rate
• Triple rear camera with 50MP main + 50MP periscope telephoto
• IP66 + IP68 + IP69 dust and water resistance

That’s not mid-range ambition. That’s flagship confidence.

Realme Neo 8 Design and Display

The Realme Neo 8 leans hard into its gaming DNA without looking childish. The transparent RGB-inspired back panel, metal frame, and glass rear give it a premium, industrial feel. Cyber Purple, Mech Gray and Origin White add personality without going overboard.

Up front, the phone features a 6.78-inch 1.5K AMOLED display made using Samsung’s M14 material. With a 165Hz refresh rate, 360Hz touch sampling and peak brightness touching an eye-watering 3,800 nits, this screen is clearly built for fast-paced gaming and outdoor visibility.

Realme also deserves credit for including DC dimming, low blue light hardware protection, and AI-based eye comfort features, something gamers often ignore until it’s too late.

Realme Neo 8 Performance

This is where the Realme Neo 8 truly flexes. Powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset, paired with LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.1 storage, the phone is designed to chew through anything you throw at it.

Realme’s GT Performance Engine, custom cooling system, and “Geek Performance Panel” allow users to manually tweak CPU and GPU behavior, without root access. That’s rare and honestly refreshing.

The phone even introduces a PC handheld mode, allowing select PC games to run locally on the device. It’s bold, slightly crazy, and exactly the kind of experimentation the Android space needs right now.

Realme Neo 8 Cameras

Gaming phones usually treat cameras as an afterthought. The Realme Neo 8 doesn’t.

The triple rear camera setup includes the following:

• 50MP Sony IMX896 primary sensor with OIS
• 50MP 3.5x periscope telephoto lens with OIS
• 8MP ultra-wide camera

This setup supports up to 120x digital zoom, 4K HDR video recording, and AI-assisted photography modes. The 16MP front camera is serviceable, though not groundbreaking.

Is it a camera-first phone? No. Is it good enough to challenge upper-midrange flagships? Absolutely.

Realme Neo 8 Battery Life

An 8,000mAh battery in an 8.3mm body feels almost unreal. Realme has used silicon-carbon battery tech to improve energy density and the results are impressive.

Add 80W fast charging, bypass charging for gaming sessions, and support for multiple fast-charging standards, and you’re looking at a phone that prioritizes longevity over gimmicks. In my opinion, this is the Realme Neo 8’s biggest win.

Realme Neo 8 Price and Availability

The Realme Neo 8 is currently available in China with the following pricing:

There’s also a limited-time launch discount of 200 yuan during the first week of sale.

Why Realme Neo 8 Matters

The Realme Neo 8 isn’t trying to please everyone, and that’s exactly why it works. It’s unapologetically powerful, aggressively priced, and clearly aimed at users who care about performance, battery life and future-proof hardware.

If Realme brings this phone to India with similar pricing, competitors should be worried. For now, the Realme Neo 8 stands as one of the most confident smartphone launches of 2026, and a reminder that innovation doesn’t always have to come with a luxury price tag.

Read more: Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus Spotted on 3C Certification: Full Specs, Charging Details, Expected Price