Tag Archives: smartphone

AYANEO Pocket PLAY Brings Back the Slider Phone, Now With D-Pad

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AYANEO is known for gaming handheld devices that run Windows and, sometimes, Android, but not phones. Most gaming phones still feel like regular slabs with RGB lights and higher refresh rates, treating games as an app category instead of the reason the device exists. Pocket PLAY is AYANEO’s first smartphone, and they are not shy about calling it “more than a phone,” framing it as a handheld console that happens to live on a SIM card instead of a desktop operating system.

AYANEO calls it “the ultimate fusion of mobile phone and gaming handheld,” built “in the name of games, made for the dreams of gamers.” The minimalist front follows golden-ratio proportions and AYANEO’s “handheld artistry” philosophy, looking like a clean black slab until you slide it open and the real personality appears. The idea is that it should not shout gamer aesthetic when you are checking email, only when you want to play.

Designer: AYANEO

The classic side-slide mechanism is a light push that reveals a full controller under the screen. Anyone who remembers Sony’s Xperia Play will feel a flicker of déjà vu, another Android phone that hid a gamepad under a slider. The difference is that Pocket PLAY arrives in a world where handheld gaming and emulation are mainstream, and AYANEO has spent years building hardware for that exact crowd, not for casual mobile gamers who might try it once.

Pocket PLAY reinterprets a standard gamepad layout in a compact way, with a D-pad, ABXY buttons, and shoulder controls tuned for the sliding mechanism. AYANEO promises crisp, light presses and fast response, and a grip shaped so your fingers land where you expect. The idea is that you slide, and you are instantly in handheld mode, no adaptation period or clip-on accessories. The D-pad and buttons are meant to bring back the pure, satisfying feel of classic handheld gaming.

The dual intelligent touchpads sit where analog sticks might go, and they can map virtual joysticks, act as traditional touch surfaces, or trigger custom input combinations. That opens up camera control, mouse-like input for streaming PC games, or macro shortcuts for complex titles. The positioning is ergonomic, and the goal is to make every swipe and tap feel natural, closing the gap between a dedicated handheld and a phone that also runs Genshin Impact or emulators.

AYANEO leans into “cyber-romanticism” language, calling handhelds a culture and a shared emotional language among players. Pocket PLAY is pitched as a tribute to classic designs and an exploration of how handheld spirit can extend to a new medium. It is meant to feel like a daily-carry extension of the devices people already use for emulation and retro gaming, not a generic Android gaming phone with triggers and marketing.

Xperia Play hinted at this form factor years ago, but the ecosystem and audience were not ready. Pocket PLAY picks up that thread with modern hardware, a serious controller, and a brand that already lives in handheld culture. For players who want a phone that slides into a console instead of just another slab with shoulder buttons, it feels like a very specific dream finally getting another shot, this time built by people who actually understand why sliders and D-pads still matter.

The post AYANEO Pocket PLAY Brings Back the Slider Phone, Now With D-Pad first appeared on Yanko Design.

AYANEO Pocket PLAY Brings Back the Slider Phone, Now With D-Pad

Posted on by

AYANEO is known for gaming handheld devices that run Windows and, sometimes, Android, but not phones. Most gaming phones still feel like regular slabs with RGB lights and higher refresh rates, treating games as an app category instead of the reason the device exists. Pocket PLAY is AYANEO’s first smartphone, and they are not shy about calling it “more than a phone,” framing it as a handheld console that happens to live on a SIM card instead of a desktop operating system.

AYANEO calls it “the ultimate fusion of mobile phone and gaming handheld,” built “in the name of games, made for the dreams of gamers.” The minimalist front follows golden-ratio proportions and AYANEO’s “handheld artistry” philosophy, looking like a clean black slab until you slide it open and the real personality appears. The idea is that it should not shout gamer aesthetic when you are checking email, only when you want to play.

Designer: AYANEO

The classic side-slide mechanism is a light push that reveals a full controller under the screen. Anyone who remembers Sony’s Xperia Play will feel a flicker of déjà vu, another Android phone that hid a gamepad under a slider. The difference is that Pocket PLAY arrives in a world where handheld gaming and emulation are mainstream, and AYANEO has spent years building hardware for that exact crowd, not for casual mobile gamers who might try it once.

Pocket PLAY reinterprets a standard gamepad layout in a compact way, with a D-pad, ABXY buttons, and shoulder controls tuned for the sliding mechanism. AYANEO promises crisp, light presses and fast response, and a grip shaped so your fingers land where you expect. The idea is that you slide, and you are instantly in handheld mode, no adaptation period or clip-on accessories. The D-pad and buttons are meant to bring back the pure, satisfying feel of classic handheld gaming.

The dual intelligent touchpads sit where analog sticks might go, and they can map virtual joysticks, act as traditional touch surfaces, or trigger custom input combinations. That opens up camera control, mouse-like input for streaming PC games, or macro shortcuts for complex titles. The positioning is ergonomic, and the goal is to make every swipe and tap feel natural, closing the gap between a dedicated handheld and a phone that also runs Genshin Impact or emulators.

AYANEO leans into “cyber-romanticism” language, calling handhelds a culture and a shared emotional language among players. Pocket PLAY is pitched as a tribute to classic designs and an exploration of how handheld spirit can extend to a new medium. It is meant to feel like a daily-carry extension of the devices people already use for emulation and retro gaming, not a generic Android gaming phone with triggers and marketing.

Xperia Play hinted at this form factor years ago, but the ecosystem and audience were not ready. Pocket PLAY picks up that thread with modern hardware, a serious controller, and a brand that already lives in handheld culture. For players who want a phone that slides into a console instead of just another slab with shoulder buttons, it feels like a very specific dream finally getting another shot, this time built by people who actually understand why sliders and D-pads still matter.

The post AYANEO Pocket PLAY Brings Back the Slider Phone, Now With D-Pad first appeared on Yanko Design.

AYANEO Pocket PLAY Brings Back the Slider Phone, Now With D-Pad

Posted on by

AYANEO is known for gaming handheld devices that run Windows and, sometimes, Android, but not phones. Most gaming phones still feel like regular slabs with RGB lights and higher refresh rates, treating games as an app category instead of the reason the device exists. Pocket PLAY is AYANEO’s first smartphone, and they are not shy about calling it “more than a phone,” framing it as a handheld console that happens to live on a SIM card instead of a desktop operating system.

AYANEO calls it “the ultimate fusion of mobile phone and gaming handheld,” built “in the name of games, made for the dreams of gamers.” The minimalist front follows golden-ratio proportions and AYANEO’s “handheld artistry” philosophy, looking like a clean black slab until you slide it open and the real personality appears. The idea is that it should not shout gamer aesthetic when you are checking email, only when you want to play.

Designer: AYANEO

The classic side-slide mechanism is a light push that reveals a full controller under the screen. Anyone who remembers Sony’s Xperia Play will feel a flicker of déjà vu, another Android phone that hid a gamepad under a slider. The difference is that Pocket PLAY arrives in a world where handheld gaming and emulation are mainstream, and AYANEO has spent years building hardware for that exact crowd, not for casual mobile gamers who might try it once.

Pocket PLAY reinterprets a standard gamepad layout in a compact way, with a D-pad, ABXY buttons, and shoulder controls tuned for the sliding mechanism. AYANEO promises crisp, light presses and fast response, and a grip shaped so your fingers land where you expect. The idea is that you slide, and you are instantly in handheld mode, no adaptation period or clip-on accessories. The D-pad and buttons are meant to bring back the pure, satisfying feel of classic handheld gaming.

The dual intelligent touchpads sit where analog sticks might go, and they can map virtual joysticks, act as traditional touch surfaces, or trigger custom input combinations. That opens up camera control, mouse-like input for streaming PC games, or macro shortcuts for complex titles. The positioning is ergonomic, and the goal is to make every swipe and tap feel natural, closing the gap between a dedicated handheld and a phone that also runs Genshin Impact or emulators.

AYANEO leans into “cyber-romanticism” language, calling handhelds a culture and a shared emotional language among players. Pocket PLAY is pitched as a tribute to classic designs and an exploration of how handheld spirit can extend to a new medium. It is meant to feel like a daily-carry extension of the devices people already use for emulation and retro gaming, not a generic Android gaming phone with triggers and marketing.

Xperia Play hinted at this form factor years ago, but the ecosystem and audience were not ready. Pocket PLAY picks up that thread with modern hardware, a serious controller, and a brand that already lives in handheld culture. For players who want a phone that slides into a console instead of just another slab with shoulder buttons, it feels like a very specific dream finally getting another shot, this time built by people who actually understand why sliders and D-pads still matter.

The post AYANEO Pocket PLAY Brings Back the Slider Phone, Now With D-Pad first appeared on Yanko Design.

Jolla Phone Returns with a Physical Switch to Cut Off Mics and Tracking

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The mobile OS graveyard is crowded. Symbian, MeeGo, Firefox OS, Windows Phone, all killed by iOS and Android’s duopoly. Most people quietly accepted that those two won and moved on. Jolla started from Nokia’s MeeGo ashes in 2013, shipped the original Jolla Phone, and somehow kept Sailfish OS alive for twelve years in the wilderness. The new Jolla Phone feels less like a comeback and more like a refusal to die.

Jolla frames it as Europe’s independent smartphone, a 5G Sailfish OS 5 device built around the pitch that every Android and iPhone phones home to California. The announcement post says this is about digital sovereignty and choice rather than nationalism, but the subtext is clear: Europe needs its own mobile platform, or it stays perpetually dependent on US and China infrastructure. It is a Linux phone you are meant to daily drive, not a dev kit or novelty.

Designer: Jolla

The core specs sit in upper mid-range territory. A 6.36-inch FullHD AMOLED screen, a Mediatek 5G platform, 12GB of RAM, 256GB of storage with microSD expansion up to two terabytes, dual SIM, and a 5,500 mAh battery. The flat-sided Scandinavian design offers replaceable back covers in Snow White, Kaamos Black, and The Orange, a nod to the original Jolla’s signature color. It includes a side fingerprint reader and an RGB notification LED.

The privacy hardware choices feel almost retro. A physical privacy switch can be configured to cut off the mic, Bluetooth, Android apps, or other subsystems. The battery and back cover are user-replaceable, which feels unusual in a world of sealed slabs. Those choices align with the idea of owning your device instead of renting it, and they support Sailfish OS’s pitch as “private by design,” with no tracking or hidden analytics happening in the background.

Sailfish OS 5 is a Linux-based, gesture-heavy mobile OS that Jolla promises will get at least five years of updates without forced obsolescence. App ecosystems matter, so the phone includes Android app support via Jolla AppSupport, without Google Play Services. That means many Android apps will run, but you are not feeding data into Google’s backend every time you unlock your phone or letting services siphon usage patterns while sitting idle.

The funding model is a 99 euro fully refundable pre-order voucher toward a 499 euro final price, with production only happening if at least two thousand units are reserved. The community voted on key specs and features, and the campaign already passed its goal. The phone becomes a Do It Together project where early adopters literally decide whether it exists, and pre-order customers get a special edition back cover as a thank you.

The new Jolla Phone represents a rare, stubbornly optimistic alternative in a market that settled on two platforms years ago. It will not replace iOS or Android for most people, and there are risks around timelines and app compatibility. But for anyone who wants a phone that treats privacy, longevity, and independence as design constraints instead of afterthoughts, Jolla’s return feels like proof that small, opinionated hardware can still find oxygen if the community wants it badly enough.

The post Jolla Phone Returns with a Physical Switch to Cut Off Mics and Tracking first appeared on Yanko Design.

Motorola Edge 70 Accents Pantone’s 2026 Color with Swarovski Studs

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Pantone’s Color of the Year 2026, Cloud Dancer, arrived with a thesis that we are all collectively tired and need visual relief from the chaos. The soft, lofty white was pitched as clarity over clutter and presence over pressure, a quiet protest against hyper saturated everything, including the phones buzzing in our pockets. It felt less like a trend forecast and more like a group therapy session disguised as a paint chip.

Motorola took that color story seriously. The Edge 70 special edition wraps Cloud Dancer around its thinnest chassis yet, embellished with crystals by Swarovski, continuing the design run that started with the Razr Brilliant Collection earlier this year. Where the Razr leaned extroverted and fashion forward, the Edge 70 Cloud Dancer edition feels like its quieter sibling, still sparkling but content to sit on a nightstand without demanding constant attention or Instagram documentation.

Designer: Motorola

Cloud Dancer, officially Pantone 11-4201, lands on the Edge 70 as a leather inspired, quilted back that reads more like a minimal clutch than a piece of consumer electronics. The finish has a silk like sheen that shifts slightly in light, soft enough to avoid sterility but restrained enough to avoid looking like a frosted cupcake. Motorola calls it an object of clarity and quiet confidence, which fits the brief so precisely it almost sounds rehearsed.

Crystals by Swarovski are embedded into the quilted back, small enough to catch light without shouting for attention. The Brilliant Collection, which debuted with the Razr a few months ago, focuses on meticulous craftsmanship and timeless luxury, treating phones like accessories that happen to also make calls. Here, the crystals feel less like decoration and more like strategic punctuation marks on an otherwise very calm sentence, little flickers that keep the white from feeling too monastic.

Underneath sits the regular Edge 70 hardware, Snapdragon 7 Gen 4, dual 50 megapixel cameras, a bright display, and moto ai that adapts quietly. Motorola emphasizes that the device is the thinnest in its category, hedged by footnotes about regional price bands but still impressive for something packing a 4800 milliamp hour battery and full day reliability without feeling fragile in the hand.

The approach contrasts with the usual luxury phone playbook, which tends toward loud colors, heavy logos, or aggressive patterns that scream performance. Cloud Dancer is almost the opposite, a discrete white Pantone describes as conscious simplification. The quilting and crystals prevent it from becoming sterile, but the overall vibe lands somewhere between spa robe and gallery wall, an unusual place for a smartphone to occupy.

Motorola seems intent on building a design ecosystem where color forecasting and material craft matter as much as chipsets. The Razr Brilliant Collection introduced Swarovski, and now the Edge 70 ties that to Pantone’s annual ritual. We live in a world where most phones blur into identical black rectangles, so a calm white device with a quilted back and a handful of crystals starts to feel surprisingly memorable, even if memorable was never the point.

The post Motorola Edge 70 Accents Pantone’s 2026 Color with Swarovski Studs first appeared on Yanko Design.

Galaxy Z TriFold Fits a 10-Inch Screen Into a 12.9mm Phone

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Foldables promised to squeeze tablet screens into pocketable phones, but most of them still feel like a compromise. You get one big crease down the middle and an aspect ratio that makes everything look stretched or squashed, depending on what you’re doing. The real challenge isn’t just adding more screen, it’s getting enough space to actually work like a small laptop instead of a phone that got wider and heavier.

Samsung’s Galaxy Z TriFold tries to solve that by folding twice instead of once. Open it fully, and you’re holding a 10-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display that measures 3.9 mm thick at its thinnest point, basically three 6.5-inch phone screens laid side by side. Fold it back up, and the whole thing collapses to 12.9 mm thick, which is about as thick as a regular phone in a case, except this one weighs 309 grams and hides a full-sized tablet inside.

Designer: Samsung

The device is aggressively thin when open. It looks like three glass sheets joined by two subtle hinge bumps, thin enough to hold between fingertips without much visual mass. The frame uses Advanced Armor Aluminum for rigidity, the hinge housing is titanium, and the back panel is a ceramic-glass reinforced polymer that resists cracks. The camera bump and hinges interrupt the silhouette slightly, but the overall impression is of a very thin, very dense slab of screen.

Samsung reworked its hinge system into two differently sized Armor FlexHinges with dual-rail structures that let the three panels close with minimal gaps between them. The display stack includes a new shock-absorbing layer and reinforced overcoat designed for a screen that folds twice instead of once. Samsung CT scans flexible circuit boards and uses laser height checks for internal components, unusual quality control steps that suggest the company knows people are worried about reliability with this many moving parts.

The 10-inch QXGA+ main screen behaves like three portrait phones across, giving you room for three apps side by side without everything feeling cramped. Samsung’s examples show an architect running blueprints, notes, and a calculator at once, or a music producer editing audio while browsing references and messaging. The crease is minimized, the panel runs at 1 to 120 Hz adaptive refresh, and brightness hits 1600 nits to make it feel more like a small monitor than a tablet.

Standalone Samsung DeX turns the TriFold into a tiny multi-desktop machine, with up to four virtual workspaces each running five apps simultaneously. Add an external monitor in Extended Mode, and you can drag windows between screens like a laptop setup. Galaxy AI features adapt to the larger canvas too, with Photo Assist, Browsing Assist, and Gemini Live that can summarize pages, edit images side by side, or give design advice when you show it a room and a shopping site at the same time.

For entertainment, the 10-inch screen works well for films, comics, or YouTube with comments running alongside the video. The 6.5-inch cover screen hits 2600 nits and 120 Hz for quick tasks when you don’t want to unfold everything. Vision Booster keeps content readable in bright light, and the minimized crease tries to keep everything smooth, whether you’re indoors or outside.

Inside there’s a Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, 16 GB RAM, up to 1 TB storage, and a 200 MP main camera with 3x telephoto and 12 MP ultra-wide. The 5,600 mAh three-cell battery spreads across the panels for balanced weight, charges at 45 W wired or 15 W wireless, and supports reverse wireless charging. The Galaxy Z TriFold launches in Korea on December 12, 2025, with other markets including China, Taiwan, Singapore, the UAE, and the U.S. following after.

The trade-offs are obvious, though. At 309 grams with two hinges, this will feel heavy and complex for anyone who just wants a phone that fits in their pocket and works. Samsung doesn’t mention S Pen support, which seems like a missed opportunity for artists and designers who’d want to use this 10-inch canvas for sketching or illustration in a device that still fits in a bag.

Long-term durability remains an open question, even with IP48 and all the quality control Samsung mentions. But for people who already push their phones into laptop territory and want the biggest possible screen in the smallest possible folded size, the TriFold makes a clear statement about where high-end mobile is heading. It’s excessive, complicated, and not for everyone, but that seems to be the whole point.

The post Galaxy Z TriFold Fits a 10-Inch Screen Into a 12.9mm Phone first appeared on Yanko Design.

Galaxy Z TriFold Fits a 10-Inch Screen Into a 12.9mm Phone

Posted on by

Foldables promised to squeeze tablet screens into pocketable phones, but most of them still feel like a compromise. You get one big crease down the middle and an aspect ratio that makes everything look stretched or squashed, depending on what you’re doing. The real challenge isn’t just adding more screen, it’s getting enough space to actually work like a small laptop instead of a phone that got wider and heavier.

Samsung’s Galaxy Z TriFold tries to solve that by folding twice instead of once. Open it fully, and you’re holding a 10-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display that measures 3.9 mm thick at its thinnest point, basically three 6.5-inch phone screens laid side by side. Fold it back up, and the whole thing collapses to 12.9 mm thick, which is about as thick as a regular phone in a case, except this one weighs 309 grams and hides a full-sized tablet inside.

Designer: Samsung

The device is aggressively thin when open. It looks like three glass sheets joined by two subtle hinge bumps, thin enough to hold between fingertips without much visual mass. The frame uses Advanced Armor Aluminum for rigidity, the hinge housing is titanium, and the back panel is a ceramic-glass reinforced polymer that resists cracks. The camera bump and hinges interrupt the silhouette slightly, but the overall impression is of a very thin, very dense slab of screen.

Samsung reworked its hinge system into two differently sized Armor FlexHinges with dual-rail structures that let the three panels close with minimal gaps between them. The display stack includes a new shock-absorbing layer and reinforced overcoat designed for a screen that folds twice instead of once. Samsung CT scans flexible circuit boards and uses laser height checks for internal components, unusual quality control steps that suggest the company knows people are worried about reliability with this many moving parts.

The 10-inch QXGA+ main screen behaves like three portrait phones across, giving you room for three apps side by side without everything feeling cramped. Samsung’s examples show an architect running blueprints, notes, and a calculator at once, or a music producer editing audio while browsing references and messaging. The crease is minimized, the panel runs at 1 to 120 Hz adaptive refresh, and brightness hits 1600 nits to make it feel more like a small monitor than a tablet.

Standalone Samsung DeX turns the TriFold into a tiny multi-desktop machine, with up to four virtual workspaces each running five apps simultaneously. Add an external monitor in Extended Mode, and you can drag windows between screens like a laptop setup. Galaxy AI features adapt to the larger canvas too, with Photo Assist, Browsing Assist, and Gemini Live that can summarize pages, edit images side by side, or give design advice when you show it a room and a shopping site at the same time.

For entertainment, the 10-inch screen works well for films, comics, or YouTube with comments running alongside the video. The 6.5-inch cover screen hits 2600 nits and 120 Hz for quick tasks when you don’t want to unfold everything. Vision Booster keeps content readable in bright light, and the minimized crease tries to keep everything smooth, whether you’re indoors or outside.

Inside there’s a Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, 16 GB RAM, up to 1 TB storage, and a 200 MP main camera with 3x telephoto and 12 MP ultra-wide. The 5,600 mAh three-cell battery spreads across the panels for balanced weight, charges at 45 W wired or 15 W wireless, and supports reverse wireless charging. The Galaxy Z TriFold launches in Korea on December 12, 2025, with other markets including China, Taiwan, Singapore, the UAE, and the U.S. following after.

The trade-offs are obvious, though. At 309 grams with two hinges, this will feel heavy and complex for anyone who just wants a phone that fits in their pocket and works. Samsung doesn’t mention S Pen support, which seems like a missed opportunity for artists and designers who’d want to use this 10-inch canvas for sketching or illustration in a device that still fits in a bag.

Long-term durability remains an open question, even with IP48 and all the quality control Samsung mentions. But for people who already push their phones into laptop territory and want the biggest possible screen in the smallest possible folded size, the TriFold makes a clear statement about where high-end mobile is heading. It’s excessive, complicated, and not for everyone, but that seems to be the whole point.

The post Galaxy Z TriFold Fits a 10-Inch Screen Into a 12.9mm Phone first appeared on Yanko Design.

Poco F8 Ultra Review: A Bold All-Rounder Balancing Gaming, Camera, and Bose-Tuned Audio

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PROS:


  • Bose-tuned 2.1 speaker system

  • Excellent all-rounder

  • Large battery with fast wired and wireless charging

  • Strong main and telephoto cameras

CONS:


  • An 18mm-equivalent ultra-wide camera is less versatile

  • Noticeable price increase compared with the F7 Ultra (but mostly justifiable)

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
SUSTAINABILITY / REPAIRABILITY
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

An expressive all-rounder that excels at games, media, and photography, the Poco F8 Ultra delivers on its premium flagship ambition.

Only about eight months after its first “Ultra” attempt with the Poco F7 Ultra, Poco is already back with the Poco F8 Ultra and its sibling, the F8 Pro. Following the success of the F7 Ultra, this doesn’t feel like a one-off experiment anymore. It feels like Poco is serious about staking a claim in the premium flagship space.

This time, Poco isn’t just chasing raw specs. The F8 Ultra doubles down on performance with the latest flagship chipset, pushes imaging with a new Light Fusion 950 main imaging sensor and 5x periscope camera, and, for the first time, brings in Bose to co-engineer a 2.1-channel speaker system. On paper, it looks like a full-scale all-rounder aimed at gaming, media, and photography all at once. The question is whether it really holds up that premium flagship claim in daily use. Let us dive in and find out.

Aesthetics

The Poco F8 Ultra is visually dramatic in a way many flagships are not, especially the Denim Blue variant I received for review. Poco offers two color options for the global model, a unique Denim Blue and a more classic Black, and the whole design is built around a bold horizontal camera bar across the top of the back panel. This rectangular bump stretches almost from edge to edge, immediately anchoring the look and giving the phone a strong graphic identity. On the Denim Blue model, the bar is finished in silver, while on the Black version, it is blacked out to blend more seamlessly with the rest of the body.

Within this camera bar, the layout is carefully staged. On the left side sit four camera units, each framed by its own silver ring, with the LED flash neatly integrated among them. On the right side, Poco embeds the subwoofer module, marked with a “Sound by Bose” logo at the center, so the audio story becomes a visible part of the design rather than something hidden inside.

Color and material choices reinforce this expressive stance. The Denim Blue variant uses Xiaomi’s third-generation nano tech material, which mimics the depth and weave of fabric while resisting fingerprints and smudges. It has a tactile, layered surface that feels more like tech streetwear than a simple painted back, and while this playful, youthful look will not be everyone’s cup of tea, it gives the phone a distinct, energetic character.

The Black version takes a more understated route with lightweight glass fiber and a refined matte sheen that catches light in smooth gradients. It offers a quieter but still premium look if you prefer something less attention-grabbing, and it is likely to age more discreetly in daily use.

Ergonomics

Ergonomically, this is still a big phone. The Denim Blue variant measures 163.33 x 77.83 x 8.3 mm and weighs 220 g, while the Black version is slightly slimmer and lighter at 163.33 x 77.82 x 7.9 mm and 218 g. In the hand, the difference is subtle, and for my grip, the width in particular makes it a bit of a stretch to reach across the screen, which is worth noting if you have smaller hands or prefer narrower devices.

Both the display and back panel are flat, giving the phone a clean profile. Rounded corners and subtly curved aluminum edges soften the grip and reduce pressure points during long gaming or video sessions, and the weight feels well-balanced along the center line, so the camera module does not make the phone feel top-heavy.

The Denim Blue back adds a gentle grip and naturally hides smudges, which suits case-free use. The matte Black finish feels smoother but is still controlled and resists fingerprints and smears, so it stays looking clean. In both finishes, the textures are chosen as much for comfort and practicality as for style.

The physical controls are also well placed. The volume rocker and power button on the right sit low enough to reach without stretching or shifting your grip, which helps offset some of the phone’s width. The ultrasonic fingerprint reader is positioned about one third of the way up from the bottom of the screen, right where your thumb naturally rests, so unlocking feels quick and effortless.

Performance

Inside, the Poco F8 Ultra runs on Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, Qualcomm’s latest flagship chip. It also includes a dedicated VisionBoost D8 chipset for visual enhancement and game optimization. This secondary chip can push supported game titles up to 120 frames per second, upscale visuals to 1.5K resolution, and apply Game HDR to enrich color. Together, they give compatible games a sharper, smoother, more cinematic feel. Running HyperOS 3 based on Android 16, the phone stays snappy and smooth even when you are multitasking.

Poco F8 Ultra boasts the largest display in the brand’s F series with a 6.9-inch AMOLED panel using Poco HyperRGB.  The screen runs up to 120 Hz in supported apps, so scrolling, animations, and games feel fluid, and combined with high brightness, strong contrast, and deep blacks, it delivers a vivid, high-impact look rather than a muted, neutral one.

The audio side of smartphones is usually overlooked, and most built-in speakers still sound flat. Poco’s partnership with Bose pushes against that pattern. The F8 Ultra uses a 2.1 channel system with stereo speakers and a dedicated bass driver, tuned to emphasize depth and space rather than just volume.

In my experience, Poco’s claims of deeper bass and a wider soundstage hold up. The F8 Ultra delivers a solid, weighty low end that gives music, films, and games more physical presence than most phones in its class. Held in landscape, the stereo image feels wide, with instruments and effects clearly separated instead of merging into a single blob of sound.

You get two Bose-tuned modes, Dynamic and Balanced. Dynamic adds punch and low end for games and action, while Balanced keeps mids a bit cleaner for dialogue and acoustic tracks. On top of that, there are genre-based EQ presets and a custom 10-band EQ from about 141 Hz to 13.8 kHz, so you can fine-tune the sound to your taste.  The speaker system will not replace good headphones, but it clearly raises the bar for built-in phone audio.

On the camera side, the F8 Ultra treats imaging as a proper flagship feature. The 50 MP main camera uses Xiaomi’s 1/1.31 inch Light Fusion 950 sensor with an f/1.67 aperture and optical image stabilization, and it produces vibrant images with wide dynamic range and good detail even in difficult lighting.

The 50 MP 5x periscope telephoto sits at a 115 mm-equivalent focal length with an f/3.0 aperture and OIS. It reuses the same sensor as its predecessor but pairs it with a periscope structure, which allows much higher zoom while better preserving image quality. The result is pleasing compression with natural-looking bokeh and solid dynamic range, especially in good light.

A 50 MP 18 mm-equivalent ultrawide completes the rear trio, although its relatively narrow field of view means you can often just step back and use the main camera for better image quality. The 32 megapixel front camera with its automatic 0.8x wide-angle mode makes group shots easier without forcing you to stretch your arm as far. For video, all three rear cameras support up to 4K 60 FPS, with the main camera also capable of 8K 30 FPS, while the front camera is limited to 4K 30 FPS.

Battery life and charging match the performance focus. Poco finally gives the Ultra line a bigger pack in response to user feedback, with a 6500 mAh battery that is the largest yet in a global Poco F phone. It comfortably handles heavy gaming, media, and camera use across a day, and when you do run low, 100-watt wired HyperCharge, 50-watt wireless charging, and 22.5-watt reverse charging give you flexible ways to top up or share power.

Sustainability

Poco’s approach to sustainability on the F8 Ultra feels more practical than ambitious. Hardware durability is solid, with IP68 water and dust resistance and Poco Shield Glass helping the phone survive daily knocks, drops, and the occasional splash. That kind of protection does reduce the chance you will need an early replacement after a single accident, which is still an important part of using one device for longer.

On the software side, Poco offers 4 major Android OS updates and 6 years of security patches. While that is not class-leading, it is still notable. Some rivals now promise longer OS and security support, reasonably future-proofed. Overall, the F8 Ultra does not stand out as a sustainability champion in either software longevity or broader eco-friendly initiatives.

Value

Poco offers the F8 Ultra in two configurations. The 12 GB RAM and 256 GB storage model is priced at $729, while the 16 GB RAM and 512 GB storage version comes in at $799. During the early bird period, Poco cuts $50 from the base model and $70 from the higher tier, bringing them down to $679 and $729, respectively, which makes the step up to 16 GB and 512 GB particularly tempting.

There is a clear price increase compared to the previous Ultra, but it feels justified by the upgraded display, dual-chip performance stack, camera system, audio, and larger battery. In the current flagship landscape, the Poco F8 Ultra still lands firmly in the bang for buck zone. It undercuts many premium rivals while delivering comparable or better gaming performance, a more ambitious camera setup, and a genuinely strong media experience, so the overall value proposition remains one of its strongest arguments.

Verdict

Poco F8 Ultra feels like a confident step up from the F7 Ultra, not just a faster sequel. It combines a bold design, a huge 6.9-inch AMOLED, a genuinely impressive Bose-tuned 2.1 speaker system, and a serious camera stack built around the Light Fusion 950 main sensor and 5x periscope. Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 plus the VisionBoost D8 chip deliver top-tier gaming performance with stable high frame rates, while the 6500 mAh battery and fast wired and wireless charging keep that power usable all day.

It is not a perfect package, especially if you want the absolute best camera system, have smaller hands, or care deeply about long-term sustainability. The phone is wide, the ultrawide camera is less versatile than the rest of the system, and the software support window is only average in a segment that is rapidly improving. There is also a clear price jump over the F7 Ultra, even if the upgrades mostly justify it. If you want a compact, understated device, this is not for you, but if you want a big, expressive all-rounder that excels at games, media, and photography, the Poco F8 Ultra delivers on its premium flagship ambition.

The post Poco F8 Ultra Review: A Bold All-Rounder Balancing Gaming, Camera, and Bose-Tuned Audio first appeared on Yanko Design.

Huawei’s 8,000-Nit Display Is a Design Statement Disguised as a Spec Sheet

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Smartphones have become spec sheet battlegrounds. Bigger megapixels. Faster charging. Higher refresh rates. The numbers climb while the actual user experience often stays flat.

Designer: Huawei

Huawei’s Mate 80 Pro Max arrives with an 8,000-nit peak brightness claim that obliterates every competitor on paper. But peel back the marketing headline and something more interesting emerges: a deliberate design philosophy that treats the display as the phone’s defining character trait, not just another specification to maximize.

When Engineering Becomes Industrial Design

The dual-layer OLED panel represents Huawei’s answer to a fundamental physics problem. Traditional OLED displays push a single emissive layer harder to achieve brightness, generating excess heat and potentially shortening panel lifespan. Huawei’s solution stacks two OLED layers, distributing thermal and electrical load across twice the surface area while hitting brightness numbers that single-layer panels cannot match. The engineering choice has profound visual consequences that extend far beyond the headline specification.

HDR content transforms on a dual-layer panel. Highlights carry genuine intensity while shadows retain depth rather than washing out, creating an almost three-dimensional quality to images that photographers and videographers will immediately recognize. The smartphone has become our primary camera, editor, and viewing screen, and Huawei designed this display to serve all three roles simultaneously.

Eye comfort gets attention too. The 1440Hz PWM dimming rate eliminates the invisible flicker that causes strain during extended low-brightness use, addressing one of OLED technology’s persistent criticisms that cheaper panels still struggle with.

Most users will never consciously notice this detail. Their eyes will thank them anyway.

The “8” That Defines Everything

Huawei’s design team turned the model number into a visual identity, and the boldness of that choice deserves recognition in an industry addicted to safe rectangles and generic camera bumps.

The rear panel features a prominent circle highlighting the wireless charging coils, positioned directly above the circular camera module. Together, these two circles stack vertically to form a figure eight that reads as both functional diagram and brand statement. The phone announces itself at twenty feet. Most manufacturers treat rear panel design as an afterthought, a surface to slap logos onto after engineering finishes the real work. Huawei flipped that relationship entirely, making the wireless charging coils a design feature rather than hiding them under featureless glass.

The flat display edges and squared-off sides follow a broader industry shift away from curved screens. Curves looked elegant but created durability problems and made edge interactions imprecise, and Huawei clearly listened to actual user complaints rather than chasing visual trends. The Mate 80 Pro Max prioritizes function over flowing aesthetics, which reads as mature design confidence rather than trend abandonment.

Materials as Message

Kunlun Glass 2 protects the display. Basalt-infused elements reinforce the frame. Polyamide fiber adds structural rigidity. These materials come from aerospace and automotive applications where failure means more than a cracked screen, and Huawei wants you to know it.

The material palette communicates something specific: this phone is built to survive. Whether the exotic composition actually outperforms conventional aluminum and Gorilla Glass remains unproven through real-world abuse testing, but the conceptual intent lands clearly. Huawei wants buyers to feel they’re holding something more substantial than another fragile glass sandwich that shatters on the first drop.

Competitor Philosophies Compared

Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro Max peaks at 3,000 nits outdoors, emphasizing color accuracy, response time, and ProMotion integration instead. Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra settles at 2,600 nits peak, focusing on S Pen ecosystem integration where stylus latency matters more than brightness records.

Realme’s GT 8 Pro pushed to 7,000 nits before Huawei arrived, representing the aggressive spec-chasing that defines much of the Chinese smartphone market where headline numbers drive purchasing decisions more directly than in Western markets. Different priorities produce different design choices, and Huawei one-upped everyone on brightness while wrapping the achievement in more considered industrial design than the pure spec-chasers typically deliver.

Trade-Offs Hidden in Marketing: 8,000 nits requires power.

More power means bigger batteries, shorter runtime, or aggressive throttling when capacity drops. Huawei’s 6,000mAh battery seems modest against Chinese competitors pushing past 7,000mAh, which suggests either extreme confidence in dual-layer efficiency or accepted runtime compromises that won’t appear until real-world testing begins.

Thermal management creates even thornier long-term concerns that no launch event mentions. Excessive heat degrades organic compounds in OLED panels over time, potentially causing permanent brightness loss and color shift in heavily-used screen areas. The dual-layer architecture should help by spreading thermal load across more surface area, but durability implications won’t become clear for years of actual use. And then there’s the practical question: who actually needs 8,000 nits? Screens above 2,000 nits handle direct sunlight adequately for most tasks, and the extreme peak brightness matters primarily for tiny HDR highlights representing blinding light sources like the sun or reflections.

Real value or marketing trophy? Probably both, depending entirely on how you use the device.

What the Brightness Obsession Reveals

The Mate 80 Pro Max embodies a specific philosophy: the display IS the device, and everything else exists to support the viewing experience. The logic tracks, since smartphones evolved into portable screens that occasionally make calls, and optimizing the primary interaction surface makes intuitive sense. But brightness as the defining metric risks missing what actually makes displays pleasant to use: color accuracy, viewing angle consistency, touch response precision, eye comfort across hours of use. A 2,000-nit panel with superior color science might deliver better daily experience than an 8,000-nit screen with mediocre calibration. Huawei historically nails calibration alongside technical specs, so there’s reason for optimism, but the proof requires hands-on time that marketing materials cannot provide.

For Design-Conscious Buyers

The Mate 80 Pro Max succeeds as a design object beyond its brightness claims. The “8” motif creates genuine visual identity. The material choices communicate premium durability. The dual-layer OLED architecture represents meaningful innovation rather than incremental improvement. HarmonyOS remains the elephant in the room for international users, with no Google Play Services meaning no Gmail, no Maps, no YouTube without workarounds, and limited global availability makes the device theoretical for many potential buyers regardless of how compelling the hardware appears.

For those who can access and actually use the Mate 80 Pro Max within its intended market, the display technology offers real advantages for outdoor use, HDR content, and photography demanding accurate highlight reproduction. The design language makes a statement that Apple and Samsung’s safer approaches simply don’t attempt. The brightness arms race continues, and competitors will push toward and beyond Huawei’s record within months.

What matters more than any single number is whether manufacturers use these capabilities to create genuinely better experiences, or simply chase specifications for their own sake. The Mate 80 Pro Max suggests Huawei understands the distinction, even if the marketing still leads with the biggest number.

Display Technology Comparison

Specification Huawei Mate 80 Pro Max iPhone 17 Pro Max Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Realme GT 8 Pro
Peak Brightness 8,000 nits 3,000 nits 2,600 nits 7,000 nits
Display Technology Dual-layer OLED Single-layer OLED Single-layer OLED Single-layer AMOLED
PWM Dimming 1440Hz 480Hz Variable 2160Hz
Refresh Rate 1-120Hz LTPO 1-120Hz ProMotion 1-120Hz LTPO 1-120Hz LTPO
Resolution 1320 x 2848 1320 x 2868 1440 x 3120 1264 x 2780
Glass Protection Kunlun Glass 2 Ceramic Shield Gorilla Armor 2 Gorilla Glass Victus 2
Design Philosophy Brightness as identity Color accuracy first Stylus integration Spec leadership

The post Huawei’s 8,000-Nit Display Is a Design Statement Disguised as a Spec Sheet first appeared on Yanko Design.

Realme GT8 Pro Review: A Flagship You Choose With Your Heart

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PROS:


  • Ricoh GR partnership on the main camera

  • Distinctive design with modular camera island

  • Outstanding battery life and charging speed

CONS:


  • Ricoh GR mode is limited to the main camera

  • Ultra-wide and front cameras lack autofocus

  • Software support is good, but not class-leading for the price range




RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
SUSTAINABILITY / REPAIRABILITY
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

This is a phone you pick with your heart as much as your head, because you really have to want that design story and the GR experience.

The announcement of Realme’s partnership with Ricoh was a surprise, and now the highly anticipated Realme GT8 Pro is here with another twist in the form of an interchangeable camera plate on its back. This is not a subtle move, and it signals that Realme GT8 Pro is not trying to be just another sensible flagship. Instead, it arrives as a phone that wants to make a statement the moment you turn it over in your hand.

At the same time, this is still a serious piece of hardware built around the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, a huge 7000 mAh battery, and a vibrant 6.79-inch display. Realme is clearly aiming to step out of its value-focused comfort zone and into the premium flagship ring, where expectations are much higher, and mistakes are more visible. The real question is whether this bold, personality-heavy approach makes the GT8 Pro a genuinely great all-around phone, or a beautiful experiment that only a certain kind of user will truly appreciate.

Aesthetics

Pick up the realme GT8 Pro, and the first thing your eyes lock onto is the camera island. Realme has turned the rear camera housing into a modular design object that you can swap and restyle. Different camera decoration plates change the shape and graphic language of that camera bump, which means the back of the phone becomes a kind of customizable badge. It feels more like a piece of streetwear design than a typical rectangular slab, and it sends a clear signal that this phone sees photography and personality as central to its identity.

The plate is held in place with two tiny screws. The design that comes with the Diary White colorway we received is a round silver colored plate, and Realme also sent a separate rectangular silver colored plate. Realme has even released the 3D design file to invite people to create their own camera plate designs for the GT8 Pro. It is purely non-functional, and you could easily call it a gimmick, but it is a playful gimmick that fits the character of this phone and gives designers and tinkerers something fun to explore.

Realme keeps the core lineup tight with two main colorways. Diary White pairs the aluminum frame with a glossy glass back panel that catches reflections like a piece of polished ceramic. Urban Blue switches to a vegan leather back panel that brings a more tactile, fashion-focused vibe and feels closer to a premium accessory than a slab of tech. Both finishes are tuned to catch light and attention rather than fade into the background, which reinforces the GT8 Pro’s role as a visual statement.

On top of these two color variants, Realme offers the Dream Edition as part of its three-year partnership with the Aston Martin Formula 1 team. This special version comes dressed in Aston Martin Green with yellow accents and an aerodynamic-inspired design. The phone arrives with a round camera decoration plate featuring a carbon fiber finish, which adds a motorsport texture that feels premium.

Inside the special box, you also get the square deco plate, a SIM ejector tool shaped like a racing car, a Torx screwdriver for swapping plates, two phone cases, and a charger. The phone itself comes preloaded with custom Aston Martin Formula 1 team wallpapers and icons, so the collaboration extends into the software experience as well.

Ergonomics

This is a large phone with a 6.79-inch display and a 7000 mAh battery, so it has real presence in the hand. Both colorways share the same footprint at 161.80 x 76.87 mm, which means you are firmly in big phone territory. You feel that size immediately, yet the curved edges and carefully rounded corners do a lot of work to soften the bulk and make it feel less intimidating.

The differences appear when you look at thickness and weight. Diary White comes in at 8.20 mm thick and weighs 218 g, while Urban Blue is slightly thicker at 8.30 mm but actually lighter at 214 g. In practice, these numbers are close enough that you will not notice a dramatic contrast in day-to-day use. Diary White, with its glossy glass back, feels sleek and cool, sliding more easily against your skin and into pockets. Urban Blue with its vegan leather has a paper-like feel with tactile 3D characters, according to Realme, which gives it a more textured, design-forward personality in the hand.

The power and volume keys sit within easy reach on the right side of the frame. Their placement makes it simple to adjust volume or lock the screen without shifting your grip too much, even on this tall device. The fingerprint scanner is located at roughly one-third of the height from the bottom of the display, which makes it easy to unlock the phone and continue straight into navigation with the same thumb movement.

Performance

Inside, the GT8 Pro is powered by the latest Snapdragon flagship chipset, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, and that choice sets the tone for the entire performance story. This chip is designed for demanding multitasking, heavy gaming, and advanced AI features, and the phone leans into that with confidence. Realme pairs the main chipset with either 12 GB or 16 GB of RAM, along with 256 GB or 512 GB of fast UFS 4.1 storage, depending on the configuration. On the software side, Android 16 with realme UI 7 sits on top, bringing a colorful, feature-rich interface that still keeps most interactions intuitive and approachable.

On the front, the GT8 Pro boasts a 6.79-inch LTPO AMOLED panel with a 1440 x 3136 px resolution and a maximum refresh rate of 144 Hz. It supports Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HDR10+, which gives you rich contrast and vivid highlights when watching compatible content. Realme claims a peak brightness of up to 7000 nits and 2000 nits in High Brightness Mode. These numbers are usually achievable only in very specific lab conditions, but in real life, the GT8 Pro display is genuinely very bright and easy to see under strong sunlight. The stereo speakers are loud and clear as well.

On the back, the Realme GT8 Pro boasts a triple camera system. The main camera is a 50 MP unit with a 1/1.56-inch Sony IMX906 sensor, an F/1.8 aperture, optical image stabilization, and electronic stabilization. The telephoto camera uses a 200 MP 1/1.56-inch Samsung HP5 sensor with an F/2.6 aperture, again with both optical and electronic stabilization. The ultra-wide camera is a 50 MP unit with a 1/2.88-inch sensor and an F/2 aperture.

The camera system is where the GT8 Pro tries to carve out a unique identity. Realme has partnered with Ricoh and borrowed the GR branding, a name that carries a lot of weight in the world of street photography. Realme says this partnership has been four years in the making, and that it goes deeper than simply slapping a GR logo on the phone. The goal is to weave Ricoh GR DNA into the GT8 Pro and bring the spirit of GR-style photography into a smartphone.

Ricoh GR mode is limited to the main camera and offers fixed focal length presets at 28 mm, 35 mm, 40 mm, and 50 mm equivalents. As someone who enjoys a good telephoto camera, I was initially disappointed that Ricoh GR mode does not extend to the GT8 Pro telephoto lens. However, the more time I spent with the phone, the more this decision started to make sense. As mentioned earlier, Realme and Ricoh are trying to bring the soul of GR photography into the GT8 Pro, and the GR series is best known as an iconic tool for documentary-style, walk-around shooting.

Ricoh GR, Standard

Within GR mode, you get a set of film-inspired looks called Standard, Positive Film, Negative Film, BW, and Hi BW. Each of these can be treated as a starting point rather than a fixed recipe. You can dive in and adjust parameters such as saturation, contrast, sharpness, and grain for each look, then save your tweaks as custom presets, up to six presets in total. It feels very much like building your own GR profiles, which is a big part of the appeal for people who love tuning their cameras and crafting a personal visual style.

Ricoh GR, Positive Film

Ricoh GR, Negative Film

Do I still wish for a Ricoh GR mode on the telephoto camera? Absolutely. At the same time, I am quite happy with the Ricoh GR mode on the main camera. The Ricoh GR mode produces photos with a less processed, more natural look, and the ability to fine-tune and save your own presets makes it feel personal rather than generic. There is also a full Pro mode on Ricoh GR mode available if you want manual control, which rounds out the experience and lets you treat the GT8 Pro more like a serious camera than a simple point-and-shoot.

Ricoh GR, B&W

Ricoh GR, High-contrast B&W

Of course, if you just want a quick snap that is ready for social media, the regular photo mode delivers sharp, vibrant images (that could be a bit too much)  with excellent dynamic range. The 200 MP 3X telephoto is excellent too, capturing plenty of detail and holding up well even when you crop in or zoom further digitally. Both the ultra-wide camera and the 32 MP front camera lack autofocus, which is a limitation, but they still produce clean, punchy images.

Video recording is equally ambitious. The main camera and the telephoto camera can both shoot 4K video at up to 120 FPS and 8K video at 30 FPS. The ultra-wide and front cameras can record up to 4K at 60 FPS. The footage looks very good, with solid dynamic range and vibrant color that holds up across different lighting conditions. You can even record Log at 4K 120 FPS, which gives you more flexibility for grading.

Battery life and charging are among the most dramatic strengths of this phone. The GT8 Pro carries a 7000 mAh battery, which translates into serious endurance in real-world use. The 120-watt wired charging, using the proprietary SuperVOOC charger that is included in the box, can refill that huge battery from empty to full in around 45 minutes, which feels almost absurd for this capacity. For the first time on a Realme global phone, you also get wireless charging at up to 50 watts. This combination of a massive battery and very fast wired and wireless charging means battery anxiety becomes a rare feeling rather than a daily concern.

Sustainability

The GT8 Pro quietly builds a solid sustainability story around its bold design. The front is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 7i, and the body carries IP68 and IP69 ratings, which together help the phone survive drops, scratches, dust, immersion, and even high-pressure water jets. A device that can handle more abuse is a device you are less likely to replace early, which is an underrated part of sustainability.

Realme also pays attention to materials. The Urban Blue variant uses a vegan leather style back crafted from a recycled material and natural dye, which gives it both a softer environmental footprint and a more crafted feel in the hand. On the software side, Realme promises four years of Android OS updates and five years of security updates. I do wish Realme offered even longer support at this price range, especially as some rivals are pushing update timelines further. Still, it gives you a reasonable sense of confidence that the GT8 Pro will stay usable and secure for several years.

Value

Realme GT8 Pro is positioned as a proper flagship, and the pricing reflects that ambition. In China, the 12 GB and 256 GB configuration costs 3999 Chinese Yuan, which is roughly $550. In India, the same configuration is priced at 79,999 Indian Rupees, which comes much closer to around $960 at current conversion rates.

That Indian price pushes the GT8 Pro straight into ultra-premium territory. At that level, you are cross-shopping it against flagships from Apple, Google, Samsung, and established Chinese rivals. The hardware feels special, especially with the Ricoh partnership and the modular design, and it ticks most of the boxes for a modern premium flagship. Whether it feels like good value, though, depends a lot on your market and on how much you personally care about the GR experience and the design story.

Verdict

Realme GT8 Pro feels like a flagship that actually wants to be noticed, with its modular camera island and even an Aston Martin Formula 1 edition, yet it backs that flair up with serious hardware. Between the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, the 2K 144 Hz LTPO display, the Ricoh GR-tuned main camera, and that massive 7000 mAh battery, this is not a phone that cuts corners quietly. It is a device that tries to turn every surface and every spec into a talking point.

That ambition does come with trade-offs. The size and weight will not suit everyone; the GR experience is focused on the main camera rather than the full system, and the pricing in some markets pushes it into direct competition with very established premium players. Still, it feels like a very compelling, characterful choice. In the end, this is a phone you pick with your heart as much as your head, because you really have to want that design story and the GR experience.

The post Realme GT8 Pro Review: A Flagship You Choose With Your Heart first appeared on Yanko Design.