Realme steals the value crown from OnePlus with ludicrously cheap £179 5G phone

T3 is constantly reviewing the best 5G phones, and as such we know which offer the best value – and especially so in the best Android phones market, where 5G handsets have been on offer for years now.

OnePlus blew everyone away last year with its OnePlus Nord smartphone, which offered a really strong phone package, with 5G connectivity, for £379. At that price it was hundreds of pounds cheaper than most 5G Android flagships, making it a great value proposition.

However, the 5G value crown held by the Nord looks like it has just been comprehensively snatched by the all new Realme 8 5G, which in its base spec retails for a ludicrously low price point of just £179!

Yes, you read that right, that's £179 for a brand new 5G phone.

The Realme 8 5G's capabilities come courtesy of a MediaTek Dimensity 700 5G processor with dual 5G dual standby, as well as a 90Hz Ultra Smooth Display, 5000mAh massive battery with smart 5G power-saving tech, and a 8.5mm super-slim design.

The Realme 8 5G is available in two variants at launch: there's the entry level model that comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage space, and then there's a slightly more expensive version that packs 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage space.

Here's what both phones cost:

Realme 8 5G 4+64GB: £199 (£179 when bought with early-bird special offer)

Realme 8 5G 6+128GB: £249 (£229 when bought with early-bird special offer)

And here is when both phones are available:

Realme 8 5G will be available from May 20th at realme.com/uk and Amazon UK.

Realme 8 is available from May 12th at realme.com/uk and Amazon UK.

Clearly, then, to get the new phone at its cheapest price you need to pick it up at launch with this early-bird offer. However, even after that deal has ended, at £199 the Realme 8 5G is still the 5G value champion.

T3 hasn't tested the Realme 8 5G yet, but at least on paper it looks like a very capable budget phone, and we're genuinely gobsmacked that Realme has managed to launch a 5G phone, brand new, at only £179.

When you look at that price and then consider that 5G phones like the Apple iPhone 12 (which only has a 60Hz screen) are retailing for upwards of 3-4 times that amount, the value of the Realme 8 5G really does hit home like a hammer blow.

• Want to see more budget phones? Then check out T3's best cheap phones guide