Realme is enhancing its mobile photography with a significant announcement: a new partnership with the renowned camera brand Ricoh Imaging. Following the path of sister brands like Oppo, which collaborated with Hasselblad, and Vivo, which partnered with Zeiss, Realme joins forces with Ricoh to improve smartphone imaging capabilities. This collaboration, reportedly in development for four years, will debut with the Realme GT 8 Pro, scheduled to launch on October 14 in Beijing. The GT 8 Pro will be the first smartphone to feature Ricoh branding, promising a camera experience inspired by Ricoh’s acclaimed GR series, known for its excellence in street photography, compact design, and film-like tonal quality.
The partnership aims to deliver authentic and artistic imaging results, addressing a critical issue in modern smartphone photography: overly processed photos that lack realism. According to a press release, Realme and Ricoh are addressing two significant industry challenges—the increasing uniformity in camera hardware across devices and the excessive reliance on post-processing algorithms that can render images artificial. By incorporating Ricoh’s imaging philosophy and extensive expertise, the GT 8 Pro aspires to provide users with a more natural and expressive photography experience. The core of this collaboration is the integration of Ricoh GR’s characteristics into the GT 8 Pro’s camera system.
The GR series is renowned for its sharp imaging, rapid responsiveness, and capability to capture spontaneous moments—qualities that Realme aims to emulate in its upcoming flagship. The device will include technology co-developed by Realme and Ricoh, featuring enhancements in optical performance, color science, and tone reproduction. Excitingly, the phone will also offer a custom camera interface that replicates the experience of using a Ricoh GR camera. Users can look forward to five classic film-like image tones inspired by Ricoh’s 30-year imaging legacy, granting photographers greater creative control. Realme stated, “People are getting tired of the same ‘perfect style’ photos.
More and more, everyone wants to show their own style, instead of copying the same look.” This remark underscores the company’s goal to attract younger users who seek individuality and creative expression in mobile photography. On the hardware side, the Realme GT 8 Pro is poised to be a powerful device. It is anticipated to feature a 200-megapixel 3x telephoto camera, a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, and a 2K AMOLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate. The phone will also provide swappable camera module covers for added customization. While pricing details remain undisclosed, industry estimates suggest it will be priced similarly to the Realme GT 7 Pro, which launched at Rs 59,999 in India.
Following its initial reveal in China, the GT 8 Pro is expected to soon roll out to global markets, including India. With the Realme-Ricoh partnership, the company clearly signals its ambition to redefine smartphone photography—not through perfection, but through authenticity and creative freedom.