Ricoh Gr III is my favorite compact camera – and Realm’s just announced an exciting smartphone equivalent

RealMe announces strategic partnership with Ricoh Imaging
A new GT 8 Pro -smartphone will be launched on October 14
‘Co-created with Ricoh, GT 8 Pro gets’ drive’ by Ricoh Gr Tech

Xiaomi and Leica. Oppo and Hasselblad. Yes, ‘strategic partnerships’ between Chinese smartphone manufacturers and well-considered camera brands are nothing new, but the latest marriage from Realm and Ricoh Imaging is undoubtedly as the most logical of the party.

The self-proclaimed world’s fastest growing smartphone brand announced today that its long-term strategic partnership with Ricoh Imaging, which was four years in creation, will officially start on October 14 with the launch of the GT 8 Pro Smartphone, co-created with Ricoh.

In a launch video, Realme -Vice President Chase XU says: “People get tired of the same ‘perfect style’ photos. More and more will all show their own style instead of copying the same look.”

In an attempt to co-promote authentic street photography culture, the GT 8 Pro offers an unprecedented imaging experience, achieving pioneering innovations in optical capabilities, color algorithms, imaging tones and a tailor-made UI-Design that mimics the feeling of a Ricoh GR camera … mobile photography. “

All this sounds promising, especially for a Ricoh GR fan like me.

To catch life as it really is. Button without rules. pic.twitter.com/c6azxl5on8 October 10, 2025

Smartphone / Camera’s partnership in all partnerships?

I personally have one Ricoh Gr IIIX with me everywhere and grabbed everyday moments like street pictures and family candids. It is one in a wide range of premium compact cameras by Ricoh with a devoted fanbase that culminates with this year’s GR IV, which I do not yet test.

Ricoh’s GR series, known as the street photographer’s camera with a truly pocketable design, feels like an obvious choice for an increasingly popular smartphone mark for piggyback.

The recent Xiaomi 15 Ultra with photography kit reminded me something about my GR IIIX user experience, but the new GT 8 Pro could be the next level hell, it even ‘camera driven by Ricoh Gr’ written on the back.

We do not know technological specifications for the GT 8 Pro yet or something beyond the few words in the press release in Realme. But I will tuning on October 14 to find out more and I am happy to get my hands on the GT 8 Pro. It can just offer the authentic camera phone experience that enthusiast photographers have been looking for.

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