New Delhi, India, October 14, 2025 – In a landmark announcement that signals a bold new era for smartphone imaging, realme has officially unveiled its long-term strategic partnership with RICOH IMAGING COMPANY LTD, the legendary camera manufacturer behind the iconic RICOH GR series. This global collaboration marks a fusion of cutting-edge smartphone innovation and classic photographic mastery, culminating in the debut of the realme GT 8 Pro, the first smartphone to feature RICOH GR-powered camera technology.
Table of contents
- A Visionary Collaboration: realme x RICOH IMAGING
- RICOH GR Legacy Meets Smartphone Intelligence
- Precision Optics: Co-developed Ultra-High Transparency Lens
- Revolutionary GR Mode: The Art of “Snap by No Rules”
- Timeless GR Tones: The Soul of Street Photography
- A Community of Creators: Sharing the GR Spirit
- Performance and Imaging Synergy
- Empowering the Next Generation of Photographers
- Global Availability and Future Outlook
- Conclusion: A Defining Moment in Smartphone Imaging
A Visionary Collaboration: realme x RICOH IMAGING
realme and RICOH IMAGING’s partnership has been four years in the making, driven by a shared passion for redefining how users capture and experience photography. This alliance brings together realme’s leadership in youth-centric innovation and RICOH’s deep-rooted optical expertise, resulting in a device that merges freedom, creativity, and authenticity into every frame.
Chase Xu, Vice President and CMO of realme, described the partnership as “a transformative leap in smartphone photography that embodies the essence of GR – the spirit of unfiltered creativity and real-world emotion.”
Meanwhile, Kazunobu Saiki, General Manager of Camera Business Division at RICOH IMAGING COMPANY LTD, emphasized that “decades of GR heritage have been distilled into the GT 8 Pro’s imaging system, making this more than a product innovation it’s a cultural revival of street photography for the next generation.”
RICOH GR Legacy Meets Smartphone Intelligence
At the heart of this collaboration lies the GR philosophy, an approach that prizes authenticity, spontaneity, and storytelling over artificial perfection. The realme GT 8 Pro carries forward this legacy by integrating RICOH’s GR optics, imaging algorithms, and tonal science into a compact yet powerful mobile device.
The GR Mode on the GT 8 Pro introduces a dedicated shooting interface that mirrors the signature experience of RICOH’s GR camerasfrom fast startup to tactile shutter feedback. Every click echoes the distinct GR IV shutter sound, designed to evoke the emotional satisfaction of capturing a fleeting moment.
Precision Optics: Co-developed Ultra-High Transparency Lens
The GT 8 Pro features an ultra-high transparency lens group co-engineered by realme and RICOH IMAGING. Built to meet RICOH GR optical standards, this lens system ensures:
- Superior anti-glare performance in challenging lighting conditions
- Minimal chromatic aberration and distortion for natural color accuracy
- Enhanced resolving power for crystal-clear image detail
- Exceptional sharpness and purity, even in low light
By combining RICOH’s craftsmanship with realme’s advanced computational imaging, the GT 8 Pro achieves a balanced synergy between hardware precision and AI-driven enhancement.
Revolutionary GR Mode: The Art of “Snap by No Rules”
realme’s new **photography philosophy “Snap by No Rules” **encapsulates the brand’s vision for creative freedom. The GT 8 Pro allows users to move beyond predefined filters or AI beautification, encouraging raw, instinctive, and emotion-driven photography.
The Snap Mode, inherited directly from RICOH GR cameras, empowers users to preset focus distance and capture instantly eliminating shutter lag and ensuring every decisive moment is caught in perfect clarity.
For versatile composition, the GT 8 Pro offers two classic GR focal lengths:
- 28mm (Full-frame equivalent) – ideal for immersive street scenes and storytelling compositions.
- 40mm (Full-frame equivalent) – for expressive portraits and intimate emotional shots.
The Viewfinder Mode further refines the experience by eliminating on-screen distractions, letting photographers focus solely on the essence of their shot.
Timeless GR Tones: The Soul of Street Photography
The realme GT 8 Pro features five exclusive RICOH GR color tones, meticulously tuned using RICOH’s decades of color science expertise:
- Standard – Balanced tones for natural, realistic output.
- Positive Film – Vibrant hues inspired by analog film warmth.
- Negative Film – Nostalgic softness with gentle contrast.
- Monotone – Subtle grayscale for artistic compositions.
- High-Contrast B&W – Bold, cinematic depth ideal for street expression.
Each tone was perfected through hundreds of light simulations and color calibration tests. Moreover, users can create Custom Tone Profiles, allowing full control over exposure, contrast, and saturation to match their creative signature.
A Community of Creators: Sharing the GR Spirit
The partnership aims not just to build a phone but to build a movement. The RICOH GR ecosystem inside the GT 8 Pro encourages users to share tone recipes, watermark styles, and street photo journals, fostering an interactive photography community.
Exclusive GR-style elements include:
- RICOH GR watermark with metadata tagging
- Dedicated GR album for organized curation
- Community-based tone sharing for collaborative creativity
This fusion of hardware excellence and social creativity makes the GT 8 Pro more than just a device it’s a canvas for modern photographers.
Performance and Imaging Synergy
Beyond optics, the GT 8 Pro delivers the raw power required to complement its imaging ambitions. The smartphone features flagship-level hardware, optimized for instant image processing and low-latency capture. Combined with realme’s next-gen AI photography engine, the GT 8 Pro ensures every frame is fast, detailed, and true to life.
Whether shooting at dusk-lit streets or high-contrast daylight scenes, the RICOH-enhanced algorithms deliver remarkable tone accuracy and shadow retention, ensuring every shot feels both cinematic and authentic.
Empowering the Next Generation of Photographers
Through this partnership, realme and RICOH IMAGING have redefined what smartphone photography can represent. For young creators who thrive on spontaneity, emotion, and artistic freedom, the GT 8 Pro offers an unparalleled platform that merges professional-grade optics with intuitive usability.
This collaboration brings the legendary RICOH GR street photography ethos into the digital age making it accessible to millions of users worldwide.
Global Availability and Future Outlook
The realme GT 8 Pro is set to launch globally later this year, marking the beginning of a series of co-engineered imaging devices under the realme–RICOH partnership. With RICOH GR’s unmatched lens design and realme’s youth-driven innovation, the collaboration is poised to set new industry benchmarks in mobile photography.
Both brands have confirmed that this is a long-term alliance, hinting at future models that will continue to expand the boundaries of smartphone imaging blending precision optics, aesthetic vision, and intelligent image processing.
Conclusion: A Defining Moment in Smartphone Imaging
The union of realme’s bold innovation and RICOH GR’s legendary imaging heritage ushers in a new chapter for smartphone photography. The realme GT 8 Pro isn’t just a flagship phone it’s a photographic instrument, one that captures emotion, story, and spontaneity like never before.
By bringing GR’s authenticity to the palms of a new generation, realme and RICOH IMAGING have crafted a device that doesn’t just take pictures it tells stories.