First announced in India back in September, the Realme 8i is a cheap phone with 120Hz fast refresh rate screen. And now it's coming to European markets too - upholding that budget offering with a price tag of €199.

Realme would like you to think it's the most affordable 120Hz phone, but that's stretching the truth. The likes of the Poco X3 NFC are already available for purchase - and that particular device has been for a whole year - offering a similar overall specification, including a 120Hz panel, at around the same price.

Still, the 8i makes its point: this budget phone is all about dangling some big-hitting features that you wouldn't typically find at this price point. You'll be hard stretched to find a fast refresh rate screen for under the €200 mark, opening the potential for greater visual fluidity.

As the figure suggests, the 8i's 6.6-inch LCD panel is potentially twice as smooth as a standard 60Hz panel, or 50 per cent better than a 90Hz panel.

If, that is, the processor can keep up to deliver those frame rates. The MediaTek Helios G96 inside isn't exactly at the upper end of power. There's also no 5G connectivity  or anything like that, while Wi-Fi is 'ac' rather than faster 'ax' type. It's all very fitting for its price point, really.

Elsewhere the specification offers a 50-megapixel main camera as part of a so-called triple setup (although the depth and macro sensor additions won't be anything to wow you), there's a side-mounted fingerprint sensor for quick login, and a high-capacity 5,000mAh battery to keep everything ticking along.

If it's budget that you're after, the Realme 8i certainly puts a big tick in the box for affordability.