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Realme GT 2 review score [RMX3311]
generalize
The Realme GT 2 is an improvement from last year, but the focus on photography now makes it a well-rounded phone perfect for any buyer who wants the performance of a flagship chipset and a premium camera
advantage
- The 50MP IMX766 is excellent, which makes it more appealing to anyone interested in photography
- Attractive unique design
shortcoming
- no different from last year
- Price increased
The Realme GT 2 series was announced in China earlier this year, but is now rolling out globally.
The Realme GT 2 is the more affordable of the two models, very similar to last year’s Realme GT and uses last year’s flagship Snapdragon 888 chipset.
As the title suggests, I’ve only owned this phone for a few days. While my impressions of the phone are good, and I suspect my overall opinion will change much, I can’t guarantee that I’ve witnessed every glitch or quirk on the phone firsthand.
Specification
- Display: 6.62 inches, 120hz AMOLED, 1300nits, 2400×1080
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G
- RAM: 8GB/12GB
- Storage: 128GB/256GB
- rear camera:
- 50 MP Sony IMX766 with OIS
- Front camera: 16 MP IMX471
- Battery: 5000 mAh, 65W SuperDart wired charging (18W PD)
- Connectivity: WiFi 6 (not 6E), Bluetooth 5.2, no HDMI output (USB 2.0)
- Speakers: Dual
Design and Display
On the Realme GT 2 Pro you have the world’s first flat 2K LPTO AMOLED display and it has a flat 1080p display that can run at 60Hz, 90hz gaming or 120Hz.
The displays are bigger this year, the Realme GT 5G has a 6.62-inch display compared to the Realme GT 5G’s 6.43-inch, and I personally prefer larger phones. Opinions on the trend are divided, however, and we’ve seen brands move toward offering slightly smaller phones recently.
The display is good, the sun hasn’t been great in the north of England lately, so I don’t have to worry too much about screen brightness, but so far so good. Colors look great and the screen is responsive.
Realme ditched the car-inspired color theme this year in favor of an alluring paper green, which I’d describe as mint green.
The textured rear doesn’t feel like last year’s vegan leather, and it does have a plastic-paper feel to it.
Realme has also been working to improve its green certification, with phone cases made from bio-based polymers that reduce carbon emissions by 35.5%.
One of my complaints is that Realme made the back of the phone out of this attractive green faux leather, but the included case is a solid matte gray. Usually, Realme offers a clear plastic case, so you can at least show off the color of the phone. It’s not a big deal, at least they still include a free case, which seems like an odd thing to do.
Other than that, everything is standard on phones these days. The fingerprint scanner is much better than my Pixel 6, and I’ve always been a fan of face unlock, even if it doesn’t offer the best security. As with most mid-to-high-end phones, there’s no 3.5mm jack or microSD support. Since the phone is limited to USB 2.0, there is no HDMI output either.
camera
With the standard Realme GT2, it’s a major upgrade for the main camera, moving from the 64MP Sony IMX682 to the 50MP Sony IMX766. This is the main difference from last year.
The IMX766 has a pixel size of 1/1.56 and a pixel size of 1.0 μm, and has been used in many flagship phones, including the OnePlus 9 series and OPPO Find X3/X3 Pro and the new X5/X5 Pro. The sensor size of the IMX682 is much smaller at 1/1.73 inch.It takes good pictures, but it’s aged and used in many affordable phones, including small x3.
The performance of the main camera is excellent, and it feels like the first time Realme has produced a phone suitable for photography. It’s never going to compete with the best, OPPO’s Find X series has superior processing power, and Google Pixel phones have always been the best. But I think the upgrade to the main camera makes this phone more well-rounded than it was in previous years.
The ultra-wide-angle and macro sensors remain the same. As with macro, it’s completely forgettable, and the ultra-wide does a good job, but nothing particularly impressive.
If you get the Realme GT2 Pro, you’ll have an even more impressive 50MP Samsung ISOCELL JN1 150-degree ultra-wide-angle lens, which is also the world’s first mobile camera capable of taking fisheye photos
Performance and Benchmarks
Normally I’d write a post dedicated to benchmarking, but considering this uses the same chipset as last year, that doesn’t seem to make much sense. The overall performance isn’t quite the same, and it looks like Realme has made some tweaks here and there. At the very least, the benchmarks look better, but I haven’t had enough time to see if there’s a positive improvement in the phone’s real-life performance. At the end of the day, it’s an SD888 with a 120Hz 1080p display; you won’t experience any serious performance issues.
For the 3DMark stress test, the phone performed a lot better than the Realme GT. The best cycle was a little over 5915, but it managed to achieve over 80% stability, with the lowest cycle being 4762. The phone also managed to do this with the same 20C temperature rise, so it looks like Realme has greatly improved the phone’s cooling, minimizing thermal throttling. Marketing materials suggest it has the largest cooling area in the industry, but it’s unclear if that includes the standard GT or just the GT2 Pro.
While the 3DMark improvements are impressive, it’s worth noting that the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is able to achieve scores close to 10K. So if you’re a serious gamer looking for the best chipset, the GT2 Pro is worth considering.
From PC Mark, the score is actually down from last year. Realme has reduced performance for basic daily tasks, possibly trying to improve battery life.
Battery Life
I certainly haven’t had enough time to decide how good the battery life is in real life. In my time with it, it easily got through the day and was better than last year’s phones with similar specs, like the OnePlus 9 Pro.
The PC Mark 2.0 Battey benchmark delivered an incredible 16+ hours of battery life, up from last year’s already impressive 14 hours. However, I would take this with a pinch of salt. After the first 6 12k+ scores, the phone drops performance below 10k with an average performance score of 10476. It performed similarly last year, but with an average of 11,638.
Just like last year, you have 65W SuperDart charging, which can be fully charged in about 30 minutes.
software
The phone runs Realme UI 3.0 based on Android 12. Realme, OPPO, and OnePlus all use almost the same UI, which I’ve gotten pretty familiar with over the years and haven’t had much of a problem.
The main problem I have is that Realme comes pre-installed with a lot of apps that I don’t intend to use, including AliExpress, Booking.com, LinkedIn, and TikTok. These can be easily uninstalled.
Price and Alternatives
As of this writing, I don’t have an official price for the Realme GT 2. However, leaks suggest that the base model of the device will start at €539 (£450) with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.
The Realme GT 2 Pro is only available in 12GB/256GB versions, priced at €789 (£665).
The Realme 9 Pro+ launched for £100 at £349, but is priced at £299 on launch day.It uses the same Sony camera as the GT2, but Size 920 Not that flagship-level performance.
The OnePlus Nord 2 was launched at £399, but was recently on sale for £349 on Amazon and is currently £370.
The Realme GT was launched last year for €449, with an early bird price of €369 (£385 or £320).
Pixel 6 for £599.
comprehensive
I like the Realme GT 2 a lot, maybe more than I should. On paper, it might not look all that impressive, barely improving from last year and costing 90 euros more.
However, the improved camera and larger battery round out the phone. Previously, it was only really attractive to buyers who wanted a flagship chipset. Now you have an affordable all-around phone, high performance and a great camera.
This one plus north 2 Having been one of my favourite phones of late, I’d say the Realme GT 2 is worth the extra £80 or so for the bigger 120Hz display, better chipset and bigger battery.
hard not to pixel 6, also. The camera on the Pixel is much better, but I hate the fingerprint scanner and lack of face unlock. Then there is a clear difference in performance between Google Tensor and SD888. Plus, the Pixel costs £150 more, which is a big deal.
All in all, the Realme GT 2 feels like a more mature phone, and it’s great to see Realme starting to become more competitive in terms of photography quality on its phones.
