Realme GT3 Review

Realme simply released the standard Realme GT3 this year, without a Pro. Strictly speaking, this is also not a pure GT since it is a rebranded Realme GT Neo 5 240W that is exclusively sold in China. Yet, based on its specifications, the GT3 appears to be more of a GT2 successor in Western countries.

Putting semantics aside, the GT3 offers a significant upgrade over the GT2 from last year in terms of display quality, performance, and charging. The GT3’s 240W charging, the first of its kind on a commercial smartphone, is what really sets it apart from the competition. While a top-up just requires a few minutes of charge, the OEM guarantees all-day battery life in just a few minutes. Naturally, we put that to the test in the pages that follow.

The GT3 incorporates a more modern OLED display in addition to quicker charging. It has all the bells and whistles but is not an LTPO. The screen is HDR10+ certified (unlike its predecessor), offers 144Hz refresh rate (instead of the more popular 120Hz refresh rate), is brighter, and has a better resolution.

The new generation features the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC, which improves performance further. We are pleased to see the Plus version of the chipset because the GT2 had to make do with the Snapdragon 888. While the GT3 is not the top-tier flagship model in the Realme portfolio, employing the flagship processor from the previous year was expected. This chipset is strong and capable of handling everything you throw at it. In addition, we anticipate that the majority of customers won’t notice a performance difference between the SD8 Gen 1 and SD8 Gen 2 in normal use.

Little has changed in the camera world, which is mainly a positive thing. The standard suspect, the 8MP ultrawide shooter, and the primary Sony IMX766 50MP sensor with OIS are still present, but the somewhat ineffective macro lens has been changed with a little more effective microscopic lens. It can capture some lovely up-close pictures.

Last but not least, the GT3 now features a large camera island and programmable RGB LED illumination on the back, which Realme calls Pulse Interface Design. This design is significantly different from that of its predecessor. Those who miss the current smartphone’s defunct LED notification light may find it beneficial.

Design

The Realme GT3 doesn’t provide the paper-like surface choice as its predecessor did, which is disappointing because we kind of enjoyed the quirky aesthetic of the GT2. Instead, the Realme GT3 is only available in glass. In any case, the GT3 uses the standard glass sandwich structure, which involves a plastic frame keeping the two glass sheets together in the middle. This year, there is no Gorilla Glass protection, and Realme just uses the word “glass” in its specifications. Moreover, there is no ingress protection, which is a minor oversight given that many rivals do offer some type of water and dust protection.

Because to the camera island design, the overall aesthetic is a significant shift from previous GT series devices. Nevertheless, it’s not a complete piece of glass on the GT3. Instead, a blocky metal plate with a little protrusion supports the camera inside of glass rings. The actual camera bump is mounted on a sizable piece of glass that sits flat with the rest of the back. The LED lighting is housed in that component, which also encloses a tiny window-like feature that, in the appropriate angle and lighting, displays the Snapdragon logo. In the software portion, we go over LED illumination and associated functions.

Like with most Realme products, it’s a unique take on contemporary smartphone design that we find to be mostly appealing. It seems reasonable and not over the top. We believe that, at the very least, most individuals will find it neutral.

The rest of the glass back is covered with a frosted, silky-smooth surface that feels fantastic to the touch, but it’s a pain to hold onto. The Pulse White and Booster Black colours feel exactly the same to the touch, and the phone is really slick. The good news is that fingerprints cannot be left behind. Smudges cannot adhere to the surface, which keeps its spotless appearance at all times.

The back sheet creates a scarcely perceptible ridge with the side frame and is slightly bent to the sides. The front glass panel, which blends into the side frame without any gaps, cannot be considered to do the same.

The power button is located on the right side of the side frame, while the two volume buttons are located on the opposite side. Because of this oddity, people who are unfamiliar with this setting frequently make unintentional screenshots when locking the screen.

The frame’s top and bottom halves are somewhat recessed; the top portion houses the IR blaster and a tiny aperture for the top speaker’s echo chamber, while the bottom portion has the SIM card slot, the primary speaker grille, and the USB-C connector.

Returning to the front, we can see the thin, symmetrical bezels all around and the tiny, centred punch-hole for the selfie camera. The lower one is a tiny bit thicker, but not by much enough to throw off the symmetry. The bezels are undoubtedly among the smallest available.

Once again, there is a problem with the location of the under-display fingerprint sensor; it is too close to the bottom edge and necessitates weird thumb acrobatics in order to unlock the phone when held in one hand.

Overall, we appreciated the new GT3 design because it is surprisingly light for a glass-built, 6.74-inch smartphone. It is just 200g in weight, and the hardly noticeable camera bump also caught us off guard. Nonetheless, because these are frequently found in the same price range, we would have valued the added security of having a Gorilla Glass layer and any level of certified ingress protection. The frosted surface is also quite slippery despite being pleasant to touch and stain-resistant.

Display

The display is the major improvement over the GT2 from the previous year, along with the new charging technology. It now measures 6.74″ in size, has a greater resolution of 1240 x 2772 pixels and a 20:9 aspect ratio. It also works at 144 Hz and boasts 10-bit colour depth and official support for HDR10+. In every way, this display qualifies as a flagship.

Nonetheless, HDR10+ is a little challenging. For the GT3, it seems that only YouTube offers HDR-compliant video content, with Google Play’s ability to download Netflix unavailable. Although Netflix has not yet authorised the device, we were able to sideload it and Full HD movie playing was possible. For HDR, we can’t claim the same. Grateful for the opportunity to serve you.

Color Accuracy

The display fared admirably in our testing of brightness. The screen’s maximum brightness in manual mode was 478 nits, while in automatic mode, it reached 974 nits, which is more than enough for pleasant outdoor use in any situation. It represents a little improvement over the previous generation.

Depending on the colour space, two of the possible options have excellent colour fidelity. In the sRGB colour space, the Normal mode delivers excellent results; the average dE2000 is merely 0.8 and the maximum is 1.4. Use the Cinematic mode for DCI-P3 content as it gives identical colour accuracy with average and maximum dE2000 values of 0.8 and 1.3, respectively.

HRR Controls

There are several issues with the HRR control. The three choices are Auto, Standard, and High refresh rate. Although most system and third-party apps were limited at 60Hz or, at worst, 120Hz in Auto, they are quite self-explanatory. The whole 144Hz could only be saturated by Google Chrome. In actuality, even in the system settings, the refresh rate didn’t exceed 120Hz. The software quickly switches between 60 and 120Hz when the display is inactive, which is good news.

There are several issues with the HRR control. The three choices are Auto, Standard, and High refresh rate. Although most system and third-party apps were limited at 60Hz or, at worst, 120Hz in Auto, they are quite self-explanatory. The whole 144Hz could only be saturated by Google Chrome. In actuality, even in the system settings, the refresh rate didn’t exceed 120Hz. The software quickly switches between 60 and 120Hz when the display is inactive, which is good news.

When we forced several games to run at 144Hz, the game’s frame rate was decreased even if it appeared to be doing so on the display. Unfortunately, there is no accurate way to ascertain the game’s true refresh rate because the refresh rate counter on the display isn’t always correct.

Battery life

Despite having a lesser battery capacity than its predecessor (4,600 mAh), the new GT scored higher overall for endurance (117 hours). The newest model, however, achieves superior standby and call runtimes, making up for its lower scores in the two screen-on tests.

Charging speed

Indeed, Realme offers the fastest charging technology available—at least at the moment. After all, progress in this subject is being made very quickly. Pun not intended.

Realme released a 240W-capable charger that it refers to as a dual GaN micro charger, expanding on their 150W fast charging protocol from the previous year. The charger isn’t quite “tiny,” but it is modest compared to what you might expect from a 240W brick. Realme developed a special USB-C to USB-C cable to sustain the incredibly high 12A current required to provide 240W of power.

With this quick charging technology, the business claims to have put in place roughly 60 layers of safety controls, which guarantees that the battery will still have 80% of its capacity after 1,600 charging cycles. We also observed that the phone doesn’t become overheated while charging.

Also, the charger may deliver power using the commonplace Power Delivery 3.0 charging protocol even if it negotiates a proprietary 240-wattage at 20V/12A. This one has a 65W (20V/3.25A) maximum output, which is a good amount of power for most applications. Even certain low-powered laptops that support PD 3.0 can be charged. PD 3.0 is also supported by the phone itself if you want to use a different charger.

When it comes to charging speed, it’s no surprise that this is the fastest-charging smartphone we’ve tested so far. We didn’t obtain the promised 100% charge in under 10 minutes, but it came close – 11 minutes and 16 seconds from 2 to 100% (March 11: Revised statistics, following more testing) is still amazing. Yet, we discovered that charging speed fluctuates greatly depending on the ambient temperature. When the internal battery temperature hits 47 °C, the charging rate briefly slows. Thus, if you keep the phone in a cool spot while charging, you’ll come fairly close to the stated 10 minutes.

If that isn’t good enough, we got 47% of the charge up in the first 3 minutes. We were staring at a 65% charge at the 5-minute mark. And it got up to 77% in 8 minutes.

And the greatest thing is that the gadget was not heated. Indeed, it was a little warm, but nothing major.

Other software functions targeted at protecting battery health are available. Smart charging, for example, identifies when you are charging at night and finishes the last 20% exactly before you start using the device, remaining at 80% until you do. The Smart rapid charging, on the other hand, provides an extra boost in instances where your smartphone has to be charged as quickly as possible. In this setting, we conducted our tests.

Speakers

The Realme GT3 has a typical speaker arrangement, with one situated below the earphone grille and also acting as an earpiece, and the other bottom-firing. This implies that the bottom speaker is somewhat louder than the other, which is to be anticipated.

Total loudness was -26.9 LUFS, which is close to last year’s GT2, receiving a “Excellent” loudness grade. The GT3 also inherits the GT2’s speakers, judging by the overall sound quality.

In other words, we thought the speaker arrangement was adequate, with clear voices and highs and adequate-ish bass. At greater levels, there is minimal to no distortion.

Software

The Realme GT3 is powered by the latest Realme UI 4.0, which is based on Android 13 and isn’t much different from the previous version. Even the UI design changes are subtle. If you’ve used the previous two Realme UI versions, you’ll be right at home. And, if you’re coming from Oppo’s ColorOS or OnePlus’ most recent OxygenOS, you’ll notice that the Android skins are nearly identical, save for a few niche features.

Realme UI 4.0’s most significant enhancement is the new Aquamorphic theme, which gives a modern but clean take on Android. It’s a theme that’s also available on Oppo and OnePlus phones.

Realme UI 4.0 includes the new Media Controls from Android 13, as well as faster and less obtrusive animations, dynamic widgets, and improved notification and control centres.

And while we’re on the subject of personalization, Realme UI 4.0 is adaptable. Under Settings, there is a complete Style (and Wallpapers) page. You can change the wallpaper (both live and static), switch between icon packs, quick toggle icon shapes, fonts, and colours to completely change the look of the Realme UI.

The settings for customising the Always-on display may be found in the same sub-menu. There are other designs to pick from, including a bitmoji and a canvas generated from a photo. The Contextual info option is new to Realme, but it’s been available on OnePlus phones for a while. in the current state of science, in the current state of science, in the current state of science, and in the current state of science. The functionality allows for more integration with Spotify.

The same sub-menu controls the LED lights on the rear, which may function as a notification indication, charging indicator, and whether the gaming-optimized GT Mode is engaged, in addition to the regular settings. Nevertheless, the LED strip isn’t particularly bright and may be difficult to see outside. And you have to keep your phone facing down in order to view it.

The launcher has no-nonsense homescreens, a simple and tidy notification/toggles area, and a simple task switcher. An app drawer is present, too, and it is as clutter-free as one could wish for. If you choose, you may disable the app drawer. This time around, the app drawer instantly pops up with the keyboard ready to enter in your search. This can also be disabled.

Large folders and dynamic widgets are now accessible. Any folder may be extended or reduced. Meanwhile, the new Realme widgets are not that many, but they refresh in real-time and constantly present important information.

Realme has added a few nifty features for enhanced multitasking, none of which are really novel. You can also shrink an app to a floating window, now termed a flexible window, because it’s very easy to resize it on the move. Drag and drop allows you to transfer data between full-screen and flexible programmes. Adjustable windows are accessible within the Task Switcher or the Sidebar. You may perform one of these or utilise the classic Split Screen if an app is supported. The so-called Smart Sidebar is here to stay, giving you even simpler access to your favourite programmes, especially if you use them frequently for multitasking.

Although the Smart Sidebar feature isn’t new, it does get a cool new function called Background streaming, which allows you to play YouTube movies in the background without having to pay for Premium. Simply launch a YouTube video, pull down the Sidebar, and there should be a shortcut there.

Although though under-display fingerprint technology has been available for a while and almost all phones produced in the previous two years offer a quick and accurate unlocking experience, the Realme GT3 seems a little faster. The fingerprint area is big, and the scanner unlocks quickly. A little touch is all it takes. Holding the fingerprint reader region for a second after unlock will offer you with shortcuts to applications and tasks of your choice.

The Memory Expansion function is also supported by the Realme 10 Pro. As clear from the name, this function enables you enlarge your smartphone’s RAM – although theoretically – by leveraging the phone’s internal storage. You may add up to 12GB of virtual Memory. This function is enabled by default, and Realme has set the default storage size at 4GB.

Dual-mode audio and Sleep Capsule may be found in the Realme lab area. You may listen to music with both wired and wireless headphones thanks to the Dual-mode audio. Sleep Capsule is a night mode that disables some applications.

Realme offers multimedia apps such as Pictures, Music, and Videos. There’s also a new File Manager and a Phone Management app. This completes the non-Google app list.

Realme UI 4.0 impressed us. The UI is clutter-free and simple to use, and working at 120fps feels amazing. Nonetheless, it retains a plethora of strong capabilities if you chose to dive deeper and use them.

Performance

Unlike its predecessor, the Realme GT3 features the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 Plus version of last year’s flagship Chipset. As Qualcomm switched from Samsung’s fabs to TSMC’s, the chipset offers 30% more power efficiency in the CPU and GPU departments than its predecessor (both are still 4nm, though).

13th March update: The octa-core CPU has a 1+3+4 core configuration (1x Cortex-X2 + 3x Cortex-A710 + 4x Cortex-510), with clock speeds of 3.00 GHz, 2.5 GHz, and 1.80 GHz, respectively. These are typical clock rates for the Non-Plus version of the chipset, indicating that Realme has prioritised power economy for this model.

Of course, the Plus version of the chipset includes various advantages in addition to the manufacturing method. In addition to the CPU and GPU, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 includes a new Spectra ISP, superior Snapdragon Sound, and more power-efficient NPU computation. The ISP can now concurrently capture 8K HDR footage, video bokeh effect, and face tracking. The capabilities of the NPU have been increased by 20% per watt.

There’s also Volumetric rendering support and enhanced battery efficiency when gaming, which may theoretically increase play duration by one hour. Now it’s over to the benchmarks to evaluate how it compares to the competitors and how excellent Realme’s implementation is.

The results indicate that Realme did a decent job of leveraging the SoC’s full capability, falling only shy of this year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 silicon. Nonetheless, we feel that the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is a competent piece of hardware that can handle almost everything.

The somewhat lower GPU results in certain tests are attributable to the GT3’s screen’s significantly higher resolution, thus refer to the offscreen testing for a more direct comparison between handsets.

Sustained performance of Realme GT3

We did the normal CPU throttling test on the Realme GT3 for an hour and were once again blown away by the results. The current GT3 aced the test with remarkable performance retention and was able to sustain near-maximal CPU clock rates without fluctuation, much like its predecessors, the Realme GT2 and GT2 Pro. This assures seamless gaming even if the phone starts to heat up and throttle. Yet, we can’t call this throttling because the silicon only declined to roughly 89% of its initial performance putput.

Surprisingly, the surface temperatures were rather low. The phone did not overheat as much as predicted, and the outer chassis remained wonderfully cool.

Camera

The primary and ultrawide cameras from the GT2 are carried over. The primary sensor is a Sony IMX766 IMX890 50MP 1/1.56″ sensor with 1.0m pixels. The sensor has OIS and enables multi-directional PDAF, while the lens has an aperture of f/1.9.

The popular and reasonably priced 8MP, 1/4.0″ sensor lies behind the ultrawide, f/2.2 lens “, 1.12m sensor, which is a bit disappointing given that Realme’s higher mid-range solutions are in desperate need of an ultrawide camera update.

The GT3 lacks a macro camera in favour of a 2MP, f/3.3 camera with a minuscule lens. We’ve seen a similar solution from Oppo previously, and it’s nice to have this one instead of the mediocre 2MP macro unit that everyone else uses.

The selfie camera remains unchanged from last year’s GT2. The 16MP, 1/3.0 “A 1.0m sensor with an f/2.5 aperture is used.

Camera App

The camera app is the same as on Oppo/Realme devices. There are fewer menus, and most options are now on the main rolodex, which is a nice thing.

In the basic Picture mode, the viewfinder includes AI Scene Enhancement (also known as Chroma Boost or Dazzle Color) – it’s essentially an advanced HDR mode, which may stack numerous shots to offer even more dynamic range enhancements. Auto HDR is also available.

There are three zoom shortcuts as well: 0.6x, 1x, and 2x.

In Pro mode, you can use both the main and ultrawide cameras, as well as adjust exposure (ISO 100-6400 and shutter speed 1/8000s-30s), white balance (by light temperature, but no presets), manual focus (in arbitrary 0 to 1 units, with 0 being close focus and 1 being infinity), and exposure compensation (-2EV to +2EV in 1/6EV increments). RAW is only available on the primary camera.

In low-light circumstances, Realme’s default camera software behaves similarly to that of Oppo and OnePlus devices. Even if you turn off the automated Nightscape (read Night mode) when shooting in ordinary Picture mode, the results are same. As a result, when the programme deems it essential, you are compelled to utilise the specific Night mode.

Daylight photos

As compared to the GT2, the Realme GT3 delivers a notable improvement in overall quality and is now even better at snapping images with the primary camera. Even when compared to most of its competitors, stills are crisper and more detailed. The dynamic range is superb, and the colours are rather natural. The exposure metering is somewhat brighter at times, and the colour temperature is significantly warmer than previously, giving the photographs a lovely, home atmosphere.

The GT3 nevertheless performs admirably in more difficult indoor conditions. High-contrast situations preserve information in both shadows and highlights, while noise is reduced to a minimum. Sharpness appears to be unaffected as well. Overall, the GT3’s primary camera produces flagship-level photo quality.

2X Zoom Photos

The 2x zoom shots are adequate. The GT3 will perform admirably for social media sharing, but the crop from the primary sensor will never match that of a specialised 2x camera with lossless zoom. As you look closely, you will see a lot of grain, a lack of sharpness, and sometimes a loss of detail. Take note of the sky in the third image, or zoom in on the inside examples. That’s where the majority of the noise is.

Yet, the overall rendition is the same as in ordinary 1x mode. We’re discussing dynamic range, exposure, contrast, and a preference for warmer colour temperatures.

Ultra-wide Camera photos

Surprisingly, the ultrawide camera delivers photographs with more vibrant colours and good overall contrast. But that’s all there is to it. Even in favourable lighting settings, the samples reveal a poor degree of detail, inadequate sharpness, a restricted dynamic range, a bit of noise, and obvious colour fringing. In the end, the 8MP ultrawide camera isn’t a good fit for a €650 phone.

Realme deserves some credit for making the ultrawide pictures appear at least passable. Despite the sensor’s physical constraints, software enhancements have gone a long way.

Macro camera photos

The basic zoom is 20x, but with little digital processing, it can be increased to 40x. The earlier photos, in our opinion, are far superior. It has a little learning curve since you have to get pretty close to the subject. In this mode, the LED is always active and provides additional light to ensure that your subject is properly exposed. It’s a fun party trick, and it’s better than a 2MP macro camera.

Low-light camera photos

As previously stated, the camera app functionality has changed, so there is no distinction between the basic Picture mode and the specific Night mode. Thus we shall refer to the samples following as merely “low-light samples”.

In any event, the overall nighttime quality is remarkable, with practically little noise, a high degree of detail across the frame, a broad dynamic range, and impressive sharpness. Fine detail may be seen even in the deepest of shadows since the light sources are well-contained and not blown out. These may not be to everyone’s taste, owing to the evident artificial sharpening, extremely warm colour temperature, and strong contrast.

Keep in mind that the majority of the pictures above include warm light sources, which the programme enhances, while the added sharpness and brilliant shadows make the entire scene appear to be artificially generated. We understand your point of view, but for the vast majority of people, the night images will look fantastic, especially for social media.

2X Zoom camera photos

While photographing in 2x zoom mode, there is a substantial loss in quality, although not as much as we feared. There is some loss of clarity and fine detail, but they are enough for social media. The built-in Night mode significantly aids in keeping noise at bay while retaining an acceptable degree of clarity.

The warm colour tone and good contrast are consistent across the 1x and 2x zoom levels, which surprised us.

Ultra-wide Camera photos

Despite the fact that the ultrawide camera provides more true-to-life colours and has the correct colour temperature, it is difficult to suggest at night. The sensor has difficulty maintaining sufficient sharpness and detail. Dynamic range is strong, and noise is low, thanks to picture stacking.

Portrait Mode

The portraits are nicely done, with lots of colour and richness, a wide dynamic range, and a decent level of sharpness. The exposure metering, on the other hand, can be a little inaccurate at times. Several of the images we shot had very bright exposure, which made the subject’s skin appear excessively pale and brilliant. Even in difficult lighting situations, performance is robust, with no sacrifices in sharpness, clarity, or noise.

Selfie Camera

The selfies are inadequate. They are far too soft, lack fine detail, and begin to show noise in poor lighting circumstances. Color, dynamic range, and contrast are all excellent. Nonetheless, the selfies leave much to be wanted given the price range, and there has been no major improvement over the previous version.

Videi recording

The video recording choices are standard – up to [email protected]; however, due to resolution limits, the ultrawide camera only allows up to [email protected]; and EIS is present in all modes. Strangely, no further action camera-style stabilisation is provided.

Overall, the video quality at 4K resolution is quite good. We notice a lot of detail, and the video below is crisp, with a broad dynamic range and true-to-life colours. The contrast, on the other hand, looks to be wrong.

Our Verdict

The Realme GT3 has a lot to offer, and it’s a significant improvement over its predecessor. The fundamentals have been addressed: a great screen, a strong chipset, a long battery life, good main camera performance, and rapid charging. And, as you may have guessed by now, the GT3 excels at the latter.

Yet, this year’s vanilla GT from Realme is far from ideal. We get the same old ultrawide camera, awful selfie quality, poor HRR control that turns the 144Hz panel into a 120Hz screen, and it’s a little too expensive for what it has to offer.

Whether it was the novelty of the charging tech, or perhaps it was simply inflation, but until the GT3’s price drops closer to the GT2’s launch price (€550) sooner rather than later, it will struggle to compete with higher-end phones from last year.

PRO’S & Con’s