Realme GT 5G Review: Enough muscle to leave the competition in the dust?

It was maybe a couple of years ago before the COVID-19 pandemic where OnePlus was known to launch a flagship killer smartphone. The Chinese smartphone company launched flagship smartphones in India at a not-so-flagship price. The good old days are gone as the latest OnePlus 9 series price in India has crossed the Rs 60,000 mark. Realme, OnePlus’ sister company under BBK Electronic’s roof is trying to place itself as the new flagship killer of 2021 with the Realme GT 5G.

The company has launched the Realme GT 5G in India at a price tag of Rs 37,999. While that is still a premium, the phone offers some top-of-the-line specs. You get an AMOLED 120Hz display, a Snapdragon 888 SoC, up to 12GB of RAM, a 4,500 mAh battery with a 65W fast charging setup, a triple-camera system and most importantly, a 3.5mm headphone jack. That being said, the competition isn’t far behind and offers more or less similar specs for a couple of thousand rupees more. So, should you consider buying the Realme GT 5G? After using the phone extensively for around 10 days, here is our Realme GT 5G review.

Realme GT 5G Review

Performance

If you are a car enthusiast and see the word GT, you are likely to think of the Ford Mustang GT that is known for its high-speed performance and an iconic black stripe on the yellow paint job. The Realme GT 5G takes cues from the defining characteristics of the iconic car and packs a Snapdragon 888 SoC under the hood. The top-of-the-line mobile processor from Qualcomm packs more than enough power for you to perform intensive tasks without breaking a sweat.

We played Battlegrounds Mobile India and Asphalt 9 on the device. Notably, there is support for 90FPS with Smooth graphics settings on the Realme GT 5G, just like the Realme X7 Max (Review). It also comes with a “GT Mode” wherein the phone’s performance unit offers maximum performance. You can also play with the Game Focus and Performance Mode options that offer enhanced battery performance. This, however, will lead to a faster battery drain. One weird bug that we noticed is that Battlegrounds Mobile India ran 60fps despite us setting the graphics and frame rate set to 90FPS + Smooth. This can be fixed in the next update or so.

The 4,500 mAh battery, with all the “Pro-performance” modes, offered us nearly 4 hours of battery life while playing BGMI and Asphalt 8. Disable all these modes and use the stock performance, and you are likely to get 5.5 hours of screen-on time. There is a 65W fast charger in the box that refuels the battery from zero to 100 per cent in less than 40 minutes.

Most powerful engines and processors do get hot at max capacity. The Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra (Review) and Vivo X60 Pro Plus (Review), which feature the same Snapdragon 888 SoC, did get warm to the touch after a few minutes of gameplay. The same is the case with the Realme GT 5G. Although it does get warm slightly to the touch near the camera module, the heating isn’t as bad as we experienced on the OnePlus 9 (Review) and the OnePlus 9 Pro (Review).

Regarding the software, the Realme GT 5G runs Android 11-based Realme UI 2.0 out of the box. We have seen the custom Android skin evolve over the years and offer more customisation, optimisation options while adding many useful features. There are options to play with power management settings and animations. You can also personalise your phone’s theme, font, icon style etc via the Settings app.

While these features give users the option to enhance their on-device experience, seeing multiple third-party apps pre-installed takes away from the premium experience. I get that some might use these apps but for those who don’t, it is an additional step to uninstall these apps one by one. Realme can probably give users the option to install these apps while setting up the device.

Premium phones preloaded with a bunch of third party apps. pic.twitter.com/JkrHiZx2vd

— Pranav (@PranavHegdeHere) August 19, 2021

Design and Display

Design is typically subjective. Some might like a phone’s design while others are not as much. The Racing Yellow colour is exclusive to the 12GB + 256GB storage configuration. There is also the Racing Silver and Dashing Blue colour option but they do not get the Vegan Leather treatment of the Yellow. The textured back aids in providing a good grip and in-hand feel. We would have appreciated the design, even more, had the vertical stripe been matte black instead of glossy. The shiny line attracts fingerprint smudges easily, which means you will have to clean it time and again. 

The GT 5G is also fairly lightweight and slim to hold at 8.4mm thickness and 186 grams weight. We have seen lighter phones but the curved plastic back with the faux pas leather makes it feel light in hand. The device also has a 3.5mm headphone jack, which gamers and the ones with wired audio products will appreciate. A bummer though is the choice of a plastic frame over aluminium. For the price, Realme could have at least opted for a metal frame.

In terms of the viewing experience, users will appreciate the Super AMOLED panel’s vibrant, punchy colours. We did not notice any colour shift or black crush issues on our Realme GT review unit. The sharp display is also plenty bright for both indoor and outdoor conditions.

Much like other phones like the iQOO 7 Legend and Mi 11X Pro, the Realme GT 5G offers a butter-smooth 120Hz refresh rate display. Compatible games and apps can take advantage of the high refresh rate to offer a smooth scrolling/ gaming experience. The Realme GT 5G is also slightly compact than the completion, which offers a 6.6-inch or taller display. It has a 6.43-inch Full HD+ screen, which is more than large enough to enjoy content and play games without having your fingers to work around a lot. 

Camera

While performance, design and display might be GT’s strongest points, the camera seems to be quite average. The phone has a decent 64MP primary camera that clicks sharp images but offers slightly saturated colours. There is a crowd out there that appreciates boosted colours and the camera is unlikely to disappoint them. The software messes up with the white balance at times and you are likely to see a light pink cast on lighter shades. In lowlight and night shots, it manages to expose the overall image fairly well without overblowing the highlights. There is slight noise, especially in the darker regions of the images.

The 8MP ultrawide camera also offers similar performance in terms of colours but fails to get the details around the edges. There is also a 2MP macro lens that’s as good as not having one. The sensor takes a couple of seconds to focus and you don’t get as good results either. The colours are a bit off and it's best you use the 64MP mode and crop into the subject for a better output.

For selfies, there is a 16MP front camera that clicks decent images. You will notice a slightly smoothened skin tone despite disabling the beauty modes. Also, while portrait mode is quite good, it increases the subject’s skin tone exposure for some reason. Click here or on the Flickr slideshow below to see some of the shots clicked during our Realme GT 5G review.

Verdict

As we mentioned earlier, the Realme GT 5G scores maximum points for its performance and display but the camera isn’t the best in the segment. The iQOO 7 Legend clicks better shots and also offers a more versatile camera system with a 13MP telephoto sensor instead of a gimmicky macro lens.

That being said, if the camera isn’t your top-most priority and want the best-performing phone under Rs 40,000, you can certainly consider buying the Realme GT 5G. The phone does not heat up as much as other Snapdragon 888-powered phones and also undercuts the competition by a couple of thousand rupees. Another bonus is that the phone has a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is missing on the Mi 11X Pro and the iQOO 7 Legend (Review). All in all, the Realme GT 5G is a solid package as an affordable flagship smartphone. 

Alternatively, if you are looking for a cheaper performance-first phone, maybe check our Realme X7 Max review. The phone comes with a MediaTek Dimensity 1200 SoC, which offers stable performance and is a good option for around Rs 25,000. There is also the Poco F3 GT (Review), which comes with the same chip and dedicated gaming triggers on the side frame.