Realme Gt 2 Pro Reviews, Prices & Specs: You can currently get the realme GT 2 Pro in all three colors from Amazon for €449.99 with 8/128 GB storage. If you need more memory, you pay €561.98 for the 12/256 GB version at Amazon.
The realme GT2 Pro does this really well:
- High definition 120Hz LTPO AMOLED screen
- Fast 65W charging
- good camera
Unfortunately, after there was no realme GT Pro, but “only” the realme GT, the Master and Explorer Edition, the Oppo subsidiary brings the realme GT 2 Pro to life. This apparently wants to compete with the Xiaomi 12 and also focuses on sustainability. Does it leave a lasting impression in the test?
Realme Gt 2 Pro Reviews, Prices & Specs
- realme GT 2 Pro (8/128GB)
- realme GT 2 Pro (12/256GB)
- Specifications of the realme GT 2 Pro
| Realme Gt 2 Pro Reviews, Specs | realme GT 2 Pro |
| screen | 6.7 inch AMOLED, 1-120 Hz LTPO, 3216 x 1440 pixels, 525 PPI |
| processor | Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Octa Core @ 2.84+2.5+1.80GHz |
| graphics chip | Qualcomm Adreno 730 |
| Random Access Memory (RAM) | 8GB/12GB LPDDR5 |
| mass storage | 128GB / 256GB / 512GB UFS 3.1 |
| camera | 50MP IMX766 main camera with ƒ/1.9 aperture 50 megapixel ultra wide-angle camera with 150° microscope camera with 40x magnification |
| front camera | 32MP |
| battery pack | 5,000 mAh, 65 watts per cable |
| connectivity | Wi-Fi 5 & 6 (ac/ax), BT 5.2, aptX HD, NFC, Dual GPS/Galileo, GLONASS/ BDS, 5G, LTE Band 20 |
| features | In-Display Fingerprint Sensor, Face Unlock, Stereo Speakers, USB-C |
| operating system | Android 12 with realme UI 3 interface |
| Colors | Black, Blue, Green (Paper Back), White (Paper Back) |
| Mass weight | 163.2 x 74.7 x 8.18 mm / 189 g (paper back), 199 g (glass back) |
Realme shows itself to be sustainable
The previous rumors about the exterior of the realme GT 2 Pro have (unfortunately) not been confirmed; the original design was reminiscent of the Google Nexus 6P. Instead, you get an almost typical BBK look on the back (BBK is the group behind Oppo, realme, OnePlus & Co.) as in the OnePlus devices, with a rectangular camera module and three camera sensors arranged in a triangle. The realme GT 2 Pro is available in black, blue, white and light green.
Only the last two colorways, “Paper White” and “Paper Green”, rely on the new “paper back” made of bio-based materials, which is said to be particularly sustainable. Since ecological residual products are used for this, this material, which was created with the company SABIC, should save up to 2 kg of CO2 emissions.
This required more than 12 months of research and development with 63 prototypes. Naoto Fukasawa is responsible for the design, whose signature can also be found on the back and who was also responsible for the back of the realme GT Master Edition case. The sustainable approach is also reflected in the packaging.
And yes, that looks great! You can feel the paper structure, even if the optics are of course significantly larger than with a real piece of paper. Nonetheless, the white is really clean. The realme logo at camera level almost looks like a seal of quality, stamped by the designer.
The camera plateau is framed in silver, which matches the realme logo and the housing frame. The manufacturer meets my taste here and with the OPPO Find X5 Pro it is one of the most beautiful smartphones on the market for me. One almost wished that the housing frame was also white.
How is the realme GT 2 Pro processed?
The realme GT 2 Pro is 163.2 mm high due to the 6.7″ screen diagonal. With a width of 74.7 mm and a thickness of 8.18 mm, the paper designs weigh 189 g, the black and blue back are 10 g heavier due to the glass back. Despite the “paper”, the GT 2 Pro is of course not easy to tear up. The plastic back provides a smooth feel in the hand and seems sturdy enough. Let’s just hope that it doesn’t break through as easily as the OnePlus 10 Pro from the same company.
Fortunately, the camera does not protrude that far from the housing. As a result, the GT 2 Pro still wobbles on the table, but not as much as some devices from the competition. The supplied case can’t compensate for that either, but I still like it a lot. Probably because it is not transparent. Despite the relatively low price for a flagship, the realme GT 2 Pro looks well made. Pressure points are direct, nothing wobbles here and the cut-outs were milled cleanly during production.
Nevertheless, like paper, the realme GT 2 Pro is not protected against water . An IP rating is not available. Since we also criticize the Xiaomi 12, we do the same here. An absurdity for a flagship or top smartphone, Apple even values it with the €400 iPhone SE. Of course, this is particularly unfortunate since the OPPO Find X5 Pro and OnePlus 10 Pro, the big brothers of the partner companies, both come with an IP68 rating.
Realme GT 2 Pro with LTPO display
According to realme, the realme GT 2 Pro has the “world’s first flat 2K AMOLED LTPO display”, so the screen is not curved. It is almost alone among the Chinese manufacturers, only Samsung and Apple are prominent for their flat displays. The 6.7″ screen panel comes from Samsung and has a resolution of 3216 x 1440 pixels, which achieves a pixel density of 525 ppi.
In terms of sharpness, this is a clear advantage over the Xiaomi 12, especially since the realme GT 2 Pro also has an LTPO display, which Xiaomi only offers in the Xiaomi 12 Pro . The refresh rate can even be reduced to 1 Hz when no more is required. As in a OnePlus 9 Pro or iPhone 13 Pro, this ensures a power-saving effect.
In addition, you trump with a touch sampling rate of 1000 Hz, as well as with a high brightness of up to 1400 nits. However, this should only refer to extreme cases, but still. Thanks to the AMOLED display, the contrast ratio is particularly high at 5,000,000:1, and thanks to the 10-bit color depth, one billion colors can be displayed. There is also a fingerprint sensor under the display and it is protected by Victus Gorilla Glass.
There is not much left to say, except that realme does a very good job here. The sharpness is extraordinary on WQHD+, but FHD+ should be enough for most. Scrolling is super smooth, inputs are implemented immediately and the colors are saturated. The viewing angle stability is particularly positive, I can’t see a color shift. You can’t expect much more.
Fingerprint sensor in the display
As befits a top smartphone, the fingerprint sensor is under the display. The sensor is optical in nature, but unfortunately you have to do without an ultrasonic sensor like in the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra or iQOO 9 Pro. However, this does not detract from the speed and reliability of the fingerprint sensor in the realme GT 2 Pro. In fact, it didn’t even fail the test and almost always unlocks instantly. What’s cool is that you can even customize the animation if you want.
Settings in realme UI
Not only the hardware is advanced, but also the possibility of customization in the software. The AMOLED technology leaves more room for this anyway. In addition to standard features such as dark mode, auto-brightness or eye-comfort mode, the realme UI can also be used to set a natural color display, which adjusts the color temperature according to the ambient light. There are also some AI functions such as image sharpening or motion enhancement, which I have deactivated.
The screen resolution offers the options FullHD+ and QHD+ with the full 3216 x 1440 pixels. This can be activated at the same time as the 120 Hz refresh rate, which can either be forced or automatically adapted. In the screen color mode, you can also adjust the temperature individually and choose between different presets for color reproduction. Most will certainly just make the default choice, but nice to have the option.
How powerful is the realme GT 2 Pro?
It is no surprise that the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is used in its new flagship. The realme top cell phones have been using the best Qualcomm processors almost since the beginning of their existence, just like the realme GT uses the Snapdragon 888. The processor offers a new ARMv9 architecture, a high-performance core, a clock frequency of up to 3 GHz and thanks to the 4 nm manufacturing process it is said to be even more efficient. The performance should be up to 20% higher and the AI component has also been improved.
You can choose between 8 GB or 12 GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 128 or 256 GB of UFS 3.1 mass storage. Too bad, there is even a 512 GB version in China. Important to know: the memory cannot be expanded, the realme GT 2 Pro does not need a microSD card slot.
While that’s no surprise, the realme GT 2 Pro is a very, very fast smartphone. Also thanks to the 120 Hz refresh rate, but due to the chip alone, every app opens immediately and closes just as quickly. Navigating the realme UI feels like flying and gaming is no problem either. Demanding 3D games like Asphalt or Genshin Impact run on the highest settings, which is just plain fun. The photo processing also goes around quickly, for me an important point in everyday life.
But the difference in performance when exporting videos via InShot is huge. The same small video file took 5 seconds on the iPhone 13 Pro and 35 seconds on the realme GT 2 Pro, seven times as long! That’s probably due to better optimization for iOS, but still, that’s a no-brainer.
Those who are not dependent on such workflows will get one of the fastest smartphones at the moment with the realme GT 2 Pro, which will easily deliver good to very good performance in the years to come.
Continuous load with benchmarks & heat development
Since the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is said to have slight problems with continuous load, we ran the demanding 3D Mark Wild Life benchmark ten times in a row, as in the test for the Xiaomi 12 Pro.
After ten tests, the realme GT 2 Pro moved from the original value of 9347 to a value of 8285 at 7 fps less. That is a deficit of 12% in performance, with the Xiaomi 12 Pro it was “only” 8%. The GT 2 Pro got noticeably warmer, until it cooled down, the performance was also slightly jerky and apps took a bit longer. In the process, the GT 2 Pro also lost about 12% battery life.
Although it performs a little worse than the Xiaomi, this is rather irrelevant in practice. After all, this is not an everyday scenario. As described, the cell phone otherwise performs absolutely on par with the other flagships. That just means that realme’s cooling system, consisting of nine layers including thermal gel and stainless steel vapor chamber, doesn’t work quite as well as desired.
Benchmark Results
Benchmarks should only indicate a trend in the performance of a smartphone. But they are well suited for this and also prove in the case of the realme GT 2 Pro that the performance is on par with more expensive flagships. The Xiaomi 12 Pro is beaten in the Geekbench 5 benchmark, but is slightly behind in the AnTuTu and 3D Mark benchmarks. Nevertheless: There are no abnormalities here, the benchmarks prove our impression.
Fully charges in half an hour!
It is important to have an even larger battery of 5,000 mAh, which, contrary to the first leaks, can “only” be charged with 65W. Originally, up to 125W were under discussion, the manufacturer has already presented the UltraDart charging technology and is probably being used for the first time in the realme GT Neo3.
Charging is via cable, unfortunately wireless charging is still not an issue with realme. That’s a pity, especially because OPPO is now using it, as are OnePlus and Xiaomi. In our opinion, this is to be expected in a mobile phone for €749.
A full charge with the included 65W charger takes just over 30 minutes. In the test we got a progress from 5% to 99% in exactly 30 minutes. The special feature is that you can get to 50% in just under five minutes. A real advantage, especially when things have to be done quickly. In general, this charging speed changes your own charging behavior, since you prefer to charge it in the morning while showering than hanging it up at the socket all night.
If the realme GT 2 Pro is fully charged, you get a solid runtime. I would have hoped for an even better value than eleven hours in the benchmark due to the efficient chip and the LTPO AMOLED display. Nevertheless, this ensures that you can easily get through the day with the realme flagship. At the latest during the lunch break on the following day, you should charge again, which is quick thanks to the 65W charger. You can order a second charger here.
How good is the new camera system?
Realme’s biggest construction site so far has been the camera; that was also a point of criticism in the predecessor. One is finally trying to counteract this with the Sony IMX766 sensor with 50 MP resolution and ƒ/1.8 aperture. The sensor is already in the NORD 2, but also in the Xiaomi 12. With the 6P lens, the main camera offers a recording angle of 84.4° with a focal length equivalent of 23.6 mm. This is also shown by the Street Photography mode. Important: the sensor is optically image stabilized.
There is also a 50 MP ultra wide-angle camera with a 150° recording angle, which probably uses the Samsung S5KJN1 sensor. The huge recording angle is record-breaking and is also used in the OnePlus 10 Pro. Due to the ƒ/2.2 aperture, however, this sensor is not quite as bright.
A highlight: realme integrates a microscope camera that offers 40x magnification. This should be the same camera as in the OPPO Find X3 Pro, which unfortunately was kicked out of the Find X5 Pro. The Sony IMX615 sensor serves as a selfie camera and offers a 32 megapixel resolution with a ƒ/2.4 aperture.
Main Camera
The fact that the camera is actually always the weak point is not immediately obvious from the realme GT 2 Pro. Unfortunately, OnePlus and OPPO do not pass on Hasselblad’s photo expertise to its little brother realme. They appear with their own color profile, which is not 100% accurate, but I still like it. The photos are often a bit light, the colors are sometimes almost pastel, which makes the photos look somehow modern. The competition here is just a little closer to reality.
The sharpness, on the other hand, is another topic, which could well be higher. With many of the photos it is almost difficult to make out where the focus has ended up, it is often not so much in the foreground. Xiaomi does a better job overall, especially with the 108 MP sensor. However, the photos are not blurred either, a reliable autofocus would do the GT 2 Pro good here.
I usually like the dynamic range, but of course there are a few problems in direct sunlight. But skin tones are a bit artificial again, my skin sometimes looks a bit too yellow, sometimes a bit too red. All in all, these are really just nuances, I think.
At first glance, I usually like the photos and would have no problem taking my holiday photos with my cell phone. Nevertheless, I have the impression that the Xiaomi 12 takes slightly better photos with the same sensor. Once the Global version of this is out, we’ll add a comparison section here.
Ultra Wide Angle Camera
The widest-angle ultra-wide-angle camera on the ultra-wide-angle market. If you press the UWW camera as usual, you will be surprised at first that it is not that wide-angled. With 0.6x zoom, the standard option is not even that above average, the iPhone 13 Pro is ahead in a direct comparison. The 50 megapixel resolution provides plenty of detail in good lighting conditions, and the noise starts quickly in low light.
The color profile, on the other hand, is different from that of the main camera, and the color matching between the sensors is not successful. The UWW camera is a bit richer, but also has more contrast.
If you want to use the full 150° recording angle, you have to open the “150° mode” under “More” in the camera app. The app gives the hint: “For best results, photograph from one meter” – Ahh! This is not intended to get much more into the picture, but to provide the famous fish-eye effect.
Because the distortion at the edges of the picture is very strong, in normal mode you don’t see it due to the crop-in. You can also activate the vignette, which is supposed to explicitly record skate or 90s rap videos with the realme GT 2 Pro. A cool effect – yes. A real feature for “normal” photos? Rather not.
The microscope camera
When we tested the microscope camera in the OPPO Find X3 Pro for the first time, we were very surprised at how well it worked. This is now also the case in the realme GT 2 Pro, apparently the camera was simply passed on. While macro cameras are ubiquitous these days, the microscope camera is a new level because you can get really, really close to an object. Even at 20x magnification you dive into a new world, so 40x is still quite a bit.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to get really good results. Since there is no autofocus or stabilization, you should put the phone down if possible, for example on the edge of a table. As soon as you start the mode, the LEDs turn on, otherwise there would be too little light.
I really like the photos and I’m sure they’re also suitable as a screen background. An even higher resolution would be desirable. But it’s cool that you can also record videos. Due to the lack of image stabilization, however, they are hardly usable.
Selfie Camera
With 32 megapixels, the resolution is high for a selfie camera. I also really like the self-portraits. The similar color profile is applied to it, which also looks modern in the case of the selfies. Many details, good sharpness and the high resolution ensure great results from the front camera. Anyone who likes to send a selfie will be happy with it. Even if you take a selfie at night, the “flash light” is a good solution. The realme then adjusts the exposure afterwards.
What does 360° NFC bring?
5G continues to play a major role, at least in the marketing of various smartphone manufacturers. And even if it is not explicitly anchored in the name of the realme GT 2 Pro, all important 5G frequency bands for Germany are on board.
Especially n1, N28, n77 and n78, which also ensure a very fast mobile connection in the mobile phone. In Leverkusen and Düsseldorf we were able to determine good download and upload speeds in the Vodafone network. If you don’t have a 5G contract, you can use LTE including Band 20 and Band 28. The phone quality also leaves nothing to be desired.
For this, the OPPO subsidiary has integrated a dual SIM slot on the underside of the phone. It supports 5G on both slots. Next to it is the USB-C port, which unfortunately is also a USB-C 2.0 port. Here you can see that realme is the cheapest manufacturer of the BBK group, OnePlus and OPPO work with the newer standard. That would also have been a small advantage over Xiaomi. You also have to do without a 3.5 mm jack connection.
There is also WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5, dual GPS and 360° NFC. This means that the entire cell phone can be used to pay via NFC, not just the back. A nice addition, but I haven’t had any problems with NFC so far, so it’s hard to see any added value. For the audiophiles among you, it still supports a variety of codecs: SBC, AAC, APTX, APTX HD, LDAC and LHDC.
How do the stereo speakers in the realme GT 2 Pro sound?
Stereo speakers, i.e. two speakers, have been a topic in the smartphone world since the HTC One M8 and are essential for a flagship. realme houses the second speaker in the auricle, Xiaomi solves this on the top of the Xiaomi 12 Pro.
The main speaker on the bottom provides about 70% of the volume, which overall cannot quite keep up with Xiaomi. The sound can also be less distorted, but it is not “bassy” enough for me, especially in the low frequency range. Overall, it’s good enough to listen to music or watch series and YouTube videos.
realme UI operating system: the best after Google?
The in-house realme UI operating system started as a copy of OPPO’s ColorOS operating system and now OnePlus OxygenOS is getting closer and closer to ColorOS, in China you can even get ColorOS on OP devices. Logically, after all, all manufacturers belong to the same group.
Realme delivers the GT 2 Pro with realme UI 3.0. This is based on Android 12 and was already updated during the test period, the security patch is from January 2022 and the whole OS is of course in German. Google services are pre-installed, the Play Store is certified and Widevine Level 1 is given.
Unfortunately, I have to admit, biased, that realme UI or ColorOS is probably my favorite interface for Android phones. The look is modern and a bit lighter than Xiaomi’s, but you’re still close to pure Android and it’s not quite as intrusive as a Samsung OneUI. But that is absolutely a matter of taste. But it starts with the background images, realme may offer the most beautiful selection of wallpapers.
The realme UI can now be customized in many ways. Google’s Material You hasn’t been fully adopted yet, but it’s beginning to do so. For example, you can take a photo from which the GT2 Pro pulls the colors and creates several background images in different styles. All icons can be adjusted in shape and size, the font is interchangeable, and there are various presets for the always-on display, which can also be adjusted.
Smart features in realme UI
In addition, there are smart features such as the often mentioned sidebar. With a 6.7-inch screen diagonal, one-handed operation helps and it can be positioned freely. Simply put apps on top for a quick start, which are then full screen with a swipe of your finger.
The standby gestures are also adopted from OnePlus, drawing a “V” on the lock screen activates the flashlight. You can even assign other gestures. I also like the quick start: When unlocking via the fingerprint sensor, simply pull up your thumb to open a new Chrome tab – practical! Here too you have a number of options.
realme with 3 years of android updates
Finally! The manufacturer finally agrees to a statement for Android updates. The GT 2 Pro is promised 3 years of major Android OS updates and even 4 years of security patches for the GT 2 series. It’s nice to make a commitment. But we already liked realme in advance with regard to their update policy. The realme GT gets two Android updates, and some of the updates for other devices are even available for download on their own support page.
Conclusion: buy realme GT 2 Pro?
Addressing the topic of sustainability with the realme GT 2 Pro is important and happened here in an innovative way. The paper back is visually and haptically really something new and great. This case then includes technology where realme has finally caught up with the in-house competition from OPPO and OnePlus: LTPO AMOLED, WQHD+ resolution and a better camera setup. There are also strengths that realme already had: the current top processor, fast loading and a good operating system.
All at a price that seems to undercut Xiaomi. The realme GT 2 Pro is by no means the best device, but it doesn’t allow itself any major mistakes either. The camera is not on the level of the competition, even against Xiaomi you are still at a disadvantage here. That’s a shame as OPPO is at the top with the Find X5 Pro. An IP68 rating and USB-C 3.1 are also dispensed with. It also only costs €749 instead of €1299, and in the Early Bird offer it even costs half as much!
In the face of this price, I can’t help but recommend the realme GT 2 Pro . Especially for people for whom OnePlus and OPPO are now too expensive. The realme GT 2 Pro can also hold its own against Xiaomi and places itself between the 12 and 12 Pro. The 12 Pro is even better because of the camera, but apparently it should also cost a good bit more.
Would you give realme a chance as a flagship? Realme Gt 2 Pro Reviews video below:
