Realme opens the smartphone series at the MWC with the Realme GT 2 and the Realme GT 2 Pro. The Realme GT 2 Pro is the manufacturer’s first real high-end smartphone that is supposed to mark a serious change in strategy.
- With the Realme GT 2 and GT 2 Pro, Realme is introducing two new high-end smartphones
- The Realme GT 2 Pro offers almost full equipment with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 & Co
- Both smartphones will be available on March 11 for 749 and 549 euros respectively
The Realme GT 2 Pro with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 will be available in Germany from 749.99 euros. The Realme GT 2 “only” offers a Snapdragon 888 and a slightly weaker display, but costs 200 euros less. Both smartphones will be available for purchase from March 11th.
You already guessed it: The Realme GT 2 Pro is the more exciting model, and the article will focus primarily on this smartphone. The smaller Realme GT 2 is technically largely identical, from the design to the 5000 mAh battery to Realme UI 3.0. The main drawbacks are in the SoC (Snapdragon 888 5G instead of 8 Gen 1) and in the display (120 Hz display with Full HD+ instead of 2K resolution).
According to the first impression, with the GT 2 Pro, Realme has managed to set up a real flagship at an attractive price – the new smartphone seems more suitable for the masses than the first Realme GT – and is getting down to it, OnePlus in its younger years to emulate.
A design made of “paper” but not cardboard
The Realme GT 2 Pro is available in three colors: Paper White, Paper Green and Titanium Blue. But why “Paper”? Because the manufacturer collaborated with industrial designer Naoto Fukasawa to develop a bio-based polymer coating “based on the concept of paper art”. It is said to have taken twelve months of research and 63 prototypes before Realme managed to develop a shell made of a sustainable composite material that is ISCC+ certified. The certificate ensures the traceability of materials and is therefore something like the IP index for sustainability.
The three colors Paper Green, Paper White and Titanium Blue of the Realme GT 2 Pro / © Realme
The material used is LNP ELCRIN from SABIC. This is obtained from waste or residues from biomass. It mimics paper, saves weight and reduces CO2-Footprint of the Realme GT 2 Pro by two kilograms of CO2 per kilogram of bio-based copolymer.
The Realme GT 2 Pro should not only be sustainable in terms of materials. The manufacturer also wants to ensure better durability of the components and therefore the performance of the smartphone. Therefore, the Realme GT 2 Pro has a larger heat dissipation zone to maximize the performance of the Snapdragon 8 Gen1 SoC.
Knowing the tendency of high-end Snapdragon chips to overheat, this temperature control system is clearly not superfluous.
LTPO 2.0 display at 120 Hz, 1400 nits and 10 bits
The 6.7 inch screen is one of the most exciting features of the Realme GT 2 Pro. We are dealing here with a 2K AMOLED flat screen based on LTPO 2.0 technology. This should enable the Realme GT 2 Pro to have a more precise variable refresh rate between 1 and 120 Hz. Also on board is a gaming mode to increase the touch sampling rate when gaming up to 1000 Hz – a pretty crazy number.
The Realme GT 2 Pro’s screen also supports 10-bit color depth and offers a maximum peak brightness of 1400 nits. We have already reported on the advantages of 10-bit colors in our test of the Oppo Find X3 Pro. And otherwise? There’s a layer of Gorilla Glass Victus from Corning, 2K resolution of 3216 x 1440 pixels and a pixel density of 525 ppi. This means that all the requirements for a premium display are met.
The display specs of the Realme GT 2 Pro have it all. / © Realme
A triple camera with the first 150° ultra wide angle
The Realme GT 2 Pro has a triple camera on the back. The main camera uses a Sony IMX766 with 50 megapixels. We know the module from the OnePlus 10 Pro, for example – it offers an omnidirectional PDAF on all pixels. The camera module has optical image stabilization for photos and electronic image stabilization for videos.
The ultra wide-angle camera also offers 50 megapixels, but comes with a Samsung JN1 and offers a massive 150° field of view. For comparison: Most ultra-wide-angle cameras come to 120 degrees. You can also take microscopic photos with the module’s 40x magnification, which colleague Ben really loved on the Find X3 Pro – and to his chagrin Oppo gave up on the Find X5 Pro.
The data sheet of the Realme GT 2 Pro with all core features / © Realme
No 200W charging, but updates for up to four years
After rumors of 200W charging technology surfaced just ahead of MWC 2022, today’s presentation was a bit of a disappointment. At least according to the information we have so far, the Realme GT 2 Pro will have a 5000 mAh battery and support 65 watt SuperDart charging.
It is quite possible that during MWC 2022 Realme will still present the fast charging technology itself – or at least talk about it with partners on the quiet. In a few hours to days we will know more and will then update the article accordingly.
What else is there to say? The Realme GT 2 (Pro) will run Realme UI 3.0 based on Android 12 like the Realme 9 Pro+ I just reviewed. Incidentally, Realme guarantees three major new Android versions and four years of security updates. This is a much more extensive update policy than the manufacturer has offered so far. Realme is following the trend that Samsung has been pushing for Android updates for some time.