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At the end of 2021, March 04, Realme launched its latest smartphone on the German market: the Realme GT 5G. The Chinese manufacturer advertises in particular with the 120 Hz AMOLED display, the Snapdragon 888 as well as the 8 or 12 GB RAM and a lightning-fast and graphically appealing gaming mode – and is probably primarily targeting the next generation of mobile phone users. We tested the Realme GT 5G and tell you what the phone can do.
Before we present the capabilities of the Realme GT 5G to you in the practical test, we will provide you with the technical data and brief instructions for commissioning.
Product name: Realme GT 5G
Tested: October 2021
Manufacturer: Realme
System circuit: Snapdragon 888
Processor: Kryo 680 Prime 2.84 GHz + 3rd Kryo 680 Gold 2.42 GHz + 4th Kryo 680 Silver 1.8 GHz
Graphics: Adreno 660
Memory: 8/12 GB
Storage: 128/256 GB
Screen: 6.43 inches AMOLED, 1080×2400 pixels, 120 Hz
Cameras: 64 megapixels + 8 megapixel wide angle + 2 megapixel macro with LED rear, 16 megapixel front
Connections: Usb 2 type c, 3.5 mm headset
Communication: 2g, 3g, 4g, 5g, wifi 6, GPS, Bluetooth 5.2, Galileo, NFC
Operating system: Realme UI 2.0 with Android 11
Other: Dual sim, fingerprint reader, 2-year warranty
Battery: 4,500 mAh, approx. 19 hours of online video (high brightness, 60 Hz), approx. 15 hours mixed-use (low brightness, 120 Hz), approx. 33 hours calls
Size: 15.85 x 7.3 x 0.9-1 cm
Weight: 186 g
Price: BDT (8/128 GB), 32,500 (12/256 GB)
Antutu Benchmark 9: 820 650 points
Geekbench 5: 1 140 points
Geekbench 5 a core: 3,378 points
3dmark Wild Life: 5,732 points
Storage, read: 1,959.2 MB / s
Storage, write: 773.5 MB / s
Commissioning is fairly simple. As soon as you connect the Realme GT 5G to the power supply using the included cable and power supply unit, the setup wizard starts. Here you are guided step by step, starting with the language. Synchronization with an existing mobile phone is also offered – this applies to both Android and Apple smartphones. Of course, migrating data from Android to Android is a bit easier, but Apple does it quite well too. At least contacts, photos, and files are transferred without any problems.
If you want to use passwords securely on different devices and also want to transfer them from Apple to Android or vice versa without any effort, we generally recommend an independent program such as Last Pass. Either way: Commissioning is easy and quick, if you are not sure about individual points, you can skip them and finish them later.
As soon as the setup was done, our test model wanted to run updates, including the Realme UI 2.0. Overall, the Realme GT 5G was operational after around 15 minutes.
Before we turn to the entertainment area of gaming, music, camera, and video streaming, let’s briefly go into the basics. Of course, the Realme GT 5G is a smartphone and can make calls, send messages or check e-mails with decent quality. A few apps are pre-installed at the beginning, including Facebook, booking.com, and Netflix. Whether you want to keep the respective apps is of course up to the user. With a long press on the respective app, it can be easily deleted. In general, however, Realme is pleasantly reserved when it comes to pre-installed apps.
The operating system is Android, and the look of the user interface is determined by the Realme UI 2.0. The user interface is kept simple and clear – you will find your way around quite quickly. There are two cable connections: one USB-C for data transfer via cable and battery charger and one 3.5mm jack for headphones.
The case is made of plastic – one of Realme’s savings points because you have to save somewhere when you sell upper-class hardware at a middle-class price in the shops
want to send. The plastic housing still feels valuable and impresses with a shimmering “holo look”. By the way, Realme includes a transparent rubber cover to protect the case.
The size of 6.43 inches fits well in the hand and can be described as “medium”. The image size is comfortable, and the screen offers enough space and overview, but the Realme GT 5G is not one of the giant smartphones that no longer fits in a trouser pocket.
The battery (4,500 mAh) lasts a good day with heavy use, i.e. a mix of gaming, photos, and the Internet. If you use the Realme GT 5G less intensively, i.e. only occasionally to send and read messages, a good three days are possible. But what will particularly please intensive users: Thanks to the Superdart quick charger and function, we were able to charge the cell phone from 5 to 100 percent in just under 35 minutes. If you plug in the battery with about 20 percent charge remaining, you will have it fully charged again in less than 30 minutes.
The sound output from the built-in speakers is standard stereo sound, which is neither negative nor positive. Things are different with headphones, where the user can enjoy Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res audio. We tested the sound for gaming, listening to music, and watching movies and found the quality to be very good.
The 3.5 mm jack port is located next to the USB socket on the lower edge. It offers a fairly wide dynamic range (107 dB) and an excellent level of distortion (0.0006%). On the other hand, we would have liked a little more power (87 mVrms) and better crosstalk (-82 dB), but the result is satisfactory overall. Note that we disabled the Dolby Atmos function for our tests. The latter is intended for gaming sessions by creating fun spatial effects.
The two asymmetrical speakers do their job without surprise. We have the clear impression that one takes precedence over the other. We, therefore, advise you to switch to headphones.
The AMOLED display with 2,400 x 1,080 pixels and 16 million colors as well as a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz impress with high brilliance and intense colors. This means that the Realme GT 5G scores visually both in games and in video streaming.
AMOLED (active matrix OLED, Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode) is the further development of OLED. OLED, on the other hand, is known above all for its high color brilliance and strong contrasts and especially for the “real” black. The latter can be represented by the fact that no backlighting (as with LCD) is required for the formation of a black pixel and the black can therefore be as dark as possible. In contrast to OLED, AMOLED is considered to be the technology with faster image construction, which means that processes can be displayed more smoothly. In general, AMOLED is currently the most modern and best image technology for smartphones – but it doesn’t just have fans. While some love the strong colors, the sharpness, and the intensity, others find the picture unnatural. The principle of taste clearly applies here as to which display technology is more pleasing to your own eye. The brilliant optics make a lot, especially when gaming on the smartphone, the games are really pretty to look at.
The refresh rate of up to 120 Hz clearly appeals to mobile phone gamers. With 120 Hz, the Realme GT 5G is in the Hertz range of gaming monitors and thus ensures a smooth gaming experience, even when there are quick image changes in hectic moments.
The Realme GT 5G is equipped with Qualcomm’s currently most powerful processor, the Snapdragon 888 (with a built-in 5G modem). The Snapdragon has 8 cores/threads. Based on the number of cores, this is the optimal range for gaming (compared to the recommended number of cores for gaming PC CPUs) – the base clock is also a decent affair at 2.82 or 2.42 GHz in the mobile area. In short: The Snapdragon 888 ensures optimal computing power even in more demanding mobile games.
RAM (working memory), also ensures high speed in processing and games. We tested the model with 8 GB of RAM and were extremely satisfied with the performance in terms of game load times, game world structure, and a smooth gaming experience (assuming a stable internet connection, of course). Of course, the speed also applies in general to all applications that the user uses with this smartphone.
When it comes to storage, the Realme GT 5G comes in two versions: either 128 GB or 256 GB. If you plan to store large amounts of data – be it games, photos, or videos – you should go for the 256 GB version, because the smartphone does not have a memory card slot, so the storage capacity cannot be expanded, as is the case with many Android mobile phones is the case.
For those who are primarily interested in technical data: The Realme GT 5G delivers up to 64 MP via the rear camera, and videos are recorded with 2160p and 60 fps. The main camera also offers a wide-angle lens and a macro lens. The front camera works with 16 MP and films with 1,080p and 30 fps.
In practice, it looks like this: The rear camera shoots nice and very sharp pictures, especially in the full 64 MP mode. With the wide-angle lens, wider scenes can also be recorded in very good quality. Admittedly, the macro lens is a far cry from the performance of a real macro lens on an SLR camera, as it is purely digital. Nevertheless, it is fun to use it to photograph things up close, such as the structure of a leaf or insects. Of course, these are not professional macro shots. The zoom is generally purely digital, so the images lose a bit of sharpness at full zoom. The front camera does what it is supposed to be able to do – namely selfies – very pretty and brilliant – the filters mentioned below do the rest.
The Realme GT 5G offers a nice selection of different camera modes and filters. A funny gimmick is the dual video mode. Here the mobile phone simultaneously films what is in front of the user and the user himself, shown as a split-screen. For example, on holiday or during a special experience, you can bring your own reactions and what you have seen into one picture at the same time. This is certainly a funny thing for streamers and influencers or those who want to become one.
The filters, especially in portrait mode, beautify the pictures enormously, sometimes – you have to be honest – so much that you look 20 years younger. But they are also really good for one or the other artistic photography. It is possible to use the rear camera to take photos in which everything is kept in shades of gray, only red, green, or blue remain colored.
In addition to the modes mentioned, the Realme GT 5G also has a slow-motion and fast motion mode, panorama shots, and a night mode.
The main camera is of better quality. We lack some features such as lossless 2x zoom mode, which some cameras with similar sensors have, and we appreciated the optical image stabilizer. But the optics are well built and the phone takes good care of the sensor’s image information… as long as you do not look too close. It tends to smear details such as grass and foliage if you want to take small cuts or zoom in digitally.
But for nice pictures to post on Instagram, it works well. Realme’s photo app is easy to use and has many smart tools to help you take a good picture. Even in the evening, we get well-balanced pictures. But we quickly avoid having its ai mode activated. All it seems to do is give us excessively drawn color saturation in pictures.
We’ve mentioned several times in this review that the Realme GT 5G is specifically aimed at smartphone gamers. The powerful CPU, the 8 or 12 GB RAM, the 120Hz screen – all this is the basis for mobile games of any kind to put on the best possible performance. In fact, it plays really well on this phone. If you want optimal performance and peace and quiet at the same time, you can select the mode you want to play in and various settings in the pre-installed Game Space app. The “Balanced mode” is set by default, which provides for moderate CPU and GPU utilization and also allows calls etc. as normal. If you just want to gamble, you can turn on the “pro gamer mode”. The hardware performance is boosted a little here and calls are rejected. The third model in the group is the low battery mode. The various settings can be individually adjusted.
The games load quickly and even larger game worlds, such as Minecraft, build up at lightning speed. High visibility and high graphical detail depth are not a problem, the game still runs smoothly. We even went to great lengths to make Minecraft stutter with the Pig Test! That means we spawned tons of pigs in a hole and then released them – the Realme GT 5G took it easy.
The smartphone’s responsiveness, which is particularly important in shooters, is impeccable. No delays between touch command and execution were noticeable here.
The operating system in Realme GT 5G is Android 11 with its own interface Realme UI 2.0. An update to Android 12 and Realme UI 3.0 is said to be on the way, but we do not know exactly when it will arrive. Realme is also silent about further support for Android updates and how long you get security updates. Realme is closely related to Oppo and Oneplus, they are owned by the same parent company and share some functions and features. As the two have recently moved up to that point, we can only hope that Oppo will soon follow.
Above all, Realme UI adds a lot of customization options for the interface, as well as a handful of security features. For example, you can determine the style and size of app icons. You can get and customize quick launches of apps on a locked screen, a sidebar for quick launches of apps without having to go to the home screen, and a bunch of extra swipes and navigation add-ons.
You also get a lot of extra apps, but a lot of third-party necessities pre-installed, like Amazon Music, Twitter, Booking.com, and an Aliexpress app. And a handful more. However, all can be uninstalled if they are not of interest. Except for Netflix, for some reason.
The Realme GT 5G offers a very good price-performance ratio: high-end hardware at a mid-range price. Savings were made on the housing material, the memory card slot, and partly on the camera – but if you use a case anyway and just take photos from time to time, that won’t bother you. We were particularly impressed by the hardware performance in terms of entertainment and the screen brilliance.
The Realme GT 5G is a cool cell phone, especially for young people – it’s clearly designed for gaming and entertainment and the camera modes and filters are great gimmicks that can be used to take chic pictures and videos for platforms like Instagram or Tiktok to let produce.
There are three reasons to buy a Realme GT 5G. First, for its uncompromising performance. Secondly for its fun, protruding design. Thirdly because you get it, and high quality most things in the phone, without having to pay exorbitant prices for it.
It is also obvious at what points the manufacturer has skimped on for you to get all this at a low price – mainly the camera and physical security. The clarity in the screen’s durability and the software situation would have been grateful. But given the price, we can accept some shortcomings.
