We’ll get our main gripe about the Realme GT 2 Pro out of the way right now; it’s not being sold in the US. And that’s a great shame because it’s proven to be the affordable flagship phone of early 2022 with its Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, dual 50MP rear cameras, 150° ultra-wide FoV, and the visually exquisite and eco-friendly Paper Green (or White) finish. Priced at under $900 in Europe (€749/£699 in Europe). the GT 2 Pro represents a heady mix of value-for-money features and flagship quality that actually looks good too.
We’ve had the GT 2 Pro in for review for a couple of weeks now so join us after the break for our thoughts on Realme’s first attempt at a flagship smartphone
Design
With the requisite slim bezels that we expect from a flagship smartphone, the GT 2 Pro offers something that none of its competitors do – a rear panel that is made from sustainable biopolymer materials and has a finish by Naoto Fukasawa, a renowned industrial designer from Japan. Unlike the suitcase grey design we saw on 2021’s GT Master Explorer Edition, the GT 2 Pro’s rear panel is sleeker and catches the eyes more easily. The polymer finish (no talk of faux or vegan leather here) can be had in green or white, either of which is stunning to look at. It also doesn’t show fingerprints, and brings a ton to grip as a welcome by-product. Seriously, it’s one of the few flagship smartphones around that doesn’t pop out of your hand and thus doesn’t need a case.
Elsewhere, you’ll find the SIM tray located to the left of the centrally-located USB-C port which has the speaker chamber to its right. The power button is on the right-hand edge of the phone with the volume rocker on the left. The top edge is clean apart from the dual antenna breaks and the single mic hole.
Specifications
| Realme GT 2 Pro | |
|---|---|
| Software | Android 12, Realme UI 3.0 |
| Display | 6.67-Inch Super Reality AMOLED, WQHD+ Resolution (3216 x 1440p), LTPO 2.0, 1-120Hz Refresh Rate, 1400nits Peak Brightness, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus |
| Processor | Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Octa-core, Adreno 730 GPU |
| Memory | 8/12GB LPDDR5 |
| Storage | 128/256GB UFS 3.1 |
| MicroSD Card Support | No |
| Rear Cameras | 50MP Main Camera (IMX766), OIS, 6P Lens, F/1,8; 50MP Ultra-wide-lens, 150° FoV; 40x Micro-Lens Camera |
| Notable Camera Features | 50MP Mode, Street Photography Mode, Super Nightscape, Panoramic View, Bokeh, 150° Ultra Wide-angle, Fish-eye Mode, AI Scene Recognition, Microscope, 3D Photo |
| Front Camera | 32MP (Sony IMX615) |
| Security | In-display Fingerprint Sensor, Face Unlock |
| Battery | 5,000mAh |
| Charging | USB-C, 65W SuperDart |
| Wireless Charging | No |
| Audio Jack | No |
| IP Rating | N/A |
| Connectivity | Dual 5G SIM, WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, |
| Dimensions | 163.2 x 74.7 x 8.18mm |
| Weight | 189g (Paper Green/White), 199g Steel Black |
| Price | From €749/£699 |
Performance
With its flat AMOLED panel that sports 1440p resolution and uses LTPO 2.0 technology, the GT 2 Pro also sports a 1-120Hz refresh rate (like we’ve seen on the Galaxy S22 Ultra). It’s a high-quality display with vibrant colors and high levels of brightness (up to 1400 nits), and those who aren’t fans of curved edges will appreciate the flat design. The in-display fingerprint reader is accurate and speedy, as is the face unlock feature.
With Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor powering proceedings, the GT 2 Pro tackles multitasking and gaming with aplomb thanks in part to its stainless steel vapor cooling chamber that helps keep the phone cool during those extended sessions. The user experience is slick with apps opening as quick as you like and the 1000Hz touch sampling means your touches are recognized almost before you’ve touched the display, which is great for gamers.
We’ve run the GT 2 Pro through the usual benchmarking apps which give a useful marker to the sort of performance you can expect to experience with Realme’s first flagship phone.
Battery
Featuring a big 5,000mAh battery, the GT 2 Pro will get you through the day with around 20% spare without using any of the power-saving options available. Thanks to Realme’s 65W SuperDart technology, the battery is able to be charged from 0-100% in just 33 minutes, which should resolve any lingering battery anxiety you might have. Fast charging changes the way you use and charge your handset, and even if you forget to charge it overnight you can still charge up the battery enough in the time it takes you to shower and drink a cup of coffee to make it through the day. Wireless charging isn’t present but it shouldn’t be too much of an inconveniences thanks to the presence of 65W wired charging.
Software
Running Android 12 with Realme UI 3.0 on top, the GT 2 Pro is easy to navigate and attractive to look at. You can customize everything from the size and shape of app icons to the Always-on-Display, as well as Edge Lighting and the fingerprint sensor effect. There is some bloatware in the form of Facebook, Amazon, Booking.com, and PUBG Mobile being pre-installed but they are all easily uninstalled if you decide they aren’t useful.
The GT 2 Pro also features the Multi-Connect function which lets you connect the phone to your Windows PC via the PC Connect software and allows you to mirror the phone, access apps, and transfer files and images seamlessly. You can download the PC Connect client for Windows here.
Realme is promising three years of Android OS upgrades and 4 years of security updates for the GT 2 Pro, which means it should be a phone you can keep for the long term without the worry of it becoming outdated.
Camera
The GT 2 Pro’s trio of rear cameras consists of dual 50MP sensors (1 x main, 1 x ultra-wide), and a 40x microscopic lens that lets you take images of objects from as close as 1-5mm. The microscopic camera is of gimmick value in that you’ll use it a couple of times, be suitably impressed by the resulting close-up, and then forget about it until you happen to be reminded of its presence again.
The dual 50MP cameras, however, are a different story. The main sensor (Sony IMX766) boasts OIS and produces some stunning images whether it’s day or night. The colors are bright and vibrant, and there’s a good amount of detail rendered without needing to fiddle in the editing section of the gallery app.
The 50MP ultra-wide lens has a nifty trick up its sleeve with the ability to take 150° Field-of-View images, which is a noticeable jump from the usual ultra-wide-angle cameras we see and the first time it’s been available on a smartphone. This means that you can get even more of the scene captured in the image which is great for those panoramic shots of landmarks. Fans of the telephoto lens may be disappointed by the lack of a dedicated lens, though, with the ultra-wide camera’s digital zoom resulting in somewhat grainy shots.
The app is much like on other Realme handsets, easy-to-use with more options and features just a slide away to the right. If the layout isn’t to your liking you can add or remove features from the slider. In a nutshell, the Realme GT 2 Pro’s cameras are capable, reliable, and perfectly useful for producing images that will look good on social media sites.
Verdict
The only things we would have liked to see included on the GT 2 Pro is wireless charging, an IP rating, and a dedicated telephoto lens instead of the microscopic camera, although that would have increased the price.
With its uniquely brilliant and eco-friendly design, vibrant display, speedy charging, more than capable cameras, and true flagship performance, the GT 2 Pro is a welcome addition to the high-end smartphone market, especially when you consider that at €749/£699 it costs less than the base Galaxy S22. And, if you move quickly you can snag the GT 2 Pro for just €649/£599 as part of the early-bird promotion, which brings it into direct competition with Samsung’s Galaxy S21 FE that makes do with last year’s hardware.
