Realme GT Neo 2 initial review: Power and performance without the price tag

(Pocket-lint) - Realme is trying to marque a sanction for itself successful the smartphone world. It's an off-shoot of Oppo, and launches phones with precocious extremity specifications astatine accessible prices. One instrumentality that epitomises that is the caller GT Neo 2. 

Look down the spec expanse and you'll spot numbers and specifications you'd typically spot successful the apical handset models, but this 1 is launching for astir fractional the terms of those. There are immoderate insignificant compromises, but from our archetypal look astatine the phone, it surely seems a compelling option. 

Striking look (if you privation it) 

• 162.9 x 75.8 x 9mm
• 199.8g - solid beforehand and back
• Neo Green, Neo Black and Neo Blue colours

Look astatine the scope of GT Neo 2 colours and there's 1 exemplary that truly stands out. With its go-faster stripe, the Neo Green exemplary is incredibly striking. Sadly, however, we don't person that portion to spot it up close. Instead, we person the much subtle Neo Black, which is thing of a harmless choice. 

Still, there's a batch to similar astir the plan of Realme's latest GT Neo. Despite being rather a ample phone, compared to immoderate of the bigger, plus-sized phones similar the ROG Phone oregon iPhone 13 Pro Max it feels rather nimble and sleek. It is somewhat larger and heavier than its cousin, the OnePlus Nord 2, though. 

It's an uncomplicated matter connected the back, with a elemental - but charismatic - camera module placed successful the apical near corner. Each of the cameras has a neat ringing astir it, with the rounded rectangle underneath glass-topped and colour-matched to the phone's rear. In this case, it's Neo Black, which has a dark, foggy look to it. Rather than being glossy, it's matte and diffuses airy alternatively than shining it consecutive backmost astatine you. 

Otherwise it's a beauteous modular formula. The telephone has a textured wake/sleep fastener connected the close and 2 idiosyncratic measurement up/down buttons connected the left, each of which are successful convenient positions and casual to scope whether you're close oregon left-handed.

The surface takes up astir each the disposable abstraction connected the front, with skinny bezels up the sides and the top, with a somewhat thicker bottommost bezel. The lone happening interrupting the surface aboveground country is the selfie camera punched done a spot successful the apical near corner. 

Top tier display

• 6.62-inch AMOLED 120Hz Samsung panel
• HDR10+ - 1300 nits highest brightness
• 1080 x 2400 solution (fullHD+)
• 398 ppi

If there's 1 standout hardware diagnostic of the GT Neo 2, it's astir apt the display. It's got a ample 6.62-inch Samsung-made sheet connected the beforehand and it's susceptible of reaching refresh rates up to 120Hz, enabling silky creaseless animation. 

This fullHD+ surface besides boasts precocious highest brightness too, with the quality to scope up to 1300 nits, and with enactment for HDR10+ content. Combined, that should mean a fantastic surface for watching movies and playing games on. 

Where it mightiness astonishment is successful gaming fluidity. With 600Hz interaction sampling rates, you should find the surface animations respond astir instantly to immoderate gestures, taps oregon swipes connected the interaction delicate surface. 

On archetypal impressions, the surface seems agleam and vivid with lively colours and heavy blacks, which is what you privation from immoderate smartphone screen. Of course, we'll request much clip to trial earlier coming to a afloat conclusion. 

What's besides absorbing is that the GT Neo 2 comes with an Android 12-based mentation of Realme UI. That - successful essence - means it's moving a sort-of ColorOS 12 'light'. A batch of the bundle changes are the aforesaid arsenic what we've seen from Oppo and OnePlus successful their Android 12 skins. 

That means app icons with a much 3D look to them, positive the aforesaid benignant of spacing and layout arsenic OxygenOS and ColorOS. You adjacent get akin customisation options for set strategy accents and the always-on-display oregon AOD. 

Beefy artillery and speedy performance

• Snapdragon 870 5G processor
• 8GB/12GB RAM - 128GB/256GB storage
• 5000mAh battery
• 65W flash charging (100% successful 36 mins)

Along with the impressive-sounding display, the artillery is definite to gully involvement too. At 5000mAh it's noticeably larger successful capableness than the emblematic 4000-4500mAh we're utilized to seeing successful smartphones. That should mean you tin spell for a afloat time without adjacent having to deliberation astir charging. 

As with everything, we request to trial it to spot if it's going to present a 2-day use, oregon conscionable beryllium a precise comfy one-day usage battery. Not that artillery anxiousness volition each genuinely harvest up, not if you person the charger to manus astatine least. 

Realme's latest telephone takes vantage of the latest 65W flash charging exertion utilized by Oppo and OnePlus successful its apical flagships. That means you'll get a afloat artillery refill successful nether 40 minutes. In fact, Realme claims you'll lone request 36 minutes to spell from 1-100 per cent. 

This artillery and charging velocity is joined by a processor we've seen a batch of successful the mid-range phones this year: the Snapdragon 870. Qualcomm's not-quite-but-almost flagship processor delivers velocity and fluidity, but astatine a little price. In each the phones we've utilized it with truthful acold it's been a speedy and lag-free experience, we don't expect that to beryllium immoderate antithetic here. Again, much investigating is required to beryllium certain. 

"Triple" camera

• 64MP f/1.8 superior - PDAF
• 8MP f/2.3 ultrawide - 119-degrees
• 2MP macro sensor
• 4K/60 recording
• 16MP selfie camera

We've not had a accidental to instrumentality the camera retired for a afloat trial yet, but this could beryllium 1 country it's not rather arsenic impressive. Compromises person to beryllium made, and that whitethorn good beryllium what's happened here. 

While determination is simply a triple camera strategy connected the back, 1 of those lenses is simply a debased solution macro sensor. That means you've truly got 2 usable cameras. 

The superior 64-megapixel camera with PDAF (Phase Detection Autofocus) doesn't person OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation), but it tin sprout up to 4K video astatine 60fps, and uses a gyroscope based physics stabilisation for smoothness. Plus, it's joined by an 8-megapixel ultrawide.

As with everything else, we request to bash a batch much shooting with it to travel to a afloat evaluation. We fishy it'll beryllium good for societal media, but aspiring photographers mightiness privation to look elsewhere. 

Writing by Cam Bunton. Originally published connected 15 November 2021.