Review of Realme GT 5G - a smartphone on a top chipset at an affordable price

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

It heats up like a stove, and the battery is weak, but it works stably.

Usually when the word "flagship" is presented smartphones with off scale performance characteristics and the same off scale price. But in the case of the Realme GT 5G, the situation is not the most standard. His platform is top-end, but the cost does not encourage selling the kidney, although you have to think about it: the version with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of user memory in Russia costs about 50 thousand rubles, and on AliExpress - about 33 thousand. The result is an interesting "budget flagship".

Table of contents

• Specifications
• Design and ergonomics
• Display
• Iron
• Operating system
• Sound and vibration
• Cameras
• Autonomy
• Outcomes

Specifications

Operating system	Android 11, shell Realme UI 2.0
Screen	Super AMOLED, 6.37 inches, 2,400 x 1,080 pixels, 409 PPI, 60 and 120 Hz
CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G (5nm)
RAM	8/12 GB
Built-in memory	128/256 GB
Cameras	Primary: main - 64 Mp, f / 1.8 with a 1/1, 73 ″ sensor, 0.8 μm pixels and PDAF focusing; wide-angle - 8 Mp, f / 2, 3 with a sensor 1/4, 0 ″, 119; macromodule - 2 Mp, f / 2, 4 with a 1/5, 0 ″ sensor. Front: 16 MP, f / 2, 5.
SIM cards	2 × nanoSIM
Connectors	USB Type ‑ C; 3.5mm
Communication standards	2G, 3G, LTE, 5G
Wireless interfaces	Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2
Battery	4 500 mAh, charging - 65 W
Dimensions (edit)	158, 5 × 73, 3 × 8, 4 mm
The weight	186 g
Additionally	NFC, optical fingerprint reader, stereo speakers

Design and ergonomics

The appearance of the Realme GT 5G is quite classic. This is a large flat smartphone weighing almost 200 g, and even slippery to the point of impossibility. We were given a version with a glass back for testing, under which shines a striped blue-gray pattern reminiscent of jeans.

The oleophobic coating on the glossy finish does a good job, maybe for the first few hours after unpacking the smartphone, but then it becomes evenly covered with traces. To be fair, the light pattern on the back perfectly hides the prints and makes them less noticeable than, for example, on the dark blue version. So our Realme GT 5G still looks neat, although you can still see the tracks from certain angles.

Comes with a smoky gray silicone case, which makes the slim body of the smartphone less soiled and less slippery. At the same time, the "denim" pattern on the back is perfectly visible and is even enhanced by the fact that the cover itself is textured from the inside, so the aesthetics does not suffer much.

The camera module protrudes just a couple of millimeters above the body. In the yellow version, it is complemented by a black leather stripe, as if continuing this block along the entire back. In our blue-gray version, it's just a small rectangle with rounded corners. And it seems as if the oleophobic coating on the camera block is better than on the entire rear panel. The module almost does not protrude above the cover.

The entire body is surrounded by a plastic strip. On the right side there is one key - power on.

The volume buttons are located on the left, just above the middle, and fit comfortably under the index finger when gripping with the right hand. Above them is a tray for two SIM cards.

The bottom end of the Realme GT 5G is strewn with holes: in turn, from left to right, there are a 3.5 mm headphone jack, a microphone, USB-C for charging and a speaker. There is only one microphone point at the top.

The screen has small bezels. The selfie camera is shifted to the left side, and the earpiece is inscribed in the joint between the front panel and the bumper. The display is covered with a branded film with a small cutout for proximity and light sensors.

Externally, Realme GT 5G looks trendy, typical for modern smartphones and at the same time quite in the style of the brand. A successful "denim" pattern on the back, which hides prints, small thickness, convenient key arrangement - there is no discomfort when working with the device.

Display

The top smartphone has one of the top panels - Super ‑ AMOLED ‑ screen with a diagonal of 6, 43 inches and a resolution of 2,400 × 1,080 pixels. The main feature of this panel is a refresh rate of 120 Hz and a sensor frequency of 360 Hz: the screen responds to touches instantly.

The set of settings is typical for Realme. The color selection offers Vivid Colors with DCI ‑ P3 palette, a simpler and softer Tenderness with sRGB palette, and Great, which is characterized by increased vividness. During testing we used the first one - the color rendition in this version cannot be called completely unnatural, rather only slightly tinted relative to reality.

The brightness of the Realme GT 5G screen on a sunny day has to be twisted to the maximum. Indoor auto adjust is sometimes naughty and prefers to make the display too dark, so it is better to control this parameter manually.

The smartphone has two options in the 01 Ultra Vision Engine submenu: "Video Sharpening" and "Video Color Enhancement". You cannot turn them on at the same time, only one by one. Moreover, they are very sensitive to the temperature: on a heated smartphone, the system will not allow them to be turned on. Moreover, it cannot be said that the video on YouTube with the activated settings looks much better: maybe a little sharper and brighter, but that's all.

Also, the Realme GT 5G has a special mode for displaying HDR ‑ content, since the screen itself supports HLG, HDR10 and HDR10 +.

The refresh rate of the screen can be set manually: 60 or 120 Hz. We used 120 Hz during the test, periodically switching to auto.

Iron

Realme GT 5G is based on the top-end Snapdragon 888 chipset, which is complemented by an Adreno 660 graphics subsystem and 8 or 12 GB of RAM. Our version is 8 GB, but you can expand the amount of RAM due to unclaimed user memory (it can be 128 or 256 GB). There is no microSD card slot.

The Snapdragon 888 is currently the fastest Android chipset on the market. And he behaves in an exemplary manner: no slowdowns, everything works clearly, accurately, without a hint of thoughtfulness. The only problem is temperature. The smartphone heats up to an uncomfortable state after just 15 minutes of watching the stream on Twitch. For comparison, the Asus Zenfone 8 on a similar chip also warmed up, but not to such an extent - it was quite possible to hold it in your hands, but you want to put the Realme GT 5G on a stand.

Perhaps a thin glass case plays a role here. The Realme GT 5G heats up the hottest at the top, on the side of the camera block. At the same time, in the description of the smartphone, the company is actively promoting the Characteristics of the Realme GT 5G / Realme a well-thought-out cooling system with steel plates, but it does not save from throttling in top games at high settings.

Operating system

The Realme GT 5G is based on Android 11, supplemented by the Realme UI 2.0 shell. We have already talked about it more than once, for example, in the review of the Realme 8 Pro smartphone. Its main plus is flexible customization: you can customize almost any interface element for yourself.

The downside is not the most optimal use of space. Due to the rounded shape, notification windows are too large and do not contain a lot of information.

In general, it is convenient to use a smartphone, there is no illogicality in the settings, and localization does not confuse.

Sound and vibration

The gadget has stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos support. Conversational is used as a second channel. The speaker feels a little louder at the end, because of this a slight skew is felt.

The sound itself is not very bass, more suitable for voice transmission in podcasts and video blogs, and not for listening to music. At high volume, the speakers begin to whistle unpleasantly at all, so it's better not to twist them to the maximum.

The audio jack offers a good maximum volume, but here, as in most smartphones, there is not enough power for full-size headphones. Also, there are not enough volume control steps - only 16. The sound itself is more with an emphasis on high frequencies and voices than on low ones, so with modern headphones, just accentuating the bass, you can get a good balance.

Realme GT 5G supports all current Bluetooth-codecs - plus, in addition to the standard Android LDAC and SBC, there are Qualcomm's aptX, aptX HD and aptX LL. So you can get high-quality wireless sound as well.

The vibration motor is not very powerful - you may not feel it through the dense fabric. The case itself practically does not rattle, it is quite monolithic.

Cameras

There are three lenses in the main camera module of Realme GT 5G: the main one is 64 megapixels from Sony, the wide-angle is 8 megapixels and the macro lens is 2 megapixels.

The main camera shoots in Quad Bayer mode, combining pixels by four, but there is also a full-format option. Color reproduction is natural, juicy. There is enough sharpness, especially in good lighting, there is no distortion.

The wide-angle is only slightly inferior to the main camera in saturation, but sometimes it surpasses it. At dusk, the greens already become more acidic, and under artificial lighting, the colors turn red.

Shooting with the main lens in cloudy weather. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Shooting with the main lens in daylight. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Shooting with the main lens at dusk. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Shooting with the main lens at dusk. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Shooting with the main lens in cloudy weather. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Shooting with the main lens in daylight. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Shooting with the main lens in daylight. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Night mode includes a post-processing system that detects light sources, removes noise and starts automatic retouching. The pictures are not blurry, with good focus and high detail.

Realme GT 5G Night Mode Interface

Shooting with the main lens in night mode. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Shooting with the main lens in night mode. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

The wide-angle lens is hidden in the zoom menu: you have to choose 0.6 ×. In addition, 2 × and 5 × options are available. Distortion at the edges of the wide angle is corrected, but not ideal. The software processing removes noise during zoom quite well.

Realme GT 5G zoom interface

Shooting with the main lens. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Shooting with a wide-angle lens. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Shooting with the main lens with a zoom 2 ×. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Shooting with the main lens. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Shooting with a wide-angle lens. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Shooting with the main lens. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Shooting with a wide-angle lens. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

A macro lens works at a distance of 4 cm from the subject, and it is not an easy task to get the focus in such a situation. In terms of color reproduction, the photos come out noticeably paler than when using the main camera. But if you manage to focus, you can get good shots.

Shooting with the main lens. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Shooting with a macro lens. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Shooting with a macro lens. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Selfie camera - wide-angle, 16 megapixels. In terms of color rendition, it is as close as possible to the main lens and behaves best in warm light - skin tones look most natural.

1080p movies can be shot in standard, slow motion, and fast motion. The stabilization system works well, but sometimes it loses focus in the process and does not immediately catch it back.

Autonomy

The Realme GT 5G has a 4,500 mAh battery, and with four hours of screen operation with automatic refresh rate adjustment, it barely lasts for a day. Both the display and the rather gluttonous chipset are to blame here.

But the set with the Realme GT 5G comes with a 65 W charger, so you can power the smartphone from zero to the maximum in 35 minutes. At the same time, it heats up quite strongly, but also cools down quickly.

Outcomes

Realme GT 5G is a convenient, beautiful and functional smartphone in a familiar modern design. The device combines flagship performance with non-flagship value and reveals the same sores as twice the price models built on the same hardware platform.

The top-of-the-line Realme GT 5G is powerful enough for all your daily tasks - and will last for a long time. But she eats the battery very actively, and heats the case under load almost to the state of the stove.

If you want to take a smartphone for a few years, then you can take a closer look at the Realme GT 5G. It will remain relevant for a couple of generations, but you will have to put up with some peculiarities. If these nuances do not cause delight, then Poco F3 would be a good alternative. Yes, his processor is simpler, but it does not heat up, and its cost is noticeably lower.