Realme 10 Pro Plus Review: Curved display steals the show

Realme 10 Pro+ review summary:

Editor’s rating: 4/5

Realme always does exceptionally well when it comes to offering features in its number series. The Realme 10 series proves the same with decent processing capacity and unmatchable design. Talking about the high-end variant from the series, Realme 10 Pro Plus, you will get mesmerized by the design and other aspects that make it one of the best in its price range.

For starters, the smartphone comes with a Dimensity 1080 processor that claims to offer you get high-octane performance while performing operations like heavy gaming, multitasking, and more. I got my hands on the gadget and used it for a period of around 10 days. Here I am sharing an honest review of the same based on the things I have experienced. The device has been tested in both performance and photography terms.

Realme 10 Pro+ review: Unboxing

The Realme 10 Pro Plus comes in the traditional yellow coloured box that we have seen in the previous Realme variant. The name of the device and the brand can be seen at the front, while the back has specification highlights along with a few other details. The retail box consists of the following:

• Realme 10 Pro+
• USB Type-C data cable
• SIM ejector tool
• Quick guide
• Safety guide
• Protective case
• Adapter

Realme 10 Pro+ review: Design

As soon as you take out the device out of the box, it will surprise you with its clean and classy design considering its budget. Starting with the rear panel, the device has the Realme branding at the bottom left, and two circular camera islands at the top left corner with the flash placed next to it. One of the circular islands consists of a single primary sensor, and the other one has two sensors. The rear panel of the handset is a glossy finish with nice pattern-type reflection when exposed to a decent amount of light.

One thing which works as a turnoff is that the back panel registers fingerprint and is smudgy. This means you have to put a protective case on the phone to make sure it is free from smudges. Coming to the front, Realme outclasses all its competitors in the same price range with its curved display. One of the unique things that I saw in the device was the super thin bezels all around. Combining the ultra-symmetrical curved front and back design with the side bezels that are as small as 1.41mm and the bottom bezel that is only 2.33mm results in a bezel-less viewing experience. Trust me when I say that no other phone currently offers a slimmer bezel around the display at this price point.

At the top middle, we get to see the punch-hole cutout for the placement of the front sensor. The volume rockers and the power button are placed at the left spine, and the SIM Tray, speaker grille, and USB Type-C port are located at the bottom. It also has a secondary speaker at the top, along with a mic. The device weighs around 173 grams which is not that heavy, and it also allows you to carry it comfortably without any issues.

One noteworthy thing about the Realme 10 Pro Plus design is doesn’t have the assurance of a corning gorilla glass protection on top of its curved screen. The 0.65mm double-reinforced glass used as a screen protector in the Realme 10 Pro+ claims to offer substantially greater drop resistance and anti-crack capability. Since we can not verify that claim I would urge you to take that with a pinch of salt.

Realme 10 Pro+ review: Display

Starting with the specs, the Realme 10 Pro+ features a 6.7-inch FHD+ curved AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080+ and 394ppi. The new AMOLED has a quicker 120Hz refresh rate and can display over 1 billion colours due to its natural 10-bit colour depth. Gamers will like the 360Hz touch response, and video streaming will be made easier with the HDR10+ certification. Not only this, but the 800 nits of peak brightness are also available, which enhances the viewing experience to a great extent, even in direct sunlight. The curved display contributes to making multimedia consumption better with the handset.

The panel is really well-tuned as it delivers appealing colors with good dynamic range and contrast. If you prefer boosted colors, there is HyperVision mode under setting which offers both Video Color Boost and Video HDR Boost. The first one uses more battery power while attempting to extend the colour gamut in SDR content. It is accessible through a small number of apps. When watching HDR videos, the Video HDR Boost boosts brightness and enhances the HDR viewing experience. Of course, it also leads to an increase in power usage.

Realme 10 Pro+ review: Performance

The Realme 10 Pro Plus works on the MediaTek Dimensity 1080 processor coupled with 8GB LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB UFS 2.2 internal storage. While using the phone, no lags or heating issues were encountered. I was pretty impressed with the RAM management, as the virtual RAM (up to 8GB) complements the physical one really well.

Switching between applications seems buttery smooth with a high refresh rate and decent performance capabilities. I tested the Realme 10 Pro+ on Antutu, and it managed to score 5,19,356, which is not bad. On Geekbench, the smartphone scored 839 in single-core tests and around 2386 in multi-core tests. After all that, I played NFS on the device for almost an hour in a single go and witnessed no heating, that too in the ultra game mode.

However, turning the settings to high took a toll on the performance, which was clearly visible. On top of all that, the handset boots on the Realme UI 4.0 based on the Android 13 operating system. It is one of the first few non-Google-made phones to boot Android 13 out-of-the-box.

The software is loaded with features like always on display, themes, fingerprint scanner animations, new media controls, dynamic widgets, and lots more. Under the Realme Lab section, you will find options such as Dual Mode audio (to connect to wired and wireless at the same time), Sleep Capsule (basically, night mode), and Heart Rate Measurement (via fingerprint sensor). While there is nothing to complain about in terms of features, One of the major software drawbacks that you should keep in mind is presence of bloatware in the Realme device. The smartphone has around half a dozen pre-installed applications, and some of the apps deliver useless notifications all day. If you don’t want to tackle with this stuff, then you can simply disable all the apps that offer irrelevant notifications.

To top that off, the device also gets the Realme app market which does nothing but still, every installed app goes through it to make sure it’s safe. Now, the irritating part is that while showing that the apps are safe, Realme App market displays ads and even random app suggestions which not even are relevant for the user.

When it comes to fingerprint response, the smartphone does a good job, without a doubt, as the scanner is highly responsive. The speakers of the device offer loud audio; nonetheless, it misses out on the bass. In terms of speakers and the removal of the 3.5mm jack, the smartphone disappoints for sure.

Realme 10 Pro+ review: Camera

The Realme 10 Pro+ flaunts a triple camera setup at the back. The Realme 10 Pro+ primary rear camera is a 108MP Samsung (S5K)HM6 1/1.67″ sensor with 0.64µm pixels and a Nona-Pixel colour filter. While that megapixel count is up from the last edition, Realme has removed Optical Image Stabilization which does impact your handheld shots in low lights.

The other two rear cameras include a 2MP macro lens from OmniVision and an 8MP ultrawide camera based on a Sony sensor.

The primary rear camera clicks decent 12MP photos out of the box. The camera has managed to capture decent details, good contrast, and colours. If you are wondering about the dynamic range, it is neither bad nor flagship grade.

It is safe to say that the Realme 10 Pro Plus offers good images with clear details only in perfect lighting conditions. The same is not the case when we are talking about low-light photography. That’s why we suggest you to use night mode which is effective and can help you get some usable shots at night. The macro sensor of the device delivers average shots.

Surprisingly, the 16MP front sensor still works pretty well in both low light and daylight conditions. It takes good selfies of well-exposed subject with accurate colours. The details are slightly soft but still good enough to share on social media.

Realme 10 Pro+ review: Battery

Realme 10 Pro+ draws power from a 5000mAh battery that supports 67W fast charging. At the time of testing, the battery consumption of the device was quite optimized. While playing YouTube videos at the highest quality for an hour, the device lost 8% to 10% battery. The consumption went up to 14% per hour while running heavy games.

On average usage, including multiple calls, 24×7 WiFi connectivity, scrolling through social media, playing games, and other stuff, the Realme 10 Pro+’s battery lasted for around 17 hours. As for the charging speed, I plugged in for the first time when it went to 20%; the smartphone got completely charged in around 40 minutes. The device took almost an hour and five minutes to get fully fueled up from zero to 100%.

Realme 10 Pro+ Review: Should you buy it or not?

Here comes the big question, if the Realme 10 Pro+ is a device you need to upgrade to or not? If you are looking for a phone that can perform well without compromising on looks, then Realme 10 Pro+ is definitely for you. It is perfect for people who are seriously into streaming and multimedia content consumption. The camera performance is not perfect as ultra-wide shooter could have been better. The bloatware could irritate you a little bit. Nonetheless, Realme 10 Pro Plus is a good everyday phone and I think you’ll be won’t be disappointed if you ready to live with bloatware.