Realme 5 Pro Review: A Good Choice for Gamers

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Realme’s India story unfolded at a time when the competition was at its peak in the industry. Launching competitive products back to back at disruptive prices is one prime reason why Realme has managed to rapidly grow in stature in such a short time. Close on the heels of Realme X, the brand is again back in action with the Realme 5 Pro and Realme 5 and has in fact already teased the Realme XT from the 5 Pro launch stage. (Realme 5 Pro Review हिंदी में पढ़े)

The 5-series phones are successors to the Realme 3 Pro and Realme 3 smartphones offering improved hardware (read: current generation chipsets) and new Quad Cameras. Recently, the Realme 5 Pro entered our den and since then we have been pushing it hard. Our experience with the device suggests that it has its pros and cons. Should you buy the Realme 5 Pro or should you rather buy the Realme X? Let’s discuss the details in our Realme 5 Pro review.

Page Contents:

Realme 5 Pro Review: Key Competitors and Price

The Realme 5 Pro is aimed at the budget buyers and comes in three variants ranging from Rs 13,999 to 15,999. This means it will be competing with the Redmi Note 7 Pro, Realme X, Vivo Z1 Pro, Samsung Galaxy M30, Samsung Galaxy A30, and Honor 20i.

Realme 5 Pro Unboxing: What’s in the box

The Realme 5 Pro retail in the standard package. The Realme 5 Pro box content includes the phone, a TPU case for extra protection, a SIM ejector tool, documentation, 20W VOOC charger, and USB-C cable.

Realme 5 Pro Review: Design and Build Quality

As evident from images, we have the Realme 5 Pro Crystal Green variant that sort of reminds us of Vivo Z1 Pro. One of the reasons is perhaps the ‘holographic gradient back’. The rear panel has a diamond design pattern which is a variation of the gradient that we usually see on Realme phones. Realme says the fine details are achieved through a complex process and it took them 78 adjustments to perfect the final look.

The phone is predominantly made out of polycarbonate and has a glass finish. The rear panel is smooth with seamless curves on edges ensuring a firm grip. Though it isn’t as premium as the Realme X, it doesn’t feel cheap either.

The side rail is also plastic and it houses the sim-tray and volume rocker on the left, and power key on the right edge. Buttons feel firm and have decent tactile feedback. Unlike X, the 5 Pro doesn’t have any pop-up camera mechanism and houses selfie cam within a tiny V-shaped notch at the top. On close inspection, you will notice extremely slim bezels on the sides and a relatively bigger chin at the bottom.

The quad-camera setup at the back protrudes slightly, however, the bundled case evens out the hump. On the right of the rear camera module, there is a capacitive fingerprint sensor that is aptly placed, fast and reliable. And yes, the handset has a reversible Type-C charging port.

Realme has also nailed it in terms of build quality. There are no flexes or creaks and the Realme 5 Pro feels really solid in hand. The display is shielded by Gorilla Glass 3 and Realme claims the phone is splash resistant (though, there’s no IP certification).

Realme 5 Pro Review: Display

The Realme 5 Pro has a 6.3-inch FHD+ screen (19:9) on the front. Realme claims more than 90 percent screen-to-body ratio which is fantastic and says that the notch is 30 percent smaller than on the last generation phone (we couldn’t tell).

The screen is an IPS LCD panel which is not as charming as the AMOLED one we saw on the Realme X but is decent enough for the price. The display itself is sharp and vivid and users will have the option to adjust to warmer tones. The screen can get 450nits bright and outdoor visibility is just about average.

Realme 5 Pro Review: Performance

Performance is the strong suit of the Realme 5 Pro. It is driven by Qualcomm’s new age 700-series chipset – the Snapdragon 712. Competitors have been calling out Realme for use of dated chipset, so this should temporarily put them to rest. The Realme 5 Pro’s Snapdragon 712 is a higher clocked variant of Snapdragon 710 and shows 10% performance improvement.

We have the 5 Pro in 8GB RAM and 128GB internal storage variant with us, but it also available in 4GB+64GB and 6GB+64GB options. The good thing is the type of RAM is LPDDR4X and the storage class is UFS 2.1. This is as good as it gets in this price segment.

During the time I was using the Realme 5 Pro for this review, it felt fast and zippy. Everything I threw at it worked without stuttering or lags. With ample RAM at its disposal, it managed to hold quite a few apps active in memory, resulting in smooth multitasking experience.

Realme also claims that its Game Boost is optimized to improve performance of top 100 games on play store. How about our gaming experience on the phone? Well, we are perfectly content. We tested a handful of games including PUBG mobile which by default set to high settings. I am no pro in PUBG mobile but I had no trouble in para dropping at Pochinki in Erangel and fighting my way to Chicken dinner. I didn’t encounter any frame drop issues either.

Realme 5 Pro Review: Software

The Realme 5 Pro runs ColorOS 6 leased from Oppo, but with several refinements. In terms of features, Color OS is as rich as any other android based custom OS. There’s Game Assist, Game Space, Smart Driving modes, Clone Apps and a lot more. The software also includes DRM L1 certification and supports HD streaming from apps like Netflix and Prime Videos.

The presence of extensive bloatware and the extra mile Oppo has walked just to imitate all that’s good and bad with iOS is what bugs me. At the same time, consumers who aren’t particular about their OS needs shouldn’t mind the Color OS.

All said and done, I am glad that Realme will soon replace the software with its own Realme OS (probably in October).

Realme 5 Pro Camera Review

Realme has gradually improved and polished its camera software. The Realme 5 Pro gets a new versatile Quad Camera setup at the back which is a combination of 48MP Sony IMX56 sensor with 8MP ultra-wide camera, 2MP Macro camera, and 2MP Portrait sensor. There’s a 16MP selfie snapper on the front.

The 48MP primary sensor has an f/1.8 aperture and uses Pixel binning and merges four pixes to one to produces sharper, vivid 12MP images. For those who wish to shoot in true 48MP resolution, they can switch to the dedicated mode in the camera menu. Looking at the shots taken from the Realme 5 Pro, it manages to capture saturated images with a good amount of details. Though the camera tends to produce images leaning towards warmer tones.

In a low light scenario, Realme X managed to impress us with clean noise-free images. The Nightspace mode can successfully enhance dark scenes.

The Realme 5 Pro also manages to do a decent job with portrait mode. Its algorithms can detect subject edges but at times struggle with hairs and other finer details, which is also a case with every other phone in this segment.As for selfies, the 5 Pro delivers decent output but it excessively depends on AI feature which at times eats into necessary details.

Realme 5 Pro Review: Battery Test

The Realme 5 Pro relies on its 4,035 mAh battery that comfortably managed to deliver a full day millage. Realme bundled it with a 20W (5V/4A) VOOC 3.0 fast charger that takes a little more than an hour to fully refill our Realme 5 Pro battery from a dead state. All said and done, the battery experience is excellent for the price. 

Realme 5 Pro Review Verdict: Should you buy it?

The Realme 5 Pro is a powerful package considering the price for which it retails in the market. In fact, the Realme 5 Pro is now the cheapest Snapdragon 712 phone in the country and should be a very alluring option for consumers who prioritize gaming. The versatile camera with the 48MP Sony sensor in the lead and extremely fast charging are other features to look forward to. 
So, is the Realme 5 Pro a worthy buy in this budget? We’d say yes. Though, if you can spend more, the Realme X with a more premium design and gorgeous AMOLED display should be a better choice overall. 

Pros:

  • Performance
  • Battery life, Fast charging
  • Versatile cameras
  • Dedicated SD card slot

Cons:

  • Thick
  • Software needs improvement
Deepak RajawatDeepak Rajawat
Experienced technology journalist with over 7-years of experience. Before embracing online journalism, he has worked with several legacy publications including print editions at Hindustan Times and The Statesman. He also has a keen interest in Sports, which he used to cover with equal enthusiasm in his early career.

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3 Comments
User
Adhrit
Anonymous
3 years ago

Have you checked if it has 48 MP camera.I was shocked when I accidently noticed that when covering the 48MP camera with my finger and still it captures the photo in the 48MP section and there was no blocking of camera at any mode.This shows that the It only has 3 rear cameras.Total SCAM.SCAM ALERT!!!!!

Reply
CatCraft3512
CatCraft3512
@catcraft35_zedamofu
10 months ago

The "48 MP" was the "Ultra wide" mode

User
Do not buy realme 5 Pro mobile because this brand total scam brand in India
Anonymous
3 years ago

I have realme 5 Pro mobile it’s have Android 10 update and it’s too slow network receptor and battery discharge also its giving performance is too low charging is very slow and many other performance is downgrade

Reply
User
user
Anonymous
3 years ago

not recommended, color os 6 is best for this device, with realme ui this phone is a brick in your pocket that does nothing good but create heat, very bad move from realme, and with no ways to unlock bootloader do not buy this device, better settle with xiaomi, if i could refund i’ll do it!

Reply