Realme GT 2 Review: an attractive mid-range device

Realme’s GT 2 Series was one of the most awaited launches in India in 2022. While Realme launched the GT 2 Pro in India in April 2022, now after almost 2 weeks, GT 2 has been silently announced by the company. Realme GT 2 pro and GT 2 have the exact same design while there are differences in specs and prices. GT 2 Pro has been launched with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 for Rs. 49,999, GT 2 is powered by Snapdragon 888 for a starting price of Rs. 34,999.

Although, it would not be wrong to say that the processor of GT 2 is flagship grade and very powerful, is it actually worth taking into account its other specs and price? Can this smartphone be your choice? Let’s find out the answers to these questions in our review.

Realme GT 2 Review: Design

Realme sent us (on a returnable basis) a paperwhite color variant for the GT 2 device for review. This is the same design that was seen on GT 2 Pro Paper White smartphone. This design has been made by Realme Design Studio in collaboration with Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa. The design has been made by keeping in mind a sustainable environment as it uses 35.5.% lesser plastic than normal to reduce overall carbon footprints.

The rear panel of the GT 2 has a texture-like design that looks like a paper at first sight. The device is not slippery when held in hand and the overall in-hand feel is good. The topside of the rear panel has a triple camera module with a silver ring around it.

There are 2 flashlights in this module. The size of the camera lenses is slightly smaller on this one in comparison to that of the GT 2 Pro. Alongside the module are the Realme branding and signatures of Naoto Fukasawa as well. The only issue is keeping this paperwhite smartphone’s color intact, which can be done by protecting it with the given silicone cover.

At the front is the 6.6-inch AMOLED display which has thin bezels on 3 sides and slightly thicker bezels on the bottom side of the screen. In comparison to the Pro model, it has slightly thicker bezels and this could be the reason behind the GT 2 being only 0.4mm thick. The front camera is placed on the left side of the screen, which makes sure that there are no hindrances while watching content or gaming.

The left rim of the device has volume rockers whereas the right edge has the power button. The bottom edge houses a SIM tray, microphone, USB Type-C port, and speaker grille. The 2^nd microphone is placed at the top rim of the smartphone. The fingers of your hand will easily be able to reach all the buttons on the device and the responsiveness of the buttons is decent too.

ALSO READ: Motorola Moto G52 Review: Budget-Friendly smartphone to meet all your needs?

ALSO READ: Realme Narzo 50A Prime Review: scores high in style & battery life

Realme GT 2 Review: Display & Sound

The Realme GT 2 has a 6.62-inch FHD+E4 AMOLED display panel whereas its Pro variant had an LTPO display. The GT 2 display has a 120Hz refresh rate and 1000Hz touch sampling rate which made sure that the screen runs smooth, fast, and highly responsive. The in-display fingerprint sensor of the device is fast and works well too.

The smartphone has 1300 nits peak brightness which makes it stand toe-to-toe in competition with any other flagship device. Whether you are streaming content or using the phone in bright outdoor settings, the display is bright and clearly visible.

The settings menu has options of Vivid, Natural, and Pro Mode for screen profiles. Out of these in Natural mode, colors are beautiful, Pro Mode can be used while watching content but avoid using the Vivid option as the colors seem too bright and artificial when this mode is switched on.

Otherwise, the colors on the screen are nice but the dynamic range is average. Specifically for greens, the dynamic range is not too good. The GT 2 comes with Widevine L1 support which means you can watch content on platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime in Full HD+ resolution. Netflix does not have HDR support whereas YouTube has it.

Realme GT 2 Review: Performance

Realme GT 2 is powered by octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset based on 5nm fabrication process. The processor has 1 main Cortex-X1 Kyro 680 Prime core with a clock speed of 2.84GHz, 3 Cortex A78-Kyro 680 Gold cores with clock speed of 2.42GHz and 4 efficiency Cortex A55 cores with a clock speed of 1.80GHz. In addition to it are Adreno 660 GPU, 12GB RAM and 256GB storage.

The processor gives a very good performance during everyday usage. We opened a number of apps together and used them simultaneously and there were absolutely no issues with the speed. These apps included web surfing, Netflix and others.

If we talk about gaming, we tried playing Call of Duty for half an hour with very high frame rate and Max graphics and it ran smooth. This means that you can play heavy games with high graphics and frame rates for long duration on your GT 2 device. It did get a little hot but that can be ignored. The smartphone comes with an 8-layer heat dissipation structure with 4129mm square tampered vapor chamber cooling technology which makes sure that the thermal performance is up to mark.

Several benchmark tests performed gave following results-

Coming to the software, GT 2 runs Android 12 with Realme UI 3.0 on top. Just like GT 2 Pro, this one has bloatware too. There are many preinstalled 3rd party apps that you might not need. The lock screen also has Glance advertisements running just above the fingerprint sensor. You can remove these apps if you don’t need them but it would have been better if one would have got a clean UI experience in a device priced above 30k.

Realme GT 2 Review: Camera

Realme GT 2 comes with a triple camera setup at the rear end. It includes a 50MP primary camera which is a Sony IMX766 sensor. The photos clicked with this camera have good detailing. Low-light images also have good colors but the detailing at the corners is lesser as compared to daylight. According to the price, the primary camera gives good clicks.

The 2^nd lens is the 8MP ultrawide sensor with 118-degree FOV. The clicks with this lens are above average but do not stand anywhere in comparison to the 50MP camera’s quality.

The third lens is the 2MP macro camera. The sensor gives good detailing in images, but the colors look too saturated. For example, the red flower in the photo above looks even redder.

For selfies and video calls, there is a 16MP front camera. With this camera, the focus is on the subject and the selfies are very clear with beautiful colors. The edges of selfies have less detailing but considering the price, the selfie camera performs well.

ALSO READ: Oppo F21 Pro 5G Review: An elegant partner for day-to-day needs

ALSO READ: Realme GT 2 Pro Review: A Fabulous Flagship Under Rs 50,000

Realme GT 2 Review: Battery

Realme GT 2 packs a 5000mAh battery which after getting fully charged gives a day and a half’s usage easily. If you are a moderate user, the battery will last for about 35 hours but if you are a heavy user, you will have to charge the battery once every day. The smartphone comes with a 65W charger inside the box. The charger takes about 35 minutes to charge the phone from 0 to 100%.

Realme GT 2 Verdict: Should you buy it?

Realme GT 2 is a very good smartphone with a 35k budget. Although the phone comes with a plastic build, the design is very attractive and strong. The design is suitable for youngsters and elder people alike. Despite having a 5000mAh battery, the GT 2 feels light in hand.

Apart from this, a powerful chipset appropriate for all tasks, a good main camera sensor, and decent battery life adds to its good features. Although ultrawide and macro lenses are below par, they will do in this price range. The display is good as well but the dynamic range could have been improved. Overall, if your budget allows, you can surely consider GT 2 as your pick.