Realme GT Neo 2 Review: Great Gaming Performance at the Right Price

Excessive-end gaming smartphones do not come low-cost – check out Asus’ ROG Telephone 5, which has every part a gamer would possibly need, however comes at a value. Asus’ ROG Telephone 5 (First impressions) is on the market in three variants priced between Rs. 49,999 for the bottom model and a whopping Rs. 79,999 for the top-of-the-line ROG Telephone 5 Final.

However most informal players do not essentially want that type of {hardware}, so Poco got here up with the F3 GT (Evaluate), which is at present a strong contender within the mid-range gaming house with costs ranging from as little as Rs. 26,999. Now, we even have a smartphone from Realme that is priced equally however doesn’t scream ‘gaming’ just like the Poco F3 GT. It has no set off buttons and no RGB lighting, and is on the market in daring in addition to refined colors. So, with out the gaming thrills, does it fulfill the wants of the cellular gamer? And, does it go a step additional to grow to be an all-rounder?

Realme GT Neo 2 value in India

The Realme GT Neo 2 is on the market in three finishes: Neo Inexperienced, Neo Blue and Neo Black. As for variants, there are simply two to select from. The bottom 8GB RAM and 128GB storage variant is priced at Rs. 31,999, and the 12GB RAM and 256GB storage variant is priced at Rs. 35,999 in India. Each choices are priced competitively in opposition to the competitors which incorporates the Poco F3 GT and Xiaomi’s Mi 11X. What’s lacking although is a 6GB RAM variant, which might have made the GT Neo 2 extra accessible.

Realme GT Neo 2 design

The Neo Inexperienced Realme GT Neo 2 unit that I acquired for assessment has a singular dual-tone glass again panel. The inexperienced half has a smooth, matte-finished texture, whereas the 2 black stripes that run all the way in which down the panel are shiny. Being made with a number of sheets of glass, the again panel doesn’t choose up fingerprints and makes this system fairly simple to grip, which is sweet for a smartphone that is principally going for use by players. The Neo Blue and Neo Black choices haven’t got such stripes, and whereas the previous has a gradient, the latter is totally plain.

The Neo Inexperienced Realme GT Neo 2’s again panel is product of dual-tone glass

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The mid-frame is product of polycarbonate despite the fact that it seems to be like steel, and has a matte end. There’s additionally a matte gray silicon case within the field, but it surely makes the cellphone a bit slippery. The digital camera module protrudes by about 3mm from the again panel and appears a bit like those on the OnePlus Nord 2 (Evaluate) and Oppo Reno 6 Professional (Evaluate). This cellphone will wobble fairly a bit when positioned on a flat floor.

Whereas I just like the distinctive colourways (every of them seems to be totally different) that Realme has give you for the GT Neo 2, the intense inexperienced Neo Inexperienced end is kind of loud and can seize a number of consideration. It may be finest to go for the smoky Neo Blue or the satin-like Neo Black when you do not need to stand out.

The Realme GT Neo 2’s AMOLED show has a skinny bezel

The bezel across the show is kind of skinny. The 6.62-inch show is kind of broad (which is sweet for gaming) in comparison with ones on the Realme GT Grasp Version and the GT, and you’ll need two palms to make use of this cellphone. When it comes to weight, the Realme GT Neo 2 feels lighter than it seems, at round 200g. There is not any IP ranking however you do get stereo audio system.

Realme GT Neo 2 specs and software program

The Realme GT Neo 2 has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 SoC. The cellphone is obtainable with as much as 12GB of RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage, however there isn’t any microSD slot for reminiscence growth. There are two Nano-SIM slots, and this cellphone helps twin 5G standby in addition to a number of SA and NSA 5G bands. Communication requirements embrace Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, and the standard satellite tv for pc navigation techniques. The Realme GT Neo 2 packs in a 5,000mAh battery that may be charged utilizing the 65W charger that comes within the field.

The software program is the everyday Realme UI 2.0, which relies on Android 11. It seems to be similar to Oppo’s ColorOS, and has a number of customisation choices, which embrace the power to vary and modify the shapes of icons, customise the always-on show, and even change the load of the Adaptive font. What I didn’t like had been the annoying notifications from the Theme retailer. Fortunately, these might be switched off in Settings. The cellphone additionally comes with a number of preinstalled third-party apps which embrace Netflix, Fb, Snapchat, and Josh. Save for the FinShell Pay app, all of those apps may be uninstalled.

Realme GT Neo 2 efficiency and battery life

The GT Neo 2 options an AMOLED show with a full-HD+ decision and a 120Hz refresh charge. The show additionally gives as much as 600Hz contact sampling, which is claimed to be helpful when enjoying video games. The show showcased barely punchy colors so I used the Light display screen color mode for a lot of the assessment interval. What I missed is HDR help, which might have been a pleasant addition given the big measurement of this display screen, and would have made it significantly better for streaming video. The cellphone additionally has stereo audio system that get fairly loud and make for an immersive expertise whereas enjoying video games.

The Realme GT Neo 2’s AMOLED show has a 600Hz contact sampling charge

The Realme GT Neo 2 pulled some spectacular numbers in our benchmark exams. It did higher than its competitors, with scores of seven,19,508 in AnTuTu, and 1,005 and three,152 respectively in Geekbench’s single and multi-core exams.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 processor has sufficient grunt to run probably the most demanding 3D video games easily. What’s extra, the GT Neo 2 remained cool even throughout lengthy gaming classes, which is especially because of its massive stainless-steel cooling system and a brand new “diamond thermal gel” that is used as a layer of warmth dissipation, as per the corporate.

A gaming mode referred to as ‘GT Mode’ is on the market on the Realme GT Neo 2. As we noticed on earlier GT-series fashions, it cranks up the processor’s clock velocity and the show’s contact sampling charge (the show is able to as much as 600Hz), however I didn’t discover something vastly totally different by way of responsiveness, in comparison with when GT Mode was switched off. The same old Recreation Area app additionally has a slide-out console which let me customise swipe and contact sensitivity, however these should not per-game optimisations, so they’ll have to be adjusted between video games.

The Realme GT Neo 2’s mid-frame is product of polycarbonate

The Realme GT Neo 2’s 5,000mAh battery is the largest in a GT-series smartphone to this point. Battery life with informal use is kind of spectacular, and the cellphone simply lasted a day and half, even with some gaming. The GT Neo 2 lasted a formidable 28 hours and 56 minutes in our customary HD video loop battery check. Charging was additionally fairly fast for a 5,000mAh battery. The cellphone managed to go from a useless battery to a 100% cost in simply 44 minutes.

Realme GT Neo 2 cameras

The Realme GT Neo 2 options three rear-facing cameras – a 64-megapixel major, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle, and a 2-megapixel macro digital camera. Selfie duties are dealt with by a 16-megapixel front-facing digital camera. The digital camera app interface is much like what we now have seen on different Realme smartphones with Realme UI 2.0. An important controls are a faucet away, and a neat slide-out tray on the left aspect offers you entry to extra superior capabilities such because the tilt-shift mode, body choice, and a timer for the shutter.

The Realme GT Neo 2 has three rear cameras

Photographs taken in daylight got here out fairly saturated typically however showcased respectable element and dynamic vary. There is a noticeable shift in color and tone when switching between the first digital camera and the ultra-wide-angle digital camera. Colors typically shift fairly a bit from scene to scene so there isn’t any consistency between photographs, with some displaying pure colors whereas others look wildy saturated. Capturing pets and other people indoors resulted in smooth and textureless pictures with tremendous saturated colors. The ultra-wide-angle digital camera reproduces even much less element and photographs additionally had noticeable purple fringing in brighter areas.

Realme GT Neo 2 daylight digital camera samples. Prime: Major digital camera, backside: Extremely-wide angle digital camera (faucet to see full measurement)

Selfies taken with the front-facing digital camera confirmed good element and respectable dynamic vary however tended to be overexposed. Edge detection when utilizing the front-facing digital camera in Portrait mode was respectable at finest. Utilizing the Portrait mode with the rear digital camera did nonetheless lead to good edge detection and dynamic vary.

The fixed-focus macro digital camera takes respectable photographs, however with a 2-megapixel decision, they do not pack in sufficient element. Shut-ups shot with the first digital camera appeared significantly better with extra element.

Realme GT Neo 2 close-up digital camera samples. Prime: Major digital camera, backside: Macro digital camera (faucet to see full measurement)

In low mild, particulars had been on the decrease aspect with some photographs showing murky. The Evening mode bumped up distinction and elevated saturation and sharpness, making for some dramatic panorama photographs, however you need to watch for 3-5 seconds to shoot each, so this mode positively can’t be used to shoot individuals or pets in dim lighting.

Realme GT Neo 2 low-light digital camera samples. Prime: Auto mode, backside: Evening mode (faucet to see full measurement)

Video high quality in daylight was respectable at finest. You possibly can shoot at as much as 4K at 60fps however the digital camera gives no stabilisation at these settings, so movies come out fairly shaky. 4K footage at 30fps got here out high-quality, with good element and stabilisation, however like 1080p movies, tended to be overexposed. In low mild, video shot at any decision appeared murky and dreamy at finest.

Verdict

After utilizing the Realme GT Neo 2 for greater than per week, it is clear that it is not an all-rounder. That is primarily all the way down to its unreliable digital camera efficiency, which fell wanting expectations, given its price ticket. Merely put, you may get higher digital camera efficiency from Realme’s personal GT Grasp Version (Evaluate), which is priced rather a lot decrease, ranging from Rs. 25,999.

What you may’t get anyplace else is the hardcore gaming efficiency that the Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 SoC and this cellphone’s cooling system allow. It is lacking devoted set off buttons and RGB lighting, which you’d get with the Poco F3 GT (Evaluate), however as a substitute, this cellphone offers you a high-quality AMOLED show and wonderful battery life.

At this value level, it is exhausting to suggest anything to a cellular gamer. For the non-gamer, there’s the Xiaomi’s Mi 11X (Evaluate) which additionally has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 processor and an IP53 ranking, however dials down the show specs, battery life, and charging velocity in favour of a slimmer design. So, the GT Neo 2 nonetheless gives good worth at Rs. 31,999, supplied you might be okay with its common digital camera efficiency.