Realme GT Neo 2: Slick Display, Fast Charging, But Camera Lets It Down

A new premium offering from Realme in India is the GT Neo 2. The affordable flagship battle is becoming fiercer with the launch of the OnePlus 9R, Vivo X60 Pro, Mi 11X, and more. From the get-go, the Realme GT Neo 2 features a 120Hz AMOLED display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 chipset, 12GB of RAM, and a capable triple rear camera. I have been using the Realme GT Neo 2 as my primary phone for the past few days.

To help you decide whether the Realme GT Neo 2 is worth your Rs 31,999 or not, here are my initial impressions.

Design

It comes with beautiful packaging, and just the box indicates that the smartphone is serious about its business. Along with the handset, we get a 65W charger, a silicone cover, and a USB A to C Type cable for the Realme GT Neo 2.  First-time Realme GT Neo 2 owners say they feel they’re holding a well-constructed, sturdy glass sandwich that’s surprisingly lighter than it initially appears.

There are no bezels on the 6.62-inch flat hole-punched display, and there is a thin chin at the bottom. Flat displays are less prone to accidental touches, even though curved screens look more stylish. In my opinion, flat screens are superior. This phone has an interesting back panel. When not in flight, the black colour appears matte but shines when exposed to light.

Both matte and gradient-finish enthusiasts will enjoy this finish. Unlike glossy back panels, this one isn’t shiny and will not catch fingerprints. On flat surfaces, the phone wobbles because of the long camera module. Three lenses are placed vertically on the camera module; two large lenses are on the left side, and a smaller lens is on the right side.

Realme GT Neo 2 features a subtle branding on the back panel, added with a small “realme” hallmark to the bottom left corner, a USB C Type port along the bottom, a volume rocker on the left and a power key on the right.

Display

Among the most significant things I liked about the Realme GT Neo 2 is its display. Its display also has excellent resolution and brightness. We can view videos on YouTube at a resolution of up to 4K, and its peak brightness reaches 1,300 nits. On the latest Realme flagship, you can watch videos and play games. However, colour accuracy falls short. However, the clarity and colour accuracy of this display is not as good as they could be. The overall presentation is excellent and is right at par or above the competition.

Performance And Battery

The Realme GT Neo 2’s biggest strength is its performance. With a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 chipset and up to 12GB RAM (we reviewed the 12GB RAM variant), the smartphone can be expanded to 19GB using Realme’s RAM expansion technology, allowing users to take 7GB of free storage and turn it into additional memory.

Its performance is also incredibly smooth, just like the display. The smartphone didn’t lag during our test. During my test, I played some heavy games such as Battlegrounds Mobile India, Asphalt 9, and more on the Realme GT Neo 2 on full brightness with a fixed 120Hz. The phone performed flawlessly.

With maxed-out settings, Battlegrounds Mobile India runs smoothly on the smartphone. With a single-core score of 1,014 and a multi-core score of 3,085, the Realme GT Neo 2 performed well in benchmark tests. According to Realme, a Diamond Thermal Gel and stainless steel vapour cooling technology are included in the eight-layer cooling system. While gaming, smartphones did show signs of overheating, but nothing significant.

The user experience isn’t the best, despite the device’s speed being fine. There are no improvements to the Android experience with Realme UI. However, Realme UI still does not compare to stock Android or good launchers such as OxygenOS, even though it has improved quite a lot since the last time I used it. In some areas, the controls are not smooth, and bloatware still exists. Its battery is also perfect.

The Realme GT Neo 2 has an excellent battery backup. Its charging speed is also breakneck and supports 65W fast charging. After charging the phone to 100 per cent on Saturday and playing games such as Battlegrounds Mobile India at full brightness and 120Hz refresh rate, the phone still lasted about 48 hours. After I put the phone on charging at 7 per cent at about 2:48 PM, it was 100 per cent at 3:20 PM – the difference between 7 and 100 per cent is less than 40 minutes.

Camera

There is nothing special about the Realme GT Neo 2 camera. In addition to a 64-megapixel primary camera, a wide-angle lens and a macro lens on the smartphone. The camera captures well-lit, sharp images using its primary lens. In contrast, the wide-angle and macro cameras both lack quality and are disappointing. The Realme GT Neo 2 gives good details of the subject in macro mode, but it slightly smudged the photos we took at the edges.

Realme GT Neo 2’s camera is not its strong suit, but that is not necessarily a deal-breaker for anyone who isn’t concerned with photography when buying a smartphone. Realme GT Neo 2 still features unnecessary AI overprocessing, a complaint I have always had about their smartphones.

Despite first impressions of the smartphone being nothing but positive so far, we will undertake a more comprehensive test plan over the coming weeks. From the way it looks to the way it performs, so far, I’ve had a proper flagship experience (barring camera quality). Would you recommend it? Of course. The OnePlus 9R offers the same features at a lower price. 

When you’re looking for a flagship experience at a non-flagship price, a beautiful display, expandable RAM, and a massive battery with high-speed 65W charging are all you need. You shouldn’t buy the Realme GT Neo 2 if you want the best smartphone camera.

Furthermore, Realme UI has remained the only weak spot in the otherwise decent smartphones Realme makes. The Realme GT Neo 2 first impressions are made. A detailed long-term review of the smartphone will follow shortly. In the meantime, make the Realme GT Neo 2 one of your favourite affordable flagships.

Article Proofread and Edited by Shreedatri Banerjee