Realme
Smartphones

Realme GT Neo 3 review

Flash forward

₹ 42,999

Sambit Satpathy 8 May 2022 05:46 PM

Realme has lately been launching smartphones faster than your brain processes reality. Just weeks after launching the impressive GT 2 Pro, the brand took the wraps off the GT Neo 3. Realme does seem to be in a hurry to overtake its rivals, and “in a hurry” is certainly the theme of this new device. 
The Realme GT Neo 3 is among the fastest charging devices available today with support for 150W speeds. Needless to say it is hella fast, and will charge your device before you’ve finished a hot cuppa. But is the Realme GT Neo 3 a one trick pony or is there more on offer than just fast charging speeds? Read on to find out.

Design

Realme’s recent smartphones have featured eye-catching designs and colourways, and this one’s no different. The white racing stripes on the blue coat of paint is drool-worthy just like the Ford GT it reminds you of. It will be a shame hiding it in a cover, and we recommend using a transparent silicon case instead. 
The phone is built well with the glass and metal combo oozing premium-ness. The dimensions make it easy enough to use the phone one-handed, and at 188 grams, it is not too heavy to hold for long durations either.

Display

The 6.7in FHD+ display is about the right size without being overly gigantic, and as mentioned, the dimensions make it easy enough to use the device one-handed. It is bright enough whether you’re using the device indoors or outdoors, and everything from images to text look sharp.

These days support for 120Hz refresh rate is almost a given, and it continues to amaze everyone with the overall smoothness it brings. From scrolling through the UI to animations, everything just looks and feels smooth. 
One appreciates the slim bezels when watching videos on the go, and aiding the multimedia experience is the stereo speakers on board. They can get loud when needed with surprising amounts of depth, which more than makes up for the missing 3.5mm audio jack.

Performance

Under the hood of this sporty device is an octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 8100 chipset along with 12GB of RAM. On paper, this new chip is on par with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 silicon, and it shows in the performance levels. 
We rarely came across any lags or stutters, and the device was able to handle everything from multitasking, OTT bingeing to gaming. A lot of that also comes down to the software, and as we mentioned in detail in our previous review, RealmeUI has improved quite a lot over time.

It is smooth, looks mature without the cartoon-ish looks, and offers quite a lot of customisation options. That said, this device does come with a whole lot of bloatware out-of-the-box. For those of us who like to only have the apps we want on our phone, it’s a time taking process to uninstall the lot. 
While theoretically there’s enough power here to run games at max settings, developers are yet to make full use of the new chip. It’s for this reason, the experience while playing games like Asphalt 9: Legends and CoD Mobile is a bit below par.

Battery

Now to the party trick, which is hyperfast charging. There are two GT Neo 3 variants on offer – one with 80W charging speed and the other with 150W. We’re reviewing the latter, and we must admit, it is super impressive to see a phone charging that fast.
The battery charged from flat to 100% in just about 18 minutes, while 0-50% took just six minutes. These are some mind boggling speeds, and you’d think that going any faster would probably open a portal into a different multiverse. 
As far as battery life is concerned, the 4,500mAh unit easily survives till the end of the day with some gas still left in the tank. You’d need to charge the phone by night if you’re a power user though.

Cameras

The triple camera setup at the back is a mixed bag of sorts. The primary 50MP Sony IMX766 camera is able to shoot some great photos in ideal lighting conditions. Colours tend to be a bit on the punchier side, which is what the social media generation prefers. This is quite especially visible when shooting with AI mode on. 
The primary sensor focuses at speed, and you’re seldom bothered by blurry shots. Even photos shot in low light conditions have enough details in them, but so is a bit of graininess. A lack of a dedicated depth sensor affects the portrait shots with the blurring around the subjects a bit inconsistent.

The 8MP wide-angle lens does a passable job at fitting everything in one frame. There’s a visible loss in details at the corners. As for the 2MP macro sensor, it feels a bit dated, and could have been replaced with a zoom lens.

Verdict: Should you buy it?

The Realme GT Neo 3 is no doubt an interesting device, with a lot going for it, especially that 150W party trick. But that is all it is, a party trick. Realme also sells the same phone with a larger 5,000mAh battery and 80W fast charging. It may not charge in less than 20 minutes, but a bigger battery will last longer, and you’ll also end up saving ₹4,000. 
Then there’s the competition, and it is quite stiff in this price range from the likes of the new OnePlus 10R (which too comes with 150W fast charging), and even Realme’s own GT 2 Pro.

Stuff Says

A good looking smartphone with decent features aimed at the young and restless
Good stuff
Bad stuff

  1. Superfast charging

  1. Attention grabbing colourway and design

  1. Bright display

  1. Dependable performance

  1. No IP rating

  1. Software riddled with bloatware

  1. Certain games are not optimised for the chipset

  1. Dated macro camera

Specifications
Display: 6.7in FHD+ 120Hz
Chip: Dimensity 8100 5G octa-core
Memory: 12GB RAM + 256GB storage
Battery: 4,500mAh 150W charging
Rear cameras: 50MP primary + 8MP ultra wide-angle + 2MP macro
Front camera: 16MP
OS: Android 12 (RealmeUI 3.0)
Dimensions: 163.3 x 75.6 x 8.2 mm
Weight: 188 grams