One of the best and worst of a flagship killer

Reasonably priced flagship telephones are nonetheless a factor, with gadgets just like the Galaxy S24 FE and OnePlus 12R providing a ton of horsepower and loads of options for the worth. Nonetheless, it’s beginning to seem like the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor may significantly shake up the “flagship killer” panorama. Qualcomm already confirmed that this chip is costlier than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, however that hasn’t stopped realme from launching a Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered inexpensive flagship telephone within the type of the realme GT7 Professional.

Does this new telephone make for an amazing flagship killer, or are followers paying a steep value for extra efficiency? Let’s discover out.

One of many realme GT7 Professional’s main promoting factors is the aforementioned Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, which is poised to be the most important improve for flagship Android telephones in fairly a while. Sadly, my preliminary hands-on with the realme GT7 Professional revealed that the telephone was a little bit of a multitude, to place it mildly.

I used to be initially unable to finish GPU stress checks as a result of the telephone obtained so scorching that it truly closed the benchmark app. Nonetheless, I used to be in a position to full these checks with a disguised model of the app, whereas a disguised model of GeekBench 6 yielded a lot decrease CPU scores. This was robust proof of benchmark manipulation, and realme later acknowledged that the CPU scores had been because of “focused optimizations.” It additionally claimed that the stress take a look at points and related heating had been because of software program incompatibility points.

Regardless of the case could also be, realme issued an replace previous to launch in a bid to deal with the overheating points specifically. I used to be then in a position to full the GPU stress checks, which revealed some respectable stability (65% to 70%) and a large gulf to the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely. Nonetheless, the telephone nonetheless ran actually scorching in these checks, with temperatures of about 47 to 48 levels Celsius (~116 levels Fahrenheit). This was mirrored within the aluminum body being uncomfortably scorching. It’s not the hottest-running telephone we’ve ever examined at Android Authority, nevertheless it’s definitely up there. This heating can also be notable, on condition that we carried out these checks within the balanced mode slightly than the gaming-focused GT mode.

Take a look at the earlier hyperlinks for full benchmarks each earlier than and after the replace.

Luckily, demanding video games ran very well on the GT7 Professional. I used to be routinely in a position to put in 30 to 45 minutes of Genshin Affect (working at excessive and 30fps by default) and Battle Thunder Cell (at excessive by default) with persistently easy efficiency and heat however not scorching temperatures. This expertise typically prolonged to different apps like Dolphin (working F-Zero GX and Metroid Prime). You’ll need to wait some time earlier than making an attempt to emulate PC video games on Winlator because it looks as if the requisite Adreno Turnip GPU drivers aren’t obtainable but. I used to be in a position to boot up a number of historic PC video games like Deus Ex, Hitman 2, and Dave Mirra’s Freestyle BMX, however these titles had been largely unplayable.

realme’s telephone brings an enormous 6,500mAh battery, dwarfing the likes of the Galaxy S24 Extremely (5,000mAh) and OnePlus 12 (5,400mAh). The telephone undoubtedly impressed me with its endurance in most conditions. I used to be often in a position to get two days of average utilization, consisting of Reddit, WhatsApp, YouTube Music, podcasts, and light-weight video games. I don’t assume I ever obtained lower than eight hours of screen-on time by way of common utilization. In truth, it wasn’t unusual for me to recover from 10 hours of screen-on time. What occurs while you push the system, although?

A heavier day of utilization on a Saturday noticed me take 4 Uber journeys, use the telephone as a hotspot for a number of hours, take some photographs, use WhatsApp, and play Sport Dev Story for a number of hours. I ended up going to mattress after 11:00 PM with simply over ~20% juice remaining (try the third screenshot beneath). I felt like I may’ve in all probability killed the battery in a day with a extra demanding recreation or extra frequent use of the digicam. So you’ll be able to undoubtedly kill this big battery in a day with extraordinarily heavy utilization, however you need to count on one and a half to 2 days of endurance in any other case.

Fortunately, that 6,500mAh battery solely takes about 37 minutes to cost by way of the included 120W adapter. That’s in the identical ballpark as realme’s personal estimates. And also you thought the Pixel 9 sequence provided improved speeds?

The realme GT7 Professional additionally has a Samsung-made 6.78-inch OLED display (120Hz, LTPO), and the corporate famous at launch that this had a peak brightness of 6,000 nits, a “world” brightness of two,000 nits, and guide brightness of as much as 1,000 nits. Peak brightness figures are a gimmick for probably the most half, however I’m glad to report I had completely no drawback with outside viewing in direct daylight. I’m actually blissful to see 2.5D or “micro-curved” screens making a return, too, providing a extra nice tactile expertise when utilizing gesture navigation than a purely flat panel.

The display additionally hosts a quick, correct ultrasonic fingerprint scanner that doubles as a shutter button when the telephone is used underwater. I don’t assume I’ve ever seen an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner used like that earlier than, so kudos to realme for that, even when the use case is extraordinarily area of interest.

The GT7 Professional doesn’t scream “premium” like Samsung and Google handsets, nevertheless it’s definitely a step up from typical price range telephones. There’s a sturdy aluminum body, a skinny design, and a glass again that, fortunately, isn’t a fingerprint magnet. My unit has a vibrant Mars Orange coloration scheme, which is a stunning departure from boring grays and blacks. I’m additionally blissful to see full-fledged water resistance from a model that has historically eschewed this degree of sturdiness. I don’t care concerning the IP69 score, although, which is supposed for high-pressure water jets and high-temperature water. However pressure-washing fanatics would possibly like this IP score.

Maybe the most important clue that compromises needed to be made is the digicam expertise. This isn’t a 50MP+8MP+2MP digicam setup like we’ve seen with numerous wannabe flagships prior to now. As a substitute, I’m blissful to see a 50MP fundamental digicam, a 50MP 3x telephoto lens, and an 8MP ultrawide digicam. That 8MP ultrawide digicam is undoubtedly a step down from ultrawide lenses seen on full-blown flagship telephones. However I’m okay with this compromise if it means I’m getting a very good telephoto digicam. Properly, about that.

The realme GT7 Professional’s 3x digicam is fairly hit-and-miss, to the purpose the place I believed it lacked optical picture stabilization (OIS) altogether. Nonetheless, the corporate confirmed to us that OIS was certainly current on the telephoto digicam. Anyway, I used to be in a position to get a great deal of nice photographs out of this digicam, nevertheless it wasn’t unusual to get delicate or typically low-quality snaps, significantly in combined lighting. In truth, you’ll be able to even see main tiling artifacts within the pink wall within the final image. The telephoto digicam can typically dangle with the likes of the vivo X100 Extremely, however then you definately get comparisons just like the one seen beneath the place there’s no query about which shot was higher. Don’t count on macro/close-up assist both, because the telephone switches to a 3x crop from the primary digicam as a substitute.

The telephone’s fundamental digicam is a strong performer, providing a wholesome quantity of element. Nonetheless, pictures can typically be approach too saturated and over-sharpened for my liking, and I additionally seen the occasional neon look in vibrant outside snaps. That 8MP ultrawide digicam, then again, is an entire disappointment owing to extreme distortion, smeared corners, and basic softness in something apart from vibrant mild. However then once more, we anticipated this.

One large cutback is that realme’s flagship telephone misses out on wi-fi charging. Given the selection, I’d go for quick wired charging over wi-fi charging. However it’s nonetheless a lamentable omission in mild of cheaper telephones providing wi-fi top-ups and the realme GT5 Professional providing this selection. Even the included 120W adapter has the caveat of being a USB-A adapter, which implies you aren’t getting USB-PPS assist. One other draw back price noting is that the Indian mannequin ships with a 5,800mAh battery as a substitute of a 6,500mAh battery. That’s nonetheless an enormous measurement however a notable downgrade.

I’m glad to see that the GT7 Professional ships with Android 15 out of the field, in addition to the realme UI 6 replace (mainly Coloration OS 15). OPPO’s pores and skin continues to supply a great deal of options. Some standout additions embody a Good Keep-style characteristic to maintain the display lit, lifting your telephone whereas taking a name by way of Bluetooth to change to the receiver, and a Magic Portal-style characteristic for sharing content material throughout apps. However there are a few gimmicky options, most notably some extraordinarily finicky hand gestures for scrolling and answering a name. The telephone additionally forces you to put in a number of extra apps upon setup, however I’m glad it doesn’t serve a smorgasbord of bloatware out of the field. The corporate says you’ll be able to count on 4 main OS upgrades, which is a respectable sufficient replace coverage for this value tier, however not on par with Google and Samsung gadgets you may get for across the identical amount of money.

The realme GT7 Professional nails the core smartphone expertise for probably the most half. That’s due to implausible real-world efficiency, spectacular battery life with super-fast charging speeds, a vibrant display that’s a pleasure to make use of, and water resistance for the primary time in a realme telephone.

Sadly, realme needed to make some sacrifices to ship this core expertise and the Snapdragon 8 Elite specifically. The telephoto digicam is inconsistent and rigid, that 8MP ultrawide digicam is best suited to $200 telephones, and wi-fi charging is lacking regardless that its predecessor had it. We additionally thought the telephone ran highly regarded in excessive eventualities, which could not bode properly for demanding video games a number of years from now or these in scorching climes.

realme has listed the telephone at a promotional value of €799.99 (~$844) at launch, which makes it cheaper than the Galaxy S24 and Google Pixel 9 in Europe. I can reside with these cutbacks for the promotional value while you’re getting so many different perks. Sadly, the system has a really helpful value of €999.99 (~$1,055), placing it in the identical ballpark because the Galaxy S24 Plus and Pixel 9 Professional. That’s an actual disgrace and makes the omission of wi-fi charging and a flagship-grade ultrawide digicam deeply disappointing for the worth.

There aren’t a ton of worldwide obtainable next-generation flagship telephones available on the market proper now. However you need to undoubtedly look forward to the OnePlus 13‘s world launch if you would like a well-rounded Snapdragon 8 Elite telephone, that includes a high-quality display, a versatile digicam system, water resistance, and an enormous battery with wi-fi charging.

The Galaxy S25 sequence can also be a few months away, however the Galaxy S24 FE ($552.54 at Amazon) is totally price consideration too. You lose out on a huge battery and quick charging however acquire an extended replace dedication, a ton of software program options, and Galaxy AI performance. You must also take into consideration the Google Pixel 9 ($799 at Amazon) if you would like a flagship telephone that isn’t massively costly. The Pixel misses out on quick wired charging, a telephoto digicam, and a huge battery, whereas missing horsepower in comparison with the realme telephone. However it brings a superior replace coverage, extra AI options, higher fundamental digicam high quality, and wi-fi charging.