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Realme is back with another GT series smartphone with an aim to woo those who are looking for a device with powerful hardware at an aggressive price. The new Realme GT Neo 2 is priced at around Rs 30,000 and sits between the mid-range Realme GT Master Edition and the more expensive Realme GT 5G.
The company recently killed its Realme X series and has covered the most competitive smartphone segments with the Realme GT series in a short span of time. With features such as 120Hz HDR 10+ display, 64MP triple rear camera setup, Snapdragon 870 SoC and 65W fast charging, the Realme GT Neo 2 looks like a great smartphone at an affordable price.
Realme GT Neo 2 specifications: 6.62-inch FHD+ display | 5,000mAh battery | 64MP triple rear camera setup | 16MP selfie camera | Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 chipset | 65W fast charging
But, how is the overall performance? Read our review to know more.
Realme GT Neo 2: What is good?
The Realme GT Neo 2 is available in a unique Neo Green colour. (Image credit: Ankita Garg/ Express image)
Design and display: At first, it seemed like this is a premium OnePlus 9 smartphone when I looked at the rear camera setup. But, the company has smartly added a glossy stripe with a Realme logo and “Dare to Leap” slogan. However, the big Realme branding and “Dare to Leap” slogan might not sit well with many users.
This time around, the company also has launched the device in a new unique colour paint job. The Neo green colour surely makes it stand out from the crowd, but not everyone is a fan of having a phone with a flashy back panel. When you use the bundled case, the Neo green model looks a bit ugly. Those who are interested in this phone and prefer a subtle colour option can check out the Neo Black colour.
It features a dual-tone glass back panel and has plastic frames. While the rear panel didn’t pick fingerprints or smudges, they were visible on the contrasting glossy stripe. The phone doesn’t have any IP rating or splash resistant coating. The rear camera module protrudes a bit, so the device doesn’t lay flat on a table. Realme has provided dual speakers for a stereo effect, which made the binge-watching experience much better, unlike Realme GT’s Master Edition.
The Realme GT Neo 2 has a vibrant display. (Image credit: Ankita Garg/ Express image)
The Realme GT Neo 2 comes with a 6.62-inch FHD+ display with HDR10+ certification. While several brands are launching phones with a 6.5-inch or 6.8-inch panel, I do feel 6.2-inch is still an ideal screen size, as it is a bit easier to use with one hand.
The front of the device is protected by Gorilla Glass 5 and there is also a very thin (pre-applied) protective film on the screen, which is susceptible to damage. It is better to apply a sturdy tempered glass screen card to protect it against damages. The device supports up to 120Hz refresh rate and one can choose the Auto option to save some battery life.
The colour reproduction is good and the display is bright enough for outdoor viewing and HDR content. However, the display’s auto-brightness feature was sometimes conservatively dim compared to other Realme phones (when indoors), so I had to adjust the brightness manually. The colour temperature looks spot on and you can even adjust it as per your preference.
The Realme GT Neo 2’s sunlight legibility is just fine. (Image credit: Ankita Garg/ Express image)
Performance, software: Realme GT Neo 2 did a great job when it comes to general performance. The device has a high-end Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 chipset and a 120Hz display, which makes the day-to-day performance smooth and fast enough. The same chip is also currently powering the OnePlus 9R smartphone, which is available at a much higher price of Rs 36,999. The multitasking and web scrolling experience was snappy. It can also handle intensive and popular games such as Battlegrounds Mobile India and Genshin Impact.
The device has a fair amount of bloatware, which may annoy some. One will have to first uninstall as there are more than 10 apps that are unnecessary and not everyone will use them. This does free up storage space, which is always a good thing.
The Realme GT Neo 2 comes preloaded with unnecessary apps. (Image credit: Ankita Garg/ Express image)
There is Always on Display (AoD), which is quite customisable, but Realme should now add some more custom patterns, intriguing Digital clock, and Analog clock options. One will also find a Screen pinning feature, which basically locks an app to the screen and restricts you from accessing other device features and apps. When the feature is enabled, it doesn’t require a password to unlock the device. Other features like Quick Return Bubble, Private Safe, Hide apps could be useful to many.
Realme GT Neo 2 has a 5,000mAh battery, which lasted for a day with light to moderate usage. I mostly used it for a few photography sessions, video watching and calling, and lite web browsing. Running any graphically demanding app for hours drains a lot of battery, so heavy gamers might struggle to make it through a full day, but the company bundles a 65W fast charger in the box, which one can use to quickly charge the battery. It takes around 35 minutes to top up the phone’s battery and 10 minutes to offer close to 27 per cent battery life.
The Realme GT Neo 2 can take lively photos in daylight. (Image credit: Ankita Garg/ Express image)
Camera performance: The latest Realme phone has a triple rear camera setup, including a 64MP primary camera, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera, and a 2MP macro sensor. On the front, there is a 16MP selfie shooter. The camera has never been the key selling point of Realme phones, but they have managed to offer good enough daylight photographs for social media.
Click on the below album to view all the camera samples of Realme GT Neo 2
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The Realme GT Neo 2 is no different as the images have enough details and sharpness. However, some of the photos seemed a bit washed out, even with the HDR mode. I used the AI mode, which offered slightly better colour contrast, exposure, and dynamic range.
The ultra-wide-angle shots are not that great. When you zoom in a bit, you will notice purple fringing, and there is noise in the photos. This was not the case with the regular photo mode. The dynamic range is also not that good, which has been the case with most of the Realme phones. But, the ultra-wide-angle images are usable.
The device can take some good portrait and macro shots, but avoid beauty mode as it can make your face look like an artificial painting. The night mode is impressive. It offered much brighter and detailed pictures than the regular photo mode. The colours were also retained well.
Realme GT Neo 2: What is not good?
The smartphone’s major weak point is not being able to offer good enough ultra-wide-angle shots. In addition to this, the Realme GT Neo 2 has no headphone jack. While many users have started using wireless earbuds, there are still many people who are using wired earphones or headphones.
Realme GT Neo 2 review: Verdict
The new Realme GT Neo 2 hits the sweet spot, right between mid-range and affordable flagship territory. It is priced at Rs 31,999 but is currently available for Rs 30, 189. It will appeal to a lot of users in terms of performance. This is purely for those who want a phone with Snapdragon 800 series processor that can play graphically demanding games, and even offer a good binge-watching experience at an affordable price, which has always been Realme’s core strategy to attract users.
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