Realme will update the GT2 till Android 15. (Image Credit: Anurag Chawake/Indian Express)
Ever since Qualcomm launched the Snapdragon 888 in 2020, we have heard horror stories of the chipset heating and throttling on various devices. But there are some phones that perform really well and have no battery drain or overheating issues. Two months ago, I stumbled across the Realme GT 2, a phone that was silently launched last year for Rs 35,000.
Fast forward to 2023, Realme GT 2 is now available on Flipkart for Rs 24,999 without bank offers. I purchased the phone in May and here’s my experience so far with the infamous chipset.
Realme GT2 has a paper-like back panel on which you can draw using a pencil. (Image Credit: Anurag Chawake/Indian Express)
The burning question: Does it heat up?
The Realme GT2 is powered by the Snapdragon 888, a chipset manufactured by Samsung on the 5nm process. I purchased the white variant, which comes with a unique paper-like back panel that offers an excellent grip.
As soon as I was done setting up the phone, I installed all the latest games like The Division Resurgence, Genshin Impact, BGMI, Call of Duty, CarX Street, Honkai Impact, and Diablo Immortal and played them at the highest settings available to see if the phone heats up.
While the phone did heat up after a few minutes of gaming and felt hot around the camera island, the temperatures were manageable. My gaming sessions lasted anywhere from an hour to two, but not once did the phone cross the 45-degree Celsius threshold, which is really surprising. The frame drops were minimal as well.
The white-coloured variant of the Realme GT2 with paperback design stands out from the rest of the competition. (Image Credit: Anurag Chawake/Indian Express)
Can the Snapdragon 888 run latest games at highest settings?
During my hour-long BGMI session, the Realme GT2 performed really well. You can crank up the graphics to Ultra HD and the game will still run at 45 fps with frame rates often dropping down to 40 fps.
Next up is ‘The Division Resurgence’, an open-world co-op shooting game with PC-like graphics that is available only in a handful of regions. While the Ultra preset was not available, I did push every option to the highest available and the game stuck to 30fps with occasional frame drops. Ubisoft might have capped the FPS meter to 30 and the occasional lag might be because of poor optimisation or high latency.
If you are someone who enjoys the open-world experience Genshin Impact offers and is looking for a phone that can run the title at the highest settings, then this might be the phone for you. Like BGMI, Genshin Impact mostly runs on 45 fps with some frame drops, but that’s fine since most phones in the price segment won’t offer you the same performance.
MOBA games like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang also run at the highest graphic settings and frame rates available, and even during intense 5v5 fights, the device did not stutter or lag. I also tried Diablo Immortal, another title that looks like a PC port. Like other games, I ran it at the highest settings available, however, unlike the aforementioned titles, it dropped frames occasionally.
How long does the battery last?
The only downside is the battery life. Since the Snapdragon 888 is a powerful processor, the battery life is not that good compared to other phones in the price segment. If you are a light user, the phone will give you somewhere around 5-6 hours of screen on time, but gamers might need to charge their devices every 3-4 hours, which is the case with several flagship phones.
Realme UI isn’t perfect, but it isn’t bad either
The phone comes with Realme UI 3 based on Android 12 out of the box with Realme promising three years of upgrades, which means it will be updated to Android 15. Even though it’s been a year since the phone is out, most phones in the under Rs 30,000 segment get only 2 Android upgrades, which is in line with what the Realme GT2 has to offer.
Realme UI 4.0 is smooth most of the time and rarely did I encounter any bug. The phone did not stutter or lag even when games were open in the background, which is what I expected from the Snapdragon
The phone has a really good grip and I have been using the phone without cover for almost 2 months now. (Image Credit: Anurag Chawake/Indian Express)
Read More : Income Tax Return Refund, E-verification, Tax Payment, Revised Return
Like all recently launched Realme devices, the GT2 also comes with several pre-installed apps, which might be frustrating for some. I ran a bloatware-removing tool and ever since the phone has been running smoothly. If you don’t want to go through the hassle, just uninstall the apps you don’t need.
As for everyday tasks, if you are like me and open multiple apps in the background and constantly switch from one app to another, the device won’t lag even a second. This phone has one of the best haptics you can find on a mid-range device, but this is something you will have to experience yourself.
The primary camera is a point-and-shoot delight
The Realme GT2 packs a triple camera setup on paper – with the primary shooter featuring Sony’s IMX 766 sensor. The phone captures good photos in daylight, which are on par with devices that cost almost twice. The pictures I took came out detailed and crisp, but the colours often come out saturated.
This can be solved by turning off the AI enhancement to a certain extent but if you absolutely hate oversaturated photos, try Google Camera. Nighttime photos are detailed and have minimal noise, but don’t expect the phone to take exceptional shots.
Just a cloud passing by this monsoon in Delhi. (Image Credit: Anurag Chawake/Indian Express)
The Realme GT2 here managed to capture the scene exactly how it looked. (Image Credit: Anurag Chawake/Indian Express)
The main sensor sometimes oversaturates photos, but you can fix them to some extent by turning off AI mode. (Image Credit: Anurag Chawake/Indian Express)
Here’s a photo taken during Delhi’s rainy evening. (Image Credit: Anurag Chawake/Indian Express)
Low light photos come out crisp and detailed. (Image Credit: Anurag Chawake/Indian Express)
Night time photos do not overexpose and have plenty of detail, unlike other phones in the price segment. (Image Credit: Anurag Chawake/Indian Express)
Here’s a photo of the recently launched Realme 11 Pro Plus shot from the Realme GT2. (Image Credit: Anurag Chawake/Indian Express)
Compared to the main sensor, the results from the ultrawide camera are more saturated, but it manages to retain details and the images don’t come out soft and blurry. Like all mid-range devices, the 2MP macro is a gimmick.
The phone can record videos in 4K at 60fps, something which most phones in the price segment miss out on. Videos are good both during the day and at night time. The Realme GT2 is undoubtedly one of the best camera phones for the price.
Should you buy the Realme GT2 for Rs 24,999?
The under Rs 30,000 price bracket is as competitive as it can get. Compared to other recently launched phones like the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus, Poco F5, Motorola Edge 40, and Realme 11 Pro Plus which cost a bit more but cut corners in areas like performance or camera, the Realme GT2 delivers on all fronts, be it hardcore gaming or photography. If you are looking for a phone that will last you a few years and don’t mind the average battery life, the Realme GT2 is one of the best phones under Rs 25,000 you can buy right now.
