Name: iQoo Z5 review: best gaming phone under ₹25,000?
Uploaded: 2021-10-15T19:28:29.000+05:30
Duration: T07M08S
Channel: Editorji News Desk
Description: Is the iQoo Z5 the best gaming phone you can buy under ₹25,000? Find out in our review on editorji.

Sony PlayStation dominated Comic Con Delhi with packed PS5 gameplay zones, exclusive discounts, merch drops, and the high-stakes India Cup finale featuring a ₹4,00,000 prize pool.

Comic Con Delhi 2025: Sony PlayStation Leads the Floor

Sony PlayStation dominated Comic Con Delhi with packed PS5 gameplay zones, exclusive discounts, merch drops, and the high-stakes India Cup finale featuring a ₹4,00,000 prize pool.

Among all Comic Con city editions, Delhi still operates like the headline act.
It&rsquo;s the biggest crowd, the densest lineup of pop-culture exhibitors, and the place where brands roll out the polished, show-ready experience first.
If Comic Con Bengaluru is energetic and Mumbai is stylish, Delhi is simply the benchmark &mdash; the edition that sets expectations for the rest of the country.
Walking into Comic Con Delhi means crossing from the unstructured city logic into a curated chaos where gaming setups, anime art stores, Funko walls, manga kiosks, collectibles, and indie artists all share the same floor with equal visibility.
It&rsquo;s not just fandom gathering &mdash; it&rsquo;s commerce, community, and cultural data in one hall.
<h2>Sony PlayStation&rsquo;s Presence in Delhi Hits Different</h2>
At Delhi, Sony PlayStation isn&rsquo;t competing for attention &mdash; it naturally gets it.
The booth sits at a high-flow corridor where most major brands aim to land but rarely do with this level of consistency. The PS5 stations stay booked, but never bottlenecked. You get your slot, you play, you move &mdash; the design is clearly intentional.
No themed theatrics, no stunt installation, no &ldquo;please take a photo here&rdquo; obligation.Just hardware, access, titles ready to run, and a clean booth layout that respects the pace of Comic Con Delhi rather than fighting it.
<h2>Interaction That Feels Controlled, Not Loud</h2>
Comic Con Delhi is inherently high-decibel &mdash; stage cues, cosplay parades, influencer meetups, panel audio, celebrity drops. What makes PlayStation stand out is understated control.
You game without commentary blaring in your ear You queue without being herded. You participate without needing to shout over PA systems
And when giveaways happen &mdash; quizzes, winner calls, merch drops &mdash; it&rsquo;s done at tempo, not volume.
<h2>Retail with Intent, Not FOMO</h2>
DT Zone brings the PS ecosystem into one physical lane:
<ul>
<li>PS5 consoles</li>
<li>Ghost of Yotei plates + controller</li>
<li>Controller discounts</li>
<li>Select PS5 titles going up to half off</li>
<li>A Delhi-only PS5 price cut during the event</li>
</ul>
No aggressive pitch, no &ldquo;grab it now before someone else does&rdquo; undertone. You evaluate tech, you check pricing, you buy because you&rsquo;re convinced &mdash; not cornered.
<h2>Delhi Is Also the Finals Arena</h2>
The India Cup finale being staged here is not coincidence &mdash; Delhi Comic Con provides the right audience density and the right competitive ambience.
December 6&ndash;7 turns the PlayStation booth into a performance zone:
<ul>
<li>Live matches</li>
<li>Real-time crowd reactions</li>
<li>₹4,00,000 prize pool</li>
<li>The 2025 champion crowned inside Delhi&rsquo;s biggest fandom event</li>
</ul>
What started as a focused EA FC competition is now part of the annual circuit of Comic Con Delhi programming. The city didn&rsquo;t just absorb the tournament &mdash; it made it a repeatable headline fixture.
<h2>Why Delhi Matters More Than the Rest</h2>
Comic Con Delhi continues to be where:
<ul>
<li>Pop culture brands test scale</li>
<li>Gaming finds high-intent footfall</li>
<li>Merch sells without coaxing</li>
<li>Fandom shows purchasing power, not just dressing up</li>
</ul>
PlayStation didn&rsquo;t need banners, light rigs, or celebrity walk-ins. It needed Delhi &mdash; the largest, loudest, most willing audience for gaming in India &mdash; and it showed up with precision instead of noise.

OnePlus marks 12 years in India with six new brand ambassadors and a “Power On. Limits Off” campaign ahead of the OnePlus 15R and Pad Go 2 launch in Bengaluru on Dec 17.

OnePlus marks 12 years with six ambassadors ahead of 15R reveal

OnePlus has unveiled six brand ambassadors — Jasprit Bumrah, Smriti Mandhana, Jonathan, Armaan Malik, Kush Maini and Nitanshi Goel — as part of the cinematic “Power On. Limits Off” campaign. The films lead into the Rise as One launch for OnePlus 15R and Pad Go 2 in Bengaluru on December 17.

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OnePlus has introduced a new six-member ambassador lineup and a six-part &ldquo;Power On. Limits Off&rdquo; campaign as it marks 12 years in India. The brand will unveil the OnePlus 15R and Pad Go 2 at the &ldquo;Rise as One&rdquo; launch event in Bengaluru on December 17.
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OnePlus has decided to do things a little differently as it completes 12 years in India. Instead of leaning on one big celebrity, the brand has brought together a completely new mix of people to represent it this year. The list is surprisingly diverse, you&rsquo;ve got Jasprit Bumrah and Smriti Mandhana from the cricket world, gaming creator Jonathan, singer Armaan Malik, Formula racer Kush Maini, and even actor Nitanshi Goel.
It&rsquo;s a lineup that feels less like a typical endorsement deal and more like OnePlus trying to tap into different pockets of Indian pop culture at the same time.
<h2>The New Brand Faces</h2>
This fresh roster is the face of their new campaign, &ldquo;Power On. Limits Off,&rdquo; which is setting the stage for the upcoming launch of the <a title="OnePlus 15 Review: Playing the Long Game? (ft iPhone 17 &amp; OnePlus 13)" href="https://www.editorji.com/tech-news/gadget-review/oneplus-15-review-playing-the-long-game-ft-iphone-17-oneplus-13-1763045383836" target="_blank">OnePlus</a> 15R and OnePlus Pad Go 2.
According to the brand, this isn't just about plastering faces on billboards. They&rsquo;ve commissioned a six-part ad film series, conceptualized in-house and produced by Helsinki-based creative shop Kameron. The concept seems to steer clear of standard glossy tech ads, instead focusing on the gritty, internal monologues of these performers. The films explore themes like the long road to recovery after an injury, the mental toughness required to ignore criticism, and the courage to reinvent oneself, narratives that OnePlus is using to mirror its long-standing "Never Settle" philosophy.
<h2>A Campaign Built on Performance</h2>
The strategy here is pretty clear. By pulling in names like Jonathan Gaming and Kush Maini alongside mainstream cricket stars, OnePlus is trying to tie its hardware specs, specifically speed and processing power, to real-world performance in esports and motorsport. Ishita Grover, Director of Marketing at OnePlus India, highlighted this intentional diversity, noting that blending sport, art, and tech allows them to reflect a "performance-first approach" that appeals to different corners of their user base.
Jasprit Bumrah, speaking on the tie-up, stripped it down to work ethic rather than just products. "Pushing limits is a quiet journey that involves challenging yourself to be better. It is about showing up every day, trusting the work... and rising stronger," he said. Singer Armaan Malik added that the collaboration felt natural because it focused on "choosing growth over comfort," a sentiment the brand is hoping to attach to its new devices.
<h2>The Launch Event</h2>
All eyes are now on December 17. The company is treating its 12th anniversary as a major community moment with the &ldquo;Rise as One&rdquo; event in Bengaluru. This is where the OnePlus 15R and the <a title="OnePlus Pad Go review: Best budget Android tablet? Know price, specs, pros and cons" href="https://www.editorji.com/tech-news/gadget-review/oneplus-pad-go-review-best-budget-android-tablet-know-price-specs-pros-and-cons-1699003168616" target="_blank">Pad Go</a> 2 will officially break cover. Breaking from standard media-only launches, OnePlus has opened this up to the public; fans wanting to catch the unveil live can actually grab tickets via BookMyShow right now.

Vivo X300 Pro delivers stunning cameras, a clean premium design and fast, cool performance, making it one of the strongest flagship phones of 2025. Here's our full review.

Vivo X300 Pro Review: The 2025 Camera King Arrives

Vivo X300 Pro delivers stunning cameras, a clean, premium design and fast, cool performance, making it one of the strongest flagship phones of 2025. Here's our full review

The Vivo X300 Pro delivers outstanding cameras, fast and cool performance, a premium flat design, a sharp 2K display and strong battery life, making it a top flagship for 2025.

The Vivo X300 Pro comes to us at a time when nearly every major flagship brand is reworking its entire photography playbook. OnePlus has stepped away from it&rsquo;s collab with Hasselblad and built a fresh imaging system powered by the DetailMax Engine inside the OnePlus 15. iQOO, a company that usually focuses on sheer speed, has also shifted its priorities this year by giving the iQOO 15 a far more serious camera setup. Across the industry, everyone seems to be rewriting their rules for mobile photography from the ground up.
Vivo stands apart because it never needed to rediscover its direction. It established its reputation in mobile imaging long ago, and that legacy still holds strong. When everyday users casually place your photos next to those from an iPhone or a Pixel and still lean towards yours, the task is no longer to close gaps. The real effort is to maintain that lead.
Which brings us to the obvious questions. What exactly has Vivo changed or refined this year? Does it still hold the top spot in smartphone photography in 2025? And beyond the camera, how well does it perform as a premium flagship priced at ₹1,09,999 for the single 16 GB RAM and 512 GB storage version?
After spending two full weeks with the Vivo X300 Pro, testing every feature thoroughly and using it as my everyday phone, I think I can answer that
<h2>Vivo X300 Pro Review: A camera setup that feels built for creators</h2>
I have been testing the Vivo X300 Pro for a while now, and the first thing I wanted to figure out was simple. Is this the new camera champion for 2025? Vivo has been delivering excellent imaging for years, so I knew it would perform well, but I honestly did not expect it to be this enjoyable to use. Within a day of shooting with it, I felt like a discounted version of Joseph Radhik or Atul Kasbekar. All I really had to do was compose the frame, tap the shutter and let the phone handle the rest.
The camera hardware alone reads like a checklist that any photography enthusiast would appreciate. The primary camera uses a 1/1.28 inch 50MP sensor with optical stabilisation. The telephoto setup is built around a 200MP periscope sensor paired with 3.5x optical zoom. The ultrawide camera is a 50MP unit. The front camera is also 50MP and can shoot 4K video at 60 frames per second. On paper, it already feels stacked, and in day-to-day use, that impression stays true.
The main camera consistently produced shots that made me want to keep finding new things to photograph. In bright outdoor conditions, images looked lively, crisp and incredibly well judged in terms of exposure. The dynamic range is handled confidently. Shadows do not collapse into muddy patches and highlights rarely blow out without reason. Colours look vibrant without being pushed to a point where they turn unrealistic.
Low-light performance is where this sensor really shines. The amount of detail it captures in dim environments is remarkable. There were moments where I checked the gallery and thought an invisible light source had been added to the frame. Surfaces on buildings, strands of fur, fabric patterns and even foliage stayed beautifully textured. The results did not turn waxy or muddy. Several of the evening shots I captured looked ready to be printed and hung on a wall.
Zoom performance follows the same trend. At 2x and 3x, sharpness stays intact and the overall look stays consistent with the main camera. Vivo&rsquo;s colour tuning remains reliable, and the white balance rarely drifts into warmer or cooler territory without reason. The real standout is the 200MP periscope camera. This thing feels like a dedicated tool packed inside the phone. Close-up photos show so much detail that I kept zooming into textures just to appreciate how much it could resolve. At times, I felt the contrast leaned a bit higher than ideal, but the overall clarity made up for it. Yes, the phone uses plenty of AI, but the processing never crossed into looking fake or glossy.
Portrait shots were equally impressive. Even when I did not switch to portrait mode, the natural depth of field produced by the main camera created a soft background blur that looked like something out of a proper interchangeable lens camera. When portrait mode was enabled, edge detection stayed accurate, and the separation between subject and background looked clean.
The ultrawide camera also held up well. It handled large scenes with minimal bending at the edges, and the annoying fisheye look that many phones struggle with was barely noticeable. The colour profile still needs a slight amount of fine tuning to perfectly match the main sensor, but it is already dependable enough for landscape shots and architectural photos.
The 50MP selfie camera performed nicely in most conditions. Skin tones looked believable, and colours stayed true to life. Under harsh backlighting, the phone sometimes brightened the entire frame a little more than required, which shifted skin tones slightly, but the results were still usable for both photos and video.
Video recording was the part I approached with caution because Vivo has traditionally been behind Apple in this category. This time, though, the gap feels much smaller. All four cameras can shoot 4K at 30 and 60 frames per second. The main and telephoto cameras can even record 4K at 120 frames per second. The primary lens supports 8K at 30 frames per second at both 1x and 2x. Dolby Vision recording works in all modes except 8K. Stabilisation is smoother than before, colours look pleasing and the telephoto unit captures steadier footage than I expected. Digital zoom still loses detail, but that is completely normal. Pro mode includes Log recording with a live preview and a built-in LUT, which is perfect for anyone who enjoys colour grading.
After testing everything, I genuinely feel that if Apple does not deliver a major upgrade in video recording soon, Vivo will take the top spot here too. It has already beaten most brands in photography, and the video gap with the iPhone is now the narrowest it has ever been.
<h2>Vivo X300 Pro Review: A refined design that keeps things clean and premium</h2>
The Vivo X300 Pro instantly reminded me of older X-series models, yet it still feels like a clear step forward. The overall shape is recognisable, but the tweaks this year give it a more polished character. Vivo has gone with a completely flat front and back, and when that is paired with the frosted glass rear and flat aluminium frame, the phone feels far more modern. It has that clean, slab-like look many 2025 flagships are embracing, and it sits very naturally in my hand during long sessions of gaming, typing or watching videos.
The moment you turn the phone around, the familiarity disappears because the camera module still grabs all the attention. The island remains large and sits high on the back, so there is no hiding it. What I like, though, is how Vivo has refined the design. The thick border around last year&rsquo;s camera housing has been replaced with a neat circular ring. The ribbed metal texture on the ring continues, and it adds a nice premium touch that makes the module feel more deliberate rather than oversized.
Even with the substantial camera hardware and glass on both sides, the phone never felt awkwardly weighted. The X300 Pro measures 226 grams and about 8 mm in thickness, which sounds heavy on paper, yet the distribution is done well. Whether I was shooting photos, gaming for long stretches or simply scrolling through social media, the phone did not feel uncomfortable or top-heavy. It is definitely not a light device, but the ergonomics keep the weight from becoming annoying.
As for the bump itself, I have no real complaints because the output it delivers more than justifies the size. Vivo includes a soft rubber case in the box, and it not only improves the grip but also visually tones down the camera bump, which helps the overall design look a little cleaner.
My review unit is the Elite Black colour, and I think it might be my favourite finish from the entire X-series so far. The matte texture feels smooth and premium, barely attracts fingerprints and only becomes slightly slippery when I use it without the case. The placement of the buttons and ports feels natural, and I am happy that the shortcut button remains. The only thing I miss is the dedicated camera control key from the X200 Ultra.
For durability, the phone comes with IP68 and IP69 ratings, and the Diamond Armour Glass on the front held up perfectly during day-to-day use without visible wear.
<h2>Vivo X300 Pro Review: A display that stays elite without chasing gimmicks</h2>
The X300 Pro&rsquo;s screen does not attempt anything wildly experimental, and I actually think that works in its favour. Vivo has reused the same display found on the X200 Pro and even the X100, and there is no real reason to complain because it was a flagship-grade panel back then and it still performs like one today. The phone features a 6.78 inch 2K LTPO panel with a 120Hz refresh rate, full DCI P3 colour coverage, 2000 nits of HBM brightness and an impressive 4500 nits of peak brightness. In everyday use, it consistently feels premium, fluid and exceptionally sharp.
HDR10+ and Dolby Vision support help round out the visual experience. No matter what I was watching or browsing, the panel delivered rich colours without pushing them into an unnatural zone. Highlights stayed controlled and textures remained detailed. Whether it was Netflix, YouTube or downloaded HDR clips, the display handled everything confidently, and I never felt the need to adjust the colour profile for extra punch.
There is an optional Vision Booster mode for people who want more saturation and deeper contrast. I tested it out for a short while, but eventually switched back to the standard tuning because it already looks lively and well-balanced.
What stood out more to me was the sheer number of eye comfort features Vivo has included. Smart Eye Protection Mode 3.0, Anti Fatigue Brightness 2.0, Adaptive Color Temperature, Full Range High Frequency PWM Dimming, Full Range DC Dimming and Night Eye Protection Mode all work behind the scenes to reduce strain. The screen also carries T&Uuml;V Rheinland Flicker Free and Low Blue Light certifications, which adds to the reassurance when I use the phone for long sessions.
The ultrasonic fingerprint reader is just as dependable as before. It unlocks the phone quickly, stays accurate and even works if my fingers are a little damp.
If I had to point out one weak link, it would be the speakers. They get reasonably loud and stay clear, but the overall audio lacks depth and feels slightly flat for a phone at this price point.
<h2>Vivo X300 Pro Review: A performance beast that loves showing off</h2>
The Vivo X300 Pro delivers the kind of performance you expect from a proper flagship, and a lot of that comes down to the Dimensity 9500. This chip holds its own against the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and occasionally even feels a touch quicker in real use. My unit has 16GB of LPDDR5X Ultra RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.1 storage, so there is absolutely no shortage of speed anywhere in the system.
Calling the phone fast feels too mild. Across my two weeks of testing, the X300 Pro behaved like it was built to stay ahead of whatever I threw at it. General navigation is incredibly fluid, animations glide smoothly, and multitasking never forced the phone to pause or reset anything in the background. Even with a stack of apps open, the overall responsiveness remained consistent. It has the kind of reliability I expect from a flagship that costs more than a lakh, and it never once dipped below that expectation.
Gaming performance has also been impressive. I played multiple extended BGMI sessions lasting around 45 minutes at a time, and the phone barely warmed up. This is especially noteworthy because previous high-end MediaTek chips often ran hot even with aggressive cooling setups. Vivo&rsquo;s approach this year uses a sizeable vapour chamber paired with a graphite sheet, and the difference is obvious. The X300 Pro manages heat extremely well, frame stability stays high and the phone never throttled enough for me to notice any drop in smoothness.
Overall, the Dimensity 9500 performs like a proper flagship-class processor and finally gives MediaTek the level of consistency and thermal control users have been waiting for.
<h2>Vivo X300 Pro Review: A smoother, shinier UI that refuses to slow down</h2>
The Vivo X300 Pro marks a proper turning point for the X series on the software front. It ships with OriginOS 6, and from the moment I started using it, the difference felt dramatic. The whole interface has been refreshed with a transparent, liquid-like design language that feels modern and polished. It reminded me a little of Apple&rsquo;s glossy visual style, but it still carries enough of Vivo&rsquo;s personality to stand out on its own.
Lock screen customisation has taken a big step forward. There are more layout options, more styles and an overall easier setup flow. Animations across the system feel smoother, and the dynamic island style pop-up now looks far more refined than previous versions. The newly designed icons and cleaner transitions give the software a level of sophistication that earlier builds of OriginOS never fully reached.
What surprised me most is the sheer smoothness of the entire system. App launches, fingerprint unlocks, swiping through menus and pulling down notifications all feel fluid. This is the first time Vivo&rsquo;s software has had that uninterrupted premium feel from top to bottom. There were stretches during testing when I genuinely did not feel like going back to my other review devices because the experience here was so consistently pleasant.
OriginOS 6 also feels better organised. The revamped control centre looks sharper and behaves more predictably. The layout is less busy, icons match each other more neatly and the overall visual structure is far easier to follow. Origin Island adds an interactive element for apps such as Maps, Music and Clock. I do wish more third-party apps supported it, but the idea itself is fun and practical. Phone to PC mirroring and cross-device note syncing have already become a regular part of my everyday workflow.
There is also a visible push towards AI. You get tools for text and image creation, an AI circle search feature and enhanced editing options including object removal and image expansion. Most of these feel useful rather than gimmicky.
Vivo has also committed to five years of OS updates and six years of security updates, which significantly boosts the long term value of the X300 Pro.
<h2>Vivo X300 Pro Review: A battery setup that lasts longer than you expect</h2>
The X300 Pro packs a 6510 mAh battery, which is a slightly unusual capacity at a time when other brands are jumping to 7000 mAh and beyond. Even so, the battery life has been consistently reliable. I usually pulled six to seven hours of screen time on a full charge, and that included long gaming stretches and a fair amount of OTT streaming. With lighter use, the phone comfortably lasted a day and a half.
Charging speeds are equally dependable. The included 90W adapter takes the phone from zero to full in just under an hour, and you also get 40W wireless charging. The device supports both wired and wireless reverse charging for accessories, which adds extra convenience.
<h2>Vivo X300 Pro Review: A flagship that gets almost everything right</h2>
So, how good is the Vivo X300 Pro? In my experience, Vivo has not only protected its long-standing camera legacy, it has pushed it to a new high. The main, telephoto and ultrawide cameras deliver dependable results across every scenario I tried, and the consistency alone makes this the most enjoyable camera setup I have used this year. Video recording is still a notch below the iPhone, but the gap has never been this small.
The overall package feels equally strong. The refreshed design looks cleaner and more mature, the display continues to compete with the best in the business and the Dimensity 9500 keeps the phone running fast and cool without any drops in stability. OriginOS 6 might be the biggest leap of all. It finally feels unified, premium and smooth in a way previous versions never quite managed, and Vivo&rsquo;s long-term update promise only strengthens the phone&rsquo;s value.
Sure, the speakers could have used more depth and the camera bump remains large, but these are minor complaints in a device that excels in so many areas. At ₹1,09,999 for the 16GB and 512GB variant, the Vivo X300 Pro sets the standard for 2025 and is easily the phone to beat this year.&nbsp;

Realme Watch 5 review: 1.97" AMOLED, built-in GPS, Bluetooth calling, IP68 and up to 16 days battery. Find out if the ₹3,999 introductory price makes it the best budget smartwatch.

Realme Watch 5 First Look: Made in India Manufacturing Tour

Go behind the scenes of the Realme Watch 5 and see how the smartwatch is built under the Make in India initiative. From assembly lines to final finishing, here’s a closer look at the factory producing Realme’s latest wearable.

The Realme Watch 5 brings a larger 1.97-inch AMOLED display, better build and built-in GPS to the budget smartwatch segment.&nbsp;

The budget smartwatch market in India has been overflowing for years, but only a handful of devices genuinely manage to deliver anything meaningful. Realme&rsquo;s new Watch 5, launched today alongside the P4x 5G, tries to position itself as that rare product, one that doesn&rsquo;t just chase numbers but tries to fill the gap between a cheap fitness band and a proper smartwatch.
A big part of Realme&rsquo;s pitch this time is its manufacturing story. The Watch 5 is being built locally under the &ldquo;Make in India&rdquo; program through Optiemus Electronics.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s a nice detail to mention, but for most buyers, the real concern is, is it a good choice, one that warrants them to spend ₹4499 of their hard-earned money?
<h2>Display and Design</h2>
Realme has clearly prioritised the screen. The Watch 5 moves up to a 1.97-inch AMOLED panel, and the difference compared to the <a title="Realme Watch S launched in India with SpO2 monitor, IP68 rating &amp; more" href="https://www.editorji.com/tech-news/gadget-review/realme-watch-3-pro-review-affordable-and-capable-1663236735073" target="_blank">Watch 3&rsquo;s</a> smaller 1.80-inch screen shows the moment it lights up.&nbsp;
Colours have more punch, the blacks actually look like they should, and the screen just feels sharper overall, definitely better than what you usually see in this price range.
Realme has pushed the brightness up to 600 nits as well, which helps a lot outdoors, the screen stays readable instead of fading out under direct sunlight.
The build also deserves a mention. The Watch 5 feels more solid in the hand than most budget wearables, with a sturdiness that gives it a slightly more premium character than the price tag would suggest.
The rotating aluminium crown isn&rsquo;t just for show either; it actually works for scrolling and navigating through menus, which is more intuitive than swiping endlessly on a small screen. A 60Hz refresh adds on to the smooth experience.
The front glass is a flat 2D panel protected by Panda Glass, nothing luxurious, but good enough for day-to-day scuffs. And since Realme has opted for standard 22mm straps, switching to leather, nylon or metal bands later is easy.
<h2>Fitness Tracking and Connectivity</h2>
The built-in GPS is a serious highlight here. This means you can finally leave your phone behind and still get accurate route tracking in a budget watch.
It&rsquo;s obviously not trying to replace a high-end marathon watch, but for daily runs, that freedom is a game-changer.&nbsp;
You also get Bluetooth calling, the mic has also got a noise reduction.&nbsp;
For health tracking, the watch covers the essentials: heart rate, SpO2 readings, stress levels and sleep analysis.&nbsp;
Women&rsquo;s health tracking options are also available. Realme&rsquo;s companion app now supports 108 sports modes.
<h2>Battery and Durability</h2>
A 460mAh battery powers the Watch 5, and <a title="Realme Watch S launched in India with SpO2 monitor, IP68 rating &amp; more" href="https://www.editorji.com/story/realme-watch-s-launched-in-india-with-spo2-monitor-ip68-rating-more-1608715188953" target="_blank">Realme</a> claims up to 16 days of regular use. There&rsquo;s also a stripped-down &ldquo;Light Mode&rdquo; that pushes the battery closer to 20 days for those who mainly use the basics.
The IP68 rating means the watch can handle sweat, rain and accidental splashes without stress. It's not meant for deep swimming or high-pressure water, but for everyday use, it&rsquo;s well protected.
<h2>Price and Availability</h2>
Realme has priced the Watch 5 at Rs 4,499, with a limited introductory price of Rs 3,999. It will be available in Titanium Black, Titanium Silver, Light Blue and Sun Orange starting December 10 at 12 PM through Flipkart, Realme&rsquo;s official site and offline stores.

A compact flagship with a 200MP camera, big 6040mAh battery, fast charging and smooth OriginOS 6. The Vivo X300 delivers more than its size suggests.

Vivo X300 Review: The compact flagship for 2025

The Vivo X300 brings a compact form factor, a powerhouse of a camera set up, strong performance and clean software. Read before you buy.

Do you usually pick a phone for its camera, its raw horsepower, or a clean, reliable software experience? With the Vivo X300, you don&rsquo;t really have to choose. This compact flagship tries to nail all three, and surprisingly, it gets pretty close.
I&rsquo;ve been using it as my main phone for the past week, and that&rsquo;s been enough to understand where it shines, where it slips a little, and what it actually feels like to use every day. The overall experience turned out to be more impressive than I expected, largely because of the hardware Vivo has packed in at a starting price of ₹75,999. It&rsquo;s a small phone, but definitely not a lightweight in what it delivers.
<h2>How does the Vivo X300&rsquo;s design come together in real use?</h2>
What caught my attention first wasn&rsquo;t the camera; that crown belonged to last year&rsquo;s X200. This time, it was the design. Vivo has shifted to a cleaner, more minimal look, and the frosted glass back lands in that sweet spot where it resists smudges without losing its premium feel. The unibody 3D glass design helps too, giving the phone a smoother, more cohesive look. I still gravitate toward the Elite Black variant, but the Mist Blue finish adds a softer, calmer vibe for anyone who prefers something understated.
The camera module also feels far more polished. The X200&rsquo;s bump was noticeably chunky and made the phone wobble on tables; the X300 still has a bump, but it blends seamlessly and keeps the phone steady on flat surfaces.
The essentials are neatly placed along the flat aluminium frame, which curves slightly at the corners for a more comfortable grip. You get the power button and volume keys on the right, plus a dual-SIM tray and USB-C 3.2 port at the bottom. Stereo speakers round out the basics.
The biggest highlight, though, is the size. At roughly 190 grams and about 7.9mm thick for the Elite Black model, the X300 feels compact in a world where flagships keep getting bulkier. With both IP68 and IP69 protection, it&rsquo;s a device that&rsquo;s genuinely easy to use and carry every day.
<h2>Is the Vivo X300&rsquo;s screen actually worth the hype?</h2>
Turn on the display and the X300 keeps the momentum going. It packs a 6.31-inch 1.5K LTPO AMOLED panel with a smooth 120Hz refresh rate, boosted by Vivo&rsquo;s Ultra Motion algorithm for noticeably fluid animations. The 10-bit screen supports HDR10+, HDR Vivid and Ultra HDR across apps like YouTube and Netflix, delivering rich but well-controlled colours with excellent overall calibration.
There&rsquo;s also a Visual Enhancement mode if you prefer a punchier look, though the default profile already feels lively without going overboard. For protection, Vivo uses SCHOTT Xensation XT Core. It isn&rsquo;t quite on the level of Gorilla Glass Victus 2, but it&rsquo;s still dependable for everyday safety.
Brightness peaks at 2000 nits globally and hits a local high of 4500 nits, making outdoor visibility solid even under harsh sunlight. The ultrasonic in-display fingerprint reader is fast, accurate and easy to trust.
<h2>How well does the Vivo X300&rsquo;s battery hold up?</h2>
The Vivo X300&rsquo;s battery life was stronger than expected. Its 6040mAh cell, combined with 90W wired and 40W wireless charging, easily carried me through a full day of heavy use &mdash; everything from long camera sessions to nonstop streaming and even intensive gaming. Only during multiple benchmark loops did it drain a bit quicker, but it still made it to the evening without stress.
On most days, I consistently got around 7&ndash;8 hours of heavy usage on a single charge. A full recharge takes roughly an hour, which feels reasonable considering the massive battery size.
<h2>How strong is the Vivo X300 when it comes to performance and gaming?</h2>
The Vivo X300 delivers performance that comfortably sits in flagship territory, even though it&rsquo;s not completely immune to occasional heat spikes. It&rsquo;s powered by the Dimensity 9500 chipset built on a 3nm process, paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.1 storage. In everyday use, the phone feels fast, fluid, and consistently reliable, whether you&rsquo;re juggling multiple apps, editing photos, or zipping through social media, it never shows any hesitation.
Benchmarks back this up. The X300 scored around 3.3 million on AnTuTu with only mild warmth during the run, while Geekbench results came in at 3278 for single-core and 9825 for multi-core. These numbers place it right alongside other 2025 flagships. In a 20-minute CPU throttling test with 30 threads, the chip dipped to roughly 76 percent of its peak performance. That&rsquo;s still respectable, though the heat during this specific stress test was noticeable.
When it comes to gaming, the X300 handles titles like Call of Duty Mobile smoothly at basic settings. You&rsquo;ll feel a bit of warmth near the camera module after longer sessions, but it never becomes uncomfortable. Vivo&rsquo;s new Glacial Cooling system also kicks in effectively, helping the phone cool down faster than expected once gameplay stops.
In everyday performance, even for heavy users, the device stays cool, responsive, and stable. It&rsquo;s a dependable flagship for gaming, content creation, and everything in between.
<h2>How polished is the software experience on the Vivo X300?</h2>
The biggest upgrade on the Vivo X300 is easily the software. It runs Vivo&rsquo;s new OriginOS 6 based on Android 16, and the difference is obvious the moment you unlock the phone. The redesigned icons, smoother animations, and refreshed control centre give the interface a cleaner, more premium look. Origin Island adds an interactive layer for apps like Maps, Music, and Clock, though it still needs wider app support to reach its full potential.
What really stands out is the overall refinement. Funtouch OS often felt a bit scattered, but OriginOS 6 feels far more organised and visually consistent, even if some of the translucent elements clearly take cues from iOS 16&rsquo;s liquid-glass style.
There are genuinely useful additions as well, including phone-to-PC mirroring and cross-device note syncing. The AI suite is stacked too, with text and image generation, AI Circle for search, Gemini-powered features, and handy editing tools like object erasers and background expand options.
Vivo is also promising long-term support with 5 years of OS updates and 7 years of security patches, ensuring the X300 stays reliable well into the future.
<h2>Is the Vivo X300 the best camera phone you can buy right now?</h2>
The Vivo X300 stays true to Vivo&rsquo;s imaging-first legacy. Powered by the Dimensity 9500&rsquo;s built-in processing and supported by Vivo&rsquo;s in-house VS1 and V3+ imaging chips, the camera system produces consistently impressive photos and videos. The 200MP main sensor delivers rich, detailed shots with excellent colour accuracy and dynamic range. Skin tones look natural, and the phone handles complex lighting conditions with confidence.
The 50MP 3x periscope telephoto lens also holds up well. Colours remain consistent with the main camera, and portrait mode, especially at 100mm, looks almost DSLR-like with sharp detail, clean separation, and realistic texture. In bright conditions, results are strong, though very fine detail can occasionally dip.
The ultrawide is where the system stumbles slightly. Despite using a 50MP sensor, images sometimes appear softer and less detailed, but switching to the high-resolution mode improves sharpness noticeably. Selfies from the 50MP front camera look crisp with accurate skin texture and pleasing depth.
In low light, the main sensor performs impressively, keeping noise low and detail high. Telephoto shots soften a bit and portrait edge detection can slip around hair, but overall output remains reliable.
For video, the rear camera shoots up to 4K 120fps while the front goes up to 4K 60fps. Footage is good overall, though finer detail can waver at times, and the standard X300 misses out on Dolby Vision. Even with those drawbacks, the X300 remains one of the strongest all-round camera phones available, especially for still photography.
<h2>Is the Vivo X300 a smart buy in 2025?</h2>
After pushing the Vivo X300 through everything from heavy multitasking to camera stress tests, calling it &ldquo;good enough&rdquo; would be selling it short. Sure, the ultrawide camera needs work and parts of OriginOS 6 clearly take inspiration from elsewhere, but none of that overshadows the bigger picture.
The X300 gets the fundamentals absolutely right. Smooth, reliable performance, standout main and telephoto cameras, a premium build, strong battery life, and a compact form factor that feels almost rare in 2025&rsquo;s flagship world.
I liked the X200 last year, but the X300 makes an even stronger mark. If you want a compact flagship without compromising on core features, this one is genuinely easy to recommend.

Nothing Phone 3a Lite delivers solid performance, clean software and a premium display, but faces strong competition from the CMF Phone 2 Pro 

Nothing Phone 3a Lite review: Strong basics, tough rivals

Nothing Phone 3a Lite nails the basics with a premium display and clean software, but its price puts it too close to the stronger the CMF Phone 2 Pro.

I&rsquo;ve been trying to make sense of the Nothing Phone 3a Lite, and it has honestly left me a little unsure. When I look at it in isolation, it feels like a genuinely good package. For ₹20,999, the overall experience holds up well, whether it is the performance, the design, or the software polish Nothing is known for.
The confusion starts the moment I compare it to the CMF Phone 2 Pro. That phone matches the 3a Lite almost part for part. The display feels the same, the software behaves the same, and the cameras on the CMF option are clearly ahead. When two products under the same larger brand start overlapping this tightly, it makes me wonder what the actual plan is.
So I am now trying to understand who the 3a Lite is really meant for and whether it genuinely deserves a spot next to a much stronger sibling.
<h2>Nothing Phone 3a Lite&rsquo;s Design: Still turning heads</h2>
The Nothing Phone 3a Lite grabbed my attention from the moment I unboxed it, which honestly didn&rsquo;t surprise me. Nothing has always had a way of making phones that stand out, and this one follows that tradition. Even if someone isn&rsquo;t familiar with the brand&rsquo;s transparent, industrial look, this design has enough visual character to make them stop and take a closer look. It carries the familiar Nothing flavour, but there is a tiny bit of novelty in the way it has been executed.
I have always seen Nothing&rsquo;s design language split opinions. Some people love the whole exposed-tech, slightly futuristic vibe, while others think it goes a bit over the top. Personally, I appreciate that the company never plays it safe. Their phones always have personality, and the 3a Lite is no exception. My white review unit highlights this even more. The exposed screws pop nicely, the small red accent draws your eye without trying too hard, and the entire back looks premium without needing to shout about it.
There is a new design detail here called the Battery Simulation layout on the rear panel. It adds a retro feel that instantly reminded me of old remote controls. It is quirky in a way that feels intentional, and I actually find it fun. At the same time, I do feel Nothing is starting to rely a little too heavily on the same visual formula. After eight phones that broadly look like variations of the same theme, I am hoping 2026 is when they attempt something riskier.
While using the phone, the build impressed me more than I expected. Its 8.3 mm thickness and 199 gram weight give it a dense, confident feel. It sits well in the hand and feels more premium than its price would suggest. The front and back both use Panda Glass, while the frame is plastic. The back picks up fingerprints faster than I would like, so for me, going without a case is not practical. Thankfully, Nothing includes a clear case in the box, which helps immediately.
There is an aluminium mid-frame on the inside that keeps everything solid and reassuring. You also get IP54 protection, which may not sound like much, but plenty of phones in this bracket skip any form of rating, so I definitely see it as a positive.
The rear camera arrangement is one area I am a little unsure about. The three lenses sit directly on the surface with no traditional camera island, which gives them a floating look. I am still deciding whether I like it or not.
And despite Carl Pei hinting at a future beyond the Glyph system, the 3a Lite still keeps it alive. There is a single Glyph strip at the bottom that handles countdowns, alerts and basic notifications. It is subtle but still gives the phone that Nothing identity.
The last design element is the Essential Key under the power button. It has a slightly curved shape, but the moment you put a case on, both buttons feel almost identical. I kept mixing them up until I eventually started checking before pressing anything.
<h2>Nothing Phone 3a Lite&rsquo;s Display: Smooth, sharp and mostly impressive</h2>
The Nothing Phone 3a Lite uses a 6.77-inch FHD+ flexible AMOLED panel, and the moment it lights up, it feels far more premium than what you usually get at this price. The screen is crisp, colours look rich without going overboard and the 120Hz refresh rate genuinely lifts the experience. Whether I am scrolling through socials or watching YouTube, everything feels fluid and clean. Nothing says this is the same panel used on the 3a and 3a Pro, and based on how refined it looks, I do not doubt that for a second.
Because this is a flexible AMOLED screen, the bezels are slim on all four sides, giving the phone a more polished look. Viewing angles hold up well, touch response feels snappy and overall, it performs at a level that reminds me of phones that cost much more. Black levels are exactly what you expect from OLED, and the colour tuning feels tasteful.
The compromises start to show once you dig deeper. This is not an LTPO panel, so the refresh rate cannot drop down to 1Hz when you enable Always On Display. That means the phone keeps running at a higher refresh rate even when it does not need to, which is not ideal for long-term battery efficiency.
Brightness is also where I noticed the first real limitation. HDR peaks are impressive at 3000 nits, but the 1300 nits outdoor brightness is just about fine. On a sunny day, the glossy glass on top makes reflections more noticeable. Nothing OS&rsquo;s high-contrast UI helps a bit, but there were still plenty of moments where I had to shift angles just to see things clearly.
Audio, unfortunately, is the biggest disappointment. A mono speaker on a phone costing over ₹15,000 in 2025 simply feels outdated. It gets loud, but it has no depth or fullness, and the bottom-firing setup gets blocked far too easily when I am holding the phone. It is passable for quick clips, but not something I would trust for long movies or gaming sessions.
<h2>Nothing Phone 3a Lite&rsquo;s Cameras: Capable, but clearly limited</h2>
The Nothing Phone 3a Lite technically arrives with three cameras, but in real-world use, only one of them truly feels meaningful. The 50MP primary sensor with EIS is the workhorse here and carries almost the entire shooting experience. The other two cameras are an 8MP ultrawide and a 2MP macro, and I will say it straight: the macro lens adds nothing of value. Even one of Nothing&rsquo;s own executives publicly criticised the industry trend of adding filler macro sensors, and this feels like exactly that kind of decision.
The main camera, thankfully, performs well enough to hold the setup together. In daylight, it captures solid detail, gets colours fairly accurate and handles dynamic range with confidence. There are times when the processing becomes a little too intense, especially in scenes with a lot going on. Some photos look slightly over-processed, but not to a point where the image becomes unusable.
At 2X zoom, which is just a crop from the main sensor, you do lose a bit of sharpness and consistency in colour. Even then, for a phone at this price, the results are acceptable and sometimes surprisingly decent. The ultrawide camera is serviceable but clearly limited by its 8MP resolution. It often produces slightly darker images, and while sharpness is fine in the centre, finer details quickly fall apart. It is usable, but it never really impresses.
Low-light photography is where things start falling apart. Both the main and ultrawide sensors struggle to control noise, and 2X zoom becomes very grainy. You can get okay results when there is enough ambient light, but once the lighting becomes challenging, noise becomes difficult to ignore.
For video, the Phone 3a Lite records up to 4K at 30fps, which is reasonable at this price. Colours look good, dynamic range is handled well and EIS keeps footage fairly steady. There is also a 1080p 120fps option for slow motion.
The 16MP selfie camera turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It delivers good detail, natural skin tones and surprisingly clean portraits. Overall, the camera system is fine for casual use, but there are clearly stronger options available if photography is your priority.
<h2>Nothing Phone 3a Lite&rsquo;s Performance: Surprisingly strong for the segment</h2>
The Nothing Phone 3a Lite runs on MediaTek&rsquo;s Dimensity 7300 Pro, the same chip used in the CMF Phone 2 Pro. Because of that, I went in expecting solid everyday performance, and the phone delivered exactly that. It feels smooth in day-to-day use, apps open quickly and moving between tasks never really slows it down.
The bigger surprise showed up in the benchmark tests. I assumed the phone would pull in a fairly standard score for this segment, but the AnTuTu result climbed to almost 9.6 lakh. That instantly got my attention, especially because the phone barely warmed up during the run. Geekbench results were just as reassuring, with 1015 for single-core and 2942 for multi-core.
My review unit came with 8GB of RAM, and Nothing also gives you the option to add virtual RAM through their RAM booster feature. Storage options include 128GB and 256GB, and there is even a microSD card slot that supports up to 2TB. It is rare to see expandable storage on phones in 2025, so I genuinely appreciate this flexibility.
I spent a fair amount of time gaming on it as well. For casual and moderately demanding titles, the experience was smooth, and BGMI ran well enough for me to play comfortably. Still, the Dimensity 7300 Pro is not built for serious competitive gaming. It cannot fully utilise the 120Hz display in heavy titles, and you will notice the limitations if you push it too far. For anyone who plays casually, though, the 3a Lite performs better than expected for the price.
<h2>Nothing Phone 3a Lite&rsquo;s software experience and UI: Clean, but some unhappy changes</h2>
My time with the Nothing Phone 3a Lite started on a slightly uneven note. It runs Nothing OS 3.5 based on Android 15, and while the interface looked familiar and clean, the first two days were not perfectly smooth.&nbsp;
Apps like Chrome and the Play Store sometimes refused to open or would shut down halfway through loading. A small update arrived almost immediately, and once I installed it, the phone settled into the stable, polished behaviour I normally expect from Nothing. Animations felt consistent again, and the UI regained that clean rhythm that has become one of the brand&rsquo;s strengths.
Nothing is said to be working on a major design overhaul for early 2026, but the 3a Lite sticks to the current blueprint. I have seen a few early hints of Nothing OS 4.0, and some of those ideas do not sit well with me yet. Lock Glimpse is the clearest example. It cycles through curated wallpapers and short pieces of content on the lockscreen, and the first thing I thought of was Glance. I have never liked the idea of turning the lockscreen into a space that seeks engagement, and while Nothing&rsquo;s approach is much more toned down right now, I hope they do not lean further into this direction.
There is also a small but noticeable shift in the amount of pre-installed apps. Facebook and Instagram now come bundled with the phone. I use both, so it does not bother me personally, and you can uninstall them without any trouble. Still, it does feel like a departure from the original promise of keeping the software as clean as possible.
Once those concerns are out of the way, the good parts shine through. Nothing OS still has one of the most cohesive visual identities in the Android world. The widgets feel polished, the menus are tidy and the stock apps have a simple, thoughtful design. I genuinely prefer their gallery app over Google Photos when I want to browse images quickly.
In terms of updates, Nothing promises three years of OS upgrades and six years of security patches. Since the phone launches with Android 15 and Android 16 is already on the horizon, this effectively means two major platform upgrades. The Essential Key, Essential Space and Essential Search continue to be genuinely useful tools and round out the experience in a practical way that I appreciate in daily use.
<h2>Nothing Phone 3a Lite&rsquo;s battery life &amp; charging: Reliable for daily use</h2>
The Nothing Phone 3a Lite&rsquo;s 5,000mAh battery has been dependable in my usual day-to-day use. I can get through a full day without worrying about charging, and even on heavy days, the phone does not leave me anxious. The 33W fast charging helps a lot, although some rivals now offer larger batteries at similar prices.
A quick 20-minute top-up gets the phone close to the halfway point, and a complete charge finishes in just under an hour. There is also 5W reverse wired charging, which I find useful for quickly powering smaller accessories when I need it.
<h2>Verdict: Does the Nothing Phone 3a Lite hold its ground?</h2>
The Nothing Phone 3a Lite is actually quite easy to appreciate. The screen feels premium, day-to-day performance is steady, and Nothing OS still delivers that clean, minimal vibe that makes the brand stand out. The cameras won&rsquo;t amaze you, but for casual photography they&rsquo;re perfectly capable. Add dependable battery life, and the fundamentals are all in place.
The problem starts when you look at the price tag.
At ₹20,999 without any launch deals, the 3a Lite walks straight into the territory of the Phone 2 Pro. And that&rsquo;s where the equation tilts. The 2 Pro simply offers a stronger overall package, especially with its better camera setup, and that naturally makes buyers think twice.
Then there&rsquo;s the India-specific angle. CMF has become a massive part of Nothing&rsquo;s strategy here, and the CMF Phone 2 Pro sits extremely close to this device in both pricing and performance &mdash; while still offering clear hardware advantages. That creates unavoidable overlap.
So the 3a Lite isn&rsquo;t a weak product. It&rsquo;s just running into competition from its own family. If someone genuinely likes Nothing&rsquo;s design language, the UI, and the overall aesthetic appeal, the 3a Lite will absolutely fit their taste. But for most buyers, it may take a strong launch offer or a very specific preference for the phone to stand out as the better pick.

iQOO 15 is a balanced 2025 flagship with a 2K 144Hz LTPO OLED display, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, big camera upgrade and a 7000mAh battery for all-day use.

iQOO 15 Review: A Balanced 2025 Flagship That Delivers Big Time

<h3>The iQOO 15 delivers top-tier performance, refined design, strong cameras and a massive battery, making it one of the most balanced flagship phones you can buy in 2025.</h3>

The iQOO 15 lands at a time when &ldquo;affordable flagships&rdquo; don&rsquo;t really feel affordable anymore. For the last few years, phones like the iQOO 13, Realme GT 7 Pro and OnePlus 13 stayed safely under ₹60,000, but this generation has pushed past that ceiling, forcing brands to justify the hike in different ways. OnePlus went all-in on a 165Hz display, but the drop in resolution annoyed long-time users. iQOO, meanwhile, decided not to gamble. Instead, they took the already-solid iQOO 13 blueprint and simply polished everything that needed attention.
After using the iQOO 15 for two weeks, it&rsquo;s clear those tweaks were deliberate. The new Q3 chip is less about chasing headline FPS and more about making games look smoother and more detailed. The camera system also gets meaningful upgrades. So the real question is: does this subtle refinement strategy pay off? In many ways, it absolutely does.
<h2>iQOO 15 design check: Real upgrade or minor refinement?</h2>
The design is really where the iQOO 15 starts making its case. On spec sheets it looks like a gentle evolution of the iQOO 13, but the moment you pick it up, it feels like a completely more grown-up device. There is a noticeable jump in how premium it feels, and that caught me off guard in the best way.
I have been using the Legend White variant, which leans into a very clean, almost classy look. It is a proper glass sandwich with Schott Xensation Alpha on the front and a glass back that feels more expensive than the price suggests. The frame is metal, likely an aluminium alloy, and it ties the whole thing together with a solid, reassuring feel in the hand.
All that glass and metal does have a consequence. The iQOO 15 is not trying to be a featherweight. My unit weighs around 220 grams, and you do feel that density. However, at roughly 8.17mm thick, it never becomes awkward to hold. The flat sides and the matte finish on the back help a lot with grip, and considering there is a 7000 mAh battery inside, the phone feels surprisingly well-balanced rather than bulky.
Visually, the Legend White version keeps things minimal. It is essentially a clean white slab with shiny metallic edges and a small racing-flag strip near the bottom. If you enjoy simple, uncluttered designs, this will probably hit the spot. For me, it borders on being a little too plain, but the fact that it barely shows fingerprints is a big win.
If you want something slightly different, there is the Alpha Black version with a fibre-glass back. It shaves off a bit of weight and thickness, but the difference is subtle enough that you will only really notice it if you compare them side by side. The one I really wish was available globally is the Lingyun edition from China, with a marble-like rear panel that gives the phone a genuinely distinctive character.
iQOO&rsquo;s Monster Halo light is back as well, but it has been moved outside the camera module and now sits under the outer ring. The glow is softer and more subdued, to the point where I actually missed a few notifications because it was so faint. Interestingly, once you put on the bundled case, the light stands out a bit more.
In terms of durability, there are no real complaints. The chassis feels solid, there is no creaking or flex, and the phone carries IP68 and IP69 ratings, so dust, splashes and the occasional dunk in water should not be a problem. Overall, the iQOO 15&rsquo;s design feels more refined, more secure in the hand and noticeably more premium than I expected when I first saw it on paper.
<h2>The iQOO 15&rsquo;s display is one of the best in its segment</h2>
The moment you switch on the iQOO 15, the display makes it very obvious that this phone is aiming for top-tier territory. It uses a 6.85-inch 2K LTPO AMOLED panel with a 144Hz ceiling, and the visual quality hits you instantly. iQOO has gone with Samsung&rsquo;s M14 OLED, and the clarity and colour accuracy honestly make it feel like something straight out of a much more expensive flagship lineup.
Brightness is where this screen flexes the hardest. It can comfortably hold 2600 nits in HBM and jump all the way to 6000 nits for tiny highlights in HDR scenes. With that kind of range, HDR movies and games pop beautifully, and since this is the first iQOO model with Dolby Vision support, the contrast and tone mapping across Netflix and YouTube look extremely polished. Everyday use also benefits &mdash; everything from menus to social feeds feels crisp and punchy.
The 144Hz refresh rate is more of a bonus than a constant. You will mostly see 120Hz across the UI, but a few titles can push the full 144Hz. I tested this with BGMI and Call of Duty Mobile and both ran smoothly at higher frame rates. Because the panel is LTPO, it can drop right down to 1Hz for the Always On Display, which helps keep battery drain under control.
Another small win is the ultrasonic fingerprint sensor. It unlocks quickly, works even with slightly wet fingers and feels more dependable than the optical readers most phones still use.
Where the iQOO 15 takes a step back is audio. The stereo speakers can get reasonably loud, but they do not match the richness or low-end punch you get from bigger flagships like the iPhone 17 Pro Max or Galaxy S25 Ultra. For casual viewing, calls or background videos, they are fine; they just don&rsquo;t stand out in any way.
<h2>The iQOO 15 gets some pretty big camera upgrades</h2>
Anyone who has followed iQOO&rsquo;s flagship phones over the years knows that cameras have never been the brand&rsquo;s strongest claim. The company has usually prioritised raw performance, display technology and gaming features, while treating photography as a supporting act. With the iQOO 15, that behaviour finally changes. This is the first time I have felt the brand genuinely invest in its camera system, and the difference is visible in both hardware choices and the way the images are processed.
The camera setup looks impressive even before you take a photo. The primary sensor is a 50MP Sony IMX921 with optical stabilisation. The telephoto camera is the biggest upgrade in the entire system. It now uses a 50MP 3x periscope based on the Sony IMX882. The ultrawide camera is also a 50MP unit. On paper, it is one of the most balanced triple camera systems iQOO has ever shipped.
Real improvements only reveal themselves when you start shooting, and this is where the iQOO 15 genuinely surprised me. The main 50MP camera produces clean photographs with excellent detail and a much more natural approach to colour. Many older iQOO devices boosted saturation a little too heavily, which often made scenes look artificial. That behaviour has now been toned down. Even in a difficult situation like shooting directly into bright sunlight, the exposure stayed controlled. Skies kept their texture, highlights stayed intact and shadow areas did not collapse into muddy patches. This feels like the most confident tuning iQOO has done until now.
The ultrawide camera keeps up well. It matches the primary camera in colour tone and contrast, which helps the entire system feel more cohesive. Sharpness remains respectable and distortion correction is handled with much more care than before. Edges look straight, buildings do not lean unnaturally and the frame stays accurate. This was a clear weakness in older models, so the improvement feels meaningful.
The standout upgrade is the new 3x periscope telephoto. This is easily the most capable zoom experience iQOO has created. Images at 3x are crisp, stabilised and full of detail. The real surprise is how well the phone performs at longer focal lengths. Up to around 20x or even 30x, the results remain very usable. Even beyond that point, the phone manages to produce images with decent clarity. At 165 mm and even close to 600 mm equivalent, textures remain visible and colours stay surprisingly consistent. This is a huge jump compared to anything the brand has previously offered.
Portrait photography benefits from this stronger telephoto system. The 85 mm portrait mode offers pleasing facial compression and natural tones. The 2x portrait mode from the main sensor also performs well. Skin tones remain clean and believable. Edge detection is accurate and the separation between subject and background looks smooth. Portraits from the 3x telephoto lens feel almost cinematic. You get sharp subject detail and a soft, controlled depth effect that looks much more polished. iQOO has added new portrait style filters too. They are fun and can add some variety, even if they are not transformative features.
Low light performance shows the biggest generation-over-generation leap. The main camera brings in a significant amount of light without producing the waxy textures that many phones fall into. Skin tones remain realistic and finer details stay intact. The phone sometimes takes a moment longer to capture the frame, but the results justify the extra second. The ultrawide camera is the only area where some refinement is still needed. Noise becomes noticeable when you zoom in on night shots, although the overall output is still good enough for social media.
For video, the iQOO 15 can record in 8K at 30 fps, although most people will prefer 4K 60 fps for stability and practicality. Footage in 4K looks clean with solid dynamic range and reliable stabilisation. Motion is handled smoothly and colours look natural. It is a strong video performer for its segment.
The 32MP selfie camera performs well too. HDR is handled intelligently. Even in strong outdoor lighting, the background maintains detail while the face stays properly lit. Skin tones look authentic and not overly softened. The consistency between indoor and outdoor selfies is particularly impressive.
After spending time with the iQOO 15, it is clear that the brand has finally put serious effort into its camera system. It is not the absolute best camera phone you can buy, but it is polished, reliable and far ahead of previous iQOO flagships.
<h2>The iQOO 15&rsquo;s real-world performance is top-notch</h2>
If there is one thing iQOO has been known for since the beginning, it is sheer brute-force performance. Even their so-called entry-level flagships often trade blows with much more expensive devices. The iQOO 15 continues that tradition with a level of confidence that feels very deliberate. It is clear that performance is still the brand&rsquo;s favourite arena.
At the centre of the phone is Qualcomm&rsquo;s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. It is paired with LPDDR5X Ultra RAM and UFS 4.1 storage. The RAM deserves a special mention because the &ldquo;Ultra&rdquo; tag is not simply a marketing flourish. It actually runs at a higher clock speed than the standard LPDDR5X modules used in most flagships.&nbsp;
This gives the phone an incredibly responsive feel. Navigating the interface, loading heavy assets, switching between multiple apps or jumping into visually demanding games all feel genuinely instantaneous. During my entire testing period, the phone did not stutter or hesitate once.
Benchmark numbers match what you feel in day-to-day use. The iQOO 15 delivers around 3.89 million on Antutu. On Geekbench, it records 3672 in single-core and 10548 in multi-core. These results place the phone very close to the Realme GT 8 Pro and the OnePlus 15. Realme&rsquo;s flagship reaches approximately 3.83 million on Antutu with 3611 single-core and 10482 multi-core scores. The OnePlus 15 pushes slightly ahead with 4.06 million on Antutu and 3646 single-core and 11025 multi-core. In simple terms, the iQOO 15 is right in the middle of this pack and competes confidently.
However, benchmarks are only a small part of the story. The iQOO 15 becomes far more interesting once you start gaming. After adjusting a couple of in-game settings, I was able to get consistent 144 Hz output in both BGMI and Call of Duty Mobile. The smoothness is immediately noticeable, but the real highlight is not the high refresh rate. The most surprising improvement is how well the phone handles ray tracing in supported titles.
Ray tracing is known for destroying performance on gaming PCs. Seeing it run comfortably on a phone is genuinely impressive. This capability comes from the new Q3 Supercomputing chip that iQOO is using. It has its own dedicated RT core and works with Vivo&rsquo;s QNSS Super Rendering Engine. Games that support ray tracing, such as Genshin Impact, gain far richer reflections, more realistic lighting behaviour and deeper shadows. All of this happens without the performance dip you would normally expect.
The Q3 chip also brings two helpful technologies called Game Super Resolution and Lossless Frame Interpolation. Game Super Resolution allows the phone to render scenes at a lower internal resolution and then upscale them to 2K using AI. This significantly reduces the load on the GPU during heavy battles or open-world exploration. Lossless Frame Interpolation inserts artificially generated frames between real ones, which results in smoother motion and a more consistent frame rate. When both features work together, the iQOO 15 delivers an experience that feels very close to a dedicated handheld gaming device.
Thermal performance deserves credit as well. Even after long gaming sessions, the phone maintained comfortable temperatures. iQOO uses an 8K single-layer vapour chamber, and the company claims it is the largest cooling system in the industry. After hours of continuous testing, I can confidently say the phone stayed far cooler than expected.
If you want a device that performs like a top-tier flagship, excels at gaming and stays cool throughout heavy use, the iQOO 15 stands out as one of the strongest performers of 2025.
The software on the iQOO 15 feels like a clean break from everything the brand has done until now. Instead of the familiar Funtouch OS, the phone boots into OriginOS 6 built on Android 16, and that instantly changes the personality of the device.
<h2>iQOO 15&rsquo;s OriginOS 6 completely changes the user experience</h2>
The overall design direction feels far more refined. The interface leans into a lighter, more airy aesthetic with soft gradients, semi-transparent layers and rounded elements that give the UI a calmer look. Animations feel smoother, transitions flow more naturally and the entire OS carries a sense of polish that older iQOO phones struggled to maintain. Although a few aspects remind you of visionOS or iOS, the general styling still feels unique enough to stand on its own.
Performance within the OS benefits as well. App launches feel quicker, multitasking behaves predictably and background management has noticeably improved. I did not run into random closures or apps resetting themselves, which used to be a mild annoyance on earlier models. Most system apps have already adopted the new design language. The few that have not yet been updated do not interfere with usability.
OriginOS also introduces several thoughtful touches. Photo editing tools feel more capable, and moving data or interacting with other devices in the Vivo ecosystem feels more seamless. These are small changes, but they add up during daily use.
The AI feature set remains fairly basic. You get writing assistance and AI-based photo tools, but nothing that rivals the more advanced experiences offered by Samsung, Google, Oppo or OnePlus.
What stands out is iQOO&rsquo;s long-term update promise. Buyers get five years of Android updates and seven years of security patches, which gives the software experience a strong sense of longevity.
<h2>The iQOO 15 manages power and charging pretty well</h2>
The iQOO 15 behaves exactly like a phone with a massive 7000 mAh battery should. The extra capacity over the iQOO 13&rsquo;s 6000 mAh pack is immediately noticeable in daily use. Screen time stretches longer, power drops more slowly and the phone generally feels built for endurance.
Charging, however, sees a slight reshuffle. The wired system now tops out at 100 W instead of 120 W, but in return you get 40 W wireless charging. There is no magnetic alignment, so you need to place the phone carefully on a pad, although the charging speed remains consistently strong. Using the wired charger, the device went from 5 percent to a full charge in under an hour during my testing.
A full battery easily carries the phone through a full day of heavy usage. If you drop the resolution and manage background activity sensibly, reaching close to two days on one charge is very achievable.
<h2>Verdict: Is the iQOO 15 worth it?</h2>
After spending a considerable amount of time with the iQOO 15, I kept waiting for a major flaw to appear, and it never really did. The only area that consistently felt behind its competitors is the AI suite. For a 2025 flagship, the AI tools feel quite basic and lack the depth you see on devices from Oppo and OnePlus. To be fair, iQOO has never marketed this phone as an AI pioneer. The focus has always been on performance, day-to-day reliability and strong hardware, so the software limitations are not completely unexpected.
What you do get is a phone that handles the fundamentals extremely well. Performance is consistently top tier, the UI feels polished and responsive, and the camera setup finally steps into territory where it can comfortably compete with other brands in the segment.&nbsp;
The main and telephoto cameras deliver dependable results in almost every lighting condition. The ultrawide camera is the only part of the system that still needs a step up in low light. It performs well enough, but it does not fully match the standard expected from a premium flagship.&nbsp;
If photography is your primary reason for upgrading, the Vivo X300 or Oppo Find X9 will offer a more complete camera package. The OnePlus 15 also remains a strong all-rounder, although its display compromises make the choice a little more complicated.
What makes the iQOO 15 stand out is how well it balances everything. It does not chase one headline feature at the cost of another. Instead, it offers strong performance, reliable software, capable cameras, excellent battery life and premium design in a way that feels cohesive. For many buyers, this is exactly what a flagship should be.
The pricing shift is the one factor that will spark debate. The iQOO 13 launched below ₹60,000 and even dipped close to ₹52,000 during early sale offers. The iQOO 15 starts at ₹72,000 before discounts, which is a significant jump. However, the overall situation is more complicated. Rising component costs, the weaker rupee and higher RAM and storage prices give brands very little room to manoeuvre.
Whether long-time iQOO fans accept the new pricing is something only time will answer. What I can say with confidence is that the iQOO 15 earns its place in the 2025 flagship crowd. If you are planning an upgrade, it absolutely deserves to be on your shortlist.
&nbsp;

Realme GT 8 Pro Dream Edition review — racing-inspired flagship with Ricoh cameras, Snapdragon 8 Elite & 7,000mAh battery. See if the Dream Edition is truly worth it.

Realme GT 8 Pro Dream Edition review — Truly premium or just hype?

The Realme GT 8 Pro Dream Edition mixes Aston Martin F1's styling with Ricoh-powered cameras, Snapdragon 8 Elite muscle, and a 7,000mAh battery for a loud, unapologetically extra flagship experience.

Back in May, Realme came out of nowhere with that Aston Martin Aramco F1 collab &mdash; the GT 7 Dream Edition. Nobody expected it, and suddenly people were like&hellip; okay, Realme is trying something.
Now six months later, we&rsquo;ve got the follow-up. The Realme GT 8 Pro Dream Edition. Same racing pedigree, full Aston Martin vibe, and a ₹79,999 price tag. For context, the normal GT 8 Pro starts at ₹72,999
But here&rsquo;s the thing&hellip; the moment you open the box, you kind of get it. This variant doesn&rsquo;t just show up &mdash; it performs an entrance. There&rsquo;s real premium energy here, and after using it, a lot of it actually lands.
There are also a few choices that made me tilt my head a little and go&hellip; huh. So let&rsquo;s break down what Realme nailed, and what probably needed another round of changes.&nbsp;
<h2>Realme GT 8 Pro Dream Edition: Top-Notch Unboxing Experience!</h2>
The unboxing is dramatic. Like, Realme actually committed to the bit.
You lift the lid and the box opens with these wing-style flaps inspired by Aston Martin&rsquo;s Silver Wing emblem. Sitting inside is the phone in full Racing Green. The texture on the back has these aerodynamic carve lines &mdash; it has grip, it has attitude, it looks fast even when it&rsquo;s not moving.
Even the SIM ejector tool looks like something pulled out of an F1 pit garage. It&rsquo;s extra&hellip; but it works. Then you flip the phone around and&hellip; boom. Aramco. Front and center. Loud and proud.
It kind of steals the spotlight from the Aston Martin badge sitting below it. And look...I understand the sponsorship thing. Aramco is Aston Martin F1&rsquo;s headline partner. Fair.
But nobody (and I mean nobody) is buying this because it&rsquo;s an Aramco phone. They&rsquo;re buying it because it&rsquo;s the &ldquo;Aston Martin edition,&rdquo; and yet the Aston Martin crest feels like it got demoted.
Realme also gives you a tiny Torx screwdriver in the box so you can remove the circular camera plate and swap it for a square one. It&rsquo;s cool for about five minutes. You do it once, look at it, realize the phone looks 98 percent the same, and then that screwdriver goes straight back into the box for the rest of its life.
And because of this whole swap system, Realme throws in two cases &mdash; one cutout for the round plate and one for the square. Cute idea, but let&rsquo;s be real &mdash; nobody is changing these plates every weekend.
Once you push the branding decisions and the novelty hardware aside, the phone itself is legitimately premium. The Realme GT 8 Pro Dream Edition feels great in the hand.
It&rsquo;s got a metal frame, a very manageable 214-gram weight, and legit durability with both IP68 and IP69 ratings. This is one of those phones you can actually use outdoors, not just admire on your desk.
<h2>Realme GT 8 Pro Dream Edition: 2K 144Hz AMOLED Display &nbsp;</h2>
The display is one of those parts you notice immediately. You&rsquo;re looking at a 6.78-inch 2K AMOLED panel that feels fast from the moment you unlock it. It&rsquo;s sharp, it&rsquo;s responsive, and every swipe lands exactly how you expect. Would LTPO have pushed it into ultra-premium territory? Definitely. But even as LTPS, the way it handles brightness, contrast, and colour makes it feel like a proper flagship display.
Now, Realme loves throwing big numbers around and yes, the display technically does 144Hz. The catch is that it only unlocks in a small list of supported games. Everywhere else, the UI is capped at 120Hz. On the plus side, the bezels are super thin and the panel is fully flat, which means zero accidental side touches and no strange edge reflections outdoors.
Brightness is where Realme goes full &ldquo;spec sheet chaos.&rdquo; They&rsquo;re claiming 7,000 nits peak and around 2,000 nits outside. And it actually holds up. Outdoor visibility is solved. Pair that with HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, and HDR content pops without blowing out skin tones or nuking shadows.
The stereo speakers are loud, but kind of one-note. You get volume, but not much texture in the highs or weight in the lows. It&rsquo;s fine for TikTok runs and reels, but not something you&rsquo;ll brag about.
The good news is that everything else around the display feels locked in. The haptics land clean, and the ultrasonic fingerprint sensor is one of the most reliable I&rsquo;ve used. It just works every single time. &nbsp;
<h2>Realme GT 8 Pro Dream Edition: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Power</h2>
Once you look past the special green paint, the GT 8 Pro Dream Edition is running the same hardware as the standard GT 8 Pro &mdash; and honestly, that&rsquo;s a win. At the heart of it is Qualcomm&rsquo;s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, and the phone wastes no time flexing it. Heavy apps, big games, long sessions&hellip; nothing makes it hiccup. It stays smooth in the way a proper flagship should.
Benchmarks do bring out the drama, though. During stress runs, the phone can hit around 45&deg;C, which is hot, but not unusual for top-end silicone. In real gameplay, it settles under 40&deg;C even after an hour of BGMI. On Antutu, it drops a 3.8 million score. That&rsquo;s a step below the OnePlus 15&rsquo;s 4 million, but still very respectable.
You also get 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.1 storage, so multitasking never chokes and apps stay loaded for long stretches. My only real &ldquo;why though?&rdquo; is the USB 2.0 port on an 80K phone. That one stings.
Now, for the gaming side. BGMI and Call of Duty: Mobile run smoothly, and the display does switch to 144Hz. Realme claims its new Hyper Vision+ AI chip injects extra frames to make gameplay appear smoother, even when the game isn&rsquo;t actually rendering them. And yes, it does feel fluid.
However, in my testing, COD: Mobile still caps at 60fps if you want max graphics. I unlocked 120fps, but only by dropping everything to Low plus Ultra frame rate.
<h2>Realme GT 8 Pro Dream Edition: New Ricoh Cameras!</h2>
This is the first Realme phone made in collaboration with Ricoh, and they didn&rsquo;t treat it like a token marketing badge. Ricoh&rsquo;s GR series is iconic in the street-photography world, and Realme actually pulls some of that DNA into the camera app.&nbsp;
There&rsquo;s a dedicated GR shooting mode with 28mm and 40mm focal lengths, a 3:2 aspect ratio, film tones tuned by Ricoh, and a &ldquo;Snap Focus&rdquo; mode that lets you raise the phone, tap, and instantly capture fixed-focus shots the way street shooters do.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s a surprisingly well thought-out creative tool but strip away the Ricoh flair and the hardware still holds its own. On the back you&rsquo;re working with a 50-megapixel main sensor, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide, and a 200-megapixel telephoto with 3X optical zoom, which is a first for Realme. Up front, there&rsquo;s a 32-megapixel selfie camera.
The main camera delivers crisp detail, vivid colours, and strong contrast, though it does nudge toward the saturated side. Night shots lean brighter than necessary at times, but the noise control is solid. Since it&rsquo;s using the same Sony IMX906 as the OnePlus 15, the results feel familiar.
The 200MP telephoto is easily the most fun lens on this phone. At 3X, portraits and zoom shots look sharp and clean with a nice depth to them. Push up to 6X and you&rsquo;ll see small losses in texture and clarity. Beyond that, it&rsquo;s mostly about bragging rights &mdash; yes, it does 120X, but the quality falls off well before you get there.
The ultra-wide is the weak link. It works fine in daylight, but fine textures get mushy, and low-light scenes lose dynamic range fast. It gets the job done, but it&rsquo;s not the lens you&rsquo;ll reach for unless you have to.
On video, Realme went aggressive. You can shoot up to 4K 120fps on the main and telephoto cameras, or 8K 30fps if you&rsquo;re feeling brave. You also get 10-bit LOG and Dolby Vision HDR, and the results are genuinely impressive for a phone in this price bracket.
Colour depth is strong, highlights don&rsquo;t blow out easily, and you can still use pro formats at 4K 120, which is wild. Stabilisation is the only area that needs polish &mdash; quick pans, fast movement and low-light clips can introduce wobble or jitter that breaks the otherwise solid footage.
The selfie camera lands firmly in the middle. In good lighting it&rsquo;s sharp and vibrant, but in poor light it slips quickly. There&rsquo;s no autofocus either, which hurts group shots or close-range framing more than you&rsquo;d expect.
<h2>Realme GT 8 Pro Dream Edition: &nbsp;Realme UI 7 is here!</h2>
On the software side, the GT 8 Pro Dream Edition boots straight into Realme UI 7 on top of Android 16. It&rsquo;s actually the first Realme phone to launch with it out of the box, so you&rsquo;re getting the newest version without waiting for an update.
Because this is the Dream Edition, Realme went all-in on the Aston Martin theme. The UI comes pre-dressed in racing green accents, custom icons, and F1-style wallpapers. It&rsquo;s cool for the first few days, but after that, I switched back to the standard icon pack because it&rsquo;s cleaner and way easier to live with.
Realme is promising 4 years of major Android updates and 5 years of security patches, which puts it in a comfortably &ldquo;flagship&rdquo; upgrade cycle. Not quite Samsung or Google territory, but much better than expected.
The big visual change is something Realme calls &ldquo;Light Glass.&rdquo; Think translucent widgets, softer highlights, and a more layered lockscreen that mimics depth. Yes, there&rsquo;s obvious inspiration from iOS 26, but to Realme&rsquo;s credit, it doesn&rsquo;t feel like a copy-paste. It feels like their take on the idea.
Expanded icons are genuinely useful &mdash; tap and stretch an app icon, and it turns into a mini widget with shortcuts. It&rsquo;s quicker than long-press menus and way more intuitive. There are also video lockscreen backgrounds and a revamped theming engine that finally paints the UI more consistently instead of half-colouring everything.
The AI additions are everywhere but not in your face. You get Google&rsquo;s big hitters like Gemini Assistant, Gemini Live, Circle to Search, and instant translation on-screen. Inside the gallery, Realme adds its own tools like AI Eraser, AI Ultra Clarity, Unblur, Perfect Shot, and a few other smart edits that actually deliver usable results. They&rsquo;re not &ldquo;demo features,&rdquo; they&rsquo;re things you will genuinely end up using.
Then there&rsquo;s Mind Space &mdash; the same system you&rsquo;ll find on the Oppo Find X9 Pro and on the OnePlus lineup as Plus Mind. It&rsquo;s basically a digital catch-all for everything your brain wants to collect throughout the day. Screenshots, notes, links, webpages &mdash; dump them all in, and AI organizes the chaos into summaries and reference boards. If you&rsquo;re a student, a reviewer, or someone who constantly screenshots ideas, this might be your new favourite app.
<h2>Realme GT 8 Pro Dream Edition: 7,000mAh Battery &amp; 120W Fast Charging</h2>
The 7,000mAh battery on this thing is borderline absurd &mdash; in a good way. I was cruising past six and a half to seven hours of screen-on time without trying to baby it.&nbsp;
But, as always, gaming is where the real story shows up. Forty-five minutes of Call of Duty: Mobile knocked off around 11% of the charge. That&rsquo;s almost double what the OnePlus 15 burns through in the same session, and that phone is literally pushing 165fps. So if you&rsquo;re grinding competitive matches or long sessions, the battery will remind you it&rsquo;s human.
Charging is where Realme flexes. With 120W wired charging and Smart Rapid enabled, it jumps from zero to full in about 45&ndash;50 minutes. Switch that mode off, and the charge time stretches past an hour, but the phone stays noticeably cooler while it juices up &mdash; which I&rsquo;ll take any day. There&rsquo;s 50W wireless charging too. Not crazy fast, but perfect for that &ldquo;drop and forget&rdquo; desk or bedside setup.
<h2>Realme GT 8 Pro Dream Edition Review: Verdict</h2>
The Realme GT 8 Pro Dream Edition does not try to blend into the lineup. It walks into the room loud, polished, and very sure of itself. And honestly, a lot of the package backs that confidence &mdash; performance is strong, the display feels premium in everyday use, and the Ricoh camera features actually make shooting more enjoyable.
But then you hit a few head-scratchers. A USB 2.0 port on an almost ₹80k phone. An LTPS panel instead of LTPO. A camera plate swap system that feels gimmicky.
Spend a few days with it though, and the real personality shows. This is Realme at its loudest, most experimental, and honestly, most fun.&nbsp;
So is it worth the extra ₹7,000 over the regular GT 8 Pro? If you&rsquo;re into F1, Aston Martin, or you just want a phone that looks like it came from a pit lane&hellip; you already know your answer.
If you just want the performance, cameras and battery without the cosplay? Save the cash &mdash; the standard GT 8 Pro gives you the same muscle minus the drama.

Blaupunkt 65-inch Mini QD Google TV brings premium design, bright Mini LED visuals, and a feature-packed Google TV experience at a premium price. But is it the right big-screen upgrade for 2025 buyers?

Blaupunkt 65-inch Google Mini QD TV Review: The Surprise Package of 2025?

Blaupunkt 65-inch Mini QD Google TV brings premium design, bright Mini LED visuals, and a feature-packed Google TV experience at a premium price. But is it the right big-screen upgrade for 2025 buyers?

Blaupunkt&rsquo;s reputation in India has always leaned more toward audio products than televisions. That&rsquo;s why the arrival of its first Mini QD Google TV in the country feels like a major shift &mdash; not just in product strategy, but in ambition.&nbsp;
This isn&rsquo;t another entry-level TV meant to blend into the crowded budget segment. At ₹94,999 for the 65-inch model and ₹1,49,999 for the 75-inch variant, Blaupunkt is deliberately entering territory dominated by established premium players.
And the brand doesn&rsquo;t tiptoe in. It walks in confidently, offering a 4K Mini LED panel with 1500 nits peak brightness, Google TV, Dolby Vision, Atmos support, and a premium design that immediately sets expectations high.&nbsp;
What becomes interesting is how this TV performs when you push beyond first impressions &mdash; because Blaupunkt gets several big things right, several small things wrong, and a few surprising things unexpectedly uneven.
<h2>Design &amp; Build: Understated but Firmly Premium</h2>
One thing Blaupunkt clearly didn&rsquo;t compromise on is build quality. The 65-inch unit I received for review has slim bezels, a metal stand, and a clean design that gives it a premium look many mid-range brands still miss.
It also feels solid. Whether you set it up on the stand or mount it on a wall, the panel sits firm and stable &mdash; a level of sturdiness you don&rsquo;t always see even on more expensive TVs.
This sense of physical quality matters more than people think. A TV this large becomes part of your living space, and Blaupunkt&rsquo;s design feels considered rather than decorative. It&rsquo;s a design that communicates, &ldquo;We may be new to premium TVs, but we understand what one is supposed to feel like.&rdquo;
<h2>Start-up Delay: The First Thing You'll Notice</h2>
Ironically, the very first interaction with the TV highlights one of its biggest usability drawbacks. From the moment you press the power button on the remote, there is a noticeable pause &mdash; roughly 10 seconds &mdash; before the screen lights up.
Ten seconds isn&rsquo;t catastrophic, but it&rsquo;s long enough to feel like the system is gathering itself before waking up. On a daily basis, the delay becomes part of the TV&rsquo;s personality: capable once running, but slow to get moving. It&rsquo;s unusual for a modern Google TV, and definitely an area where Blaupunkt needs optimization.
<h2>Picture Quality: Natural, Controlled and Dependably Bright</h2>
Blaupunkt&rsquo;s Mini LED implementation avoids the common trap of prioritizing sheer brightness over picture stability. Mini LED, essentially, uses more densely packed, smaller LEDs for better illumination control. The advantage is obvious in real-world use: higher brightness, stronger colours, better shadow separation than standard LED TVs.
But Blaupunkt doesn&rsquo;t push the panel into overly vibrant territory. Instead, it takes a balanced, almost conservative approach &mdash; and this turns out to be one of the TV&rsquo;s quietly impressive strengths.
Blaupunkt&rsquo;s take on brightness is actually pretty interesting. A lot of TVs in this price range try way too hard to look &ldquo;impressive,&rdquo; cranking up highlights until everything looks like it&rsquo;s glowing. This one doesn&rsquo;t do that.&nbsp;
With 1500 nits of peak brightness, it plays it cool. The picture stays steady and controlled. It looks consistent across different types of content, whether it&rsquo;s animation, travel videos or fast sports. Colours stay natural and don&rsquo;t slip into that fake, over-processed look.
Moreover, with Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HLG, the TV pulls out more detail from supported content. Highlights look cleaner and shadows show more depth, revealing things you&rsquo;d usually miss on a standard LED panel.
Where the TV feels immediately confident is in sports. Fast camera pans in football matches, and tennis smashes all hold up well. The action feels smooth, with minimal judder or artifacts.
The 120Hz panel refresh rate plays a huge role here. Even rapid transitions between brightly lit frames do not throw the TV off. Motion interpolation doesn&rsquo;t create that unnatural &ldquo;soap-opera&rdquo; sheen either &mdash; a welcome relief, given how often mid-range TVs mishandle fast content. Viewers who binge sports during the day will find this TV especially satisfying.
Darker scenes on this TV is&hellip; fine. Not amazing, not bad &mdash; just right in the middle. The 100,000:1 contrast ratio and local dimming do help, so you actually see more in the shadows than you would on a basic LED TV.
When you&rsquo;re watching darker scenes in crime dramas or thrillers, the little details don&rsquo;t disappear. You can still follow what&rsquo;s going on. That said, the panel still can&rsquo;t escape the inherent limitations of Mini LED technology.
Blacks hover closer to charcoal than true deep black, and certain scenes expose faint halos around bright objects. I noticed this clearly while watching Paul Thomas Anderson&rsquo;s One Battle After Another.&nbsp;
The film relies heavily on night sequences, and while the TV kept the overall image coherent and watchable, the deepest shadows never quite reached the inky richness you&rsquo;d get from an OLED. Subtle gradients in the darkness were visible, but they lacked the velvety smoothness that cinephiles would hope for.
<h2>Audio: Loud, But Lacking Control</h2>
On paper, Blaupunkt&rsquo;s 108W Dolby Atmos-certified system sounds formidable. Six speakers and two subwoofers should theoretically offer depth, power and spatial clarity. In practice, the system delivers volume, not finesse.
The TV can get genuinely loud &mdash; loud enough to overwhelm smaller rooms &mdash; but the audio profile becomes messy at higher volumes. The bass resonates so strongly that the frame vibrates, particularly during explosions, chase scenes or high-intensity soundtracks.&nbsp;
This isn&rsquo;t the controlled rumble you get from a premium audio system. It&rsquo;s a rattling, boomy vibration that interrupts immersion rather than enhancing it.
Dialogue clarity remains usable, but midrange tones sometimes compete with the overactive bass. The result is sound that feels unbalanced, powerful but undisciplined.
A soundbar is not merely an upgrade here &mdash; it is almost mandatory.
<h2>Software &amp; Performance: Perfect Polish</h2>
So the software here is Google TV &mdash; and honestly, that&rsquo;s a win right out of the box. You get all the usual heavy hitters: Netflix, Prime Video, JioCinema/Hotstar, Apple TV+. Everything&rsquo;s right there on day one, no hunting, no weird app store stuff.
And the UI? It feels clean. It feels intentional. Nothing looks slapped together. Your rows make sense, the recommendations aren&rsquo;t chaotic, and the whole thing just feels&hellip; modern. Like, this is what a smart TV in 2025 should look like.
Bluetooth 5.0 and dual-band Wi-Fi handle the connectivity side pretty well, so everything just stays connected without drama.
Chromecast is also built in &mdash; as it should be &mdash; so sending a YouTube video or a tab from your laptop is basically instant. Google Assistant also does its job without acting confused or lagging behind your voice.
But really, the best part is how the whole thing flows. App switching feels smooth, animations are subtle but satisfying, and the entire experience has that polished &ldquo;yeah, this is nice&rdquo; energy you usually expect from brands that have been doing premium TVs for years.
<h2>Remote Control: Too Busy for Today&rsquo;s Streaming World</h2>
The remote feels like a relic of an older TV era &mdash; large, button-heavy and visually cluttered. While Google Assistant performs well through the microphone, the physical button layout lacks intuitive flow. For a streaming-first television, the remote feels unnecessarily complicated.
<h2>Verdict: A Promising First Attempt With Clear Strengths and Gaps</h2>
The Blaupunkt Mini QD TV doesn&rsquo;t try to be something it isn&rsquo;t. It doesn&rsquo;t chase OLED-level deep blacks. It doesn&rsquo;t try to win with exaggerated colour. And it doesn&rsquo;t pretend to offer perfect audio.
What it does offer is a thoughtfully built, bright, stable, premium-looking TV with a natural picture profile and excellent daytime performance. For households that prioritize sports, streaming, general entertainment and all-day usage, the 65-inch model at ₹94,999 is more compelling than expected.
But if you require fast startup, disciplined audio, and better handling of darker scenes, you&rsquo;ll find the weaknesses harder to ignore.
&nbsp;For now, this TV stands as a respectable, confident debut aimed squarely at everyday Indian viewers rather than videophile purists.

Oppo Find X9 Pro brings a massive 7500 mAh battery, a powerful 200MP telephoto, a flat ultra-bright AMOLED and the Dimensity 9500. At ₹1,09,999, it wants to beat Samsung, OnePlus and Apple at their own game.

Oppo Find X9 Pro Review: Massive Battery, Pro Cameras, Big Price — Worth It?

The Oppo Find X9 Pro goes all-in with a 7500 mAh battery, a flagship-grade 200MP telephoto camera, a flat 6.78" AMOLED display and the Dimensity 9500 chip. At ₹1,09,999, it aims to be the premium Android flagship of 2025.

The Find X9 Pro doesn&rsquo;t try to ease into the flagship conversation. It comes out looking and feeling like Oppo finally wants to sit at the very top.
The camera hardware is noticeably better, the battery is the biggest you&rsquo;ll find on any premium phone right now, the build feels cleaner and more thought-out, and the whole package gives off this energy that says, yeah, this is the one we want you to judge us by.
But when a company swings for the top spot, the price tag usually jumps with it. And at ₹1,09,999, this phone has zero room to slack. Everything has to land. Let&rsquo;s get into it
<h2>Oppo Find X9 Pro: Design &amp; Build</h2>
The X9 Pro doesn&rsquo;t throw away Oppo&rsquo;s design language, but it definitely feels like someone went back through the blueprint with a red pen and fixed the things that mattered in everyday use. My Titanium Charcoal unit has a soft, almost suede-like finish on the back that instantly feels more secure than the glossy, curved surface from last year.
The new flat frame helps too. It gives your fingers something firm to hold without feeling sharp, and even though the phone weighs 224 grams, the balance is so even that you stop noticing it after a few minutes.
The camera bump has had a design ovrhaul as well. Oppo ditched the big circular island for a cleaner, squared layout that blends into the frame much better. Sure, it wobbles a bit on a desk, but the trade-off is a sleeker, less smudge-prone module that doesn&rsquo;t dominate the entire back of the phone.
The thing that really stands out, though, is durability. Oppo went all-in this time. You get IP66, IP68, and even IP69 &mdash; which basically covers dust, water, and high-pressure jets. Pair that with the aluminium frame and Gorilla Glass Victus 2, and it finally feels like a flagship built for more than careful desk use.
Overall, the design doesn&rsquo;t scream for attention, but it doesn&rsquo;t need to. It&rsquo;s clean, it&rsquo;s refined, and it immediately feels like a phone made for the top tier.
<h2>Oppo Find X9 Pro: Display Quality</h2>
The move to a flat display might look like a small tweak on the spec sheet, but the moment you start using the Find X9 Pro, it feels like the right call. It&rsquo;s still a 6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED with all the flagship buzzwords attached, but removing the curves changes the whole vibe.
No reflections catching the corners, no accidental palm inputs, no light bending off the edges. It just feels cleaner and easier to use, whether you&rsquo;re gaming or doom-scrolling at 2AM.
The bezels are another flex. Oppo shaved them down to roughly 1.15mm on all sides, and that uniform border gives the phone this near-floating screen effect. Watching HDR content feels more immersive simply because there&rsquo;s nothing pulling your attention away from the frame.
Speaking of HDR, brightness is kind of ridiculous here. The panel peaks at around 3,600 nits and sits comfortably at about 1,800 nits outdoors. That means sunlight is not a problem, and HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and HDR Vivid content all look punchy without over-cranking contrast.
Comfort is also clearly part of Oppo&rsquo;s plan. With 2160Hz PWM dimming and the ability to dip all the way down to a single nit, this is one of the easiest flagship screens to use late at night. No harsh flicker, no burning your eyes in a dark room.
You also get a couple of underrated extras. The ultrasonic fingerprint reader stays fast even with slightly sweaty or damp fingers. And Oppo&rsquo;s Vehicle Motion Alerts subtly stabilise the UI when the phone detects motion, making in-car reading noticeably less shaky.
So no, Oppo didn&rsquo;t reinvent displays here. What they did instead was refine every piece of the experience &mdash; the shape, the brightness, the comfort, the little usability upgrades &mdash; and the end result feels like one of their most mature panels yet.
<h2>Oppo Find X9 Pro: Camera Performance</h2>
After shooting with the Find X9 Pro for a while, the biggest thing that stands out is how confident this camera system feels. On paper it looks wild with a 50-megapixel main, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide and a 200-megapixel telephoto. Once you start taking photos, it becomes clear that Oppo is not just showing big numbers this year.
All three rear cameras now capture full-resolution 50-megapixel shots by default. You do not need extra toggles or hidden modes. Motion Photos also record in 4K instead of 1080p, so those short clips around your photos finally look clean and usable.
The 200-megapixel telephoto is easily the most interesting part of this setup. It uses a large 1/1.56-inch sensor with an f/2.1 aperture and a 70mm focal length, and it can focus as close as 9 centimetres. That allows proper macro-style shots on a zoom lens. At 3X and 6X, the images look sharp and detailed, and you can crop further without the photo falling apart. There is some sharpening and a bit of haloing around strong highlights, but it stays controlled.
The main 50-megapixel camera gets Sony&rsquo;s LYT-828 sensor, and it feels like a proper step forward. Autofocus is fast, dynamic range is balanced, shadows look natural and colours stay vivid without looking pushed. Older Oppo and OnePlus cameras used to brighten everything a bit too aggressively. This one looks more natural and cinematic.
Low-light results are strong as well. Even without Night mode, images stay detailed with minimal noise. When Night mode activates, it brightens the scene without blowing out highlights or creating that over-processed HDR look.
The ultra-wide camera is decent but clearly the weakest of the three. It uses the same 50-megapixel Samsung JN5 sensor found in the front camera. You get those wide, dramatic shots, but finer textures sometimes look softened, almost like a digital watercolour.
What is impressive is how consistent the output is across all lenses. Exposure, colour and tone remain steady whether you shoot ultra-wide, main or telephoto. Oppo&rsquo;s colour science with Hasselblad tuning has matured a lot. Images get a warm, slightly cinematic look with smoother highlight roll-off.
The phone also includes a small True Colour sensor that splits the frame into zones and measures colour temperature. It helps produce better white balance and more natural skin tones, especially indoors or in mixed lighting.
The pressure-sensitive Quick Button makes a return. A quick tap takes a photo, a long press fires a burst and in video mode it starts or stops recording. A capacitive slider underneath lets you zoom smoothly. It is clever hardware, even if the learning curve is not the easiest.
Video performance is excellent. The main and telephoto cameras record up to 4K at 120 frames per second. The ultra-wide and the front camera go up to 4K at 60. Footage looks sharp with accurate colours and wide dynamic range. Low-light video holds up well with controlled noise. Stabilisation is strong whether you walk, pan or hold the phone still.
The front camera finally gets a major upgrade. It is now a 50-megapixel sensor with autofocus. Selfies look sharp, HDR is handled well and the 4K60 recording makes the phone great for front-facing video.
Overall, this is the most complete camera system Oppo has made. It still has small issues like mild oversharpening and the ultra-wide trailing behind the other lenses, but the consistency and versatility make it a genuine flagship-level setup.
<h2>Oppo Find X9 Pro: Benchmarks &amp; Performance</h2>
The Find X9 Pro runs on MediaTek&rsquo;s new Dimensity 9500, a flagship chip built to take on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and Apple&rsquo;s A19 Pro. On paper it is finally a proper three-way fight, so I put the Find X9 Pro up against the OnePlus 15 and the iPhone 17 Pro Max to see how it actually performs.
In Geekbench 6, the OnePlus 15 posts 3646 in single core and a huge 11025 in multi core. That gives Qualcomm the strongest multi core numbers in this group. The Find X9 Pro scores 3198 in single core and 9383 in multi core.
The interesting bit is that this multi core number actually edges out the iPhone 17 Pro Max, which lands at 9634. Apple still keeps the lead in single core with a score of 3725, but this is the closest MediaTek has ever been in a flagship comparison.
The 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test tells a different story. The Find X9 Pro starts strong at 7248 and drops to 3560, which works out to 49 percent stability. That shows clear throttling during long gaming or GPU-heavy workloads.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max begins at 5531 and dips to 3769 for 68 percent stability, so performance stays more consistent. The OnePlus 15 comes out on top in sustained GPU results with a 7683 peak and 5282 minimum for 68.8 percent stability.
None of the phones dominate every benchmark, which is a good reminder that numbers only show part of the story. In the VN video export test, where the same 4K60 clips were stitched into a two-minute file, the Find X9 Pro finished first by a comfortable margin. It beat both the OnePlus 15 and the iPhone 17 Pro Max, which makes it the fastest when you look at real workflows.
The important thing is how the phone behaves in hand. Apps open instantly, the UI stays smooth under heavy load, and games run without stutter. BGMI held around 60 and pushed to 120 in supported modes, all while the phone stayed cooler than expected.
The 16GB LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB UFS 4.1 storage pair well with the Dimensity 9500, so the X9 Pro never feels like it falls behind any flagship in daily use.
<h2>Oppo Find X9 Pro: Software &amp; AI</h2>
ColorOS 16 sits on Android 16 and feels familiar if you have used any recent Oppo or OnePlus phone. However, the polish is where the difference shows. Animations feel smoother, the colour palette is more subtle and the whole UI feels less busy than before. There is some iOS influence in places, but that is becoming common across Android skins now.
There are a few smart additions. You can set a video as your lock screen wallpaper. Icons can expand to show shortcuts without long-pressing, which saves time if you use apps like Messages or the Camera frequently.&nbsp;
AI tools are everywhere this year. You get translation inside the recorder, Circle to Search, Gemini Live, and AI edits like object removal or sharpening. They work about as well as Samsung and Google&rsquo;s versions.
The standout addition is Mind Space, which collects screenshots, snippets and voice notes in one place. Oppo even added a Snap Key on the frame to make it easier. Tap it to capture whatever is on screen. Hold it to record a voice snippet that turns into text immediately. If you collect notes all day, this is genuinely handy.
AI Studio is the only part that feels unfinished. It turns your photos into stylised portraits, but the output looks odd and the gender selection options feel outdated.
Oppo says the Find X9 Pro will get five years of major Android updates and six years of security patches. It is not at Samsung or Google levels, but it is still a strong long-term commitment for an Android flagship.
<h2>Oppo Find X9 Pro: Battery &amp; Charging</h2>
The Find X9 Pro is carrying a battery that feels almost unfair. It packs a 7,500 mAh cell, the biggest ever in a mainstream flagship, and even bigger than the OnePlus 15&rsquo;s already huge 7,300 mAh pack. What makes it even more impressive is the fact that Oppo squeezed all of this into an 8.25mm body, thanks to its third-gen Silicon-Carbon tech that boosts energy density without adding bulk.
In day-to-day use, the phone holds up better than almost anything else right now. Light users can stretch it to two full days without even thinking about it. Heavy users still wrap up a full day with battery left. I was consistently seeing around seven hours of screen-on time, and even during gaming tests with BGMI and Call of Duty: Mobile, it only dropped roughly five percent in a half-hour session.
The streaming test was the biggest surprise. Three hours of YouTube took the Find X9 Pro from 100 to 93 percent. The iPhone 17 Pro Max dropped to 90 percent under the same conditions, and the OnePlus 15 ended at 91 percent. This is the best result I have logged in that test so far.
Charging speeds are solid as well. The 80W SuperVOOC charger takes the phone from almost empty to around 80 percent in about 70 minutes. Wireless charging hits 50W through AirVOOC, and the phone also supports 10W reverse wireless charging for accessories.
<h2>Oppo Find X9 Pro Review: Should You Buy it?</h2>
After using the Find X9 Pro for a while, it became obvious that Oppo wasn&rsquo;t trying to make a safe flagship this year. This feels like a phone built to sit right at the top of the Android stack, and most of the time, it actually does.
The camera system is the most complete Oppo has put on a phone, the performance goes toe-to-toe with the best hardware from Qualcomm and Apple, the battery life borders on overkill, and the build finally matches the durability claims on paper.
It is not perfect. The ultra-wide still trails the other cameras, and the Quick Button is more of a fun trick than a must-use feature. But none of these feel like dealbreakers.
What stands out is the consistency. Whether you are shooting photos, gaming, exporting videos, or jumping between apps, the X9 Pro behaves like a phone that knows exactly what lane it wants to dominate.
At ₹1,09,999, you are paying a premium, and that automatically raises expectations. The surprising part is that the Find X9 Pro meets those expectations in almost every area.
If you want raw power, long battery life, a seriously versatile camera system, and a level of refinement Oppo has never delivered before, this is the one to look at. Whether the price makes sense will depend on what you prioritise, but after living with it, I can say this much. Oppo finally made a flagship that justifies the number on the box.
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Editorji is a popular short video news and information platform based in India. It was founded in 2018 by Vikram Chandra, one of India’s leading journalists, and has risen to prominence in the digital news space in a relatively short span of time. The platform is primarily designed for mobile devices, with applications available for Android and iOS.

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Is the iQoo Z5 the best gaming phone you can buy under ₹25,000? Find out in our review on editorji.

iQoo Z5 review: best gaming phone under ₹25,000?

The iQoo Z5 smartphone has been launched in India. iQoo Z5 processor is the Snapdragon 778G chipset, the phone features a 6.67-inch FHD+ LCD display with a 120Hz refresh rate. iQoo Z5 specs include with up to 12GB RAM and up to 256GB storage. iQoo Z5 camera is 64MP triple rear lens setup, along with a 16MP front camera. iQoo Z5 battery is a 5,000mAh unit with 44W fast charging. The iQoo Z5 price in India starts at ₹23,990 for the 8GB + 128GB variant. Is the iQoo Z5 the best gaming phone you can buy under ₹25,000? Find out in our review on editorji.

Is the iQoo Z5 the best gaming phone you can buy under ₹25,000? Find out in our review on editorji.

The iQoo Z5 smartphone has been launched in India. iQoo Z5 processor is the Snapdragon 778G chipset, the phone features a 6.67-inch FHD+ LCD display with a 120Hz refresh rate.
iQoo Z5 specs include with up to 12GB RAM and up to 256GB storage. iQoo Z5 camera is 64MP triple rear lens setup, along with a 16MP front camera.
iQoo Z5 battery is a 5,000mAh unit with 44W fast charging. The iQoo Z5 price in India starts at ₹23,990 for the 8GB + 128GB variant.
Is the iQoo Z5 the best gaming phone you can buy under ₹25,000? Find out in our review on editorji.

OnePlus 15R brings Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 power, a 7,400mAh battery and IP69K durability. A first look at how the R-series is changing.

OnePlus 15R first look: OnePlus redefines the R-series

<h3>The OnePlus 15R feels less like a budget favourite and more like a full-blown performance phone, with Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 power, a massive battery, and flagship-grade durability.</h3>

The OnePlus 15R is finally in the house, and I&rsquo;ll be honest, this is the phone I&rsquo;ve been looking forward to testing the most. If you&rsquo;ve followed OnePlus for a while, you already know why. The R-series has always been that sweet middle ground where OnePlus packs in near-flagship hardware without making you seriously rethink your spending choices.
Over the years, it&rsquo;s almost become a pattern. The R model ends up being the phone most regular buyers gravitate towards because it delivers around 90 per cent of the flagship experience without the flagship tax. But this year, something feels different. The OnePlus 15R doesn&rsquo;t feel like it&rsquo;s just trying to be the sensible alternative anymore. Even at first glance, it&rsquo;s clear that OnePlus wants this phone to be taken seriously, not as a trimmed-down version of the OnePlus 15, but as a product with its own identity.
Before getting into how it feels to use, here&rsquo;s a quick look at what you get inside the box. The retail package includes the OnePlus 15R in Mint Breeze, an 80W SuperVOOC charger, a USB Type-A to Type-C cable, a protective case, a SIM ejector tool, and the usual quick guide. It&rsquo;s a familiar OnePlus unboxing, but still reassuring to see the fast charger included.
<h2>Design and durability</h2>
Design-wise, the OnePlus 15R sticks to a flat-edged look, and honestly, I&rsquo;m glad it does. The Mint Breeze colour really stands out in person without looking flashy. It has a calm, premium finish that works well under different lighting. If green isn&rsquo;t your thing, there&rsquo;s a Charcoal Black option that looks more understated, and a Violet variant for those who want something more expressive.
The phone has a smooth matte back, a solid metal frame, and a square camera module with two lenses sitting neatly inside. It&rsquo;s clean, symmetrical, and doesn&rsquo;t try too hard. What impressed me more than the aesthetics, though, is the durability. The OnePlus 15R comes with IP66, IP68, IP69, and even IP69K ratings. That&rsquo;s the same level of protection you get on the OnePlus 15. It covers everything from dust resistance and water immersion to high-pressure water jets, which is frankly overkill for most people, but reassuring nonetheless.
<h2>Performance and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5</h2>
This is where things get genuinely exciting. The OnePlus 15R is officially the world&rsquo;s first smartphone powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5. OnePlus says it worked closely with Qualcomm to tune this chip, and based on early usage, I&rsquo;m expecting meaningful gains in efficiency and sustained performance.
Using it reminded me of the early days of OnePlus, when the brand would squeeze absurd performance out of mid-range hardware. The difference this time is that they&rsquo;re doing it with Qualcomm&rsquo;s second-best processor. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 still sits at the top, but the 8 Gen 5 already feels plenty flagship in everyday use.
On top of that, you get a dedicated Touch Response Chip and a new G2 Wi-Fi chip. Both are meant to improve touch latency and network stability. This should make a real difference for gamers, streamers, and anyone who spends unhealthy amounts of time scrolling through Instagram Reels. The phone supports 120FPS gameplay in supported titles and uses a 165Hz display panel, which is the same one found on the OnePlus 15.
<h2>Cameras and software</h2>
Flip the phone over and you&rsquo;ll notice a dual-camera setup, and no Hasselblad branding in sight. That&rsquo;s because OnePlus is shifting to its own in-house imaging pipeline called the DetailMax Engine. This is a clear change in direction for the R-series.
What that means in practice is that photos from the 15R have a slightly different character compared to previous models. Whether that turns out to be a genuine upgrade or just a different look will only become clear with proper testing, but early samples give a decent sense of where OnePlus is headed.
One feature that immediately stood out to me is 4K video recording at 120FPS. That&rsquo;s something you usually see reserved for premium flagships, not R-series phones. Content creators are going to love having that option.
On the software side, the phone runs OxygenOS 16, and all of OnePlus&rsquo;s new AI features are built in. The one I&rsquo;m personally happiest about is Plus Mind, which has quietly become one of my favourite additions on recent OnePlus phones. It&rsquo;s actually useful and doesn&rsquo;t feel like an AI checkbox feature.
<h2>Battery life and charging</h2>
Now here&rsquo;s where things get really interesting. The regular OnePlus 15 packs a 7,300mAh battery, but the 15R bumps that up to 7,400mAh. On paper, that difference looks small, but battery life isn&rsquo;t just about capacity. Efficiency plays a huge role.
With the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 onboard, I&rsquo;m expecting better endurance than last year&rsquo;s R model and possibly even an edge over the OnePlus 15. OnePlus says this is the biggest battery they&rsquo;ve ever put in a phone, and that alone tells you what kind of users they&rsquo;re targeting this time. This phone is clearly built for people who push their devices hard.
The company even describes the 15R as &ldquo;built to play and never, ever stop&rdquo;, and that sets expectations pretty clearly.
<h2>Pricing and launch</h2>
Pricing for the OnePlus 15R will be revealed on December 17, when the phone officially launches in India. If OnePlus sticks to its usual aggressive pricing strategy, this could easily become the go-to option for a massive chunk of buyers.
The phone is expected to sit below the OnePlus 15, which starts at ₹72,999, with reports suggesting a price point around ₹45,000. After spending some time with it, the OnePlus 15R feels like OnePlus trying to re-establish the R-series as the smart buy. A full review is coming soon, with proper gaming tests, battery numbers, thermal results, and a lot more real-world data.

With a 12.1-inch 2.8K display, mature design, stylus support and smarter multitasking on OxygenOS 16, the OnePlus Pad Go 2 delivers a major upgrade. Here's our initial impression of OnePlus' latest budget tablet.

OnePlus Pad Go 2 first impressions: Updates that really add up

<h3>OnePlus Pad Go 2 brings a bigger display, cleaner design, smarter tablet software, stylus support and solid battery. A meaningful jump in OnePlus&rsquo; tablet lineup.</h3>

OnePlus has been experimenting with the tablet segment for a while, but the Pad Go 2 finally feels like a product built with purpose. The screen is bigger, the software finally treats the display properly, and stylus support has arrived. This is a clear upgrade instead of another safe refresh.
<h2>OnePlus Pad Go 2 Unboxing: Clean, Predictable, Very OnePlus</h2>
The unboxing feels exactly like what you expect from OnePlus. The red and white box is neat and minimal and everything inside is arranged with the same familiar discipline. You get the Pad Go 2 in the 8 GB and 256 GB Wi Fi trim, a 45 W SuperVOOC charger, a Type A to Type C cable and the usual stack of papers nobody touches. There is still no stylus inside. OnePlus finally supports one, but you will need to pay extra. That is just the current state of accessories.
<h2>OnePlus Pad Go 2 Design: Cleaner, Softer, Grown Up</h2>
The first Pad Go had personality but it was loud. The Pad Go 2 feels calmer and more mature. The frame has a smoother flow, the back looks cleaner and the overall shape feels easier on the eyes. Shadow Black is the safe option, while Lavender Drift has a soft pastel vibe that looks surprisingly premium. It is light, balanced and does not give off budget tablet energy.
<h2>OnePlus Pad Go 2 Display: This Is the Real Upgrade</h2>
The jump to a 12.1 inch 2.8K panel changes the experience right away. The extra size gives video, apps and even the UI more breathing room. If you thought the old Pad Go&rsquo;s display was fine, this one quickly shows you how much you were compromising.
<h2>OnePlus Pad Go 2 Software: Not an Afterthought</h2>
OxygenOS 16 on Android 16 finally feels like it knows it is running on a tablet. The highlight here is Open Canvas. It lets you move apps around, keep windows floating and use split screen without fighting with the layout. It feels like proper tablet software rather than a stretched phone interface.
<h2>Stylus Support: Finally Here, But&hellip;</h2>
The Pad Go 2 can work with the OnePlus Stylo, so writing notes, sketching and marking documents is all supported. The catch is simple. The stylus does not come in the box. If productivity is your plan, add that extra cost to your budget.
<h2>OnePlus Pad Go 2 Connectivity: Here&rsquo;s the Annoying Bit</h2>
OnePlus has added 5G, but there is a condition. Only the 256 GB Shadow Black variant gets it. If you want Lavender Drift with cellular support, there is no option, which feels unnecessarily restrictive.
<h2>OnePlus Pad Go 2 Performance &amp; Battery: Everyday Comfort</h2>
The tablet runs on the Dimensity 7300 Ultra with 8 GB RAM. It delivers the kind of performance you expect from a mid range tablet and stays consistent in regular use. The 10,050 mAh battery is a strong addition and comfortably supports long streaming sessions or casual gaming without effort.
<h2>OnePlus Pad Go 2: A Tablet With Intent</h2>
The Pad Go 2 gives the impression of a product that has genuinely grown. The bigger screen, improved multitasking, cleaner design, stylus support and optional 5G come together nicely. It feels like an Android tablet that knows its place and is confident in it.
Pricing arrives on December 17 and if OnePlus keeps it under twenty thousand rupees, this could easily become one of the few Android tablets people buy for more than basic online classes. A full review with stylus testing, battery torture and some questionable drawings is on the way.

Realme Watch 5 review: design, AMOLED display, GPS, health tracking, Bluetooth calling, battery life and real-world performance tested under ₹5,000.

Realme Watch 5 Review: A Budget Smartwatch That Nails the Basics Under ₹5,000

We tested the Realme Watch 5 as a daily driver to see if this budget smartwatch actually lives up to its promises. From design and 1.97-inch AMOLED display to GPS accuracy, 108 sports modes, health tracking, Bluetooth calling, NFC and battery life, here’s how it performs in real-world use under ₹5,000 in India.

<h3>Realme Watch 5 delivers a big AMOLED display, built-in GPS, Bluetooth calling, strong health tracking and long battery life under ₹5,000, making it one of the most balanced budget smartwatches you can buy.</h3>

Shopping for a budget smartwatch honestly feels annoying half the time. One has good features but looks ugly, another looks decent but the battery barely lasts, and some just feel like plastic toys on your wrist. You keep thinking, &ldquo;Yeah okay, this one will do,&rdquo; instead of actually liking what you bought.
So when I picked up the Realme Watch 5, I was already doubtful. It&rsquo;s under ₹5,000, yet it talks big game: GPS, a large AMOLED screen, calling, etc.&nbsp;
I&rsquo;ve been wearing it every day, taking some calls on it, tracking random workouts, and mostly just trying to see if it actually holds up&hellip; or if it&rsquo;s just another watch that looks good in the ads and falls apart in real life.
<h2>Design &amp; Build Quality</h2>
When I first took the <a title="Realme Watch 5 First Look: Inside the factory where It&rsquo;s Made in India" href="https://www.editorji.com/tech-news/mobiles/realme-watch-5-first-look-inside-the-factory-where-it-s-made-in-india-1764849369577" target="_blank">realme Watch 5</a> out of the box, my immediate thought was, this doesn&rsquo;t look like one of budget smartwatches.&nbsp;
Yes, the body is plastic, but the metallic finish on it hides that really well. It actually gives off a slightly premium vibe in hand. The crown of aluminium alloy on the side is a nice touch too. It clicks well, doesn&rsquo;t feel loose, and honestly makes the watch feel more &ldquo;serious&rdquo; than most budget ones.
The straps are 22mm and easy to change, which is always a win. There&rsquo;s this wave-like pattern on them that looks cool up close. Comfort-wise, no complaints. They sit nicely on the wrist even after long hours. Do they feel luxurious, supple and soft? Nope. But at this price, I really wasn&rsquo;t expecting that anyway.
I&rsquo;ve been wearing it daily, normal use, light workouts, quick walks outside, and it hasn&rsquo;t felt fragile at all. I even managed to get the watch by a garden sprinkler once and it didn&rsquo;t care. Since it&rsquo;s IP68 rated, water and sweat aren&rsquo;t really things you need to overthink.
<h2>Display</h2>
The screen on the Watch 5 is pretty big. Like, you notice it immediately, that big. It&rsquo;s a 1.97-inch AMOLED panel and for a watch in this range, it actually feels kind of overkill in a good way.&nbsp;
Watch faces look bright, text is clear, and even small notifications are easy to read without bringing the watch right up to your face. I&rsquo;ve used it outdoors too, and the brightness is good enough that you&rsquo;re not fighting reflections all the time.
It&rsquo;s also pretty smooth in day-to-day use, thanks to the 60Hz refresh rate, and the Always-On Display is useful when you just want to glance at the time without tapping the screen.&nbsp;
One thing I genuinely wish it had though is auto brightness. You have to set the brightness yourself, and sometimes you forget until the lighting changes. It&rsquo;s a small miss, not a deal-breaker. Once you dial it in, the display just quietly does its job, whether you&rsquo;re working out, walking outside, or just checking the time.
<h2>Comfort &amp; Fit</h2>
Comfort is actually one of the nicer surprises with the Watch 5. It&rsquo;s light enough that after some time, you honestly forget you&rsquo;re even wearing it. The strap can be removed too, so if you ever feel like switching to a softer one or something that looks more premium, you can easily do that.
Out of the box, though, it&rsquo;s already pretty comfortable. I wore it for long hours without that tight or irritating feeling you sometimes get with budget watches. I even used it while sleeping for a couple of nights, and it didn&rsquo;t feel bulky or awkward on the wrist.
So yeah, if you&rsquo;re someone who plans to keep the watch on all day, for steps, workouts, sleep tracking, everything, the comfort part really won&rsquo;t be an issue.
<h2>UI &amp; Performance</h2>
The Watch 5 doesn&rsquo;t go overboard with apps or extra stuff, and honestly, that&rsquo;s probably a good thing. It keeps things simple. To connect it with your phone, you&rsquo;ll need the <a title="Realme GT 8 Pro Dream Edition: Premium or Just Racing Paint? Full Review " href="https://www.editorji.com/tech-news/gadget-review/realme-gt-8-pro-dream-edition-premium-or-just-racing-paint-full-review-1763976339687" target="_blank">Realme</a> Link app, &nbsp;and yeah, just make sure it&rsquo;s updated or the pairing can get annoying sometimes.
Once everything is set up, the watch feels smooth in day-to-day use. Swiping through menus, changing watch faces, starting your workouts, checking health stats, all of that feels quick and doesn&rsquo;t make you wait around.
I&rsquo;ve used budget smartwatches in the past where the UI felt slow and awkward all the time, but this one doesn&rsquo;t have that issue. It&rsquo;s not fancy, it&rsquo;s not trying to impress you with animations, it just does what it&rsquo;s supposed to do&hellip; and that&rsquo;s actually a good thing here.
<h2>Features Overview</h2>
For the price Realme is asking, the Watch 5 honestly feels loaded with features. You&rsquo;ve got built-in GPS, a crazy number of workout modes, Bluetooth calling, NFC, and a whole pile of watch faces to choose from. If you like switching up your watch look every few days, you&rsquo;re sorted for a long time.
On top of that, all the regular smartwatch stuff is here too, like &nbsp;music controls, alarms, a compass, breathing exercises, even camera controls. Nothing fancy or over-the-top, but all the basics people actually use on a daily basis are covered.
<h2>Health Tracking Features</h2>
On the health side, the Watch 5 pretty much ticks all the expected boxes. It tracks heart rate, blood oxygen, sleep, stress levels, and even offers menstrual cycle tracking for women. You also get VO₂ Max estimates and auto workout detection, which is handy when you forget to start tracking manually. I personally like the move around prompt it gives, a small reminder if you spend more time sitting at one place.
So it&rsquo;s clearly not just meant for seeing notifications and counting steps. You can use it properly for daily fitness tracking, sleep monitoring, and keeping a general check on your health without needing anything extra.&nbsp;
<h2>Accuracy of Health &amp; Fitness Tracking</h2>
Let&rsquo;s be clear about one thing first, you should not be using any smartwatch, including this one, as a medical device. None of them are officially meant for that, and this isn&rsquo;t either.
That said, from my own use, the Watch 5 was actually pretty close to being accurate most of the time. Since it has proper GPS and all the usual sensors, the numbers it shows feel way more believable than those really cheap watches that just spit out random data.
Steps looked fine, heart rate readings didn&rsquo;t feel off, and workout stats stayed within a normal range. Outdoor tracking also felt better because of the GPS, you can tell the difference when you&rsquo;ve used non-GPS watches before.
Still, at the end of the day, it&rsquo;s just a watch sitting on your wrist. Don&rsquo;t expect hospital-level accuracy. But for normal stuff like walking, running, gym workouts, cycling, and keeping a rough idea of your activity and health, it does a decent enough job to be useful.
<h2>GPS Performance</h2>
The built-in GPS is honestly one of the biggest highlights of the Watch 5. You can head out for a run, walk, or cycling session without carrying your phone, and the watch will still record your route and distance properly, and by proper I mean the exact path and route you took.
For anyone who prefers outdoor workouts, this is a big plus. A lot of budget watches either skip GPS altogether or mess it up badly, this one actually does the job well enough to rely on.
<h2>Sports Modes &amp; Workouts (108 Sports Modes)</h2>
With 108 workout modes, the Watch 5 tries to cover just about everything, from basic stuff like walking, running, gym workouts, yoga, and cycling to more specific activities like water sports too.&nbsp;
Realistically, most people won&rsquo;t use even half of these, but it&rsquo;s still nice to know the options are there. But, If you switch between different workouts or just want simple tracking without too much setup, this much variety is more than enough for everyday use.
Pro tip here although the watch is IP68 and has many water sports modes included such as surfing and motorboating, I would advise not to take it for swimming as you don&rsquo;t get that option in the entire list.
<h2>Bluetooth Calling &amp; NFC</h2>
Bluetooth calling is one of those features that sounds small on paper but turns out to be really useful. You can take calls directly from the watch when your phone is in your pocket or across the room. The sound quality isn&rsquo;t mind-blowing, but for quick calls, it works fine.
NFC is also listed as a feature, which can be used for smart card scanning or related tools depending on how it&rsquo;s supported in your region. Honestly in my case it was of no use, so I can't comment on how better it works.
But, together, these features push the Watch 5 beyond just being a fitness tracker and place it in that &ldquo;lite-smartwatch&rdquo; category that can handle small daily tasks too.
<h2>Battery life &amp; charging</h2>
Realme says the Watch 5 can last up to 16 days on normal use and even stretch to 20 days in Light Smart Mode. On paper, that sounds crazy good, especially with a 460mAh battery in this price range. For most people, that basically means you can forget about charging it for a couple of weeks.
Now, coming to my real-world use, the charging speed is not fast. It took a little more than two hours to go from low to full, even when I plugged it into an 80W fast charger. The drain, though, is pretty controlled. I used the watch heavily for three straight days and it dropped around 30% battery. So yeah, I&rsquo;m a bit doubtful about the full 16-day claim with heavy usage.
That said, if your use is light, just steps, notifications, and basic tracking, the battery drop slows down a lot. So the long backup Realme talks about does make sense in that kind of usage.
<h2>Final Verdict: Should you buy it?</h2>
If you&rsquo;re in the market for an affordable smartwatch under ₹5,000 that looks good, lasts long, and does more than just show notifications the Realme Watch 5 is a very strong contender.
It combines the features (GPS, health tracking, calling, NFC, many sports modes) that usually cost much more, with a build and display that feel premium. For fitness enthusiasts, casual users, everyday wear, or those wanting an entry-level &ldquo;smartwatch&rdquo; without spending big, the Watch 5 brings balanced value.
In short: Realme Watch 5 punches above its price, a smart buy for value-conscious users seeking full-featured smartwatch capabilities.

Realme P4x combines a premium build, 144Hz LCD screen, Dimensity 7400-Ultra performance, and a huge 7000mAh battery for long runtime.

Realme P4x Review: Premium design, dependable performance, but is it worth?

<h3>Realme P4x delivers strong battery life, steady performance, a premium feel, and a 144Hz LCD display that confuses a little.</h3>

Realme has launched the P4x in a segment that is overtly saturated and brands, in order to stand out, experiment quite a bit. This one though, one feels a little different. It looks simplistic, but far more premium than its price suggests, leans heavily on battery endurance, and delivers surprisingly steady performance for everyday use and mid-tier gaming, especially for a device that starts at ₹15,499.
On top of that you get a 144Hz display which is pretty rare even in the mid-range segment. But then, Realme decided to use an LCD panel for that.
During the two weeks I was testing the P4x, the device kept swinging between impressive value and soome head-scratching decisions, that Realme has taken with this one.&nbsp;
I take a closer look at where the P4x &nbsp;shines, where it stumbles, and whether it actually deserves your money.
<h2>Realme P4x Review: Design</h2>
The first thing that hit me when I picked up the Realme P4x was how closely it resembles the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, especially that raised pill-shaped camera island. Testing the Matte Silver variant only amplified the d&eacute;j&agrave; vu.
At this price, brands usually try something quirky with materials, but Realme has gone with a mostly polycarbonate body and very flat panels. Honestly, it works. The phone looks far more premium than its materials suggest, and the matte finish on this Silver unit handles fingerprints and grime exceptionally well. It adds a calm, clean vibe that feels intentional rather than cost-cutting.
The downside is that those flat polycarbonate sides and sharper edges make the phone slippery. If you have smaller hands, it becomes even trickier to grip securely. Using a case is pretty much non-negotiable, and Realme thankfully includes a TPU one in the box.
Despite the plastic build, the Realme P4x weighs 208 grams and feels surprisingly dense, almost brick-like in a reassuring way. Its 8.39 mm thickness contributes to that solid, sturdy feel. What doesn&rsquo;t feel as sturdy are the bezels. They&rsquo;re thick by 2025 standards, especially the bottom chin, but at this price, it&rsquo;s hard to complain too much.
In terms of protection, you get an IP64 rating, which is acceptable for the segment, though some rivals do offer better. What&rsquo;s odd is Realme staying quiet about the front glass. Online reports suggest a KK panel instead of Corning protection, which is an unusual place to cut costs.
Everything else sits where it should: power and volume buttons on the right, USB-C port, hybrid SIM tray and speaker grille at the bottom.
For a phone starting at ₹15,999, the Realme P4x looks and feels far more premium than most competitors in its bracket.
<h2>Realme P4x Review: Display &amp; Speakers</h2>
The display is where the Realme P4x starts getting a little puzzling. On the surface, a Full HD panel at this price is perfectly acceptable, even for the top-end variant. Things get complicated when you see Realme has gone with an IPS LCD panel. For the base model, that&rsquo;s fine. For the price of the top-end variant, things feel a bit murky, because competitors do offer AMOLED displays at that price.
Then comes the strangest part of the entire setup: the refresh rate. Yes, technically, the phone supports 144Hz, but the phone doesn&rsquo;t really use it. During my tests, the only apps that consistently hit 144Hz were the calculator and the voice recorder, which absolutely must have ultra-fast refresh rates, obviously.&nbsp;
Jokes aside, the fact that even navigating the UI doesn&rsquo;t trigger 144Hz is genuinely disappointing. It feels like wasted potential rather than a meaningful feature.
In day-to-day use, the display is still pretty good actually. Text and images look sharp enough for casual viewing, and the colours hold up well for an LCD. You don&rsquo;t get the punch, contrast or depth you&rsquo;d expect from AMOLED, but that&rsquo;s the nature of the panel.&nbsp;
Brightness is also limited. The screen tops out at 1000 nits (HBM), which is fine indoors but starts struggling under strong sunlight. I often found myself hunting for shade just to see what was on the screen.
As for the speakers, Realme does give you a stereo setup, which is a win at this price. The performance, though, is average. They get loud, but there&rsquo;s no real richness or tonal character. They&rsquo;re perfectly serviceable for reels, shorts or the quick YouTube scroll, but for movies or long OTT sessions, they sound a bit flat.
<h2>Realme P4x Review: Performance</h2>
The Realme P4x runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 7400-Ultra, and the performance story is a mixed but mostly positive one. The base variant starts with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of UFS 3.1 storage, and goes up to 8GB of RAM with a generous 256GB of storage.&nbsp;
Realme&rsquo;s decision to use UFS 3.1 instead of the usual UFS 2.2 at this price deserves real credit. You also have the option to use a microSD card and expand your storage. What doesn&rsquo;t earn the same applause is starting the RAM at 6GB in 2025.&nbsp;
In everyday use, though, the P4x holds its own. Apps open quickly, animations stay smooth, and the UI feels surprisingly responsive for a phone in this segment. Across my testing period, I didn&rsquo;t run into stutters, dropped frames, or any noticeable slowdowns. It behaves exactly the way a budget device should behave, but not always does.
Budget phones rarely deliver impressive benchmark scores, and the P4x doesn&rsquo;t suddenly break that pattern. We still ran the usual set just to see what would happen, and the results were more than acceptable for the price. In fact, in Antutu, our unit managed to outscore what Realme claims about the P4x in their own marketing materials.
Gaming is where things get a little more interesting. The P4x has a 144Hz display, but none of the popular mobile titles like BGMI or Call of Duty Mobile touch that number. They don&rsquo;t even hit 120FPS. Both max out at 90FPS, and even then, the display refuses to switch to 120Hz during gameplay. It&rsquo;s an odd limitation that makes the 144Hz spec feel more decorative than practical.
Despite this, the actual gaming experience was solid. During my sessions with BGMI and CoD:M, frame rates stayed consistently between 87&ndash;90FPS for over half an hour. Thermal performance was also surprisingly controlled. The device warmed up during long sessions and during benchmarks, but never to an uncomfortable or alarming level. Realme credits this to using the largest vapour chamber in its segment.
Overall, the P4x delivers steady, reliable performance with a cooling system that genuinely works, even if the 144Hz story still feels unfinished.
<h2>Realme P4x Review: Cameras</h2>
Phones in this price bracket almost always compromise on cameras, and the P4x follows the same pattern. At first glance, the rear module looks like a triple-camera setup, but you actually get just two cameras: a 50MP main sensor and a 2MP secondary unit that exists purely for symmetry. It adds nothing to image quality and is essentially wasted space.
The 50MP main camera did a good job for me in bright, outdoor conditions. Colours looked mostly accurate, details came through well, and the images felt reliable. I did notice the processing getting a bit overeager at times, especially with textures and fine patterns, but nothing deal-breaking.
At 2X, the weaknesses show immediately. I lost a lot of detail, and while the colours were still okay, the images were just about good enough for casual use. Nothing more.
Low-light shots were acceptable as long as I kept expectations realistic. Noise definitely creeps in, especially in dim indoor scenes, and shadows tend to get mushy. But honestly, this is the standard story for phones in this price band.
The 8MP selfie camera felt like a downgrade when I compared it to what competitors offer. Even so, the selfies I took looked fairly natural. Skin tones were handled well, though textures were noticeably smoothed out and overall sharpness wasn&rsquo;t great.
For video, I could shoot up to 4K 30fps, which is impressive at this price. Colours and dynamic range were solid, but without OIS, stability definitely suffers.
<h2>Realme P4x Review: Software and UI</h2>
The Realme P4x runs Android 15 with Realme UI 6 on top, and Realme has sprinkled AI features all over the place. I spotted them inside the Gallery, Notes, Sound Recorder, Camera, and even in system-wide tools like AI Smart Loop. There are also plenty of lock-screen customisation options, plus a Live Alerts feature that behaves a lot like Apple&rsquo;s Dynamic Island.
That said, I&rsquo;m still not a big fan of Realme UI 6 on budget phones. The interface looks dated and a bit clunky, and the amount of bloatware continues to be a major pain point. What bothered me even more were the constant, unnecessary notifications that kept popping up throughout the day. It all adds to an experience that feels unnecessarily noisy.
For software support, Realme promises two years of OS updates and three years of security patches. It doesn&rsquo;t sound like much, but it&rsquo;s standard for this price segment.
<h2>Realme P4x Review: Battery &amp; Charging</h2>
Battery life is &nbsp;is easily one of the P4x&rsquo;s strongest areas. The 7000mAh battery is massive, and because the phone uses a fairly light SoC along with an FHD+ LCD panel, the system never really demands too much power. In my testing, I was consistently getting two full days of use without even thinking about a charger. If you&rsquo;re smart with it, you can even push it to three.
My screen-on time usually sat between 8 hours 30 minutes and 9 hours on a single charge, which is seriously impressive for a phone at this price.
Charging is handled through 45W wired fast charging, and Realme thankfully includes a 45W charger in the box. Now, 45W isn&rsquo;t blazing fast by today&rsquo;s standards, but given the huge 7000mAh capacity, I wasn&rsquo;t expecting miracles anyway. From zero to full, it took me around an hour and a half, which felt reasonable considering the size of the battery.
<h2>Realme P4x Review: Verdict</h2>
The Realme P4x isn&rsquo;t your typical budget phone &mdash; it feels like it&rsquo;s aiming just a bit higher. Performance is where it really shows off, consistently hitting 90FPS in BGMI and CoD:M, and handling daily tasks without any stutters. The cameras won&rsquo;t blow you away, but they&rsquo;re more than dependable for what you&rsquo;re paying.
But then the phone makes a few odd choices. The biggest one is the 144Hz display. What&rsquo;s the point of having it when barely any pre-installed apps &mdash; or even the most popular games &mdash; can't take advantage of it? It feels like a spec added for the sheet rather than real-world use.
What complicates things further is the competition. The P4x starts at ₹15,499 for the base 6GB variant. For just a little more money, the Nothing Phone 3a Lite gives you a better display and a better gaming experience. Even Realme&rsquo;s own P4 is a very capable alternative.
That said, if you want a phone that looks premium, feels great in the hand, lasts multiple days on a charge, and you don&rsquo;t mind an LCD panel, the P4x still stands as a solid option for the price.

Nothing Phone 3a Community Edition brings bold co-created design and rare collectability. See why this fan-built release stands out. Read the full story.

Nothing Phone 3a Community Edition ASMR Unboxing & First Look

A bold, fan-built version of the Nothing Phone 3a, the Phone 3 Community Edition is proper looker with it's translucent design, limited stock and a playful new accessory

When brands claim to &ldquo;co-create&rdquo; with their users, it usually means picking a colour or voting on a wallpaper. Nothing&rsquo;s Phone 3a Community Edition is the rare case where the company actually hands over the steering wheel. What began in March as an open call for fans, designers and developers turned into a full-blown, nine-month experiment where the community shaped the personality of the device from the ground up. On paper, it is a limited-edition run. In reality, it is a design project that escaped the usual marketing filter.
The result is strange in the best way. Playful, nostalgic and intentionally off-centre, it feels like someone took the Nothing design playbook and added scribbles, memories and bold colour notes.
<h2>Unboxing the Nothing Phone 3a Community Edition</h2>
The moment you pick it up, the difference is obvious. The box arrives in a turquoise sleeve with almost no branding. Pull it off and a minimal white box appears, carrying soft embossed outlines that echo the internals of the phone. It is very Nothing, but with a slightly more handcrafted vibe. The phone sits wrapped in paper instead of plastic, a small reminder of the brand&rsquo;s sustainability-first choices.
Inside, the essentials stay familiar. A USB-C to USB-C cable, paperwork, and the signature glass-bead SIM ejector tool slotted neatly in place. But the real moment happens when you lift the phone out of the tray.
The translucent turquoise back might be the boldest design Nothing has shipped to date. The matte finish throws you straight back into the early-2000s era of curious transparent gadgets. It has an emotional pull without crossing into kitsch. It feels like an object with history rather than a product chasing nostalgia for effect. The pops of colour around the body only sharpen that feeling. A soft pink ring sits around the flash, the rear mic picks up a bright yellow accent and the essential key switches to glossy pink. None of this exists on the regular Phone 3a. This device is built for people who like personality to be visible from a distance.
Alongside the phone, Nothing is introducing a new accessory for 2025 called Dice. It fits right into their minimal universe. All six sides have numbers styled in the brand&rsquo;s Ndot 55 font, giving a classic object a clean, digital twist. Ambrogio Tacconi and Louis Aymonod from Reveland created the concept and refined it with Nothing&rsquo;s internal team.
<h2>Why this edition feels different</h2>
The overarching theme, Translucent Memories, comes from London-based industrial designer Emre Kayganaci. The idea was to bring back the curiosity that older transparent tech used to trigger. Because the visual direction and detailing were shaped by contributors instead of a boardroom, the phone ends up feeling more expressive than anything Nothing usually ships. The core identity stays untouched. The glyph interface works exactly like the standard Phone 3a. What changes is the attitude.
<h2>Specs, price and how to grab one for yourself</h2>
The Community Edition uses the same hardware as the regular Phone 3a and comes only in the 12 GB RAM and 256 GB storage option. Production is capped at 1,000 units globally. In India, it is priced at ₹28,999 and will be available only through a one-day offline drop on 13 December 2025 at 33&amp;Brew, Prestige Technostar, Doddanakundi Industrial Area 2, Phase 1, Brookefield, Bengaluru between 2 PM and 6 PM IST.

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