Realme is back in the flagship game with the new GT 7 Pro. This is the most premium Realme smartphone to launch in India, starting at ₹59,999 for the base 12GB+256GB variant.
It is also the first Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered phone in India. So, is this also the best premium Android smartphone? Let's find out!
Realme GT 7 Pro Performance
Since this is the first smartphone with the Snapdragon 8 Elite, let’s talk about its raw performance.
I began with AnTuTu, where I was hoping to see that 3 million mark.
But, the GT 7 Pro scored 2.62 million, which is still approximately 24% better than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3's peak of 2.1 million.
It surprisingly scored a bit less with the performance-focused GT mode enabled. Also, enabling GT mode did reduce the battery life, without adding much to the performance, so I suggest keeping it disabled.
For GPU performance, the 3DMark Wildlife Extreme benchmark resulted in a peak score of 5893, which is lesser than the Dimensity 9400’s best score. However, the stability rating of the GT 7 Pro was quite impressive.
In a 30-minute BGMI gaming session at 90fps with ‘Smooth’ graphics, the phone showed no frame drops or overheating. It also ran smoothly at 40fps with ‘Ultra HDR’ graphics.
You also get frame rate interpolation which artificially boosts the game frame rate to up to 120fps and it works quite well.
Interestingly, while this phone did get quite hot during benchmark tests, it maintained respectable temperatures while gaming. So, thermal throttling shouldn't be much of an issue here.
Realme GT 7 Pro Design
Now, moving on to the design, the GT 7 Pro sports a fresh, bold look that I really like. The squarish camera island with its extended border, and subtle copper accent gives a distinctive look to this smartphone.
Then, this Galaxy Grey colourway of our review unit has a brushed metal texture and a matt finish which looks great. But, if you love bold and vibrant colours, the available Mars Orange option could be perfect for you.
The premium feel of the metal frame and glass back gives this smartphone a top-notch in-hand experience.
Realme GT 7 Pro Battery & Charging
This smartphone has a nice weighty feel to it, partly due to its high quality construction, and partly due to its big 5800mAh battery.
This is a silicon carbide battery with higher energy density than lithium ones, allowing for either a smaller battery with the same capacity or a larger capacity in the same size.
Therefore, the Realme GT 7 Pro packs stays decently slim at 8.55mm despite packing a big battery.
However, the Chinese unit of this smartphone has a 6,500mAh battery. Realme claims that they downsized the battery on the India unit due to regulatory issues, but still a difference of 700mAh is quite significant.
Still, 5800mAh is quite big by any standard so, a 9-hour+ screen time with mixed use can easily be achieved on this smartphone.
Plus, you still get that quick 120W fast charger in the box. It can fully charge this battery from 0-100 in around half an hour.
However, wireless charging is notably absent here, and it's an essential flagship feature that Realme shouldn't have skipped.
Realme GT 7 Pro Display & Utility
Good looks and big battery aside, the GT 7 Pro also gets the added durability with an IP69 rating and Gorilla Glass 7i protection for its display.
Then, it gets an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint scanner which worked quite well in my experience.
Talking of the display, it's a Samsung-made 6.78-inch LTPO OLED with a 120Hz refresh rate. It has a 120% DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage and delivers an astonishing peak brightness of 6500 nits when viewing HDR content.
But, in practical use, its 2000 nits brightness in high brightness mode still ensures it remains brilliantly visible, even in direct sunlight.
In case you haven’t already noticed, this display is not fully flat: it is micro curved on all 4 edges. This is a trend that we’re gonna see on a lot of Chinese flagship phones this year, and frankly, I’m not a big fan of it.
You see, traditional curved displays, despite being less practical, offer a premium look. On the other hand, fully flat displays prioritise practicality. These micro curves seem like an unnecessary addition which doesn't add much aesthetic or practical value to a smartphone.
Realme GT 7 Pro Software & AI
Coming to software, you get Realme UI 6 here, which, like always, is quite feature rich and works really well on this phone thanks to 16GB of RAM on my test unit. Bloatware has thankfully been kept in check on this phone, but the Glance lock screen still remains.
Realme has enhanced this phone’s software with a powerful AI suite, particularly for photo editing. There's also a new Samsung-like draw-to-image AI generator, but it's limited to 10 generations per day.
However, most of these AI features will not work without an internet connection.
I mean, what's the point of boasting about the latest and greatest chipset with powerful neural processors if everything is being processed online?
Anyway, the GT 7 Pro will get 3 OS updates and 4 security updates. Qulacomm is officially supporting the Snapdragon 8 Elite for 8 years, so Realme really needs to work on its update policy in this competitive market.
Realme GT 7 Pro Cameras
Finally, lets talk about those cameras. The GT 7 Pro packs 3 lenses at the back: a 50MP main, a 50MP 3x telephoto, and an 8MP ultrawide.
Please watch the video to see camera samples.
I really like how images from all sensors remain colour matched with true to life colours. I also found the photos taken by the main camera to be quite impressive with a good amount of detail and dynamic range. Nightime photos are fine but not quite flagship grade because of muted shadows.
Videos from the main sensor are not very impressive since the 4K 60fps footage is not stable enough, while 4K 30fps clips have a lot of noise. You can shoot 8K 24fps footage from this camera too, but I won’t recommend it.
The 50MP telephoto camera takes great portraits with nice bokeh drop off and accurate edge detection. But portraits come great only if there is ample light.
This sensor does not work in low light, which is typically a mid-range phone behaviour, and it should be fixed via an update. It also occasionally struggles with focusing on the subject.
The ultrawide is pretty good by 8MP sensor standards, as long as you give it enough light.
The 16MP front camera does a fine job by producing accurate skin tones and good dynamic range.
Realme GT 7 Pro Review
And there you have it, the Realme GT 7 Pro. It strikes a fine balance between performance, display quality, battery life, and design, making it an excellent choice for those who want a powerful phone without breaking the bank.
But, if you’re specifically looking for a camera phone, you may need to look elsewhere as its cameras, while solid, don't quite reach flagship levels.
Still, Realme has crafted a surprisingly premium package with the GT 7 Pro, marking a great comeback in the flagship game.
