Realme GT Neo 2 in Nepal: Pick it for more power if you are okay with so-so cameras

Realme GT Neo 2 is the latest smartphone from one of the fastest-growing smartphone companies, Realme.

The brand has been growing exponentially over the past few months. Not long ago, it was the fastest smartphone company to ship 100 million smartphone copies worldwide and now it has become a major force both globally and domestically. As of now, the brand covers the 3^rd largest market behind Samsung and Xiaomi in Nepal.

The company’s latest release is likely to heighten its reputation as this phone is a powerhouse and the price is justifiable as well in comparison to other 5G phones available in the market. Yet, there are some complaints about the cameras.

We have the phone in our hands and we tested almost everything about the phone and it was a good experience.

Let’s get into the details of the phone and see what it is offering to the users.

Specifications

What’s inside the box?

Starting with the packaging, you will receive:

• User’s manual
• Realme GT Neo 2
• 65W charger adapter
• USB Type-C Cable
• Sim ejector tool
• Matt black back cover

Design and display

Realme GT Neo 2 has a glass front build while the back and the frame are of plastic. In the neo black set we looked at, the matte finish not only looks good but also does not get smudged with fingerprints. The Realme logo on the back is also perfectly placed and is not annoying. The design has improved a lot compared to its predecessor. The phone weighs around 200 grams and is 8.6mm thick. There is an under-display fingerprint sensor on the phone and it is pretty fast.

There is a 6.62-inch E4 AMOLED display on the phone with a refresh rate of 120Hz and a touch sampling rate of 600Hz, which is probably the highest on the market at the moment. Along with a 92.60% screen to body ratio, the maximum resolution it gets is 1,080*2,400 pixels and can reach a peak brightness of up to 1300 nits.

Camera

Realme GT Neo 2 packs a triple camera setup on the back consisting of a 64MP main camera accompanied by an 8MP ultrawide and a 2MP macro sensor which is pretty common for this price range.  Realme used the same 64MP Sony IMX682 sensor, which is a common sight in this price segment as well. The main camera is accompanied by an 8MP 1/4.0″, f/2.3 aperture, no AF and a dedicated 2MP f/2.4 macro shooter with no AF as well.

The photos look good in daylight and under good lighting conditions. However, the photos start getting distorted as the light decreases. There is a night mode to reduce that issue and it does a fair job. There is also AI mode on the camera screen and when you switch to AI mode it automatically adjusts the colour and brightness of the picture you are about to take. There are also different modes on the camera. Starry mode, dual-video mode, time-lapse, Peo mode, Panorama, ultra macro mode and street mode where you can choose between 16mm to 120mm focal length.

The camera on the phone can also record videos in 4K resolution and it looks pretty good as well. It can record videos up to 60fps. It has vibrant colours, good contrast, plenty of detail and just average sharpness. The AI mode on the camera enhances the colour and everything else remains the same. It does a good job recording 4K videos.

At the front, there is a 16MP camera that can capture good photographs even during low lights and nighttime.

Performance and battery life

Performance is where Realme GT Neo 2 excels. Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 5G chipset, it runs on Android 11 with Realme UI 2.0 on top. With a powerful processor onboard, it provides an ultimate performance whether you are gaming or multitasking. The company also claims it will get up to three years of software updates.

You can enjoy your gaming even with the highest setting, without a stutter. One of the major performances of Realme GT Neo 2 performance is even when the phone heats after some period of gaming, the frame rate does not drop that visibly. Gaming is fun on this device as it supports most of the games in the highest setting, but not in the highest fps though the phone has enough power to support it. Switching between the apps is also effortless and no lags are found during the use.

All this high performance needs a huge battery backup, and Realme GT Neo 2 has provided that. The phone gets its power from a 5000mAh non-removable Li-Po battery. The battery backup is considered normal as most of the smartphones in this category provide the same. But, the commendable part of the battery is it supports a 65W SuperDart charge and it gets fully charged in under 36 minutes.

You can enjoy watching movies, have a gaming session and when you leave your phone on charge during the break, you have a fully charged phone when you return. This is really handy and incredible and you do not have to worry about the charge too much. With a single full charge, you can get 33 hours of call time, 88 hours of music playback, eight hours of gaming and 24 hours of video playback time.

Storage and connectivity

Realme GT Neo 2 comes with 8GB and 12GB RAM options onboard whereas there are 128GB and 256GB memory options. The phone does not support a microSD card.

The phone supports a 5G network and two nano sim cards. Other connectivity options include Wifi 6, Bluetooth 5.1, USB Type-C 2.0 and is also NFC enabled. There is no 3.5mm headphone jack on the phone, but the audio quality is impressive as the phone has Dolby Atmos Hi-Res Audio certification for dual speakers.

The price of Realme GT Neo 2 is Rs 54,199 for 8/128GB variant and Rs 60,999 for 12/256GB variant.

Verdict

Realme GT Neo 2 is a good smartphone, even great for gaming purposes. It has all the features to be labelled as a gaming smartphone. The phone has a high refresh rate display, 600Hz touch sampling rate, monstrous processor, a massive 5000mAh battery that can be fully charged in no time and even an eight-layer three-dimensional heat dissipation structure for cooling the phone when it gets heated. There are very minimal to no complaints about this phone in terms of performance.

The UI is also very simple to use and the high refresh rate makes it very smooth to use. You can also customise icon styles, app layout, fingerprint animation, colours, fonts and many more as you like on the phone.  Handling the phone is also no problem. The speakers are also good as they are set up by Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res Audio support.

The camera, however, is only basic on the phone and could have been better. The photos are inconsistent and are more saturated. The low light photos are fine as long as you don’t zoom them. The night mode on the phone also gives different outcomes each time and whenever another subject is added on the frame. However, the selfie camera is good. The phone even provides a bright light on the screen or a night mode when there is low light and the photos are good.

Except for the camera, there are no other complaints on the phone.

With this price range, it directly competes with OnePlus Nord 2 5G, Poco F3, Poco F3 GT and Samsung A52 5G, M52 5G. In terms of performance, Realme GT Neo 2 may have the upper hand, but it gets beaten in the camera section by its competitor. If you are looking for a power performer and can adjust with inferior cameras, Realme GT Neo 2 can be the best option for you.