Realme GT 7 Pro Review: Does (Almost) Everything
Nov. 26, 2024Beebom Score
But, is Realme’s latest GT only about raw performance or there’s more to this sleek device? I’ve been lucky enough to spend a week with the phone, putting its capabilities to the test. Does it live up to the hype? Find out in this detailed Realme GT 7 Pro review of mine!
I think we all expected the Realme GT 7 Pro to be an absolute performance monster. And it is, courtesy of the Snapdragon 8 Elite. Also, I have with me the top model packing 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage.
Now, as soon as I took the device out of the box and set it up, I went straight for the real deal and ran the benchmarks. Although I wasn’t able to hit 3 million on AnTuTu,2,759,190 pointsis quite the mind-boggling peak. After running five different instances of AnTuTu, the score averaged out at2,641,387 points.
The custom Oryon core of the Snapdragon 8 Elite is a superstar indeed. And that shows in the Geekbench 6 test as well. While theA18 Prostill manages to stay ahead in the single-core test, the Snapdragon 8 Elite annihilates everyone in themulti-coretest, with an average of9116 pointsdrawn from four Geekbench runs. That’s higher than the Dimensity 9400 as well, which can’t hit the 9000 mark.
However, do note that the Dimensity 9400’s Immortalis-G925 GPU reigns supreme by a margin over the 8 Elite’s Adreno 830 GPU. I also noticed how the Snapdragon 8 Elitemaintains steady thermalsthroughout, while the Dimensity 9400 graph is rather unstable. But, that could also be due to the Vivo X200 Pro Mini’s (first impressions) smaller body. That’s all I have to go on for now. With that said, here’s a quick rundown of the benchmarks:
As expected, the gaming experience on the Realme GT 7 Pro is top-notch as well. I did my CoD Mobile rank push on it and I have grown a little too fond of the experience. After about 2.5 hours of playing CoDm, the phone barely even got warm in an AC room, lingering around the38-degreetemperature.
There are quite a few performance-boosting features as well with the newGT Mode 2.0. I usedframe interpolationwith the newFrame Plusfeature. It delivered a very stable 120FPS in not just CoD Mobile, but BGMI as well as Genshin Impact. There’s also the option to use anAI Super Resolutionor UHD Graphics in Genshin Impact. This makes the details sharper and the game is a lot more enjoyable this way. It didn’t cause any frame drops either, which is great.
I’ve never really been into Genshin Impact and always end up testing it for not more than 30 minutes. But, I started having a little too much fun and finally got a lot of it in. Thanks to all the game tech this title supports, this is easily the smoothest experience I’ve had with it on any phone so far. Can’t wait to play it on theiQOO 13though.
Additionally, there’sHyper HDRwhich is supported by only CoD Mobile and Genshin Impact, at the time of writing. It slightly enhances the light reflections, much like Ray Tracing. That’s about it. On top of all that, there’s also Network Optimization as well as Dark Enhancement and Visual Beautification at your disposal. It was all good till Inoticed some game adsat the top of the features, tapping on which only displays more ads. Humph.
I also got some Warzone Mobile in and it ran ever so smoothly, delivering a consistent 60FPS. With that said, here’s a look at the maximum settings I got out of the games:GamesSettingsGenshin ImpactHighest Settings + 60FPS (120FPS with Frame Plus)CoD MobileMax Graphics = Max + MaxMax Framerate = Medium + Ultra (120FPS in Multiplayer, 90FPS in Battle Royale)BGMIMax Graphics = Ultra HDR + UltraMax Framerate = Smooth + Extreme + 90FPS (120FPS with Frame Plus)Warzone MobilePeak + Uncapped (60FPS)
This is my first hands-on experience with a Snapdragon 8 Elite phone. And I feel both blessed and cursed at the same time. The Realme GT 7 Pro has bewitched and left me spoiled to the point that I don’t know how I’ll go back to using my humble OnePlus 11R. A phone this powerful obviously didn’t leave any room for complaints in daily usage either. I have gone high and low to push it to its limits but to no avail.
The Realme GT 7 Pro has one of the best RAM management I have seen on any phone. CoD Mobile has nasty restart issues, and that’s where only phones with the best RAM management truly shine. I have tested phones out where even a quick in and out of the game to reply to a text has it restart and me getting a ranked match penalty.
But, there was an instance where I hadover 20 apps runningin the background alongside CoD Mobile and when I got into the game 10 or so hours later, it resumed right from the lobby. Almost 15 or so apps didn’t restart either, which is incredible.
Realme doesn’t have to go above and beyond on box contents because they’ve always been pretty generous about it. The Realme GT 7 Pro is no different and you get it all in the box, from a 120W brick and USB Type-C-to-C, to a good quality silicone case and the SIM ejector tool. Oh, of course, also the obligatory paperwork that inevitably goes unread.
As for the unit itself, I have with me theMars Explorer Editionand it looks exactly how it sounds. It’s somewhere in between bronze and orange and features flowing patterns that resemble the red planet. While the back panel is a lighter shade, the sides are darker and have this chocolaty look that I really adore.
The volume button and power rockers are quite clicky and premium with barely any wobbling. Everything’s matted out as well and the phone feels as velvety as a tuxedo. And, yes, it’s slippery, and I had some near-drop experiences that made me slap on the cover and keep it that way.
The phone is also theright amount of both boxy and curved. Bonus points to the camera module placement at the back for keeping the phone steady on a table. This module itself adheres to the theme and reminds me of a Mars Rover’s head. TheHyperimage+branding could have been gotten rid of though.Image Credit: Beebom
Overall, the in-hand feel is quite something, which is only further complimented by the quad-curved display at the front. Besides, the Realme GT 7 Pro’s6.78-inch LTPO 120Hz OLED displayis pretty and bright. Also, this isSamsung’s Eco2 panelthat flagships like theGalaxy Z Fold 6use. Moreover, what I like about this display is that it doesn’t go all out on the curvature.
However, out of the box, I wasn’t particularly fond of the default color scheme and could instantly tell that it needed a little more color. So, I went into settings and set up aCustom color scheme. That’s because I’m very particular about my display tuning, but if you don’t want to get into all that, the Vivid mode is good too.
Anyway, talking about the display quality itself, being theDolby VisionandHDR10+tuned panel that it is, the color reproduction is solid. Apparently, there’s DCI-P3 and DC Dimming too, as per some marketing materials. You don’t see much saturation here either, andevery shade is mostly true to life. I finally gave in to the peer pressure and binge-watchedChainsaw Manon this display and it’s honestly not that big a cut above the Realme GT 6 (review) or 6T (review), and that’s great because those two phones have the best displays in their respective segments.
Realme claims the same 6000 nits of peak brightness as well, and the Lux Meter we have at the office gave us an impressive2,750 nits, which is again similar to the GT 6 series. Although that already translates to amazing visibility both indoors and outdoors, you can also toggle onExtra brightnessin the Display & brightness settings to unlock a new level of peak.Image Credit: Beebom
That further pushes the brightness levels in manual mode to a new height for when you really need that extra boost. However, I never found the need to toggle it on, probably due to foggy Winters here in Noida. I did come across this bug with the auto brightness mode where it would have a tough time setting itself, which was fixed via a software update (more on this later). The screen is not that reflective either and while I could still manage to set my hair when needed, it doesn’t interfere with the viewing experience.
Now comes the small complaint I have with the multimedia experience. While it’s a solid display accompanied by dual stereo speakers, the latter could have been better. The audio separation and slight crackling in the highest volume are the issues here. Nothing too major though, and I still didn’t find the need to use earphones.
Also, the display usesGorilla Glass 7i, which is a 7th-generation glass protection like the Victus. Meanwhile, the rear panel takes to Panda Glass protection. So, I wouldn’t mind dropping it a few times, although you may not want to try it at home. Realme has also thrown anIP68/IP69 ratinginto the mix, making it quite the durable device altogether.
Yes, the UI feels smoother and theparallel animationsmake it a more continuous experience, but nothing to make you learn things all over again. Oh, and the new “About Phone” page looks nice. If you’re a new user, you will appreciate the UI anyway, because it’squite clean. In terms of bloat, apart from Realme’s own App Market, Music app, ORoaming, and those two Game centers, you see Netflix and Zen Space, both of which can be uninstalled.
Also, as always, Realme UI 6.0 borrows most of theOxygen OS 15’s features, and it’s the Lock Screen customizations that won me over. I love the newdepth effectcoupled with a variety ofnew clock stylesas well as the transition into the AOD which sure does look cool.
The Quick Setting toggles are more rounded off this time around, making it resembleiOS 18’stoggles, big time. Then there’s the Realme-centric AI Smart Loop which recognizes a screenshot and lets you share it to relevant platforms, which is very helpful. Additionally, there’s the OxygenOS borrowed File Dock and Recent Files in the Sidebar which I’ve gotten a little too used to.
However, the sidebar now also features a AI Doodle toggle which takes you to theAI Sketch to Imagefeature. Yep, very similar to the one found on Samsung’s latest flagships. I gave it a try and found out that you get 10 AI credits to make use of. You can also use the feature in AI Editor to further alter images, much like I did with thePixel’s Reimaginein the Magic Editor. Albeit, not nearly as scary. Anyway, behold my masterpiece:
In addition to that, there’s also the newAI Studio. It offers a bunch of different templates like those AI headshot generators which give you cool new looks. I ended up having a little too much fun with it, going from a very corporate Sagnik that made me want to complete my deadlines to a ripped Sagnik which inspired me to work out.
Then there are the existing AI Eraser and AI Ultra Clarity features paired up with a new option toUnbluror remove motion blur from images, and it all works pretty well.
Overall, my daily experience with the Realme GT 7 Pro was phenomenal with the new Realme UI 6.0, thanks to encountering barely any bugs. The new features, subtle changes in aesthetics as well as parallel animations just make it a very pleasant experience.
Also, the phone is backed by3 years of major OS updatesand4 years of security patches.
The Realme GT 7 Pro’s cameras won’t take you aback for it’s quite the normal setup. There’s theprimary 50MP Sony IMX 906followed by a50MP Sony IMX 882 telephoto, as well as an8MP Sony IMX 355 ultrawide.
Talking about the daytime shots first, the primary sensor is quite capable and captures a high level of detail. For example, if you take a look at the shots of foliage and branches of the trees down below, you will see howwell-definedthey are. However, I did feel that thesharpness wasn’t consistentthroughout and some areas could use some more.
Thecolors, although natural, seem slightly mutedfor some reason. Now, this could either be due to the overcast sky here these days or simply a case of dull color vibrancy.Dynamic range is decentas well and details in both shadows and highlights are captured well. However, when I tried manually boosting the contrast, they came to life. Also, the foreground and background separation is good as well.
Human subjects are captured better, and theskin tones are naturalenough. The primary and telephoto canpreserve a lot of details. You can zoom in to view finer details like skin and hair texture.
Meanwhile, the telephoto could use some optimization as I have noticed it smudging out the details at times. While other times, it captures them well. And, I think we can leave the ultrawide out of this conversation for it’s about as good as a dummy sensor. But, that’s expected from such ultrawide sensors.
What I did like, however, is that there’s little tono color disparitybetween the sensors. It’s the same at night as well, and you can see all three sensors even capturing light sources well, keeping ambient occlusion at bay. Details take a bit of a hit, but there’s no distracting noise as such.
Thefront 16MP Sony IMX 480is quite nice and doesn’t disappoint. Selfies turn up great and the skin tones are mostly natural. However, just like the primary setup, at times I couldn’t help but feel that colors could really use a push. Apart from that, depth mapping and edge detection are very good too.
As for videos, the Realme GT 7 Pro’s primary and telephoto sensors canshoot up to 4K 60FPSvideos. On the other hand, the ultrawide is limited to 1080p 30FPS. The front sensor, on the contrary, is limited to 1080p 60FPS. But, I’m guessing that 4K 60FPS could arrive to the selfie shooter later on, especially since the Realme GT 6 series sports that as well.
The videos are nice and not as shaky, thanks to OIS. However, there’s definitely some fine-tuning required here, which I’m guessing Realme will fix with future updates.
I will not ponder on the battery performance for too long. That’s because we’ve received a very early global unit of the phone which comes with a6,500mAhbattery. Meanwhile, some markets like India will see the phone launch with a much smaller 5,800mAh unit. So, my findings will understandably not reflect across all the variants.
However, speaking for this variant solely, it’s an absolute monster. I easily gotaround 1.5 days of backup on heavy usage. To give you a good sense of what I mean by heavy usage, I’m mostly on social media, binging on Netflix or Crunchyroll, watching some YouTube videos, and topping it off with around 3 hours of CoD Mobile.
And, using the in-the-box 120W adapter, I was able to charge the device fully from 13% in just 35 minutes.
The Realme GT 7 Pro is not just an incredible performer but also looks good while doing so. From the Snapdragon 8 Elite being one of the best (if not the best) mobile chipsets in the world right now, to the vibrant and bright display and a battery that just doesn’t die, it’s the perfect all-rounder you can ask for. While the camera sure does require improvements, it’s still more than enough for the casual shutterbug to get by.
Right now, this is a solid Snapdragon 8 Elite phone that you can get at this price point. While I’m guessing that the iQOO 13 will still be the cheapest 8 Elite device out there, so far, the Realme GT 7 Pro does seem like the better device, given the on-paper specs and my experience with it. Meanwhile, the OnePlus 13 is also incoming, and I can’t wait to get my hands on that.
All-in-all, we are entering a new era of mobile performance, and going by my experience with the Realme GT 7 Pro, we’re off to a great start!
Sagnik is a tech aficionado who can never say “no” to dipping his toes into unknown waters of tech or reviewing the latest gadgets. He is also a hardcore gamer, having played everything from Snake Xenzia to Dead Space Remake.
