Was realme caught faking their new narzo 50 smartphone’s gaming capabilities during the official launch event?!
Take a look at the video, and see if you spot the mistake they made!
realme Caught Faking narzo 50 Gameplay During Launch?!
The realme narzo 50 launch in India on 24 February 2022 involved a series of challenges to showcase its superiority over other smartphones.
To make the challenges look genuine, they had an e-sports streamer, Assassin Army, face off against realme India’s digital marketing officer, Rahul Kumar.
Unfortunately, a glitch in the Matrix derailed their plans, and revealed that they were apparently faking the narzo 50’s gameplay. See if you can spot the mistake they made in the video…
The “glitch” happened in Round 2, where both Assassin Army and Rahul Kumar had to try to “snipe” at each other in Garena Free Fire, without using a scope.
Assassin Army won this round, by being the first to shoot Rahul because “the display is so smooth and lag free that I got [it] in my first try!”
Rahul agreed, and explained that the “120 Hz refresh rate definitely would have helped“, because it is “double of what you get in a normal smartphone“.
The trouble is – just before Assassin Army cried out in victory, he appeared to accidentally trigger the Gallery app, showing that it was a pre-recorded video.
You can see that he triggered it at around 1:06 minute of the 11:55 minute long pre-recorded video. You can also see the Gallery app’s Pause, Share and Edit icons, as well as the navigation bar at the top.
If you look carefully at the lower left corner of the video, you can also see that they pre-recorded the session almost 2 weeks earlier – on 12 February 2022.
You would have thought that someone at realme would have noticed the mistake, and reshoot that segment. But fortunately for us, they missed it. Otherwise, we might never have realised that the gameplay was faked!
It’s hard to understand why realme would bother faking the narzo 50’s gameplay, since the whole event was scripted and pre-recorded. They could have recorded the actual gameplay, and edited the video.
Besides, the narzo 50 is a cheap mid-range smartphone that only costs Rs 12,999, which is roughly US$173 / £129 / A$240 / S$234 / RM 729. No one would mistake it for a “killer gaming smartphone”.
Before narzo 50, It Was The narzo 30A…
This isn’t the first time realme was caught faking a demo. Some of you may recall the narzo 30A scandal.
Less than a year ago, realme apparently used an Apple iPhone for their gaming demonstration during the official narzo 30A launch in Bangladesh!
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Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
realme fans are eagerly awaiting the launch of the GT Neo 2, but I can tell you right now – their Dynamic RAM Expansion technology is just marketing nonsense.
You may not agree with me, but hear me out…
realme Dynamic RAM Expansion : What Is It?
The realme Dynamic RAM Expansion technology is really just a fancy marketing term for good old virtual memory, which has been used in computers for decades.
Virtual memory is simple in concept – you reserve a portion of your hard disk drive or SSD, to use as computing memory. This virtual memory is much slower than actual RAM, but it’s basically “free”!
It’s now being introduced in smartphones as a way to give users additional memory for memory-intensive games or apps, using the internal flash storage (what many brands call “ROM”).
It’s a free feature for brands to add to their smartphones, so it is just a matter of time before virtual memory is part and parcel of all smartphones.
Virtual memory is a critical feature in modern operating systems for computers, and will eventually be standard in mobile operating system soon.
However, the Dynamic RAM Expansion feature realme is going to introduce in their upcoming GT Neo 2 smartphone is really just marketing nonsense.
You may have seen realme advertise this ahead of their launch – LARGEST DYNAMIC RAM EXPANSION IN INDUSTRY, as if that’s something to be proud of.
Searching for high performance that offers a variety of features in line with the latest technology?
The #realmeGTNeo2 is featuring the Largest Dynamic RAM Expansion (DRE) that helps expand the existing RAM of the phone.
realme is boasting about giving us 7 GB of virtual memory, on top of the 12 GB of RAM that the GT Neo 2 comes with. That’s a whopping 19 GB of memory. Sounds fantastic, right?
The truth is – this is just marketing nonsense.
Virtual Memory Is Slow
You will never see computer brands boast about using virtual memory. That’s because virtual memory is really SLOW.
LPDDR4x memory is 17X faster at reads and 28X faster in writes, than even ultra-fast UFS 3.1 flash storage. And there is additional latency involved in using virtual memory.
So it is nonsense to associate virtual memory with “high performance”. Real RAM is high performance, virtual memory is not high performance.
Virtual Memory Eats Into Flash Memory Lifespan
Virtual memory is free for brands to implement, but costs the user in the form of flash memory lifespan.
Flash memory only have a limited number of writes, before their cells start failing. So using the internal flash memory as virtual memory eats into its lifespan.
I certainly hope realme is not going to force the use of their DRE feature, just to prove that the GT Neo 2 is really giving you 7 GB of virtual memory. That would be colossally stupid, like cheating in a benchmark…
You will never see computer brands advertise that they offer the MOST VIRTUAL MEMORY IN THE INDUSTRY.
That’s because virtual RAM is a poor man’s RAM. You only use it because you CANNOT afford more RAM, not because it’s something AWESOME to use.
That’s why it is hilarious to see realme gloating about how much virtual memory the GT Neo 2 can provide. That’s basically signalling that the phone does not have enough memory, which isn’t even true!
If I were in charge of marketing, I would have gone with :
realme GT Neo 2 does NOT need VIRTUAL MEMORY, because you will never run out of memory with 12 GB of REAL MEMORY!
More RAM Than You Ever Need
realme should have focused on the fact that the GT Neo 2 comes with 12 GB of RAM, which is A LOT of memory for a smartphone. It is actually more memory than many laptops ship with today!
Most apps and games are designed to use 1-2 GB of RAM, with the ability to use an additional 1-2 GB of memory to cache assets.
It would be stupid to make a game that requires 8 GB or 12 GB of RAM, because it would limit how many people can actually play! That’s why AAA mobile games like PUBG Mobile and Asphalt 9 are designed to use less than 1.2 GB of RAM.
Generally, 6-8 GB of RAM is more than enough to run AAA mobile game titles without throttling their memory use.
With 12 GB of RAM, you can literally run multiple apps / games at the same time, without swapping assets.
Dynamic RAM Expansion : More Than Useless In realme GT Neo 2
It’s one thing to boast about 7 GB of virtual memory, if the realme GT Neo 2 only comes with 4 GB of RAM. It is nothing more than a marketing ploy for a smartphone with 12 GB of RAM.
In fact, I would consider the 7 GB Dynamic RAM Expansion feature to be MORE than useless in the realme GT Neo 2.
There is simply no real world use case for it, and enabling it will simply eat into the flash memory’s limited write cycles.
If realme wants to impress me when they launch the GT Neo 2, it would be to declare that there is an OFF switch for this useless feature.
And if you do purchase the realme GT Neo 2, take my advice – turn off Dynamic RAM Expansion.
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Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
This time, Realme is claiming that the video was pre-recorded due to “local pandemic control policy” and the A1 team sent them the wrong file.
They removed the livestream video, and will republish it after “the re-production is complete“.
Respecting and abiding by the local pandemic control policy, the narzo 30A launch video was planned to be recorded in advance. Additionally, the launch video involved a narzo 30A hands-on gaming video.
To ensure a better quality video output, the gaming part was recorded by our partner A1 Esports team and sent to the producer, post-recording.
Although the A1 team did use the narzo 30A smartphone for the recording of the gaming part, a wrong file was accidentally sent to the producer, which led to the appearance of a non-realme smartphone in the video.
In response to this issue, we have immediately contacted our A1 team partner to rectify the accident. We shall republish the video after the re-production is complete.
We sincerely apologize for any unanticipated impacts the incident may have caused. Your kind support to the brand is very much appreciated. Please stay tuned with realme for future updates.
We Examine The Realme narzo 30A – iPhone Claims
Going through Realme’s statement, we can’t help but feel troubled by a few “logical inconsistencies”…
Issue #1 : Local Pandemic Control Policy?
What local pandemic control policy? They arranged for three gamers to play PUBG Mobile side-by-side, and without face masks too!
Issue #2 : Pre-Recorded For Better Quality?
If the video was pre-recorded, why was there a need for the A1 team members to stand up there and “pretend play”?
If they were concerned about video quality, they should have just streamed the pre-recorded clip directly, instead of displaying it behind the A1 team members, as a large but pixelated video that lacked contrast.
Issue #3 : They Didn’t Check The Pre-Recorded Video?
What makes even less sense is the claim that the A1 esports team recorded their gameplay using the narzo 30A, but sent them the wrong file.
Why would the A1 esports team record their gameplay on an iPhone, as well as the narzo 30A? Didn’t Realme check the video they received, to make sure it was from their narzo 30A smartphone?
Which is more likely?
a) they accidentally triggered Guided Access during the livestream, or
b) the A1 team recorded the gameplay on an iPhone and narzo 30A, and accidentally sent Realme the wrong file, and Realme didn’t check their gameplay before streaming it onto the big screen?
You may recall that the Realme team blamed a bug for their fantastical AnTuTu benchmark score. They have yet to adequately explain that either…
narzo 30A – iPhone Scandal : Another Hit To Realme’s Rep
We have been a fan of Realme since they first started with their Realme 2 Pro, Realme 2 and Realme C1, because they offered really great value for our money.
So we were not surprised by how fast their devices improved, and how fast they grew. Heck, we even took the realme 3 on a photographic trip to the US West Coast, and Las Vegas!
However, a new team apparently took over in the middle of 2019, and it looks like they are willing to risk everything just to gain market share. Perhaps that’s why they coined the tagline, Dare To Leap!.
Since then, they have been hit by revelations that their 90 Hz display only works in certain situations, the recent AnTuTu cheating scandal and now this iPhone streaming scandal.
It’s a real shame, because Realme was doing so well, and building a great reputation for offering great features at a low, low price.
Reputation, as they say, takes a lifetime to build, but can be lost in a second.
We should point out that the Realme narzo 30A is powered by the MediaTek helio G85, which is not affected by the MediaTek benchmark cheating scandal.
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
Realme just called us up personally to explain their side of the story, and sent us an official response to AnTuTu’s shocking claims of benchmark cheating!
Find out what’s going on, and what this benchmark cheating allegation could mean for the Realme brand, and potential Realme GT customers!
Realme On AnTuTu Cheating : It Was A Bug!
After we posted our coverage of AnTuTu exposing how the new Realme GT cheats at their benchmark, we received a personal call from Realme PR.
We were told that this was simply a misunderstanding of sorts – there was “a technical bug” that caused the “scoring issue“.
Unfortunately, they have yet to reveal what bug would cause the CPU thread delay and mosaic colour block modifications of the AnTuTu Benchmark in Realme GT.
We will update you with the details of this bug, when we receive them from Realme PR.
They also claimed that “for the last few months”, they “tried not to mention anything about AnTuTu Benchmark”, or “associate Realme with AnTuTu Benchmark”.
At this point, we should share that Realme CMO Xu Qi Chase himself posted this (now) infamous screenshot of Realme GT scoring over 770,000 on AnTuTu Benchmark on 20 February 2021 – less than a month ago.
Realme On AnTuTu Cheating : There Were No Guidelines!
Realme then followed up with an official statement, claiming that the realme GT benchmark results are accurate.
They also claimed that the misunderstanding was due to a lack of “official benchmark standards or guidelines“.
Benchmark scores of realme GT are all accurate data under the current versions of the Antutu benchmark.
realme has always been committed to bringing users excellent performance, the actual user experience is the top priority for realme.
On the other hand, regarding the test issues doubted by both sides, we are communicating with Antutu positively now.
Since there is no official benchmark standards or guidelines now, so maybe there are some different understanding between manufacturers and Antutu on how to get a higher benchmark score, so before the final conclusion, we think “cheating” may be misleading for followers, it’s better to change it to “an unverified high score”.
What happened to the bug???
As for guidelines when it comes to benchmarking, we are pretty sure it is as simple as :
Update to the latest firmware.
Clear all other apps.
Run the benchmark as-is, without modifications.
What other guidelines do you need to run AnTuTu, or any other mobile benchmark really?
Realme GT Cheating In AnTuTu Benchmark : A Quick Primer!
AnTuTu just exposed how Realme cheated at their benchmark to obtain the phenomenally high score of over 770,000 that Xu Qi Chase posted above.
After analysing the performance of a retail Realme GT unit, they discovered that it implemented two cheats :
Thread Delay : falsely inflating the CPU multi-thread test score by intercepting threads and assigning them to the fast cores.
Mosaic Colour Block Modification : falsely inflating the UX score by replacing the details in the reference JPG image with colour blocks.
They then warned that if Realme does not remove the cheats within 3 months, they will ban Realme GT permanently.
What Does Realme GT Cheating Mean For Potential Customers?
If AnTuTu allegations are true, this is going to really spike the sale of the Realme GT, which is set to launch in many countries.
Especially when this incident reminds potential buyers of the time when Realme was caught faking the 90 Hz display on the Realme 6 and Realme 6 Pro.
Perhaps that is why Realme has been reluctant to send their smartphones to be reviewed, relying instead on influencers and online sales to sell their smartphones.
This new AnTuTu Benchmark cheating scandal could be a serious blow to Realme’s credibility, and a tipping point for the Realme brand.
It became a fast-rising brand by borrowing the Xiaomi model of offering a ton of features at very low prices.
The fact that Realme has a flagship smartphone powered by the latest Snapdragon 888 SoC should be a testament to how far it came, so quickly.
Yet it appears that they will go way beyond aggressive pricing and other usual tactics to win market share.
Potential customers (and other benchmark developers) will now wonder – if the Realme GT was caught cheating in AnTuTu, could it also be cheating in other benchmarks?
Even worse – what other Realme smartphones employ such tactics to obtain higher than normal scores? This will be a real PR headache.
We should point out though that benchmark cheating is not limited to smartphone brands. Even MediaTek was caught cheating in 8 of their chipsets, involving more than 50 smartphones from Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo and yes, Realme too.
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The Realme GT faces a possible permanent ban after it was caught cheating in the AnTuTu Benchmark!
Find out what’s going on, and what it means to you – potential Realme customers!
Benchmark Cheating : Why Do It?
The smartphone industry is a cut-throat business, with brands fighting to differentiate their smartphones from their competitors. One of the ways is to demonstrate a clear performance advantage.
Other than the usual ways – using more powerful processor and graphics cores – brands can tune their operating system to focus more on performance, at the expense of battery life.
However, when they use the same mobile platform, a desperate brand may resort to cheating to gain an edge over their rivals.
AnTuTu is accusing Realme of doing just that with their flagship Realme GT smartphone.
Realme GT Caught Cheating In AnTuTu Benchmark?
On 15 March 2021, AnTuTu posted their Weibo expose on how the Realme GT cheated at their benchmark. For your convenience, we are reposting it at the end of this article with our English translation.
AnTuTu first became suspicious when Realme declared an AnTuTu Benchmark result of over 770,000 for their Realme GT smartphone before it launched.
When Realme did not respond to their questions, AnTuTu purchased a unit of the Realme GT to test it for themselves.
After analysing the performance of their unit, they discovered that the Realme GT implemented two cheats :
Thread Delay In CPU Multi-Thread Test
The Realme GT was allegedly designed to intercept the threads from the CPU Multi-Thread test, to schedule them to run on the fast cores as much as possible.
This falsely inflates its score by using the fast cores to process the threads, instead of testing the processor’s true multi-core capability in handling multiple threads concurrently.
Mosaic Colour Block Modification In UX Test
AnTuTu discovered that the Realme GT modified the reference JPG image with mosaic colour blocks.
By replacing the details in the original picture with blocking mosaics, the JPG decoding speed can be greatly inflated.
Realme GT Threatened With Permanent Ban
After announcing their results, AnTuTu announced that they removed all Realme GT scores for 3 months.
They also warned that if Realme does not remove the cheats within 3 months, they will ban Realme GT permanently.
AnTuTu also shared that their upcoming V9 benchmark will feature improved anti-cheating features, and even trigger penalties like score deductions.
Realme : AnTuTu Scores Real, Will No Longer Using AnTuTu?
Realme CMO Xu Qi Chase quickly shot back a response to AnTuTu’s expose.
If we understand this correctly, he is insisting that the Realme GT scores are accurate, and announcing that Realme will no longer use the AnTuTu Benchmark results for future Realme smartphones.
What Does Realme GT Cheating Mean For Potential Customers?
If AnTuTu allegations are true, this is a serious blow to Realme’s credibility.
It became a fast-rising brand by borrowing the Xiaomi model of offering a ton of features at very low prices.
The fact that Realme has a flagship smartphone powered by the latest Snapdragon 888 SoC should be a testament to how far it came, so quickly.
Yet it appears that they would go way beyond aggressive pricing and other usual tactics to win market share.
Potential customers (and other benchmark developers) will now wonder – if the Realme GT was caught cheating in AnTuTu, could it also be cheating in other benchmarks?
Even worse – what other Realme smartphones employ such tactics to obtain higher than normal scores? This will be a real PR headache.
We should point out though that benchmark cheating is not limited to smartphone brands. Even MediaTek was caught cheating in 8 of their chipsets, involving more than 50 smartphones from Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo and yes, Realme too.
Before the realme GT went on the market, the official announcement of the Antutu test results of more than 760,000. We questioned this, but so far we have not received a specific response from realme.
At that time, we also promised that we will purchase this model to test after the Realme GT launched. Today’s removal instructions were made after we purchased the mass production device and actually tested it.
The Realme GT we bought was purchased on the Huantai Mall on the day of its debut on March 10th, and its storage configuration is 12+256GB.
After many tests, this realme GT scored about 750,000 points in the AnTuTu V8 version, and it has reached a very good level among the models currently on sale with the Snapdragon 888 platform. But according to the data analysis we conducted during the testing process, we found that this is not a manifestation of true strength, but obtained through cheating and other means.
Through our verification, Realme GT used thread delays in the CPU multi-thread test. Through the system interception of threads, some threads of the multi-thread test are scheduled to run on large cores as much as possible, resulting in higher test results.
This approach has deviated from the original intention of the AnTuTu test. The multi-threaded test examines the multi-threaded concurrent processor multi-core performance, not to examine the performance of the large core during continuous running tests.
In addition, in the JPG decoding project of the UX test, we found that the decoded pictures of the Antutu test were modified during the real GT running, and a lot of mosaics appeared. Using mosaic color blocks to replace the original picture details can significantly reduce the quality of the picture, and thus the decoding speed will be faster, so it has a higher score. But doing so obviously violates the purpose of the picture decoding test.
To sum up, AnTuTu decided to remove the realme GT’s running scores for three months. If realme can modify the two behaviours, it will be included in the relevant list again in three months. If it refuses to modify it, it will. be banned permanently.
In the upcoming V9 version, AnTuTu will further optimize the anti-cheating program. For example, cheating will trigger some penalties such as deductions.
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realme just launched their realme 5i smartphone, with 4 rear cameras and a large 5000 mAh battery.
Let’s take a closer look at the realme 5i, and find out what it offers!
realme 5i Preview : A Slightly Different realme 5!
Contrary to expectations, the realme 5i is not a cheaper version of the realme 5, but a slightly different variant.
In fact, it has the same price as the realme 5, just trading the high-resolution front camera for more memory. This is probably why realme gave it two different colour options.
Here is a summary of its key features :
It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 665, which is fabricated on the 11 nm process technology
It comes with 4 GB RAM – 1 GB more than the realme 5 at the same price point
It has a triple slot tray, which supports two nano SIM cards and a microSD card
It has an 8 MP front camera with f/2.0 aperture – the realme 5 has a 13 MP front camera
Its rear quad-camera consists of a 12 MP main camera, an 8 MP wide-angle camera, a 2 MP portrait camera and a 2 MP macro camera
It comes with realme’s largest battery yet – a 5,000 mAh lithium-ion battery
realme 5i Specifications
In this table, we compare the realme 5i against the realme 5 at the same price point :
Specifications
realme 5i
realme 5
Display
6.5-inch LCD display – 720 x 1600 pixels (~269 ppi)
– 480 nits max brightness
Protection
Gorilla Glass
Gorilla Glass 3+
Operating System
Android P with ColorOS 6
System Platform
Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 AIE
CPU
4 x Kryo 260 Gold cores (2.0 GHz)
4 x Kryo 260 Silver cores (1.8 GHz)
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The realme X2 Pro was just launched in Malaysia, offering a 64 MP camera, and the Snapdragon 855 Plus processor! Here are its official price and more importantly, pre-order + DirectD special sale deals!
realme X2 Pro Price + Deals In Malaysia!
The realme X2 Pro (MY) is available in two colour options – Neptune Blue and Polar White.
It will be offered in a single variant, with 12 GB RAM and 256 GB storage, with a recommended retail price of RM 2,399 / ~US$574 / ~£445 / ~A$846 / ~S$786.
Here is the official online pre-order / sale page in Malaysia :
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realme today gave us a sneak peek at the realme X2 Pro Master Edition, with colour schemes designed by Japanese design master, Naoto Fukasawa!
Here is EVERYTHING you need to know about the upcoming realme X2 Pro Master Edition smartphone!
realme X2 Pro Master Edition
As realme’s true flagship device, the new realme X2 Pro (MY) offers everything but the kitchen sink – a large display, flagship performance and a long battery life!
But realme wanted it to be truly special, so they invited Naoto Fukasawa, Japanese Master of Contemporary Industrial Design, to create not one, but TWO, special colour schemes!
Wonder Glass Soft Touch
The realme X2 Pro Master Edition will feature a special Wonder Glass Soft Touch frosted glass back, with 0.09 mm signature lines laser engraved into it.
It will be offered in two special colour options – Red Brick and Cement, with the realme logo and Master Fukasawa’s signature engraved in gold.
90 Hz Super AMOLED Display
Like the standard realme X2 Pro (MY), the Master Edition will have a large 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display, with a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels and a 90 Hz refresh rate.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+
It will naturally use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+, which is just a faster version of the regular Snapdragon 855
The only differences are the clock speeds of two parts in the Snapdragon 855 Plus :
its single high-performance Kryo 485 Gold core is clocked at 2.96 GHz, instead of 2.84 GHz.
its Adreno 640 GPU is clocked at 672 MHz, instead of 585 MHz.
In other words, its advantage in mobile gaming is a 4% increase in the short boost performance of the CPU, and a 14.9% increase in peak GPU performance.
In the front, the realme X2 Pro Master Edition will have a 16 MP selfie camera with f/2.0 aperture, while at the back, it will have four cameras :
a 64 MP main camera with 20X hybrid zoom (f/1.72 aperture)
a 8 MP wide-angle camera
a 13 MP telephoto camera
a 2 MP portrait camera
Large RAM + Storage + Battery!
The realme X2 Pro Master Edition will come with 12 GB of LPDDR4X memory, and 256 GB of fast UFS 3.0 storage.
To power it all, it has a large 4,000 mAh battery, which supports 50W SuperVOOC Flash Charge – letting you go from 0% to 100% in just 35 minutes!
realme X2 Pro Master Edition Specifications
Specifications
Realme X2 Pro Master Edition
Display
6.5-inch Super AMOLED display – 1080 x 2400 pixels (~402 ppi), 90 Hz refresh rate
– 1000 nits max brightness, 100% DCI-P3
Protection
Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Operating System
Android P with ColorOS 6.1
System Platform
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+
CPU
1 x Qualcomm Kryo 485 Gold core (2.96 GHz)
3 x Qualcomm Kryo 485 Gold core (2.42 GHz)
4 x Qualcomm Kryo 485 Silver cores (1.8 GHz)
GPU
Qualcomm Adreno 640 (672 MHz)
RAM
12 GB LPDDR4x
Storage
256 GB UFS 3.0 storage
Front Camera
16 MP camera with f/2.0 lens
Rear Cameras
64 MP Samsung ISOCELL Bright GW1 main camera (f/1.72) 8 MP wide-angle camera (f/2.2) 13 MP telephoto camera (f/2.5) 2 MP portrait camera (f/2.4)
Connectivity
4G : LTE
Wi-Fi : 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth : BT5.0
USB : USB 2.0 Type C
Fingerprint Sensor
Yes, In-Display
Other Sensors
Light, Proximity, Magnetic induction, Gyro-meter, Acceleration
Battery
4,000 mAh
50 W SuperVOOC flash charging
Dimensions
75.7 mm wide
161.0 mm tall
8.7 mm thick
Weight
199 g
Colour Options
Red Brick / Cement
realme X2 Pro Master Edition Hands-On!
The realme X2 Pro Master Edition is not available for sale, but we managed to get our hands on this hands-on of both Red Brick and Cement models :
realme X2 Pro Master Edition Price + Availability
The realme X2 Pro Master Edition is currently available for sale only in China. With 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of UFS 3.0 storage, it is priced at CNY 3,299 / ~RM1,958 / ~US$468 / ~£362 / ~A$690 / ~S$641.
That surprisingly makes it 18% CHEAPER than the standard realme X2 Pro (MY), which will be selling shortly for RM 2,399 / ~US$574 / ~£445 / ~A$846 / ~S$786.
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realme today launched the realme X2 Pro with a 64 MP camera, and the Snapdragon 855 Plus processor!
Here is EVERYTHING you need to know about the realme X2 Pro smartphone. Find out if this is the smartphone for you!
realme X2 Pro : Everything But The Kitchen Sink
The new realme X2 Pro (MY) seems designed to be realme’s highlight of the year, with everything thrown but the kitchen sink.
In fact, it has all of the hallmarks of a gaming smartphone – large display, high-performance and a long battery life!
90 Hz Super AMOLED Display
The realme X2 Pro (MY) has a large 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display, with a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels.
In addition, it features a 90 Hz refresh rate, which promises silky-smooth graphics at the expense of battery life.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+
The realme X2 Pro (MY) is built around the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+, which is just a speed-binned version of the regular Snapdragon 855. They are otherwise identical.
The only differences are the clock speeds of two parts in the Snapdragon 855 Plus :
its single high-performance Kryo 485 Gold core is clocked at 2.96 GHz, instead of 2.84 GHz.
its Adreno 640 GPU is clocked at 672 MHz, instead of 585 MHz.
In other words, its advantage in mobile gaming is a 4% increase in the short boost performance of the CPU, and a 14.9% increase in peak GPU performance.
6.5-inch Super AMOLED display – 1080 x 2400 pixels (~402 ppi), 90 Hz refresh rate
– 1000 nits max brightness, 100% DCI-P3
Protection
Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Operating System
Android P with ColorOS 6.1
System Platform
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+
CPU
1 x Qualcomm Kryo 485 Gold core (2.96 GHz)
3 x Qualcomm Kryo 485 Gold core (2.42 GHz)
4 x Qualcomm Kryo 485 Silver cores (1.8 GHz)
GPU
Qualcomm Adreno 640 (672 MHz)
RAM
12 GB LPDDR4x
Storage
256 GB UFS 3.0 storage
Front Camera
16 MP camera with f/2.0 lens
Rear Cameras
64 MP Samsung ISOCELL Bright GW1 main camera (f/1.72) 8 MP wide-angle camera (f/2.2) 13 MP telephoto camera (f/2.5) 2 MP portrait camera (f/2.4)
Connectivity
4G : LTE
Wi-Fi : 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth : BT5.0
USB : USB 2.0 Type C
Fingerprint Sensor
Yes, In-Display
Other Sensors
Light, Proximity, Magnetic induction, Gyro-meter, Acceleration
Battery
4,000 mAh
50 W SuperVOOC flash charging
Dimensions
75.7 mm wide
161.0 mm tall
8.7 mm thick
Weight
199 g
Colour Options
Neptune Blue / Lunar White
realme X2 Pro : Price + Deals In Malaysia!
The realme X2 Pro (MY) is available in two colour options – Neptune Blue and Polar White.
It will be offered in a single variant, with 12 GB RAM and 256 GB storage, with a recommended retail price of RM 2,399 / ~US$574 / ~£445 / ~A$846 / ~S$786.
Here is the official online pre-order / sale page in Malaysia :
If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
Realme Malaysia just announced a new marketing tagline – Dare To Leap, as well as a surprise price cut for their flagship Realme 3 Pro smartphone!
Here is everything you need to know about Realme leaping forward, and the Realme 3 Pro price cut!
Realme – Dare To Leap
According to Realme Malaysia Brand Manager, Tiffany Teh, the new Dare To Leap tagline represents their passion and spirit to leap forward the performance, design and quality of their devices for their fans.
To achieve that, they are working with global design experts and manufacturing their devices to international design standards, while pushing for greater performance and better configurations.
Surprise Realme 3 Pro Price Cut!
In conjunction with their new tagline, Realme Malaysia also announced a surprise price cut of their flagship Realme 3 Pro smartphone!
Starting 22 July 2019 onwards, the 6 GB + 128 GBRealme 3 Pro can be purchased at this new price point :
Model
Launch Price
New Price
Difference
4 GB + 64 GB
RM 899 / ~US$219
RM 899 / ~US$219
–
6 GB + 128 GB
RM 1,099 / ~US$267
RM 999 / ~US$243
RM 100 / ~US$24
Current Realme Smartphone Price + Availability
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These are the latest Realme smartphones that are currently available for sale :
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Chroma Boost is an advanced HDR feature that goes beyond HDR, which involves taking and combining multiple photos with different exposures.
On top of increasing the photo’s dynamic range, it will also correct and boost colour, while keeping control of noise.
Turning On Chroma Boost
Chroma Boost is so important that Realme made it the second icon at the top of the Camera app.
To turn it on, just open the camera app, and tap on the second icon at the top.
The Chroma Boost Is ON message will appear, and the Chroma Boost icon will appear in colour.
Until you turn it off, every photo your Realme 3 / Realme 3 Pro takes from now on will use Chroma Boost.
Turning Off Chroma Boost
To turn it off, just open the camera app, and tap on the second icon at the top.
The Chroma Boost Is OFF message will appear, and the Chroma Boost icon will turn black and show grey mountains.
When To Use Chroma Boost
Chroma Boost takes a considerable amount of time to take and process each shot – about 3 to 5 seconds.
So it is best used for planned shots of subjects that are not moving much. In fact, that’s the reason why it is turned off by default.
For most candid shots, or occasions where you want to take multiple shots quickly, you will probably want to disable Chroma Boost.
In the next part, we will show you the kind of shots Chroma Boost can deliver with our showcase of the Realme 3 in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
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Chroma Boost Sample Of Pier 39
This is the famous dock at the end of Pier 39, home to a number of California sea lions. It’s dusk – a really tricky time where the light isn’t great, but it’s not quite the time for using the Nightscape mode.
Surprisingly, it turned out much brighter than in real life, without getting washed out. You can see the sea lions in the foreground, as well as the bright lights of downtown San Francisco at the back.
Chroma Boost Samples Of Lombard Street
No tourist worth his or her name will visit San Francisco without going to the winding Lombard Street, even though it is really NOT the most crooked street in San Francisco.
That title really belongs to Vermont Street, near South of Market, although Lombard Street is definitely more picturesque. Plus, the Powell-Hyde cable car stops at the top!
As it so happened, we were there when the Zoox team decided to test their autonomous vehicle going down Lombard Street!
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Chroma Boost Samples Of Alcatraz Island
A short (but expensive) hop off San Francisco is the infamous Alcatraz Island.
It’s ironic how so many people are clamouring to get into Alcatraz when quite a few prisoners (and guards) lost their lives during several escape attempts…
One thing we like about Chroma Boost is how well it keeps control of the highlights, while lifting out details from the shadows.
This picture was taken in very bright sunlight. Yet you can see the blue sky, and even the clouds!
In this example, the former residential apartments are in the shadow, and would normally look dark. But the doors and windows are clearly visible.
It also work great indoors. Especially if you are taking shots of static objects.
Take a close look at this picture. Not only does it have great dynamic range, it managed to capture the bird flying and the Oakland Bay Bridge in the distance.
In fact, you can even see the sloping streets of San Francisco!
It was not easy to get this shot, but well worth the many tries!
The only problem with using Chroma Boost – it limits the number of photos you can take in a certain amount of time. Not very suitable if you are on a fast moving boat!
In this shot of the Alcatraz Cruises pier, with the Transamerica Pyramid and Coit Tower in the background, note the shadows which show the direction of the sun.
Even though it was very bright, and the shadows much darker in real life, Chroma Boost managed to bring the details out of the shadows. And yet, the sky remained blue and not overblown.
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Chroma Boost Samples Of Downtown San Francisco
Residential buildings in San Francisco are generally not very unique or interesting architecturally. The slopes of San Francisco are what’s truly interesting and unique.
Only when you get to the San Francisco Chinatown do you see more interesting building designs…
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Chroma Boost Samples Of The Golden Gate Bridge
No tourist to San Francisco will ever skip going to the Golden Gate Bridge.
Featured in countless movies, and even torn apart by the likes of Godzilla, a Kaiju, earthquakes, a tsunami and Magneto, it is the very symbol of San Francisco!
But instead of just heading to the Visitor Center, we trekked to Golden Gate Bridge from the south side on a cold misty morning.
Chroma Boost helped to bring out the colour of the foreground, but the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Marin headlands remained enveloped in mist.
Here is a closer view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the Welcome Center. You can see the bridge trusses clearly detailed, even on its underside.
We then drove over the Golden Gate Bridge to the North Vista Point.
Right next to it is Horseshoe Bay, home to the US Coast Guard Golden Gate Station, and the Presidio Yacht Club.
You can even see Alcatraz Island in the background on the right, and Treasure Island on the far right.
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Chroma Boost Samples Of Muir Woods
To the north of San Francisco is the Muir Woods National Monument. Home to giant California redwood trees (Sequoia sempervirens), it is a very beautiful and peaceful place.
Even though these redwoods grow very tall, lighting is not a severe problem for taking photos at the bottom of these giants.
However, if you are attempting to take pictures of them from the bottom up, sunlight could make it really difficult to get a well-exposed shot.
Try using Chroma Boost, or a similar HDR feature, to capture the sunlight shining through the treetops while capturing the intricate bark details that would normally be shrouded in the shadow.
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Chroma Boost Samples Of Hollywood + Rodeo Drive
We only had a short stay in Los Angeles, so we hit the usual tourist spots in Hollywood and Rodeo Drive.
First up is the TCL Chinese Theatre, located oh the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Many still know it as Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.
As it so happened, they barricaded it for the premiere of Catch-22. But this made it a great opportunity to use Chroma Boost – there was no one running across to spoil the shot!
While famous for its luxury boutique stores, Rodeo Drive isn’t very picturesque.
Arguably, the most picturesque spot is this internal street of the Two Rodeo shopping mall, which I believe is known as Via Rodeo Drive?
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Chroma Boost Samples Of The Griffith Observatory
Sitting on the top of Mount Hollywood is the Griffith Observatory. It’s an awesome spot to look out at downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood and the Pacific Ocean.
Unfortunately, it was a downcast day when we arrived. But Chroma Boost helped to boost exposure, and give the colours a little more pep.
View of downtown Los Angeles from the Griffith Observatory at 2X digital zoom with the Realme 3.
Despite the downcast skies, Chroma Boost brightened the sky and visibly increased the colour of the houses in the foreground.
It is actually possible to use Chroma Boost with moving indoor objects like this Foucault’s Pendulum. Look at the colour.
You just have to time it so that movement is minimal. In this case, it took us several tries to catch the pendulum at the end of the swing.
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Chroma Boost Samples Of Santa Monica
What’s a trip to Los Angeles without a trip to the world famous Santa Monica Pier?
Over a hundred years old, it is a large, double-jointed pier that juts out of the end of Colorado Avenue into the Pacific Ocean.
It is more than just a pier, of course. It is home to Pacific Park, an amusement park, shops, pubs and restaurants.
Right at the very end is also a very popular angling spot.
Chroma Boost can really bring out the colours that are usually hidden in the shadows, like the pillars of the Santa Monica pier.
Despite being almost dusk, using Chroma Boost can increase the brightness of the scene.
Opened in 1996, Pacific Park is a 2-acre amusement park that is open to public on the Santa Monica Pier.
It was really getting pretty dark, so Chroma Boost came in handy in boosting the exposure of the scene, while keeping the colours looking pretty pep.
On the way back, we stopped by the Santa Monica 3rd Promenade, home of this Triceratops water fountain sculpture.
Despite the low light (it was dusk!), Chroma Boost helped to keep the Triceratops sculpture well-exposed, without overblowing the brightly-lit cafe in the background.
Any darker, we would definitely have to use the Nightscape mode!
Realme Smartphone Price + Availability
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These are the latest Realme smartphones that are currently available for sale :
If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
Realme just announced a Chup Dulu pre-sale offer for the Realme C1 smartphone, and some nice mid-year sale offers for their other smartphones!
Here are the full details on the Realme Chup Dulu and Mid-Year Sale offers!
Chup Dulu + Mid-Year Realme Sale – What’s On Offer?
On 12 July 2019, there will be a one-day only Realme sale, as part of the Lazada Mid-Year Festival. Here is a quick primer on the FIVE Realme smartphones that will be on sale!
Realme C1
The Realme C1 was designed to be the “New King of Entry Level Smartphones“. Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 450, it comes with 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage.
Even at this price point, it boasts a dual-lens camera – a 13 MP main camera with a 2 MP depth sensor!
The Realme 3 Pro is a significantly upgraded version of the Realme 2 Pro, offering a faster and less power-hungry Snapdragon 710 processor, a new 25 MP front camera, and a real dual-lens camera!
Here are the Realme sale deals, and our quick discount analysis!
Chup Dulu Realme Pre-Sale Offer
To get the Realme C1 at the special price of RM 349, you will need to deposit RM 34.90 (10%) and checkout on 12 July. Otherwise, you can buy it at the sale price of RM 399.
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Realme smartphones are not known for the selfies, which is a shame. We took the Realme 3 on a trip across the US West Coast, and here is our Realme selfie guide and showcase!
Find out what settings you should use on Realme smartphones, and check out the selfies we took from the Grand Canyon to Las Vegas, San Francisco and Los Angeles!
The Realme 3 selfie camera has a higher-resolution 13 MP sensor with a brighter f/2.0 lens. The Realme 2, you may recall, has an 8 MP front camera with f/2.2 lens.
Its higher-end brother, the Realme 3 Pro, also has a front camera with a wide f/2.0 aperture. The only difference is it has a higher-resolution 25 MP sensor, instead of a 13 MP sensor.
The Realme Selfie Camera Guide
We highly recommend that you enable these settings before you start shooting – Location, Flip Selfie, and Auto HDR. These are the common settings you find in other Realme smartphones, like the Realme 2 Pro and the Realme 3 Pro.
Location
While travelling in the US, we do not always have time to note the exact location (building, street address, etc.) where we take these photos.
Enabling Location lets the Realme 3 add the GPS coordinates to every photo, so you can always look up the location when you get back.
Flip Selfie
We highly recommend turning on the Flip Selfie option, which basically gives you a mirror image of the selfie. This is important because it makes sure any text in the background will be readable.
This was not enabled by default, which led to some of our selfies not turning out right. Make sure you enable this option before you start taking your selfies!
Auto HDR
Selfies are often impromptu… spontaneous… There’s very little time to set-up a selfie, unless you’re an influencer and you would have a buddy or two, with LED lighting, etc (you get the idea).
This is why you should make sure Auto HDR is enabled. It lets the Realme 3 automatically decide when is the best time to take HDR shots (combining multiple shots with different exposures).
HDR will bring out the details in both dark and overexposed areas of a photo, while increasing the picture’s dynamic range. Take a look at this example :
Without Auto HDR, both faces in this selfie shot would be too dark because of the overly bright background.
It may not be obvious in the picture above, but it was CRAZY HOT and BRIGHT at the Grand Canyon when I took that photo in the shade. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it turned out!
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Realme 3 Selfie Samples From Boulder City
After landing in Las Vegas, we headed straight for Boulder City, which is a small town about 30 minutes away.
You will pass it on the way to the Grand Canyon, or Hoover Dam. So it’s a great place to stop for the night, especially if you plan to visit Hoover Dam.
But first, we had some burger and chicken fingers at The Chicken Shack. The folks here are extremely friendly! 😄
Here is Nick with the Double Shack burger, with double beef patties and cheese. Only$9.79 before taxes, , with a side of fries and a drink!
And here are Steve and Justin with my order of chicken fingers! 😄
The chicken tenders here are large strips of chicken breast meat. I prefer dark meat, but they were juicy and tender. Only $7.99 for 5 of “em!
This is Allyson from the Boulder Pit Stop, serving our Pit Burger and Turkey Burger. Seriously great burgers even without adding cheese, bacon or mushrooms.
The Pit Burger with a 1/3 lb patty is only $5.75 before taxes, and the Turkey Burger only $4.50 before taxes. If you’re ever going to Boulder City, make sure you try them out!
Realme 3 Selfie Samples From Hoover Dam
The best view of Hoover Dam is actually midway across the Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge.
Just turn off about a mile after the security check point, and walk up to the Memorial Plaza, which leads to the pedestrian walkway of the bridge.
There’s no need to walk all the way to the end. Just walk until you get a picture you like, or to the mid-point, so you can have one foot in Nevada, and another foot in Arizona! 😀
The lifts were undergoing maintenance so there were no tours that day. However, Hoover Dam tour guides like Alan gave us a presentation on the Hoover Dam instead.
You can feel the pride and love they have for this American engineering marvel!
Realme 3 Selfie Samples From The Grand Canyon
Being short on time, we took a short plane + helicopter ride to the Grand Canyon at a Boulder City airport.
Scott here took us on a short cruise down the Colorado river, through the Grand Canyon West Rim.
The bulk of the Grand Canyon West Rim (seen behind us) belongs to the US National Park, while the opposing side is part of the Hualapai Indian Reservation.
It was CRAZY HOT and really bright at the Grand Canyon that day, but thanks to its Auto HDR capability, this selfie taken at Guano Point turned out much better than I expected!
Since it was so bright, I expected harsh shadows on our faces, and a terribly blown-out background. Yet, the shadows were surprisingly soft, and you can clearly see the Grand Canyon in the back, and even the clouds and the blue sky!
Realme 3 Selfie Samples From Las Vegas
It’s been years since my last visit to Las Vegas, and while much has remained the same, a lot has changed!
Here is the venerable Las Vegas landmark – the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas signboard!
While it has not changed, it has been upgraded with a special parking lot built into the median, so tourists can park and not get hit by traffic on both sides of the Las Vegas Boulevard! 😅
I then spent three days at Dell Technologies World 2019, where I met really nice people like Stephanie Silva from McLaren…
And Ben Driscoll and Kendall Peters, who ran the always-busy Press and Analyst Room!
We also had the opportunity to meet and take selfies with the incredibly funny and entertaining Penn & Teller!
These guys are AWESOME! If you can only catch one magic show in Las Vegas, you MUST catch Penn & Teller.
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Realme 3 Selfie Samples From San Francisco
After so many days in Sin City, we flew ourselves to San Francisco, and checked ourselves into the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary!
Located just 1.25 miles or just over 2 km from the San Francisco, it served as a federal prison for 29 years. during which 36 prisoners tried to escape.
Ironically, hundreds of tourists now pay good money to visit Alcatraz every day! 😅
Welcoming us was Ray Hood, a volunteer with the US National Parks Service.
He commutes from Sacramento to help US Park Rangers like Wendy Solis here educate visitors on the rich history of Alcatraz, and to warn us about being “painted white” by the current avian occupants of Alcatraz…
Prison chow at Alcatraz did not agree with us, so we escaped on a boat and headed to the Fisherman’s Wharf, where Ernesto served us Boudin’s new crab chowder in a sourdough bowl!
I met Rodrigo “Roy” Gutierrez outside of Pier 33. He spray painted that piece for me in just 5 minutes! 🤩
Again, Auto HDR kicked in for a nicely exposed photo, even though it was a dastardly bright day.
While I was in San Francisco, I had my MacBook Pro checked out by Brennan Duong at Apple Store Union Square.
Finally, we had to stop by The Baked Bear for their humungous and really delicious ice-cream sandwiches! This is Sam with my 🐻tastic ice-cream sandwich!
That’s a 🐻 of an ice-cream sandwich! Not a 🐨 or a 🐼 but an actual 🐻… 😁
We originally planned to have one each, but it was so big – we had to share!
Realme 3 Selfie Samples From Los Angeles
We only had a short time in LA, but I had the opportunity to chat with Officer Raviol of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Joshua thinks he looks like Nicholas Cage. I think he looks like Arnold Vosloo. What do YOU think? 😁
Realme Smartphone Price + Availability
These are the latest Realme smartphones that are currently available for sale :
If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
The Realme 3 is a mid-range smartphone with flagship aspirations. It is full of features that are usually found only in flagship smartphones. Like its Nightscape mode.
Let’s take a look at what the Realme Nightscape mode does, and show you how it can be used to take really awesome night shots!
Nightscape Mode
The Nightscape mode was first introduced in the Realme 3, and included in the recently-launched Realme 3 Pro.
It uses artificial intelligence, multi-frame capture and an anti-shake algorithm to produce significantly better low-light photos.
Nightscape Mode In Realme 3
When used in the Realme 3 smartphone, Nightscape delivers these improvements :
Increased exposure in dim lighting, allowing for better low-light photography
Better control of overexposed areas, bringing out details that would normally be washed out
Brightening underexposed areas, allowing details to emerge from the shadows
Keep noise under control, even in dark areas
Nightscape Mode In Realme 3 Pro
In addition to the above, the higher-end Realme 3 Pro will take multiple frames in the RAW format. This allows it to create Nightscape photos with more detail, greater brightness with lower noise and motion blur.
How To Turn On Nightscape Mode
Here is a short guide on how to turn on Nightscape mode in the Realme 3 smartphone. It should be the same for the Realme 3 Pro.
When To Use Nightscape
Now, as great as Nightscape mode is, there is a reason why Realme did not turn it on by default.
Each Nightscape shot takes between 4 to 7 seconds to complete – multiple shots are taken over 3 seconds, and it takes anywhere from 1 to 4 seconds to process them.
So you need to decide when is a good time to use Nightscape, and when you can skate by without it. After all, the Realme 3 and Realme 3 Pro have great cameras with fast, bright lenses.
Not Necessary : With Decent Lighting
Sometimes, an indoor scene may not seem bright enough. But the Realme 3 and Realme 3 Pro have bright, fast lenses – f/1.8 and f/1.7 respectively.
This corridor in The Venetian Las Vegas was not brightly-lit, but there was no need to use Nightscape to create such a great photo.
Worth Trying : When There Is A Mix Of Good And Poor Lighting
There will be times when some parts of a scene are well-lit, while other parts are not. It’s worth using Nightscape to bring out the details in the shadows.
Recommended : When There Is Poor Lighting
The Siegfried and Roy Commemorative Statue is not directly lit at night, although hey, it’s Las Vegas so there’s indirect lighting from across the street!
Still, it is recommended to use Nightscape to bring out details in the shadows, and reduce noise in the dark areas.
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We took the Realme 3 to Las Vegas for a photography session. Here is a comparison of various scenes with and without Nightscape mode.
You should see better results with the Realme 3 Pro, which supports multi-frame recording and processing in RAW.
Treasure Island
Now, do remember that this is Las Vegas, so it’s pretty much brightly-lit at night. But that doesn’t mean it is an easy night shot, because the brighter lights can and do throw off the camera, causing it to underexpose the photo.
Take this example of Treasure Island. The bright LED billboard literally fooled the camera into thinking its very bright, and so the photo came out underexposed.
But turning on Nightscape captures a multitude of photos over 3 seconds, so the camera won’t get fooled by a single take.
The result – a well-exposed photo where the bright billboard is not overly-exposed, and yet you can see details of the much darker hotel building.
The Mirage Volcano
The Mirage Volcano was also a difficult shot. The volcano was lit by lights in the water, which cast deep shadows at the top.
It also made the background much darker in comparison. In fact, the trees behind the volcano appeared pitch black, while the tree on the upper right corner was cloaked in darkness.
When we took the same shot with Nightscape mode, you can now see details of the volcano top that was earlier hidden in the shadows.
You can also see the colour and details of the trees in the background. And not only can you clearly see the tree on the upper right corner, you can even see that there is another tree next to it!
The Venetian
There is lots of bright lights in this sample of The Venetian. But there are also lots of areas that appear significantly darker in comparison.
Turning on Nightscape not only brought out those darker areas, the brighter areas had a more natural, warmer look. It was essentially creating a HDR image, with greater dynamic range.
Of course, your results will vary depending on the lighting conditions. In this example, the differences are less significant.
If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
Realme just introduced a new flagship smartphone – the Realme 3 Pro! Here is everything you need to know about the latest flagship smartphone from Realme!
The Realme 3 Pro Smartphone
The Realme 3 Pro looks very similar to its excellent predecessor, the Realme 2 Pro, but has been significantly upgraded internally.
Gorilla Glass 5 Protection
Realme maintained the same 6.3-inch dewdrop display, but it is now protected by Gorilla Glass 5.
Faster 10 nm Mobile SoC
While the Snapdragon 660 that powered the Realme 2 Pro, it is power-hungry. The newer Snapdragon 710 is not only faster, it is more power-efficiency.
25 MP Front Camera
The new 25 MP front camera with f/2.0 lens is an upgrade from the Realme 2 Pro‘s 16 MP front camera.
Improved Main Camera
The Realme 3 Pro maintains the same pairing of an imaging camera with a depth sensor. However, it now features a newer Sony IMX519 image sensor, and a higher resolution 5 MP depth sensor.
Larger Battery + VOOC 3.0 Fast Charging
Surprisingly, it has a larger 4,045 mAh battery. On top of that, it supports VOOC 3.0 fast charging, and is even bundled with a 20 watt VOOC charger.
Realme 3 Pro Colour Options
The Realme 3 Pro comes in three colour options (from left to right) – Nitro Blue, Carbon Grey, Lightning Purple.
Realme 3 Pro Specifications Compared
In this table, we compare its specifications against the Realme 2 Pro.
Specifications
Realme 3 Pro
Realme 2 Pro
Display
6.3-inch display
- 1080 x 2340 pixels
- 19.5:9 aspect ratio, 409 ppi
6.3-inch display
- 1080 x 2340 pixels
- 19.5:9 aspect ratio, 409 ppi
Protection
Corning Gorilla Glass 5
NA
Operating System
Android 9.0 with ColorOS 6.0
Android 8.1 with ColorOS 5.1
Platform
Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 AIE
Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 AIE
Processor
2 x Qualcomm Kryo 360 Gold cores (2.2 GHz)
6 x Qualcomm Kryo 360 Silver cores (1.7 GHz)
4 x Qualcomm Kryo 260 Gold cores (2.2 GHz)
4 x Qualcomm Kryo 260 Silver cores (1.84 GHz)
Graphics Processor
Qualcomm Adreno 616
Qualcomm Adreno 512
Memory
4 GB / 6 GB LPDDR4x SDRAM
4 GB / 6 GB / 8 GB LPDDR4x SDRAM
Storage
64 GB / 128 GB eMMC 5.1 flash storage
64 GB eMMC 5.1 flash storage, OR
128 GB UFS 2.1 flash storage
microSD card (up to 256 GB)
Front Camera
25 MP image sensor with f/2.0 lens
16 MP image sensor with f/2.0 lens
Rear Camera
16 MP Sony IMX519 image sensor with f/1.7 lens
5 MP depth sensor with f/2.4 lens
Single LED flash
16 MP Sony IMX398 image sensor with f/1.7 lens
2 MP depth sensor with f/2.4 lens
Single LED flash
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There is a new Entry-Level King in town – the Realme C2 smartphone! Here is everything you need to know about the latest entry-level smartphone from Realme!
The Realme C2 Smartphone
The Realme C2 is an evolutionary upgrade of the Realme C1, which decimated the entry-level market last year.
Dewdrop Display
The Realme C1 had a 6.2-inch notched display. The Realme C2 comes with a 6.1-inch dewdrop display, with a slightly wider resolution of 720 x 1520 pixels and aspect ratio of 19.5:9
Faster 12 nm Mobile SoC
The Realme C2 runs on a faster MediaTek Helio P22 mobile SoC. More importantly, the Helio P22 was built on the 12 nm process technology, which makes it more power-efficient.
Smudge-Free Chassis
Realme maintained the same diamond-cut chassis design, but upgraded it with a smudge-free treatment. It is offered in the same two colours – Black and Blue.
Smaller Battery
Thanks to its more power-efficient SoC, the Realme 2 comes with a slightly smaller 4,000 mAh battery.
Front + Rear Cameras
The Realme C2 maintains the same 5 MP front camera, as well as the 13 MP + 2 MP dual-lens camera in the back.
Realme C2 Specifications Compared
In this table, we compare the specifications of the Realme C2 against the Realme C1.
Specifications
Realme C2
Realme C1
Display
6.1-inch dewdrop display
- 720 x 1560 pixels
- 89.35% screen ratio
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The new Realme 3 smartphone is here! It boasts a new design, new cameras, and a more powerful processor – all at an INCREDIBLE PRICE!
Find out what the Realme 3 offers over its predecessor, and why we gave it out Reviewer’s Choice Award!
The Official Realme 3 Tech Briefing
Let’s start off with the official Realme 3 (64 GB | 32 GB) tech briefing!
India + International Variants
Before we kick off the preview, we need point out that there are two Realme 3 variants. Internationally, it runs on the MediaTek Helio P60. Yes, the same mobile SoC used in the far pricier OPPO F9.
The Indian variant though runs on the faster MediaTek Helio P70 mobile SoC. What’s different?
Its four high-speed ARM Cortex-A73 cores run 2.1 GHz, instead of 2.0 GHz
Its ARM Mali-G72 MP3 GPU runs at 900 MHz, instead of 800 MHz
Basically, the Helio P70 variant has a slightly faster CPU, with a GPU that is said to be 13% faster.
Realme 3 Colour Options
Globally, there are three colour options – Radiant Blue, Dynamic Black and Classic Black. However, here in Malaysia, they are only bringing in the Radiant Blue and Dynamic Black, which are 3D gradient colours.
The Radiant Blue colour combines semi-transparent blue-green colours with a silver mirror reflective layer.
The Dynamic Black colour, on the other hand, is created by black and blue painting in three separate spray and bake sessions, with pearl powder added to add depth.
Realme 3 Price List + Deals
The Realme 3 (64 GB | 32 GB) will be available in two configurations, from 6 April 2019 onwards.
Let’s take a look at the box and unbox it to see what’s inside!
When you fully unbox it, you will find the following items :
One Realme 3 smartphone, wrapped in plastic
One Realme 3 clear TPU bumper case
One set of Realme 3 documents
10 watt Realme fast USB charger
One micro USB data and power cable
One SIM tray extractor pin
We really like its bundled bumper case, and highly recommend that you use it. It provides a thick protective border along all sides of the display. It is also thick enough to protect the camera bump.
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The Realme 3 Smartphone Up Close!
Evolving from last year’s Realme 2, the Realme 3 uses the same form factor.. In fact, it is just 0.1 mm shorter, and 0.1 mm thicker – virtually similar in size!
The Realme 3 (64 GB | 32 GB) retained the 6.2-inch display, with the same resolution of 720 x 1520 pixels. The display notch has, however, been replaced with a smaller dewdrop notch.
Realme also added Gorilla Glass protection, although we are not sure what version they used. Most of what’s changed is literally under the hood.
On the left side, you will find the SIM tray positioned right above the two Volume buttons.
The Power button is located on the right side.
Realme chose to stick with the old micro USB port, probably to ensure compatibility with older cables and devices. The new bidirectional USB Type C port is, frankly, far more convenient to use. We are glad to see the 3.5 mm audio port though.
The only microphones we spotted are here – between the audio port and micro USB port. It looks like it may lack noise cancellation capabilities. The longer row of ports are the speaker ports.
Setting Up The Realme 3 Smartphone
It’s really easy to setup the Realme 3 (64 GB | 32 GB). After all, it is running on the new Android 9.0 Pie. It should take you no more than 5 minutes to set it up as a new device.
Realme 3 Specifications Compared
We created this table to show you the differences between the Indian and International variants. You can also compare them against last year’s Realme 2 smartphone.
Specifications
Realme 3 (India)
Realme 3 (International)
Realme 2
Display
6.2-inch display
- 720 x 1520 pixels
- 19:9 aspect ratio, 271 ppi
6.2-inch display
- 720 x 1520 pixels
- 19:9 aspect ratio, 271 ppi
6.2-inch display
- 720 x 1520 pixels
- 19:9 aspect ratio, 271 ppi
Protection
Corning Gorilla Glass
Corning Gorilla Glass
NA
Operating System
Android 9.0 with ColorOS 6.0
Android 9.0 with ColorOS 6.0
Android 8.1 with ColorOS 5.1
Platform
MediaTek Helio P70
MediaTek Helio P60
Qualcomm Snapdragon 450
Processor
4 x ARM Cortex-A73 cores (2.1 GHz)
4 x ARM Cortex-A53 cores (2.0 GHz)
4 x ARM Cortex-A73 cores (2.0 GHz)
4 x ARM Cortex-A53 cores (2.0 GHz)
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Dewdrop Notch Display
The Realme 3 (64 GB | 32 GB)has a 6.21-inch display with a resolution of 720 x 1520 pixels, like the Realme 2.
But Realme upgraded it with a dewdrop notch, and added Gorilla Glass protection. This gives it a distinct advantage over smartphones at the similar price range, like the HONOR 8C.
Thanks to the smaller notch, there is a lot more space for your notifications. It also increases the screen-to-body ratio to 88.3%.
A Big Boost In Performance!
The last generation Realme 2 used the Qualcomm Snapdragon 450, which is a decent mid-range mobile SoC.
This year, the Realme 3 (64 GB | 32 GB) gets a big performance boost in the form of the MediaTek Helio P60.
It boasts four high-speed ARM Cortex-A73 cores and four low-power ARM Cortex-A53 cores – all running at 2.0 GHz. In addition, it has a faster ARM Mali-G72 MP3 GPU running at 800 MHz.
On top of that, the Helio P60 is fabricated on the newer 12 nm FinFET process technology. This means a significantly lower power consumption, and thermal output.
The MediaTek Helio P60 modem supports LTE Cat7 (300 Mbps) download and LTE Cat13 (150 Mbps) upload, as well as 802.11ac WiFi and Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity.
Memory + Storage
The Realme 3 (64 GB | 32 GB) comes with 4 GB of RAM with 2.25 GB of free memory to use. If you opt for the 3 GB model, you will probably have 1.25 GB of available memory to use. That’s still more RAM than entry-level smartphones come with!
The base model comes with 32 GB of storage., Our higher-end model comes with 64 GB, of which 48 GB or 75% is free to use.
This is enough space to store about 13,000 photos or 6 hours of 1080p videos.
MicroSD + SIM Card Tray
If you don’t find 64 GB of storage sufficient, the Realme 3 (64 GB | 32 GB) comes with a dedicated microSD card slot that supports up to 256 GB of additional storage.
Even if you don’t use that much storage, using a microSD card will help protect your data in the event the phone is damaged or destroyed.
Those who need dual SIM capability will be delighted to know the Realme 3 comes with two dedicated nano SIM slots. So you can use two SIM cards together with a microSD card. This is as good as it gets!
Fingerprint Sensor
The Realme 3 (64 GB | 32 GB) retained the same rear fingerprint sensor as the Realme 2. It is fast and accurate, taking only about a dozen finger presses to register.
The Realme 3 also supports basic facial recognition using the front camera. It is certainly convenient, but for those who are security conscious, we recommend sticking with the fingerprint sensor.
Aesthetics
Despite its very modest price point, the Realme 3 (64 GB | 32 GB) looks premium, thanks to its injection-moulded unibody with curved edges and a really beautiful gradient colour scheme.
This combination of a curvy silhouette and gradient colours, with a mirror-like finish gives the Realme 3 a really premium look and feel.
Realme offers a classic Black option in some countries, but most countries will have two 3D gradient colour options – Dynamic Black and Radiant Blue.
The Radiant Blue colour combines semi-transparent blue-green colours with a silver mirror reflective layer.
The Dynamic Black colour, on the other hand, is created by black and blue painting in three separate spray and bake sessions, with pearl powder added to add depth.
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Better Cameras
The Realme 3 (64 GB | 32 GB) has a new 13 MP main camera with a new, brighter f/1.8 lens. While it is still a 13 MP sensor, this sensor has larger 1.12 µm pixels.
The brighter lens and larger pixels will deliver better low-light performance with lower noise levels.
In addition, this new camera now supports 90 fps slow-motion video recording at the 720p resolution.
Like the Realme 2, it is still paired with a 2 MP depth sensor, and supported by a single LED flash.
The depth sensor does not actually take any pictures. Instead, it lets the camera to more accurately differentiate the subject from its background, allowing for more realistic software bokeh effects..
The front camera has been upgraded with a higher-resolution 13 MP sensor with a brighter f/2.0 lens. The Realme 2, you may recall, has an 8 MP front camera with f/2.2 lens.
Nightscape Mode
For the first time at this price range, the Realme 3 (64 GB | 32 GB) camera has a Nightscape mode.
Like the HDR feature, it takes multiple shots in quick succession and combine them for a brighter scene, and to bring out the details in the shadows.
Nightscape goes beyond, applying a combination of AI and anti-shake algorithms to dramatically increase exposure in extremely dim lighting, while keeping noise under control.
Chroma Boost Mode
Also new to this price range is the Realme 3’s Chroma Boost mode. It is similar to the Scene Optimiser feature in flagship devices like the Samsung Galaxy S10+ or the Samsung Galaxy Note9.
It uses AI algorithms to recognise scenes in a photo, and automatically optimise the photo’s colour, dynamic range and detail. The resulting pictures have greater dynamic range and have more vivid colours.
Ergonomics
Despite its large display size, the Realme 3 (64 GB | 32 GB) is just 75.6 mm wide, and 156.1 mm tall. Thanks to its narrow bezels and dewdrop notch, it feels relatively compact in the hand.
Even though it only delivers a HD+ resolution on such a large screen, the icons and text look sharp and crisp. Realme did not reveal its maximum brightness, but it held up well in bright sunlight.
The ultra-wide aspect ratio is great for playing games, but you will have to live with some pillarboxing– a black bar on each side of a movie.
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Realme 3 Camera Performance – Photo Samples
The Realme 3’s main camera has a new 13 MP sensor with larger 1.12 µm pixels. In addition, it is paired with brighter f//1.8 lens usually found in flagship-class smartphones.
The maximum 13 MP resolution is attained with the 4:3 aspect ratio. The photos are 4160 x 3120 pixels in size; with a file size of between 3 MB and 4 MB.
Here are 12 high-resolution unedited samples for you to check out. Click on them to load the full-sized photos. You can also download them to examine up close.
Despite its modest price point, the Realme 3 (64 GB | 32 GB) is delivering close to flagship-class photos. Blow up the picture to 100% and marvel at the detail the sensor captured.
Even without using its Chroma Boost feature, the camera is already capable of producing remarkably vivid colours.
We have to point out though that the camera is not great for macros. It has trouble focusing at short distances. But you can get pretty good results if you are careful about the focus distance.
The bright f/1.8 aperture naturally creates a narrow depth of field, with a nicer bokeh effect. But for the ultimate bokeh effect, you should leverage its Portrait mode, which leverages its depth sensor to separate the subject from the background and lets you create really nice bokeh for the background.
Realme 3 Camera Performance – Video Samples
The Realme 3 (64 GB | 32 GB) only supports 1080p video recording from both the front and rear cameras. Here are two video samples.
Video Sample #1 : Piano Performance
When you play the video, you will notice that it lacks both optical and electronic stabilisation. So if you can afford it, get a gimbal. It will iron out this problem.
Later in the video, you will see us zoom in and out. The Realme 3 does not have a zoom lens, but it has a 2X software zoom button. However, we don’t recommend using it because it seems to have focus issues.
In this video, you can clearly see that there is no stabilisation of any kind. So make sure you get a gimbal if you want to do serious video recording.
You can also clearly hear the background buzz we were talking about in the previous video. That’s not wind noise, because we are not moving that fast. It’s just ever-present in the video, even when we paused for a moment.
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Work Performance – PCMark
We tested the Realme 3’s performance using PCMark, which simulates work applications like web browsing, playing video, writing text and editing photos.
The Realme 3 (64 GB | 32 GB) did very well in this test. Its MediaTek Helio P60 virtually matched the flagship-class Kirin 970 powering the HONOR Play.
It was 13% faster than the far more expensive OPPO R17 Pro, and 35% faster than the Galaxy A7 2018 smartphones!
Gaming Performance – 3DMark
We tested the Realme 3’s gaming performance using 3DMark, using the Ice Storm Unlimited test.
The Realme 3 (64 GB | 32 GB) also delivered good gaming performance. It was 36% slower than the HONOR Play which boasts the flagship-class Kirin 970 mobile SoC.
On the other hand, it was 32% faster than the OPPO R17 Pro and Galaxy A7 2018,, which are both more expensive mid-range smartphones!
Battery Life – PCMark
We then tested the Realme 3’s battery performance using PCMark. It basically ran the PCMark work tests until its battery capacity dropped to 20%.
Thanks to its large battery, the Realme 3 (64 GB | 32 GB) delivered a good battery life of 10.5 hours. Note that this is not just screen-on time. It’s running the Work 2.0 benchmark over, and over again, for 10.5 hours!
That said, it is the least efficient model in this comparison, using 6% more power than the HONOR Play, 28.5% more than the OPPO R17 Pro, and 38% more than the Samsung Galaxy A7 2018.
Battery Recharging Performance
The Realme 3 comes with a 10 watt fast charger. Let’s take a look at how fast it recharges the 4,230 mAh battery.
The Realme 3 (64 GB | 32 GB) took 3 hours and 10 minutes (190 minutes) to recharge its battery from 20% to 100%. This is not very good performance for a 10 watt charger, because the Galaxy A7 2018 recharges 29% faster with its less powerful 7.75 watt charger.
Its battery life : recharging ratio of 3.3 : 1 is also below average. A rule of thumb – for one hour of battery life, you’ll need to charge it for 18 minutes.
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Our Verdict + Award!
Since its inception, Realme has shocked the industry with their ability and willingness to push against the boundaries of what’s possible.
Their first slew of smartphones were incredible value propositions that helped make Realme a household name in just a few months. And they did it without noticeably sacrificing quality or features.
The new Realme 3 (64 GB | 32 GB) impressed us no less with its incredible combination of great features, a classy unibody design, and an unbelievable price point. Unbelievably, it is a BIG UPGRADE from its predecessor, the Realme 2.
First, they gave it a big performance boost with the MediaTek Helio P60 processor. Impressively, the Realme 3 (64 GB | 32 GB) was as fast as the flagship-class Kirin 970 in work performance, and delivered 32% faster gaming performance than the mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 and Samsung Exynos 7885 processors.
Next, they upgraded the display; replacing the wide notch with a small dewdrop notch, and adding Gorilla Glass protection. The biggest upgrades though came in the form of its front and rear cameras.
In the front, Realme replaced the 8 MB selfie camera with a higher-resolution 13 MP camera with a brighter f/2.0 lens.
In the back, it upgraded the 13 MP camera with a new sensor with larger pixels, and a new, brighter f/1.8 lens. This camera also boasts new AI capabilities in the form of Nightscape and Chroma Boost photography modes.
Everything was packed into a really classy unibody chassis with a large 4,230 man battery. The Radiant Blue model is especially beautiful, with its blue-green gradient tones.
Now, here is the punchline. These features are not unique to Realme. You can find them in other smartphones from other brands. But only the Realme 3 offers all that at these incredible price points :
Ultimately, the Realme 3 (64 GB | 32 GB) offers you a powerful mid-range smartphone with high-resolution front and rear cameras, at the price point of entry-level smartphones!
For delivering an incredible value proposition.. an incredible bargain.. yet again, we proudly award the Realme 3 our Reviewer’s Choice Award! Great job, Realme!
Realme 3 Specifications Compared
Specifications
Realme 3 (India)
Realme 3 (International)
Realme 2
Display
6.2-inch display
- 720 x 1520 pixels
- 19:9 aspect ratio, 271 ppi
6.2-inch display
- 720 x 1520 pixels
- 19:9 aspect ratio, 271 ppi
6.2-inch display
- 720 x 1520 pixels
- 19:9 aspect ratio, 271 ppi
Protection
Corning Gorilla Glass
Corning Gorilla Glass
NA
Operating System
Android 9.0 with ColorOS 6.0
Android 9.0 with ColorOS 6.0
Android 8.1 with ColorOS 5.1
Platform
MediaTek Helio P70
MediaTek Helio P60
Qualcomm Snapdragon 450
Processor
4 x ARM Cortex-A73 cores (2.1 GHz)
4 x ARM Cortex-A53 cores (2.0 GHz)
4 x ARM Cortex-A73 cores (2.0 GHz)
4 x ARM Cortex-A53 cores (2.0 GHz)
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The new Realme 3 boasts a more powerful processor, a new dewdrop display and new cameras. Get the official Realme 3 price list and deals, as well as its full specifications!
The Realme 3 Smartphone
Evolving from last year’s Realme 2, the Realme 3 (Price Check) uses the same form factor.. In fact, it is just 0.1 mm shorter, and 0.1 mm thicker – virtually similar in size!
The Realme 3 retained the 6.2-inch display, with the same resolution of 720 x 1520 pixels. The display notch has, however, been replaced with a smaller dewdrop notch.
Realme also added Gorilla Glass protection in the Realme 3 (Price Check), although we are not sure what version they used. Most of what’s changed is literally under the hood.
Realme 3 Colour Options
The Realme 3 (Price Check) comes in three colour options – Radiant Blue, Dynamic Black and Classic Black. However, here in Malaysia, they are only bringing in the Radiant Blue and Dynamic Black, which are 3D gradient colours.
The Radiant Blue colour combines semi-transparent blue-green colours with a silver mirror reflective layer.
The Dynamic Black colour, on the other hand, is created by black and blue painting in three separate spray and bake sessions, with pearl powder added to add depth.
Realme 3 Price List + Deals
The Realme 3 (Price Check) will be available in two configurations, at these official prices :
They will be available for sale from 6 April 2019 onwards. But Realme has a special offer for early adopters!
Realme 3 Special Offer!
At 12 AM sharp on 27 March, 2019, the Realme 3 (3 GB + 32 GB) model will be sold at a special discounted price of just RM 549 / ~US$ 136 / £ 103!
Free Lexis Hotel Stay!
In addition, the FIRST 3 customers who purchase the Realme 3 (or any other Realme products) on 27 March 2019, will win a 2D1N Premium Tower Seaview stay, including breakfast, at the Lexis Port Dickson Hotel!
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Realme 3 Specifications Compared
We created this table to show you the differences between the Indian and International variants. You can also compare them against last year’s Realme 2 smartphone.
Specifications
Realme 3 (India)
Realme 3 (International)
Realme 2
Display
6.2-inch display
- 720 x 1520 pixels
- 19:9 aspect ratio, 271 ppi
6.2-inch display
- 720 x 1520 pixels
- 19:9 aspect ratio, 271 ppi
6.2-inch display
- 720 x 1520 pixels
- 19:9 aspect ratio, 271 ppi
Protection
Corning Gorilla Glass
Corning Gorilla Glass
NA
Operating System
Android 9.0 with ColorOS 6.0
Android 9.0 with ColorOS 6.0
Android 8.1 with ColorOS 5.1
Platform
MediaTek Helio P70
MediaTek Helio P60
Qualcomm Snapdragon 450
Processor
4 x ARM Cortex-A73 cores (2.1 GHz)
4 x ARM Cortex-A53 cores (2.0 GHz)
4 x ARM Cortex-A73 cores (2.0 GHz)
4 x ARM Cortex-A53 cores (2.0 GHz)
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For the next TWO DAYS, Realme is offering special deals in the Realme Fans Festival n collaboration with Shopee Malaysia and the Lexis Hotel Group. Here are the full details!
Realme Fans Festival Deals
During the Realme Fans Festival from 6-7 March 2019, Realme will offer the Realme C1 smartphone in the 2 GB + 32 GB configuration for the first time! There will also be three different types of Realme deals :
Realme Malaysia also partnered with the Lexis Hotel Group to offer free stays at their resorts!
Realme Facebook Contest
If you purchase any Realme 2 Pro, Realme 2 or Realme C1 smartphone, you will be eligible to win a 2D1N stay with breakfast for 2 pax at the Sky Pool Villa at the Grand Lexis Port Dickson, worth RM 2,332!
Step 1: Share a picture of your proof of purchase of your Realme phone on your Facebook profile page (Make sure to set your profile as public)
Step 2: Use the hashtag #RealmeFansFes
Step 3: Wait for the winner announcement and enjoy your vacation
At the end of the contest, Realme Malaysia will randomly select 8 lucky winners!
Realme Shopee Contest
TWO (2) top spenders in the Realme Fans Festival will stand a chance to win a 2D1N stay with breakfast for 2 pax at the Premium Tower Seaview at the Grand Lexis Port Dickson, worth RM 816.20!
Shopee Facebook Contest
Shopee will select four winners randomly from those who have completed these steps :
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On 27 February 2019, the Realme x Lazada Super Brand Day offered amazing Realme deals for just 24 hours! Here are the Realme deals that were offered on Lazada Super Brand Day! Find out how well they did!
Realme Deals @ Lazada Super Brand Day
On Realme x Lazada Super Brand Day, Realme will offer the Realme C1 smartphone in the 2 GB + 32 GB configuration for the first time! There will also be three different types of Realme deals :
The.Realme x Lazada Super Brand Day set a new record, with 700% sales uplift. The Realme Malaysia flagship store on Lazada won over 8,000 new followers and generated more than 16 million impressions, with over 233,000 interactions on social media.
Realme Contests
In addition to the Realme deals, you can also participate in two Realme contests to either unlock Realme earphones at special prices, or win a Realme power bank!
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Realme just announced that they now offer 360 degree after sales support. in Malaysia!
With a click of a button on the Realme website, Realme fans can now easily find an authorised service centre in Malaysia to help them with software and hardware issues that may affect their Realme devices
Furthermore, fans can also drop an email, contact a hotline, or reach out to its social media pages and e-commerce sites.
“As a young brand in the country, we take pride in delivering exceptional customer experiences and value to improve overall satisfaction for Malaysian fans. By providing 360 degree support, we hope that this will provide further trust in the brand by showcasing our strength in the after sales service, as well as ensuring that current customers are taken care off too. Additionally, as Realme authorized OPPO to offer the after-sales service, we are also thankful for the strong support from OPPO,” said Tiffany Teh,Brand Manager, Realme Malaysia
Realme Malaysia Support Channels
From now onwards, fans can reach out to receive support for their Realme devices in various ways :
Call the hotline number: 1800 818018. The hotline is available from 9AM to 6PM every day except Sunday and public holidays
Visit any of the 21 authorized service centers offer various kinds of services including help desk, device inspection and software updates. The Realme website also enables fans to search all locations of its after-sales service centers
Fans can also reach out to Realme Malaysia via its Facebook and Instagram pages and e-commerce sites for after-sales service support
“In India, Realme’s official website has been updated to list all Realme independent authorized service centers, along with a convenient ‘Callme service’ which includes free pick-up and return in India. We hope to bring the same service to Malaysia, as we aim to provide consumers with good experience not only on products but also service.” added Teh
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The Realme 2 Pro is a new mid-range smartphone that promises Max Power, Max Style. It’s a shot across the bow of other smartphone brands, with its combination of performance, features, looks and incredible price point.
In our in-depth review, we will take a close look at the Realme 2 Pro, and show you why this mid-range smartphone is taking the industry by storm!
The Realme 2 Pro Tech Briefing!
Here is the official Realme 2 Pro (Malaysia | Indonesia) tech briefing in Jakarta. Unfortunately, it’s in Indonesian, but the slides are still informative.
Realme 2 Pro, Realme 2 and Realme C1 Comparison
Realme launched three smartphones in Jakarta – the Realme 2 Pro, the Realme 2, and the Realme C1. Here is a comparison of the three models, which look quite similar :
If you are interested to purchase the Realme 2 Pro at the awesome 12/12 deal,stake out this page!
Unboxing The Realme 2 Pro
The Realme 2 Pro (Malaysia | Indonesia) is not available for sale yet, but we were one of the few to receive the first retail units. Let’s unbox it and see what we find inside!
Once you fully unbox the Realme 2 Pro (Malaysia | Indonesia), you will find the following items :
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The Realme 2 Pro Up Close!
The Realme 2 Pro (Malaysia | Indonesia) has a very large 6.3-inch Full HD+ display, that is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass. It has a resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels, and a dewdrop notch, giving it a 90.8% screen-to-body ratio.
It also boasts a great-looking 15-laminate glass back that sounds and looks exactly like honor’s Aurora Glass. The only downside with all glass backs – it’s highly susceptible to smudges.
The Realme 2 Pro (Malaysia | Indonesia) runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660, which has eight Qualcomm Kryo 260 cores that run at up to 2.2 GHz. Graphics processing is handled by the Qualcomm Adreno 512 GPU, and it comes equipped with the Qualcomm All-Ways Aware sensor hub and the Qualcomm AI Engine.
Realme did not skimp on memory, equipping the Realme 2 Pro (Malaysia | Indonesia) with the 4 GB, 6 GB or 8 GB of the latest LPDDR4x memory. They were also generous with its storage – offering either 64 GB of eMMC 5.1 flash storage, or 128 GB of UFS 2.1 flash storage.
All that is powered by a 3,500 mAh battery, packed in a chassis that is only 8.5 mm thick, and weighs just under 175 grams. It is recharged by a 10 watt fast charger. Here are Realme’s lab test results on its battery :
Standby
16.5 hours
Music Playing (WiFi)
12 hours
Video Playback (WiFi)
10 hours
Surfing the Internet (WiFi)
12.5 hours
Although the smartphone industry is moving towards USB Type C ports, the Realme 2 Pro (Malaysia | Indonesia) uses the good old micro USB 2.0 port. While not bidirectional, it is compatible with existing USB cables and accessories – a key consideration for the market it’s targeted at.
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Realme 2 Pro Specifications
Specifications
Realme 2 Pro
Display
6.3-inch display
- 1080 x 2340 pixels
- 19:9 aspect ratio, 409 ppi
Operating System
Android 8.1 with ColorOS 5.1
Platform
Qualcomm Snapdragon 660
Processor
4 x Qualcomm Kryo 260 Gold cores (2.2 GHz)
4 x Qualcomm Kryo 260 Silver cores (1.84 GHz)
Graphics Processor
Qualcomm Adreno 512
Memory
4 GB / 6 GB / 8 GB LPDDR4x SDRAM
Storage
64 GB eMMC 5.1 flash storage, OR
128 GB UFS 2.1 flash storage
microSD card (up to 256 GB)
Front Camera
16 MP image sensor with f/2.0 lens
Rear Camera
16 MP Sony IMX398 image sensor with f/1.7 lens
2 MP depth sensor with f/2.4 lens
Single LED flash
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Dewdrop Notch
The Realme 2 Pro (Malaysia | Indonesia) has a bezel-less display, with a dewdrop notch (also known as a teardrop notch). It requires a good deal of engineering prowess to squeeze in a front camera, a light sensor, a proximity sensor, and a speaker into the tiny notch.
The dewdrop notch allows for a larger display area, specifically space for more notifications. Barring the complete removal of the notch, this is about as good as it gets!
Qualcomm Snapdragon 660
Launched in May 2017, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 is a powerful mid-range mobile SoC. It combines eight Qualcomm Kryo 260 processor cores, with an Adreno 512 GPU, a Snapdragon X12 modem, a Spectra 160 camera ISP and a Hexagon 680 DSP.
There are two processor clusters – a high-performance cluster of four Kryo 260 Gold cores running at 2.2 GHz, and a low-power cluster of four Kryo 260 Silver cores running at 1.84 GHz. The Kryo 260 Gold is a semi-custom version of the Cortex-A73, while the Kryo 260 Silver is a semi-custom version of the Cortex A53.
Performance-wise, the Snapdragon 660 is up to 20% faster in processor performance than the previous year’s Snapdragon 653, and up to 30% faster in graphics performance.
The Realme 2 Pro Cameras
The Realme 2 Pro (Malaysia | Indonesia) has a very high-resolution 16 MP front camera, with a bright and wide f/2.0 aperture. It takes photos with a resolution of 4608 x 3456 pixels. Realme did not reveal the sensor model, but it’s quite likely the Sony IMX398.
Note : You can see the row of tiny speaker ports right above the front camera.
In the back, the Realme 2 Pro (Malaysia | Indonesia) has a dual-lens camera, supported by a single LED flash. It is made up of an image camera with a 16 MP Sony IMX398 sensor and a very wide f/1.7 aperture, paired with a 2 MP depth sensor and a f/2.4 aperture.
This dual-lens camera does not have optical image stabilisation, but supports electronic image stabilisation (EIS). The depth sensor does not actually take any pictures. Instead, it lets the camera to more accurately differentiate the subject from its background, allowing for more realistic software bokeh effects.
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Fast Fingerprint Sensor
The Realme 2 Pro (Malaysia | Indonesia) comes with a fast FPC 102x fingerprint sensor located at the back. In our tests, it is very fast and accurate, supporting 360-degree recognition.
In addition to the fingerprint sensor, the Realme 2 Pro also supports face recognition, and of course, the good old 6-digit passcode.
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Triple Card Tray
The Realme 2 Pro (Malaysia | Indonesia) has Dual SIM, Dual Standby capabilities, with support for 4G on both SIMs. It also supports the addition of a microSD card, for additional storage of up to 512 GB.
It comes with a triple card tray, so you can insert a microSD card while still using two nano SIM cards. In other words, you get to have your cake and eat it too!
The Ergonomics
Despite its notch, the Realme 2 Pro (Malaysia | Indonesia) feels like the Samsung Galaxy S9+. In fact, they both have the same width and thickness. Even with its slightly larger 6.3-inch display, the Realme 2 Pro is actually a wee bit shorter than the Galaxy S9+.
Thanks to its bezel-less display and elongated design, it feels smaller than the 5.5″ Samsung Galaxy S7 edge, and even 5.2″ smartphones like HTC 10. This is why it fits even smaller hands well, and fits better in smaller pockets.
The Realme 2 Pro (Malaysia | Indonesia) has a nice 6.3-inch IPS display with a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels. That gives it an ultra-wide / ultra-tall 19:9 aspect ratio, which will result in some pillar boxing – a black bar will be present on the left and right sides of the video clip.
Setting Up The Realme 2 Pro
The Realme 2 Pro (Malaysia | Indonesia) comes with Android 8.1.0 Oreo installed. The setup process is pretty easy, as we demonstrate in this video. You can also see how easy it is to train the fingerprint sensor.
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Available Memory & Storage
Realme offers the Realme 2 Pro (Malaysia | Indonesia) with memory options of 4 GB, 6 GB and 8 GB of LPDDR4x memory. Our review sample came with the full 8 GB. Its ColorOS 5.2 does not allow us to check the amount of free memory, but we used AIDA64 to confirm that it has 5 GB of free memory.
With ColorOS and background apps taking up 3 GB of RAM, that is a lot of bloat… eerily similar to the Samsung Galaxy S9+. But with 5 GB of free memory, you really have nothing to worry about. Even the Galaxy S9+, a premium flagship smartphone, only has 3 GB of free memory!
The Realme 2 Pro (Malaysia | Indonesia) also comes with either 64 GB of eMMC 5.1 flash storage, or 128 GB of the faster UFS 2.1 flash storage. Our model came with 128 GB, of which 103 GB is free to use.
This is enough space to store about 24,000 photos, or 11 hours of 1080p videos, or 5.5 hours of 4K videos. If that’s not enough, you can top it up with a microSD card (up to 256 GB).
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Realme 2 Pro Camera Performance – Photos
The Realme 2 Pro (Malaysia | Indonesia) has a very capable dual-lens camera with the excellent 16 MP Sony IMX398 sensor and a very wide and fast f/1.7 aperture. You can think of it as a lower-resolution cousin of the new Samsung Galaxy A7 2018‘s triple-lens camera, sans the wide-angle camera.
The maximum 16 MP resolution is attained with the 4:3 aspect ratio, with 4608 x 3456 pixels, and a file size of between 4 MB and 6 MB.
Here are eight high-resolution unedited samples for you to check out. Click on them to load the full-sized photos, which you can also download to examine.
The resolution and detail of the photos are incredible. You can really see the detail of flower carpel and petals, the individual buds of the broccoli florets, and the texture of the grains. The colour reproduction was also excellent – not just vivid, but also accurate.
The f/1.7 aperture naturally creates a very narrow depth of field, with a nicer bokeh effect. But you have to be more careful in framing the shot, because the subject may end up out-of-focus. Notice how quickly the rest of the picture is out-of-focus in the broccoli and star anise pictures.
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Realme 2 Pro Camera Performance – Video Recording
Surprisingly, the Realme 2 Pro (Malaysia | Indonesia) supports 4K, as well as 1080p, video recording. Even more expensive models like the Samsung Galaxy A7 2018 do not offer 4K video recording.
Video Recording Test #1 : Piano Performance (1080p)
In this video, you can see the amount of detail the sensor captures, even at just 1080p. Its cameras do not support OIS (optical image stabilisation), but it fortunately supports electronic image stabilisation capability.
Noise cancellation was decent, but the audio was too bright and lack bass and range. That said, this is very good performance for a mid-range smartphone.
Video Recording Test #2 : Piano Performance (4K)
First thing you will notice is that electronic image stabilisation (EIS) seems to be disabled or less effective in 4K. You will also notice the greater amount of detail recorded in each frame. Note too how its was able to control the bright highlights.
Video Recording Test #3 : Street Market (1080p)
As you can see, the Realme 2 Pro has good electronic image stabilisation, thanks to its high resolution sensor and fast processor.
Video Recording Test #3 : Street Market (4K)
But when we switched to 4K, it no longer had electronic image stabilisation, so the video was noticeably jerky.
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Work Performance – PCMark
We tested the Realme 2 Pro’s performance using PCMark, which simulates work applications like web browsing, playing video, writing text and editing photos.
The Realme 2 Pro (Malaysia | Indonesia) had pretty good gaming performance. It was only about 20% slower than the Honor Play and Honor 10, which boast a 12-core GPU; and a whopping 62% faster than the Galaxy A7 2018‘s dual-core GPU.
Battery Life – PCMark
We then tested the Realme 2 Pro’s battery performance using PCMark. It basically ran the PCMark work tests until its battery capacity dropped to 20%.
Despite its rather larger 3,500 mAh battery, the Realme 2 Pro (Malaysia | Indonesia) had a battery life just shy of 7 hours. Note that this is not just screen-on time. It’s running the Work 2.0 benchmark over, and over again, for 7 hours!
The new Samsung Galaxy A7 2018, in comparison, has a 50% longer battery life even though it only has a smaller 3,300 mAh battery.
A major reason is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660. It is a powerful mid-range chip, but built on the older 14 nm process technology. That means it consumes more power than newer chips built on 10 nm or even 7 nm process technologies.
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Battery Recharging Performance
The Realme 2 Pro comes with a 10 watt fast charger. Let’s take a look at how fast it recharges the 3,500 mAh battery.
