Realme recently launched its new device the Realme XT in India. The smartphone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 SoC and it’s the first smartphone in India that comes with a 64 MP quad-camera setup at the back. Is this device worth buying? Read our review to find out.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X7TNyfXTig]
Realme XT Specifications
- CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 AIE octa-core processor
- GPU: Adreno 616 GPU
- RAM: 4/6/8 GB LPDDR4+ RAM
- Operating System: ColorOS 6 based on Android 9 Pie
- Display: 6.4-inch Full HD + (1080 x 2340 pixels) Super AMOLED display with a waterdrop notch on the top, 19.5:9 aspect ratio
- Rear Camera: 64 MP Samsung GW1 primary sensor with 0.8μm pixel size and f/1.8 aperture + 8 MP 119-degree ultra-wide-angle lens with f/2.25 aperture, 1.12μm pixel size + 2 MP depth sensor with f/2.4 aperture, 1.75μm pixel size + 2 MP macro sensor with f/2.4 aperture, 1.75μm pixel size
- Front Camera: 16 MP Sony IMX471 sensor with f/2.0 aperture and AI Beautification
- Internal Storage: 64/128 GB UFS 2.1
- Connectivity: Dual SIM, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5, GPS, USB Type-C
- Other: In-display Fingerprint Scanner, HyperBoost 2.0
- Colors: Pearl White and Pearl Blue
- Battery: 4000 mAh with 21W fast charging
Design, Display, & Ergonomics
When it comes to the design, Realme XT looks quite different when compared with the Realme X. The camera setup has now been moved to the left, the device weighs less and is slimmer than the Realme X. We got the Pearl Blue variant to play around with and the device looks great. It comes with a 3D Curved Glass Design with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection on the back. The Pearl Blue variant is kinda divided into two colors and you get violet on the right and blue color on the left that looks elegant.
The panel on the back reflects light and the company describes that as Hyperbola Light Streaks. Besides that, the back attracts a lot of fingerprints and is slippery so we’d recommend you to use a case if you buy the device. Everything else is pretty much the same, you get the headphone jack and a USB Type-C port in the bottom, Volume buttons on the left and the power button on the right.
Moving on to the display, Realme XT comes with a 6.4-inch Full HD + (1080 x 2340 pixels) Super AMOLED display with a waterdrop notch on the top. The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the top and comes with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio. Now we don’t know why Realme ditched the full view display and pop-up camera on this one because that would have been really cool for the price this smartphone comes at. Apart from that, the Super AMOLED display on the Realme XT is really good as it gives you punchy colors and deep blacks. Moreover, it’s bright enough and you won’t face any problems while using the smartphone in direct sunlight.
The phone comes with Widevine L1 certification which means that you can enjoy content in HD on services like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Furthermore, it also comes with Night Shield Mode, Auto-Brightness and Screen color temperature adjustment from which you can enhance your viewing experience on the device.
User Interface and Software
Just like the other Realme devices, the Realme XT also runs on ColorOS 6 that is based on Android 9 Pie. It recently got a ColorOS update in which the Android Security Patch Level was updated to September 5, 2019, and the Camera performance got improved. Everything else is almost the same, you get the Theme Store, Night Shield Mode and all the Gesture features that ColorOS comes with.
The device comes with the usual Bloatware which means that you’ll have to disable the apps you don’t need and uninstall the rest. We’ve already covered the top features for the Realme XT and you can have a look at them by clicking here.
Hardware Performance, Benchmarks, and Gaming
Realme XT comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 AIE octa-core processor that is coupled with Adreno 616 GPU and 4/6/8 GB LPDDR4+ RAM. Qualcomm claims that the SoC offers a 10 percent improvement along with version 3.0 of the AI engine. This is the same chipset that we’ve previously seen on Vivo Z1x, Vivo Z1 Pro, Realme 5 Pro, and other devices and it didn’t disappoint us.
The same is the case with the Realme XT. Thanks to its processor, the Realme XT can easily run heavy games like PUBG Mobile, Gangster Vegas: World of Crime, and Asphalt 9. When it comes to PUBG, the Realme XT allows you to run it on HD Graphics with High Frame Rate. We hardly faced any lags or FPS fluctuations on this one and the gaming experience turned out to be good. The device doesn’t heat up and the max temperature we saw while gaming was 37-degree celsius.
Moreover, during our usage, we did not experience any stutters even when multitasking with several applications running in the background. Face recognition and the in-display fingerprint scanner on this device are quick and work well. It comes in two storage variants 64/128 GB and also has support for microSD cards so that you can expand your storage.
On the connectivity part, the Realme XT supports Dual Sim, 4G VoLTE, and Bluetooth 5.0. It packs a 4000 mAh Battery which supports 21W VOOC 3.0 fast charging. The battery easily lasts up to a day and you can charge it up from 0 to 50 in 40 mins with the fast charger that’s included in the box.
Moving on to the Benchmarks, Realme XT scored 180504 on AnTuTu Benchmark which is close to its competitors. On Geekbench 5, Realme XT got a Single-Core score of 319 and a Multi-Core score of 1474. We also ran a compute test on this one and it got a score of 939 on that. The device comes with UFS 2.1 storage and on AndroBench the Sequential Read speed we got was near 500MB/s whereas the Sequential Write speed was up to 190MB/s. You can have a look at the benchmark results below.
Camera
The main highlight of the Realme XT is its quad-camera setup at the back. Realme XT features a 64 MP Samsung GW1 primary sensor with 0.8μm pixel size and f/1.8 aperture + 8 MP 119-degree ultra-wide-angle lens with f/2.25 aperture, 1.12μm pixel size + 2 MP depth sensor with f/2.4 aperture, 1.75μm pixel size and a 2 MP macro sensor with f/2.4 aperture, 1.75μm pixel size. In addition to this, there’s a 16 MP Sony IMX471 sensor with f/2.0 aperture and AI Beautification at the front.
The Samsung GW1 sensor on the Realme XT surely performs better than the Sony IMX586 48MP sensor. When it comes to details the Samsung GW1 takes the score. The images we shot on the Realme XT were crisp, detailed and surely impressive. The primary sensor performs really well but on the other hand, the macro and the ultra-wide sensor fails to deliver the results that we expected. They don’t capture the details and the photos shot with the ultra-wide lens look grainy when zoomed in. Even the color output on Images shot using the macro and ultra-wide lens is average. Realme is using a software-based technology to tackle this but it still fails.
On the front, the 16 MP selfie snapper takes amazing selfies and comes with all the software-based features which include the beautification mode. You can also shoot your selfies in portrait mode to get the bokeh effect.
Moving on to the videos, Realme XT can shoot videos in 4K with 30 FPS without EIS. You also get the option to shoot videos at 1080p and 720p both in 30 and 60 FPS. In these options, the Electronic Image Stabilization only works on 1080p with 30FPS. On the other hand, the slow-motion videos can be shot in 960 FPS, 240 FPS, and 120 FPS. It shoots the videos with its 64 MP primary sensor.
The camera app on the Realme XT comes with features like Chroma Boost and Auto HDR. It automatically detects the scene on which you are shooting the image and adjusts the settings accordingly. You also get modes like Ultra 64 MP, Nightscape, Pano, Expert, Portrait Mode, Ultra Macro and more.
Overall the camera works well in natural lighting conditions but sometimes, it fails to deliver good quality images in low lighting conditions. Have a look at the camera samples below.
Realme XT Camera Samples:
Verdict
Realme XT is a complete package for the price it comes at. It offers great performance, looks and feels premium when it comes to its design and most importantly, it comes with a Super AMOLED Display. It’s a value for money device and you get what you pay for. However, if you plan to buy this just for the 64 MP camera setup we’d recommend you to wait and watch out for the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro. That’s all from our side you can have a looks at the Pros and Cons of the Realme XT below.
Pros:
- Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and back
- Super AMOLED Display
- The excellent selfie camera and the Portrait shots are really good
- Outstanding Performance
- VOOC 3.0 Fast Charging
Cons:
- Ultra-Wide and Macro cameras are average
- Full View Display and a Pop-Up camera on the device would have been better.
