realme GT Neo 3
RM2,019.00
Pros
- Long lasting battery
- Nice colour options
- Great for gaming
- Stereo speakers
- Great display
Cons
- No wireless charging
- Not waterproof
- No audio jack
Stop right there. If you’re looking for a capable gaming phone that won’t tear up your wallet that much, this is the review you should read. I have come to love MediaTek Dimensity chipsets and this new realme GT Neo 3 is powered by Dimensity 8100 SoC. And it is one of the reasons why I feel that this device is one of the best gaming phones I’ve used.
Of course, it can do more than just games.
I had the privilege to test and review the new realme GT Neo 3 for a few weeks and I came to realise that I have been missing out on tons of new capable phones out there. One being the realme branded phones. If you notice, this realme GT Neo 3 is the first realme branded phone I reviewed. And I love it.
Look and Feel
There are many things to love about this realme GT Neo 3 and the very first thing that I love about it is the colourway options, in particular, the Silverstone White (Sprint White) and the Le Mans Blue (Nitro Blue). It also comes in a simple Asphalt Black colourway but I think it’s not that interesting. The review unit in my review is the Silverstone White variant. It simply looks gorgeous.
The back panel has this double line from top to bottom that depicts a racing stripe from a race car, hence the GT name it carries. Near the bottom of the stripes, shows realme’s tagline, “Dare to Leap”. The back panel design sends a first impression to those who are looking that this phone is fast and made for gaming. No doubt, it is exactly that. I would also like to point out that the back panel plastic material feels softer with a matte type of feel. I can tell that it has better grip when handling the device in one hand.
The camera arrangement at the back is pretty neat, in my opinion. The main camera sits in the larger lens while the ultrawide camera and the macro camera sits in the smaller lens below it. The dual tone LED flash sits in between the main camera and the two secondary cameras. As for the technical specs, the main camera goes up to 50MP while the ultrawide camera comes with 8MP setup. The macro camera sensor is only set to 2MP.
Nevertheless, the main camera is doing most of the jobs. While it supports up to 50MP for a high resolution image, it only handles to a max of 24MP on normal mode. Which means you need to toggle the 50MP in the camera app in order to shoot at the highest resolution. Doing so will disable the zoom function, so you will be stuck in a single focal point the whole time.
Around the front, the realme GT Neo 3 comes with a large 6.7” AMOLED display with 2412 x 1080 pixels and is protected by Gorilla Glass 5. No doubt, the display is gorgeous, all thanks to the AMOLED panel on the realme GT Neo 3. Contrast is high and the colours are vibrant. That was my first thought about it. It’s a mid-range device with a flagship display.
The punch hole front facing selfie camera sits right in the middle top of the display. For the selfie camera, the realme GT Neo 3 is using a 16MP shooter with gyro-EIS for video shots. That is pretty impressive for a selfie camera setup. But more on that later on when I talk about the camera performance.
Now, the frame surrounding the realme GT Neo 3 is designed a little differently than usual. But honestly, I like it being different. It’s square-ish around the sides but rounded near the edges to give a good feel while being gripped. This avoids mishandling and I am able to grip the device a lot better.
Internals and Performance
The heart of the realme GT Neo 3 is a MediaTek Dimensity 8100 chipset based on 5nm processing and believe me, it is a superb system on chip for this device (or any device for that matter). Most tech bloggers would agree with me that the Dimensity series from MediaTek is the main contender against Qualcomm’s Snapdragon series. I kid you not because the Dimensity 8100 on the realme GT Neo 3 is a beast.
Scoring 818585 on Aututu 3D Benchmark placed the realme GT Neo 3 near the top of the table. It is within the same range of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 series which scores slightly higher depending on the phone model and software optimisations. But for it to break the 800k mark is simply amazing. Take note that the Dimensity 8000 series is only a mid-range chipset whereas the Dimensity 9000 series is the flagship chipset.
To support the demanding power from the SoC, the realme GT Neo 3 comes with 8GB of RAM with the option to increase up to 5GB additional memory via the RAM expansion settings. You will also get a minimum of 128GB of storage that goes all the way up to 512GB for the highest spec version. And it comes with Android 12 and a possible update to Android 13 later on.
And to power it all up, the realme GT Neo 3 comes with a 5000mAh Li-Po battery with fast-charging capabilities up to 80W and goes from zero to 100% in only 32 minutes. That is pretty impressive if you ask me. I also did a test whereby I only have 5% of juice left and I plug the fast charger in for 5 minutes. It immediately went up close to 30% and with that amount of battery, it lasted me about half a day with normal usage.
What It’s Best For
The realme GT Neo 3 is definitely made for entertainment. Why I’m saying this is because it comes with a dual stereo speaker setup that is loud and crystal clear, in my opinion. It could use a little bit more bassy but it’s alright with me when it comes to movie time. Since it comes with an AMOLED display, watching movies with the stereo speakers feels even more pleasurable.
Now we have all that power combined, gaming will be more interesting. And I’m not wrong. As usual, I installed my go-to game which is PUBG Mobile. After I’m done with the setup, I will check on the graphic settings. I can configure it to go for the highest settings and I am very impressed at the fluidity of the graphics. Superb vibrant colours and bright screen made the realme GT Neo 3 a joy for entertainment.
The whole gameplay was really fun. The responsiveness with the touches is great, the smoothness of the overall graphic rendering is somewhat better than some of the flagships from the previous years. I’m talking about the SD880 series devices here. Finally, the MediaTek fellas are doing something right to improve their SoC like focusing on gaming devices and for other heavy graphic tasks.
With that being said, multitasking will obviously be better and easier. Everything that you throw at it will be an easy task. realme’s UI 3.0 software is made to be user friendly and you will not find any trouble setting up your home screen and personalised colours. Navigation is easy with gestures but you can also opt to use the old skool navigation buttons near the bottom of the display. I prefer gesture navigation.
Photography
For those who are into photography, don’t fret because the realme GT Neo 3 is pretty nifty with the camera too. As I mentioned earlier in this review, the main shooter comes with a 50MP sensor and is used the most during my testing.
Photos taken with the main shooter turns up really good with a well balanced tone and not so over-the-top post processing sharpening. That is the only gripe I have when it comes to mid range devices nowadays. They tend to overdo with the post processing optimization that it becomes almost unnatural. I’m glad that the realme GT Neo 3 doesn’t over-process the final image.
For the ultra-wide angle camera, the photos taken with it are okay. It’s not that great but it is usable for social media postings. I find that the ultra-wide angle shots are a little too smooth on some occasions especially in low light settings. For that, you can see the sample in the photo gallery below. Photos taken with the main shooter are great but when it comes to the ultra-wide camera, it’s just too smooth. This can be addressed by updating the OS but realme has to take note of my opinion here.
The third camera is a 2MP macro camera. I don’t really use this mode because I have nothing to shoot it for but in my test, it is able to go as close as 3cm away from the subject. The photo quality is a hit and miss for this one. In bright areas, the photos will turn out good but in darker areas, you will have to keep your hand steady or have it attached on a tripod. That’s all I can say about the macro camera.
Have a look at the photos taken with the realme GT Neo 3 in the gallery below. If you have any questions or comments, just leave them in the comment section.
Conclusion
As a gamer, I feel that I can simply pick up a realme GT Neo 3 for a game or two. I play games almost every night and I will usually have multiple phones (even those on review) to choose from. But somehow, I will end up picking this realme GT Neo 3. It becomes my choice because the graphics are rendered smoothly while it manages to keep the phone cool. It doesn’t even pass as warm during my test. Plus, the racing stripe at the back panel makes it look GT like. And that is the idea.
I would say that the MediaTek Dimensity 8100 worked really well on the realme GT Neo 3. I’m pretty sure that those who have tried this phone will say the same thing. If you’re looking for a capable mid range phone, this can be it. The design and colour options are great. The memory and storage options are awesome too. Daily tasks and multitasking are very smooth and fast.
The realme GT Neo 3 is made for those who want something fashionable that looks cool. It may not be suitable for the elderly or a corporate person due to the look, but definitely a great device for the young at heart, like me.
So if you’re looking for a gaming phone that won’t break your bank, the realme GT Neo 3 is for you. You can check out realme’s official Lazada store to make the purchase. It is currently retailing for RM2,019.00.
