Realme has been launching devices left and right. We are in Q1 2020 and the Chinese smartphone manufacturer has already launched four devices all in different categories. Ranging from low budget to flagship. Realme sure wants an upper hand in the long-lasting Realme vs Xiaomi battle. As of today, Rs. 12,000 to Rs. 18,000 segment is probably the most congested market with tons and tons of choices for the consumers to choose from.
With the likes of Realme, Xiaomi, Samsung, Oppo, and Vivo people are getting confused as to which device they should go for. Amidst that, Realme has launched its Realme 6 Pro, the successor to the previous quarter’s Realme 5 Pro.
We’ve seen leaks and renders of the Realme 6 Pro and the one thing that lured me towards it has to be the back panel design. Well, talking about that, let’s kick start the review with the design and build quality of the device.
Realme 6 Pro: Design and Build Quality
Probably one of the main aspects of a device nowadays. With more and more people going for looks in a device, companies have started to feed them with amazing design factors. The back panel on the Realme 6 is quite an attractive one. It has what some may call a lightning bolt design that reacts when light hits the surface. We have the Lightning Orange color variant with us and the back panel does look eye-candy. The glass back panel is, however, prone to scratches when kept in the pocket or on the table with a rough surface. Unfortunately, Corning Gorilla protection is only limited to the display.
The device does feel premium to hold, however, it is a bit on the heavier side when compared to devices in the same price range. I’ve been using the Realme 6 Pro for almost a month now and I’ve had my share of drops and besides some minor scratches, there are no other dents, etc on the device. So for build quality, I will give it a ⅗ lesser points because Corning Gorilla glass is missing and for the design, I will give it a ⅘.
Realme 6 Pro: Display
Unlike some of its past devices, Realme has opted for an LCD display on the Realme 6 Pro. However, there’s a twist. The Realme 6 Pro display supports 90Hz. A couple of weeks ago, Poco launched its much-awaited Poco X2 with a 120Hz refresh rate and now Realme comes out with a 90Hz display. The 6.5inch Full HD+ display is quite decent but when it comes to outdoor visibility, that’s when the Realme 6 Pro lacks behind.
Even at full brightness, I was having a tad bit of trouble reading the contents on the screen. Other devices in the same price segment provide much better outdoor visibility. There’s no color shifting when we view the display from different angles however the brightness level could have been more in my opinion.
With this quarantine period going on my part-time job is consuming content be it on YouTube, Amazon or even Netflix. Watching movies and TV shows was no issue at all. The colors produced on the 6.5inch LCD display are quite vibrant and sharp as well. While we are on sharpness, the 90Hz refresh rate does feel very sharp on the Realme 6 Pro. Scrolling through content on social media is very smooth when compared to a 60Hz display.
Realme 6 Pro: Performance and Battery Life
One of the many reasons why you are here. How does the Snapdragon 720G fair in our day to day life on the Realme 6 Pro? Well, for starters, 720G is not a downgrade from 730G, a lot of people have been thinking about that because of the numbers. Let me clear that to you, oh wait, we’ve already made a video about that, click here to watch it right now.
We are not one for benchmark tests, we believe in how the device works out day in and day out. I’ve not faced any issues, any lags or stutters of any kind on the Realme 6 Pro in my everyday usage. As for gaming, we spent quite some time on the Realme 6 Pro playing PUBG, PES2020, Asphalt 9 and NBA Live.
The device had no issues whatsoever getting the games boosted. I spent about 2 to 3 hours in a stretch playing PUBG and as you know, 720G supports Smooth and Ultra the FPS is capped at 40 and it did feel like there were minor frame drops, however, it performed very well and I mean very good when compared to some of the Samsung devices such as M31 and/or Galaxy A71. As for heating issues, after a couple of gaming sessions, it did feel warm to hand but not in the initial hours.
We are testing the 8GB/128GB variant and the Realme 6 Pro is also available in 6GB/64GB as well as 6GB/128GB variant. The Realme 6 Pro runs on Android 10 with Realme UI on top.
For the battery, the device packs in a 4,300mAh battery, which is more than enough to power through the day. We used the device on 90Hz for the entire day with around 10-15 percent of battery still left in it. So for the battery, you need not worry. You also get a 30W charger bundled in the box for fast charging. The company claims that it can charge the device to 67 percent in just 30mins.
Realme 6 Pro: Quad Camera Performance
Cameras. This is where Realme always lacks behind and in this case they’ve done it again. The Realme 6 Pro sports a Quad camera setup at the rear with a 64MP primary shooter, an 8MP Wide Angle lens, 12MP telephoto lens, and a 2MP macro lens.
The primary camera clicks decent photos, the colors are quite vibrant, however, what we’ve noticed on a couple of Realme devices is that if you zoom into the photo(landscapes) you can see that the pictures look a bit under-sharpened and the details in the image are also affected by that. Because of which you can see this water-color type of effect. Although, the colors in the photos are quite punchy and eye-pleasing. As for portrait mode, the edge detection was on point and the photos came out crisp. It also comes with a 64MP lens which does not offer any upper hand to the device whatsoever. We faced no issues with the focus mechanism of the Samsung GW1 sensor on the Realme 6 Pro when it came to close up shots.
We’ve said this before and will say it again, numbers mean nothing. However, at this price range and with all the features that the Realme 6 Pro has to offer I as an individual don’t mind the camera that much. If you are a camera geek and want top-notch quality, then maybe you should eye out the Poco X2 or even Samsung devices such as the Galaxy M31. The wide-angle lens does shift colors which are pretty common however not that noticeable in the 6 Pro. To the front, we can see a punchole camera setup with two lenses, a 16MP primary sensor, and an 8MP ultra-wide-angle cam. In decent lighting conditions, the front camera was able to click good photos.
In low-lighting conditions, the Realme 6 Pro managed to perform well as you can see in the images here.
Realme 6 Pro: Verdict.
With a price tag of Rs. 16,999, the Realme 6 Pro provides some top-notch features that many other devices can’t. However, as mentioned in this price range there is a lot of competition with the Poco X2 which comes with a 120Hz display and well everything else is somewhat similar. The Realme 6 Pro is by no means a bad device. Great software optimization, the LCD display is perfect for indoor conditions and for viewing content. Battery life is just amazing in the Realme 6 Pro.
You can even consider getting the Realme 6 Pro over the Realme X2 keeping in mind AMOLED display is not one of your priorities. Had the Realme 6 Pro started with a price tag of Rs. 15,000 it would have been an instant recommendation from my side. Send in any queries regarding the Realme 6 Pro on our Twitter handle – @dhananjay_tech