Realme GT 3 vs Realme GT 2: How good is the new GT-series phone? | 91mobiles.com

Realme has launched its new GT series smartphone called the Realme GT 3 (first impressions). It is the world’s first smartphone with a whopping 240W fast charging solution. The handset also comes with a Pulse interface that can light up in different colours for notifications, low battery, and more. That said, the Realme GT 3 feels like an iterative upgrade to last year’s GT, which is one of the cheapest Snapdragon 888 SoC phones in India. Here’s a quick comparison of the Realme GT 3 and Realme GT 2:

Realme GT 3 vs Realme GT 2: Price and availability

The Realme GT 3 price in India hasn’t been announced, but globally it is selling with USD 649 (Approx. Rs 53,700) price tag for the base 8GB RAM and 128GB storage option. The phone is expected to cost in India anywhere between can expect it to cost between Rs 45,000 to Rs 55,000 in India.

If that’s the case, then the Realme GT 3 will be significantly costlier than the Realme GT 2. The latter is retailing in India at Rs 34,999 in India for the 8GB RAM and 128GB storage model. If the 8GB RAM and 128GB storage model isn’t sufficient for your need, there’s also a 12GB RAM and 256GB storage option that costs Rs 38,999.

Realme GT 3 vs Realme GT 2

Specifications

Design

Like many premium phones, both Realme GT 3 and GT 2 feature glass on the back and front with a plastic frame. Unlike most premium smartphones, though, neither of these devices comes with any IP rating, meaning no water protection.

For those who prefer a curved back panel over a flat, boxy design, Realme GT 3 and GT 2 both have curved rears with rounded corners, making it easier to handle them despite their mammoth footprint. That said, the Realme GT 3 is marginally bulkier than the Realme GT 2. The former measures 163.9 x 75.8 x 8.9 mm and weighs 199 grams, while the Realme GT 2 weighs 194.5 grams and measures 162.9 x 75.8 x 8.6 mm in size.

While the Realme GT 2 has minimalistic aesthetics with an almost simple back design besides Realme branding and the designer’s initial, the Realme GT 3 has a different approach. Its rectangular camera island features a square bump housing a triple camera setup in two circular cutouts and a rectangular RGB light system that the brand calls the Pulse Interface. This light glows white, blue, or orange depending on the notifications to which the colourway has been assigned.

Display

The all-new Realme GT 3 has a slightly better display configuration than the GT 2. You get a 6.74-inch AMOLED panel that supports a 144Hz high refresh rate, 1400 nits peak brightness, custom 2772×1240 pixel FHD+ resolution, and 451PPI. Unfortunately, it lacks display protection. The device has a centre-aligned punch-hole cutout at the top for a selfie shooter and flaunts symmetric thin bezels.

On the other hand, the Realme GT 2 has a 6.62-inch AMOLED panel that supports a 120Hz high refresh rate, 1300 nits peak brightness, 2400×1080 pixel FHD+ resolution, and 398PPI. The display features Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection on top. It has a left-aligned punch-hole cutout for the front-facing camera and a thick chin bezel at the bottom.

Both smartphones offer an optical under-display fingerprint scanner.

Software

Realme ships the GT 2 with Android 12-based Realme UI 3.0 out of the box, but you can upgrade the software to the latest Android 13-based Realme UI 4.0 OS. The company promised three years of major OS updates and four years of security patches. This means the Realme GT 2 will only get support until Android 15.

The Realme GT 3 runs on Android 13-based Realme UI 4.0 out of the box and will get three years of major OS updates and four years of security patches. You will get OS updates until Android 16 on the Realme GT 3. Realme’s latest flagship will offer one extra Android OS upgrade than the GT 2.

Performance and connectivity

The Realme GT 2 launched with Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 888 SoC fabricated on the 5nm process. It ships with Andreno 660 GPU, 8GB/12GB RAM and 128GB/256GB storage. The device features a stainless steel vapour cooling system plus a 4129mm² super VC area. With this arsenal at its disposal, the GT 2 scored 8,12,162 points in the AnTuTu benchmark test and 1,130 and 3,047 points in the single-core and multi-core tests, respectively, in Geekbench.

While we are yet to test the performance of Realme GT 3, we know that it packs better hardware configuration than its predecessor and should — at least on paper — result in better performance. The device draws power from Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC fabricated on the 4nm process and has a 6580mm²-large VC liquid cooling system, up to 12GB RAM with up to 1TB storage option, and Adreno 730 GPU.

Battery and charging

The Realme GT 2 packs an impressive 5,000mAh battery that supports 65W fast charging. During our testing, we got around 6 hours of screen-on time on less processor-intensive tasks and a score of 14 hours 35 minutes on PCMark’s Battery test. The device packs enough juice to last an entire day easily, and if you run out of power, the 65W charger will refuel the Realme GT 2 in about 35 minutes.

While we are yet to test the battery life of the Realme GT 3’s 4,600mAh cell, the capacity looks promising, and the charging speed is more than you’d ever need literally! It’s bundled with a 210W charger, which Realme claims fully charges the device (From 0% to 100%) in just nine and a half minutes. Stay tuned for our review to find out how fast Realme’s 210W charger is and how accurate its claim is about fully juicing up a 4,600mAh battery in under 10 minutes.

Cameras

The colours of photos clicked on Realme phones tend to be a bit oversaturated in typical Realme fashion. However, during our testing, the Realme GT 2 offered impressive camera performance, clear-cut detailing, and a wide dynamic range. Have a look at the camera samples below.

The low-light capability of the Realme GT 2 is decent, thanks to Sony’s flagship 50MP IMX766 shooter combined with Snapdragon 888’s ISP. Despite only having street lighting in a very dark environment, the night mode on GT 2 kept the scenario relatively well-lit with extra sharpness, more defined shadows, and negligible noise.

The 8MP ultrawide lens is equally good as the main sensor with the excellent details and colour temperature results we saw with the primary snapper. However, the 2MP macro shooter struggles a bit in low-lighting conditions. You can capture videos at up to 4K resolution at 60fps.

Besides the new 50MP Sony IMX890 sensor, Realme hasn’t completely refreshed the camera setup on the GT 3. It will be interesting to see how the device’s cameras will perform in real-life. Both smartphones support OIS and have a 16MP front-facing camera for selfies and video calling requirements.

Realme GT 3 vs Realme GT 2: Verdict

The Realme GT 3 offers a Pulse interface, faster charging speed, a more powerful SoC, and a better camera sensor than the Realme GT 2. However, the company is yet to announce the Indian pricing and availability details of the GT 3. Based on the global pricing, the device could retail between Rs 45,000 to Rs 55,000 in India for the base model.

The upgrade decision boils down to your requirements from your phone. If you need the 240W fast charging, newer Sony camera sensor, capable Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC, and a Pule interface, you should wait for the GT 3.