Realme announces UK release of Snapdragon 888 Realme GT, two new smartwatches and a vacuum cleaner
Announced in China back in March, the flagship Realme GT is now available in the UK (with faster charging too!) and the company announced some other new products too.
It hasn’t been since the release of the awesome X50 Pro 5G over a year ago that Realme has given UK customers a device using the current top-of-the-range chipset for power users.
That isn’t an attempt to belittle phones like the recent Realme 8 Pro and Realme 8 5G, which will leave most customers perfectly content with the performance offered by those models (and appreciate some more cash in their pocket), but there has been a definite gap in the market for those wanting more.
Today Realme has filled that gap with the Realme GT, which is also slightly different to the model announced in China earlier this year.
Better still, early adopters could get themselves this phone for a little over £300 – an absolutely crazy price for a phone that is competing at the top-level.
It comes with the following key specifications:
- 158.5 x 73.3 x 8.4mm / 186g (9.1mm & 186.5g on the vegan leather variant)
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC, with 8GB or 12GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage
- Realme GT mode that gives maximum power for gaming, and helps keep distractions under control
- Stainless Steel vapour cooling, using a steel-copper composite for better heat dissipation and strength
- 6.43-inch, 1000nits (peak brightness), 120Hz AMOLED display, with 1080×2400 pixel resolution and 360Hz touch sampling rate
- Stereo sound and 3.5mm headphone input
- Wi-Fi 6 support (up to 2400Mbps, 802.11ax) with Bluetooth 5.2, and supporting Dual Channel Acceleration (use Wi-Fi and mobile data concurrently for faster downloads via supported apps)
- Triple rear camera setup with a Sony 64-megapixel primary camera (f/1.8), 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera (f/2.3) with 119-degree Field of View, and 2-megapixel macro camera (f/2.4)
- Front 16-megapixel camera (f/2.5) with 78-degree FoV
- Three colour variants, including Racing Yellow (pictured above) with vegan leather trim, Dashing Silver, and Dashing Blue (pictured below)
- 4,500mAh battery with 65W fast-charging (up from 50W of the Chinese variant) and charging optimisation to reduce charge speed where possible (e.g. charging overnight) – 0-100% charge in just 35 minutes
- Realme UI 11 (based on Android 11) with early access to Android 12
Realme GT Photo Samples
Realme claims the 64-megapixel primary camera can produce images with a clarity close to that of a 108-megapixel sensor, using multi-frame technology that shoots several 64MP shots at the same time and combines them to reduce noise and improve clarity.
You can see some example photos I’ve taken with my review unit to judge for yourself. I’ll have many more to show in the coming days when I finalise my full and in-depth review.
Note: The images below are downscaled; full quality photos will be published in the full review.
Questions?
I have the phone to review, the yellow version with vegan leather back (reminding me of the orange vegan leather clad Find X2 Pro I reviewed last year), but due to my current workload and also having some rest due to receiving a Covid vaccination yesterday, this will be published later this week or early next.
If you have any questions about the phone, please ask in the comments below or better yet, via Twitter.
My first impressions are that this phone is, fast. For the money, especially with the discounts for early birds, it represents an absolute killer package.
Of course, only with more prolonged testing can I discover any foibles and issues that might change that view – but from what I’ve seen so far, this phone is going to be even better than the X50 Pro 5G.
Watch the official launch
If you missed the livestreamed launch, you can watch it again here.
Realme Watch 2 and Watch 2 Pro
Two very affordable smartwatches were also launched today, which will appeal to people who want decent fitness tracking, heart rate and blood oxygen monitoring without worrying too much about the watch aspect. The traditional watch form factor offers more than most fitness bands, making it a better choice for a lot of people.
The Realme Watch 2 at £49.99 gives plenty of features, including 90 sport modes, music and camera control, basic notifications, stopwatch, weather and a ‘find my phone’ feature, as well the ability to control selected IoT products – like the Realme Buds Air or Buds Q audio products, plus Bluetooth speakers, smart bulbs and sockets.
The display itself is quite basic, a 1.4-inch LCD display with a resolution of 320×320 pixels. It is fully touch operated, and the battery life from the 315mAh battery is rated as up to 12 days (rising to 20 days in power saving mode), making it something you won’t need to worry about charging every day or two like many more powerful watches.
The Realme Watch 2 Pro comes with a 1.75-inch display and 320×385 pixel resolution, plus the addition of GPS to capture your exact movements for later viewing, as well as a larger 390mAh battery. The Pro will sell for just £20 more at £69.99.
I have the Realme Watch 2 which I will also be reviewing in due course.
Pricing and Availability
The Realme GT will be available to buy from June 21st, from AliExpress (8+128GB) and Amazon (12+256GB).
Pricing will be as follows:
- AliExpress (8+128GB) €449 (approx £385), with an early bird price of €369 (approx £317) between June 21st and June 25th.
- Amazon (12+128GB) €599 (approx £515), with an early bird price of €499 (approx £430) during Amazon Prime Day.
Exact UK pricing for UK purchases will be updated as soon as possible when the phone goes on sale, while AliExpress users can select their preferred currency and the price will adjust automatically based on current rates.
The Watch 2 and Watch 2 Pro will retail for £49.99 and £69.99 respectively.
And finally…
Realme also announced the TechLife Robot Vacuum with 38 built-in sensors and LiDAR, available from June 16th on AliExpress for €299 (approx £260).
More information
Press Release
LONDON, England (June 15th, 2021) – realme, the world’s fastest-growing smartphone brand, has today launched its highly-anticipated 2021 flagship killer smartphone – realme GT. realme GT features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G processor, 120Hz Super AMOLED Fullscreen, 65W SuperDart Charge, and more. The flagship killer delivers a high-quality experience with two key features; thunderous power and sustained performance; setting new industry standards for the mid- to high-end flagship phone segment. realme GT 8GB+128GB will be priced at €449 with an early-bird special promotion of €369, on sale from June 21st at Ali Express. realme GT 12GB+256GB will be priced at €599 with an early-bird special promotion of €499, on sale during Amazon Prime Day.
realme GT: 2021 flagship killer
realme aims to disrupt the mid- to high-end phone segment with the launch of realme GT. By offering the maximum number of flagship features for budget minded consumers, realme GT reflects the smartphone brand’s commitment to making cutting-edge technology more accessible to young consumers.
realme GT is equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, the most sophisticated chip, delivering the ultimate flagship-grade performance for users. Leveraging the most advanced 5nm processing technology, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chip improves realme GT’s performance and AI computing power. Together with a stronger and larger Cortex-X1 core and three new-generation high-performing A78 cores, the phone’s CPU performance has increased by 20% and power consumption reduced by 50% compared with the previous generation.
realme GT features a 6.43-inch 120Hz Samsung Super AMOLED display capable of providing high responsiveness required by gamers and a new generation stainless steel VC cooling system to optimize the phone’s heat dissipation structure, which plays an essential role in the phone’s durable peak performance. Furthermore, realme GT delivers a large 4,500 mAh battery and 65W SuperDart charging support, allowing the phone to be fully charged in just 35 minutes.
Other key features include:
Dual Light Sensors – Front and rear dual light sensors provide 4,096 auto-brightness levels.
Greater Connectivity – In addition to the major 5G bands, the realme GT supports the industry’s fastest Wi-Fi and latest Bluetooth technologies.
Flagship Camera – The realme GT boasts a Sony 64MP triple camera with a brand-new night portrait mode and AI capabilities to deliver professional grade photos.
Immersive Audio – The smartphone has Dolby Atmos Dual Stereo speakers, Hi-Res Audio, and a 3.5mm audio jack with low latency and low interference charge.
Operating System – The realme GT is one of the first devices to support the Android 12 Beta 1. realme will continue its Android 12 Developer Preview Program to compile users’ feedback before launching the new realme UI later this year.
Exclusive GT Mode – Only available in the realme GT series, the GT Mode is created for users who want the ultimate performance. This includes full-scene high performance mode coverage and further optimization of high-frame-rate gaming, all providing a smooth user experience and a more durable and stable high frame rate gaming experience.
Speed-inspired aesthetics – Based on the core concept of grand tourers (GT) sports cars, the realme GT phone series offers a glass covered design – Dashing Silver and Dashing Blue – with a 3D light reflecting pattern on the back plus a vegan-leather – Racing Yellow, along with ultra-thin body weighing less than 186g.
Pricing and availability
realme GT 8GB+128GB will be priced at €449 with an early-bird special promotion of €369, on sale from June 21st via Ali Express. realme GT 12GB+256GB will be priced at €599 with an early-bird special promotion of €499 available from June 21st to all consumers during Amazon Prime Day.
realme expands its AIoT offering – introducing Watch 2, Watch 2 Pro, and TechLife Robot Vaccum
realme also announces the launch of three new AIoT products – the realme watch 2 & 2 Pro and the realme TechLife Robot Vacuum – as part of an accelerated AIoT product strategy for the next five years.
Building on the massive success of the realme watch, the realme watch 2 Pro delivers powerful upgrades in functionality, display, and other user experience features. With an upgraded 1.75-inch (4.4 cm) large color display, the new watch boasts a 56% larger screen viewing area than the previous generation. The display also features a remarkably high resolution of 320×385 pixels and a peak brightness of 600 nits, which delivers visuals 58% brighter than the previous generation. It includes various sporting features like an accurate GPS system, an SpO2 Monitor that tracks blood oxygen saturation levels, a heart rate detection monitor, and a total of 90 sports modes (an increase from the original 16 modes). The watch can deliver 14 days of battery life with its 390mAh high-efficiency battery so users can exercise all day without missing a beat. realme’s watch 2 Pro offers over 100 different curated watch faces for users to choose from, allowing them to express their unique personality and style.
Another member of the realme smartwatch is the realme watch 2. It has almost everything about the realme watch 2 pro, from the ultra-bright 600 nits display to the 90 sports modes support, all packed in a smaller form size of 1.4” colour display. The realme Watch 2 Pro is priced at £69.99 and the realme Watch 2 is priced at £49.99, available at realme.com/uk and Amazon UK from June 16th.
In addition, realme introduces the first device offered under TechLife – the Robot Vacuum – which is the company’s most advanced smart home product to date with 38 built-in sensors that serve a multitude of functions to help the vacuum clean smartly. Capable of fast and accurate real-time navigation and precise in-app room mapping, the latest LiDAR technology can improve accuracy of up to 12% when compared to previous LiDAR generations. By completing 360-degree laser scans per second, the Robot Vacuum can judge relative positions at an impressive accuracy rate of up to 98%. realme TechLife Robot Vacuum also delivers a super-high suction and mopping power of 3000Pa, capable of cleaning large amounts of high-density garbage while keeping noise levels as low as 55dB on a quiet mode. It also features a 5200mAh battery, a 600ml dust bin and a 300ml smart electronic water tank, ensuring that users do not have to constantly charge and empty the vacuum during cleaning. realme TechLife Robot Vacuum is priced from 299 euro, available on AliExpress from 16th June.