realme has responded to the clamour of bringing the GT series in the Philippines with the introduction of the realme GT Master Edition. This "premium-affordable" smartphone is pushing boundaries when it comes to design, display, and performance. It also promises a faster charging speed with its SuperDart charging tech. Most of all, the very generous Php 18,990 starting price for the 128GB variant is set to disrupt the sub-Php 20k segment.
realme GT Master Edition review
Most of the realme fans are in frenzy with a number of deals that they can avail with the phone's initial release. We have previously shared our thoughts about the phone in our unboxing and initial impressions article but just in case you need a deeper dive before you purchase, join us in this realme GT Master Edition review.
{getToc} $title={Table of Contents} $count={Boolean} $expanded={Boolean}Review Summary
Pros
- Excellent AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate
- Exciting new chipset
- Dependable camera
- Long battery life with SuperDart charging
- Stunning and lightweight design
- Very generous price
Cons
- Frame catches fingerprints
- No wireless charging
Design: Thin body with nano-coated sunrise
We all know that realme won't disappoint in terms of design. It has a history of releasing flashy yet statement-oriented design, and the realme GT Master Edition is not an exception. The Voyager Grey variant is designed by the famous Naoto Fukusawa which is very famous in his work for different brands around the world.
Related: realme GT Master Edition Unboxing, First Impressions
Although we think that the Grey colorway is awesome, we still prefer the Daybreak Blue that we have as our review unit. Its back panel captures the spectacle that you see when the sun rises on the horizon; this has been captured and nano-laminated at the smartphone's panel.
We can see a metallic appeal beyond the shiny finish. You can also see a mix of colors being refracted when you look at it from a different angle. The backing may reject fingerprints but the silver plastic railings could easily attract them.
There's an LED flash, a triple camera module highlighted by the 64MP main camera on the upper left corner, and the realme branding across the bottom. The right side houses the power button while the top has the secondary microphone. Furthermore, you can find the SIM tray and the volume rocker on the left; and the rest of the ports - 3.5mm audio jack, primary microphone, USB-C, and speaker grill - are in the bottom.
The realme GT Master Edition has a slim profile at 8mm and has a little bump on the camera module. Thus, it would still wobble when you place it on a flat surface. However, we think that this 174-gram smartphone comes with easy handling and very ergonomic design. It also feels premium to use, thus the "premium affordable" moniker.
Display: AMOLED with 120Hz Refresh Rate
The realme GT Master Edition's display trumps most of the handsets in its price range when it comes to display. It has a 6.43-inch Super AMOLED panel made by Samsung. It's packed with pixels at 1080 x 2400p resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. The latter is quite appealing to gamers and general users at the same time due to the fact that this feature gives a perceived smoothness when using the device.
The panel also features 5,000,000:1 contrast ratio which in turn allows the panel to feel more immersive when we talk about pictures and videos. Colors also pop with brighter whites and deeper blacks. The display is also very legible even in bright conditions.
You can manually tweak the display experience in display settings, wherein you can set the preferred screen color temperature and color mode. You can also crank up saturation and contrast by turning on the OSIE visual effect.
All in all, I'm very happy with the realme GT Master Edition's display. Everything seems smooth and fluid; the texts and images are very crisp too. Plus, the 91.7% screen-to-body ratio and the generous viewing angles elevate the viewing experience.
Performance: First-ever Snapdragon 778G 5G
The realme GT Master Edition is the first ever smartphone in the Philippines to pack the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G chipset. For its price, this processor is capable enough to not leave you hanging on your daily activities and gaming sessions. The beefy 8GB of RAM also complements the chipset when pulling up multiple apps. It keeps things smooth even when you're opening performance-hungry games like Genshin Impact or Call of Duty Mobile.
 |
| Genshin Impact on realme GT Master Edition |
The realme GT Master Edition is perfect for MOBA games like Mobile Legends, League of Legends, and Pokemon Unite. Graphics-hungry games like Marvel Future Revolution is also very playable in this handset; to our surprise, we never experienced any lags or apps crashing while playing performance-centric games.
 |
| Newly Android-released Pokemon Unite in realme GT Master Edition |
Same goes with editing apps too. We tried editing a thirty-second 1080p 30fps video using Power Director and everything went smoothly from editing to rendering. Of course, social media apps will run with ease with this smartphone.
Streaming videos with your favorite apps like Netflix, HBO Go, and YouTube is also enjoyable not only because of the immersive display but also with the capable loud speaker. And did I say that the phone supports 5G connectivity? You can enjoy these activities even when you're on-the-go. We could definitely tell that the GT Master Edition is a multimedia powerhouse.
 |
| Current Netflix No. 1 show, Squid Game, streamed with realme GT Master Edition |
As for synthetic benchmarks, our Geekbench CPU test gave us 788 single-core and 2755 multi-core scores; and an OpenCL score of 2245. These are pretty impressive for a phone in this segment.
Camera: All-rounder 64MP triple camera, solid 32MP selfie shooter
There's a triple camera set-up on the back panel which realme calls Matrix AI Camera. The main shooter is a 64MP wide lens with f/1.8 aperture. There's also an 8MP ultrawide f/2.3 camera with 119-degree view and a 2MP f/2.4 macro lens. On the front, there's a 32MP selfie camera placed on the upper left section of the screen.
The overall camera performance is quite impressive for a phone in this segment. Photos register vibrant colors and sharpness. Dynamic range is on point in highlighting the dark and light sections in a frame. Likewise, details and contrast are great in every shot. The camera also shoots instantaneously with fast autofocus.
Low-light shots are mostly fine; cranking up the Night Mode will definitely give life to your photos. The wide-angle camera also functions as expected - dramatic landscape shots with lesser detail. Videos taken from the rear camera produce capable footages. Plus, you can also record 4K videos in 30fps.
Aside from Night and Video, there's a rolodex of modes in the camera app - Portrait, 64M, Starry Mode, Dual-View Video, Slo-Mo, Timelapse, Pano, Macro, and more.
The front camera is a 32MP affair which shoots great-looking selfies. The camera app's selfie mode also supports beautification and tons of filters. Moreover, it supports Night, Portrait, Starry Mode, Dual-View Video, Ultra Macro, and more.
Here are the samples we took with the realme Gt Master Edition's cameras:
 |
| Sample Photo: 1x |
 |
| Sample Photo: 2x Zoom |
 |
| Sample Photo: 5x Zoom |
 |
| Night Mode Shot |
 |
| Night Mode Shot |
 |
| Sample Macro Shot |
 |
| Sample Selfie Shots |
Software: Fluid feels with realme UI 2.0
The smartphone boots with realme UI 2.0 based on Android 11. It's likely that the GT Master Edition will get the flashy realme UI 3.0 based on Android 12 soon. But speaking of the realme UI 2.0, we think that the whole software experience is quite splendid.
You can take advantage of Android 11's staple features like the Dark Mode, smart app suggestions, and improved security features. As much as we love how minimalist the realme UI 2.0 looks, we also like the fact that we can customize our homescreen using the Themes app.
The 120Hz display makes magic with the realme UI 2.0 thru a buttery experience and fluid-like appeal. We still have the basics like accessing Google cards when swiping right (from homescreen), app drawer when swiping up, and Notification shade when swiping down.
There's also a Game Assistant feature that you can pull up when running gaming apps. This allows you to overlay important apps like Messenger or WhatsApp on your gaming apps. You can also block and reject calls, as well as adjust brightness using this feature while in game.
Battery: Dependable battery with 65-watt SuperDart Charging
The realme GT Master Edition has a decent battery life. On paper, there is a 4300 mAh battery inside the phone. In my experience, I could get through a day without worrying about losing power. You won't stress about that too if you're a fair to moderate user. However, if you're into intensive games, expect that this will drop significantly.
On the bright side, recharging your phone won't be that of a chore. The smartphone supports 65-watt SuperDart Charge. We tested this technology and charged the phone from 0 to 100% in just 43 minutes - that's quite impressive! There's no wireless charging support here, and I'm cool with that. I always prefer wired charging as long as it's fast and high in safety rating.
Verdict: Should You Buy The realme GT Master Edition?
At this point, you might be asking if the realme GT Master Edition is worth buying. For a Php 18,990 starting price, we definitely think that the smartphone should cost way more than that. This means that it provides one of (if not) the best deals for a smartphone in this segment.
The realme GT Master Edition is a smartphone with a dependable camera - above average as I might say. Of course, its battery efficiency and fast charging capability are also things to be lauded to. There's also no denying the fact that the realme GT Master Edition is a "master" of display due to its AMOLED panel with slick 120Hz refresh rate.
The realme GT Master Edition is definitely a wise investment if you're in the market for a powerful and stylish daily driver.
realme GT Master Edition Specs
6.43-inch 120Hz Samsung AMOLED Fullscreen
1080 x 2400 pixels (FHD+), 20:9 ratio
Snapdragon 778G 5G (6 nm)
8GB + up to 5GB DRE (Dynamic RAM Expansion Technology)
128GB or 256GB ROM
Triple rear camera:
1. 64MP, f/1.8 aperture, Main
2. 8MP, f/2.3 aperture, 119° Ultrawide
3. 2MP, f/2.4 aperture, Macro
32MP front camera
WiFi 6, NFC, dual 5G, Bluetooth
USB Type-C 2.0, USB OTG
Fingerprint (under display, optical)
realme UI 2.0, based on Android 11 OS
4300mAh (typical) battery, Dual-cell design
65W SuperDart Fast charging
Voyager Grey & Daybreak Blue Colors
Voyager Grey (designed by Naoto Fukasawa) - 180g
Daybreak Blue - 174g
Php 18,990 128GB + 8GB
September 24 (Whole day flash sale Lazada) - P17,490/P1,500 discount
Php 21,990 256GB + 8GB
September 24 (Whole day flash sale Lazada) - P19,990/P2,000 discount
Offline Pre-Order details:
September 24 - October 1 (with free realme Smart Scale)
256GB + 8GB: SRP P21,990
Claiming: October 2 & October 3
