realme GT Neo 3 Review

realme GT Neo 3 continues the company's legacy of offering flagship-grade smartphone in a mid-tier form. This successor to the popular GT Master Edition comes with the flashy set of features that will delight consumers who are looking for a speedy experience on their smartphones. The handset also promises an upscaled experience in terms of camera and battery capability.

realme GT Neo 3 Review

realme GT Neo 3 Review

The GT Neo 3 is a very promising device when we talk about it on paper. However, we know most of you are asking how does it fare in real time use; well you're in the right page. Let's find out in this review of the realme GT Neo 3.

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Unboxing

The GT Neo 3 comes in a motorsports-inspired long black box packaging which basically gives the highlight to 'Speed' performance, an attribute that we are looking forward to experience in this new smartphone. Speaking of speed, from the face of the box itself, you'll immediately learn that this is a 5G-capable device.

On the back of the box, we can find the niceties that this phone offers like 80W SuperDart Charge, Dimensity 8100 5G processor, dedicated display processor, and Sony IMX766 OIS Camera. We also have the 8GB RAM + 256GB memory configurations for our review unit.

realme GT Neo 3 Review

Opening the box, we are greeted by a white packet which says, "Hey, welcome to realme family." This contains some documentations like quick guide, safety guide, and the warranty card. Underneath is the GT Neo 3 unit, donning the Sprint White colorway which gives that clean yet sporty look. It also has a screen protect film which is pre-installed.

Of course, the smartphone also comes with other color options like the Nitro Blue and the Asphalt Black. At the bottom, are two compartments for the (1) gray-tint transparent case + 80W power brick and (2) USB-C cable + SIM eject tool.

Inside the box items:

  • realme GT NEO 3 unit
  • 80W Power Adapter
  • USB Type-C Cable
  • Documentations
  • SIM Card Needle
  • Protective transparent case
  • Screen Protect Film

Design

Going back to the unit, we basically have a glass front and plastic back build for this handset. The chassis is also made of plastic with a texture that reminds me of the GT Master Edition's Daybreak Blue variant. However, its black frame mimics that of the 9 Pro which is defined by angled edges.

realme GT Neo 3 Review: Design

The main spectacle is the Le Mans' racing-inspired design as evident by the racing-stripes on the phone's rear panel. As mentioned, we got the sprint white color variant, giving us a clean panel which accentuates the camera module through the backing's black stripes. Other design elements also include the realme branding and 'DARE TO LEAP' tagline on the lower section.

Overall, this design did not fail to deliver what it intended to - a straightforward motorsports-inspired look and a speedy performance.

realme GT Neo 3 Review

The camera module comes with silvery accents on its sides and rounded corners. It houses a protruded 50MP, f/1.88 Sony IMX766 OIS primary sensor together with the dual LED flash on the middle, as well as two more cameras consisting of the 8MP, f/2.25 ultrawide lens and the 2MP, f/2.4 for macros.

The back panel is very easy on the hands; and despite its high-grade plastic finish, it's still not slippery on the hands. I also love the fact that it is not a fingerprint magnet.

For the interface, we have the volume buttons on the left side, the lone power button on the right side, secondary microphone and speaker on top side, and finally 2-nano SIM card slots, primary mic, type-C port, and speaker grille on the bottom side.

Display

The realme GT Neo 3 frames a 6.7-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with support for up to 120Hz refresh rate for a speedier performance. The refresh rate is not flexible since the panel is not LTPO, but having this feature cranks the display experience to multiple levels.

realme GT Neo 3 Review: Display

It is treated with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 for protection against damage from accidental drops. Likewise, the front panel features a punch-hole design for the 16MP, f/2.45 Samsung S5K3P9 front camera sensor. This is positioned on the top-center of the screen. We also have tolerable display bezels to give us more screen space (at 94.2% screen-to-body ratio).

The phone has no physical fingerprint reader which gives way to an optical fingerprint sensor embedded in the display. You can also use this as a heart rate sensor just like what we've seen in the realme 9 Pro+.

Overall, display quality is great; it's just what we've expected from a realme OLED panel. Viewing angles are generous; pictures and texts are very vivid. The panel is bright enough to be used in outdoor setting, though it may not be as bright as other flagship-level display.

realme GT Neo 3 Review

Performance

The realme GT Neo 3 is powered by MediaTek Dimensity 8100 5G (5 nm) chipset which operates an octa-core CPU with speeds of up to 2.85GHz. This chip tips on the higher mid-tier category and could compete with other flagship chipsets in the market.

For the RAM, we have 8GB and 12GB LPDDR5 variants; my unit is an 8-gigabyte RAM variant. In addition, the phone allocates up to 5GB of virtual RAM when needed thru its RAM expansion feature. You can also limit RAM expansion by 2GB or 3GB only via Settings - About device.

It's also worth mentioning that this phone does not come with a microSD support which means it is ideal if you choose the highest storage variant for your unit as this phone only comes with two ROM variants - 128GB and 256GB.

realme GT Neo 3 Review

In our real time test, the realme GT Neo 3 is powerful enough to run my favorite gaming apps. I have no problem running Mobile Legends all day long. When it comes to Genshin Impact, the graphics settings default to medium to get a smoother experience; any levels above that would make the hardware in an overclocked mode. The 120Hz refresh rate also complements the robust hardware making the GT Neo 3 a great smartphone for gaming.

The handset packed stereo speakers which is a complementary feature to the large display. In turn, consuming content with this device is such a great idea.

If you're keen on benchmark test, here's what we tallied with Antutu and GeekBench:

  • Antutu Score: 812334
  • Geekbench Single Core: 965
  • Geekbench Multi Core: 3977
  • Geekbench OpenCL: 4819

Camera

The realme GT Neo 3 topbills the 50MP Sony IMX766 as its primary sensor. This sensor is found in most higher mid-tier to flagship phones this year. Shots with the main sensor are exceptionally good. In good lighting condition, the shots are full of details with crisp color saturation and accuracy.

realme GT Neo 3 Review

There's also an 8MP ultra-wide sensor. For the most part, it's very convenient to have. It can give you cool landscape shots, but I could clearly tell the drop in quality in the output, compared to main sensor's. If you need it, the phone does have a 2MP macro sensor which you can use when prompting the Ultra Macro mode in the camera app.

I found the smartphone capable of producing great low-light shots even without using the Night mode. However, should you need to activate the latter, you'll find yourself having shots with less shadowy areas and more pronounced saturation. realme GT Neo 3's camera module is quite similar to the 9 Pro+. Sadly, it also has no telephoto lens which could've elevated its camera performance.

The 16MP front-facing camera also takes great selfies for social media use. You can record videos up to 4K @ 30fps using the rear module and up to 1080p @ 30fps with the selfie camera.

realme GT Neo 3 Sample Photos

realme GT Neo 3 Sample Photos

realme GT Neo 3 Sample Photos

realme GT Neo 3 Sample Photos
Regular Shot (1x Zoom)

realme GT Neo 3 Sample Photos
2x Zoom

realme GT Neo 3 Sample Photos
Low-light

realme GT Neo 3 Sample Photos
Low-light wide angle

realme GT Neo 3 Sample Photos
Night Mode

realme GT Neo 3 Sample Photos
From Left: Regular Selfie Shot, Portrait Shot, Portrait Shot (f/0.95)

Software

Software-wise, the GT Neo 3 runs on the latest Realme UI 3.0 which is based on Android 12 mobile platform. Phone's initial setup was pretty quick. After, we are left with 231GB out of the total 256GB native storage due to system settings and files.

realme GT Neo 3 Review

During the quick setup, you are also given the option to install or not to install some apps. I found them to be unnecessary. You'll also find a number of pre-installed apps which you'll immediately move to trash.

The software experience with the realme 3.0 is quite okay. It's not that flashy but it's still one of the most usable skins in the Android world at the moment.

Battery

The handset comes with a large 5000 mAh battery with support for 80W fast charging, which according to realme, is capable of charging the phone from 0 to 100% in just 32 minutes. In our real-time test, we charged the phone from 0 to a 100 at 39 minutes.

realme GT Neo 3 Review

This large battery capacity could definitely get us a whole day of use for fair to moderate use. I also think that the smartphone is optimized to run apps without draining much of the battery.

Verdict: Should You Buy the realme GT Neo 3?

The realme GT Neo 3 is an upper mid-range smartphone performing in flagship territory. It has a very capable main camera, slick design, and efficient battery management features - all of which you'll find in a well-balanced smartphone. On top of that, the display is somewhat spectacular with 120Hz refresh rate that complements the stunning OLED panel.

realme GT Neo 3 Review

It being the poster boy of the sparkling new Dimensity 8100 in the country thrusts the handset in a unique position where it flexes mid-tier performance to another level.

Pros and Cons

  1. Stunning AMOLED display
  2. Slim and svelte design
  3. Large battery with quick charge support
  4. Capable main camera

realme GT Neo 3 Specs

  • 6.7-inch FHD+ AMOLED display, 1080 x 2412 pixels, 394 PPI, 1B colors, 100% DCI-P3, 120Hz, HDR10+, Corning Gorilla Glass 5
  • MediaTek Dimensity 8100 (5 nm) SoC
  • 2.85GHz Octa-core CPU
  • Mali-G610 MC6 GPU
  • 8GB/12GB LPDDR5 RAM
  • 128GB/256GB UFS 3.1 Storage
  • Triple rear cameras: 50MP, f/1.88 Sony IMX766 main with PDAF, OIS + 8MP, f/2.25, 119˚ ultrawide + 2MP, f/2.4, macro | Dual-LED dual-tone flash, HDR, panorama | up to 4K@30/60fps videos
  • 16MP, f/2.45 Samsung S5K3P9 front camera | HDR, panorama | 1080p@30fps videos, gyro-EIS
  • Loudspeaker with stereo speakers, Dual-mic Noise Cancellation, Dolby Atmos + Hi-Res Audio Certifications
  • 3.5mm jack
  • Dual SIM (Nano)
  • Dual 5G, 4G/LTE (Dual VoLTE support)
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6
  • Bluetooth v5.3, A2DP, LE, aptX HD
  • GPS with dual-band A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, QZSS
  • NFC
  • USB Type-C 2.0
  • Fingerprint (under display, optical), Support Heart Rate Test
  • Realme UI 3.0, based on Android 12 OS
  • 163.3 x 75.6 x 8.2 mm, 188 g
  • 5000 mAh battery with 80W SuperDart Charge
  • Plain Black (Asphalt Black), Silverstone White (Sprint White), Le Mans Blue (Nitro Blue)
  • Php 29,990 SRP
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