In the first half of this year, the battleground of the tech world has shifted to the mid-range smartphone arena. The competition has been fierce, but when it comes to mid-range devices, Realme stands out as a flagship contender.
On May 9th, the GT Neo6 made its debut, priced at 2099 yuan. Better late than never, let's dive into the detailed experience of this mid-range performance powerhouse that offers great value for money.
Realme always manages to bring something new to the table in terms of design
The first impression of the Realme GT Neo6 is its high level of recognition, showcasing the success of Realme's design evolution over the years.
With each new generation, Realme introduces fresh design elements. From the biometric materials of the GT2 Pro to the intricate gear design of the 12 Pro series, Realme never fails to impress. The GT Neo6 continues this trend with its Titanium Mirror design, which combines metal and glossy finishes through precise craftsmanship, a rarity in the mid-range smartphone segment.
In terms of back panel design, the realme GT Neo6 uses a single piece of glass, showing a generous use of materials. The unit I have in hand is in the Silver Knight color scheme, which, just like its name suggests, presents a visual appearance resembling liquid metal, boasting a high aesthetic appeal. For those who do not prefer a glossy finish, there is also the Mystic Purple color option with AG matte craftsmanship available, catering to the diverse aesthetic preferences of different users.
It is worth mentioning that the realme GT Neo6 has passed the IP65 waterproof certification, so you don't have to worry about accidental splashes or rain in daily life. IP65 can also effectively prevent dust particles and various dirt from entering, making this feature quite practical. The appearance of IP65 on a mid-range device shows realme's sincerity in material selection for design.
I am fully committed to protecting my phone. The front screen of my realme GT Neo6 is also equipped with a piece of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus2, enhancing the overall drop resistance by 30% compared to the previous generation. It also boasts strong scratch resistance, providing users with peace of mind and confidence.
The display quality of this screen has reached flagship levels. The realme GT Neo6 is equipped with a peak 6000nit dual-screen from BOE. The ultra-high brightness ensures that the device can display content clearly in any environment. Additionally, this screen also supports flagship-level 8T LTPO technology, which can reduce the average power consumption of the screen by 20%.
As a mobile phone designed for esports, the realme GT Neo6 is optimized for touch control to provide a comprehensive gaming experience. The system intelligently scans the game interface for operation areas and optimizes them based on different usage rates, resulting in improved overall stability and responsiveness.
To deliver better display quality, the realme GT Neo6 features flagship Pro-XDR display technology and introduces the gaming super HDR function for the first time. This can boost brightness by up to 2.3 times, making game visuals more vivid and enhancing detail reproduction. This aspect will also be demonstrated in our upcoming gaming performance tests.
In 2024, besides display quality, eye protection capability is also an important indicator for smartphones. The realme GT Neo6 is equipped with the all-new Green Field AI eye protection, which not only supports high-frequency PWM dimming, hardware-level low blue light technology, but also introduces for the first time an active eye fatigue detection function. Through the front camera AI, it automatically detects and judges the user's fatigue state, dynamically adjusting various eye protection functions such as adaptive ambient color, sleep mode, and eye protection color temperature to effectively care for the user's eye health. For a mid-range model, the hardware parameters and functions of this screen have no shortcomings.
With comprehensive efforts in both hardware and software, the gaming experience is more comprehensive.
After seeing the screen of the realme GT Neo6 optimized for gaming, one can already anticipate its performance in core capabilities to be excellent. The new device is equipped with Qualcomm's latest flagship chip, the third-generation Snapdragon 8s. This chip is already familiar to many, utilizing TSMC's 4nm process, Cortex-X4 super core, with a maximum frequency of up to 3.0GHz. So, how does it perform in the realme GT Neo6? Let's run some tests to see its strength.
AnTuTu benchmark score is 1594864, Geekbench single-core score is 1923, and multi-core score is 4984. In the past, mid-range models typically featured a chip one tier lower than flagship devices. This year, the market is highly competitive, with mid-range devices now offering performance almost on par with flagships. This is good news for us consumers.
No matter how impressive the hardware configuration is, it ultimately comes down to the actual gaming experience. Let's bring in our old friend Genshin Impact for performance testing. Setting the graphics to the highest quality and frame rate to 60, we conducted the test using the Spiral Abyss run. After 30 minutes of gameplay, the final result was 59.2 frames, with the frame rate curve showing minimal fluctuations, proving a smooth overall gaming experience.
In addition, the realme GT Neo6 supports Genshin Impact's native 1.5K point-to-point rendering technology. The overall game graphics performance gives me a very impressive feeling, completely different from previous experiences. When we zoom in on the game screen, the facial features of the game characters and the details of their clothing are clearly reproduced, almost to the point of being able to "count the hairs." At the same time, the visual representation of the map scenery is also stronger, making the game more immersive.
In terms of heat dissipation performance, the performance of the realme GT Neo6 has exceeded my expectations. After all, high-quality Genshin Impact is quite demanding on hardware. The temperature after 30 minutes of gaming is 47°C, which is quite impressive. It is equipped with an ice core three-dimensional cooling system, with a large VC cooling area of up to 10014mm2, and adopts a dual-layer structure. Compared to a regular single-layer VC, it has a higher heat capacity and stronger heat dissipation capabilities. This effectively prevents frame rate drops caused by high temperatures and enhances the gaming experience during long gaming sessions.
In terms of software optimization, the realme GT Neo6 is also very professional. The new GT Mode 5.0 supports AI frame stabilization technology, atomic-level resource scheduling, GPU heterogeneous rendering, and other technologies to enhance the overall performance of games at the system level, while also bringing lower power consumption for longer battery life.
If you're a gamer who loves to tinker, the Realme GT Neo6 also offers a Geek Performance Panel 2.0, allowing you to fully unleash the chip's full potential. The CPU can be boosted up to 3.0GHz, and the GPU can reach a maximum of 1100MHz, giving you the ultimate performance at full throttle.
For friends who play multiple games at the same time, the realme GT Neo6 also supports the Game Exclusive Memory Pro feature, allowing up to 4 games to be kept active simultaneously for easy switching. This is especially useful for some idle games, eliminating the tedious login and account input steps. It's evident that the realme gaming optimization team truly understands gamers, always addressing users' real pain points with their optimization features, solving the most headache-inducing issues.
50 million pixel Sony main camera
Although the realme GT Neo6 is a mid-range model, it doesn't compromise on imaging performance. This model is equipped with a 50 million pixel Sony main camera that supports OIS optical image stabilization. Let's now take a look at some actual samples to experience the performance of the realme GT Neo6.
In terms of actual performance, the overall performance of the Realme GT Neo6 is quite impressive. Thanks to its high pixel advantage, the clarity of the captured objects is very high. Details such as the patterns on Damo's body, the decorative stripes on the tower, and the scales on the decorative dragon can all be clearly reproduced, making it sufficient for daily shooting needs.
When it comes to night scenes, even in the extremely complex lighting of the light bulb tunnel, the realme GT Neo6 performs well, with no overexposure issues and overall color control is also very accurate. Additionally, thanks to the main camera's support for OIS optical image stabilization, there is no need to worry about slight shaking causing blurriness, and it can also improve the overall image quality in long exposure night scenes.
In terms of AI performance, the realme GT Neo6 not only features a brand-new Xiao Bu assistant similar to those found in flagship models, but also supports AIGC technology. This technology can eliminate unwanted elements in photos and use AI's high computing power to fill in missing parts. Say goodbye to worrying about photobombers ruining your shots – it can turn mediocre photos into masterpieces.
Battery life and other surprises
realme has always been a leader in the industry when it comes to battery life, with the introduction of the 240W flash charge being a prime example. With the realme GT Neo6, we now have a flagship-grade golden combination of 5500mAh + 120W, which leaves virtually no room for improvement. In the realm of mid-range devices, this is undoubtedly a game-changer. We conducted a 5-hour intensive battery test on the realme GT Neo6 using the model from Zhongguancun Online.
After five hours of heavy testing, the Realme GT Neo6 still has 78% battery life remaining. This performance places it at the top of our endurance leaderboard, ensuring no issues even with heavy usage throughout the day. Additionally, the Realme GT Neo6's endurance on the first 20% of battery is impressive, as it takes around 2 hours before any noticeable power drop, showcasing the high quality of its large battery.
The next is a real test of the 120W charging performance. The realme GT Neo6 can charge up to 64% in just 15 minutes, and it can go from 0% to full battery in less than 30 minutes. This rapid charging speed almost makes you forget about battery anxiety. Even if you forget to charge, realme can quickly replenish your battery, ensuring uninterrupted use.
During my time with the realme GT Neo6, another accessory that left a deep impression on me is the realme Buds Air 6 Pro wireless Bluetooth earphones.
Due to their seamless integration with the phone, the connectivity between the two is outstanding. They connect instantly upon opening, eliminating any waiting time. It's advisable to choose wireless Bluetooth earphones from the same brand as your phone for a much better experience compared to third-party options.
Next, the sound quality of the realme Buds Air 6 Pro is equally impressive. It features HiFi-grade coaxial dual units and an upgraded 12.4mm large dynamic coil, delivering excellent performance in both mid-low and high frequencies. To be honest, I even feel that this pair of earphones can compete with many higher-priced products. Compared to flagship Bluetooth earphones that cost over a thousand yuan, the user experience it provides is essentially the same.
In terms of noise reduction capabilities, the realme Buds Air 6 Pro supports ANC active noise reduction technology. The DeepSea Noise Cancelling 2.0 features a hybrid noise-canceling microphone design with both feedforward and feedback microphones.
During daily commuting on noisy subways, the realme Buds Air 6 Pro demonstrated excellent noise suppression in actual tests. Moreover, the voice calls were clear and crisp. To achieve such a remarkable experience at this price point is truly a great value. realme's high quality-to-price ratio strategy is evident across its entire product line.
In 2024, the mid-range smartphone market will see competition in various aspects such as technological innovation, cost-effectiveness, and brand strategies. Major brands will need to innovate continuously and enhance their offerings to meet the increasingly discerning consumer demands, thereby gaining a competitive edge in the market.
However, I believe that sincerity towards consumers is crucial to establishing a foothold in the present market. realme's commitment to not releasing overpriced products and its focus on high quality-to-price ratio always enables consumers to get better products for less money. This is the sincerity that realme brings to its users.
When it comes to the Realme GT Neo6, it is a standout product that surpasses others in its class. From its premium design, display quality, hardware performance to software functionality, it excels and competes with flagship devices. For those looking to upgrade without a high budget, choosing the Realme GT Neo6 will definitely not disappoint you.
