realme GT Neo 2 review – the smartphone convinces!

Review: realme GT Neo 2

The successful realme GT model series is growing again. No wonder, because realme is currently the fastest growing smartphone brand in the world! After the realme GT (to the test) and in summer the realme GT Master Edition (to the test), the realme GT Neo 2 will follow at the end of the year.

realme GT Neo 2: design and workmanship

The focus is once again on an extraordinary design, which realme achieves with the colors "Neo Green", "Neo Black" and "Neo Blue". The flagship color is “Neo Green”, a neon green tone that, in combination with the black racing stripe and the “Dare to Leap” lettering, creates an urban look. The surface of all colors is matt, which largely prevents unsightly fingerprints.

Unfortunately, buyers do not get the chic green box. This is withheld from the reviewer kit.

Our test device in "Neo Black" looks particularly elegant. The back is made of plastic, but in no way feels like it. The surface is pleasantly smooth, but not so smooth that the smartphone is slippery in the hand. The rounded edges of the back of the case, which give the smartphone a good grip, also contribute to this.

In addition to the smartphone, the scope of delivery includes a protective cover, a charging cable and a quick charger.

The size of the device is 162.9 x 75.8 x 8.6 mm. The weight is 200g. The large 5000 mAh battery is the main reason for its thickness and weight. There is no water protection (IP rating). The processing quality is good and corresponds to the price range.

realme GT Neo 2: display

In direct comparison with the realme GT, realme has improved the display of the realme GT Neo 2 in several points. The screen size of the Samsung E4 AMOLED display has grown from 6,43 inches to 6,62 inches. The screen resolution has remained the same at 1080 x 2400 pixels (FHD +), but there is no disadvantage in terms of image sharpness due to the higher screen size. With its 397 PPI, the display is still razor-sharp.

Crisp AMOLED display with razor-sharp resolution.

The refresh rate of 120 Hz makes the display particularly smooth. Unfortunately, there are still minor problems with the automatic adjustment of the refresh rate. In some apps and games this is limited to only 60 Hz, although theoretically more would be possible. In the system, the 120 Hz are fully played out at all times. Gamers get their money's worth thanks to the high sampling rate of 600 Hz. The higher the sampling rate, the faster the display reacts to touch, which is definitely an advantage in mobile games.

With a refresh rate of 120 Hz, the display is super fluid and has no trailing effect.

Support for HDR10 + content is also new. Realme specifies the maximum display brightness as 1300 nits, which means that the realme GT Neo 2 has the brightest display that has ever been built into a realme smartphone. The display can be read without any problems in the open air and in sunshine. The display covers 3 percent of the DCI-P100 color space. The AMOLED display type means that colors are particularly strong and the contrast is almost infinite.

realme GT Neo 2: performance and user interface

The built-in Snapdragon 870 mobile platform from Qualcomm makes the realme GT Neo 2 an affordable upper-class smartphone. The chip, manufactured using the 7nm process, works particularly efficiently and offers sufficient performance for all everyday tasks.

This is made possible by an 8-core CPU (1x Cortex-A77 with 3,1 GHz, 3x Cortex-A77 with 2,4 GHz and 4x Cortex-A55 with 1,8 GHz) and an Adreno 650 GPU. The Snapdragon X5 modem enables fast LTE and 55G cellular communications. On-top there is enough memory with either 8GB or 12GB LPDDR5 main memory and 128GB or 256GB UFS3.1 data memory. An expansion of the data memory with a microSD memory card is not supported.

In the benchmark, the realme GT Neo 2 has to lag behind the older realme GT with Snapdragon 888, but this difference is by no means noticeable in everyday use. The system can be operated smoothly throughout, apps and games start quickly and run smoothly.

The smartphone was delivered with realme UI 2.0, which is based on Android 11. The new realme UI 3.0 with Android 12 basis will soon be rolled out as an update.

realme GT Neo 2: 64MP triple camera

A look at the data sheet reveals that realme has adopted the triple camera and front camera of the realme GT almost 1: 1 for the realme GT Neo 2. The main camera uses the same 64MP Sony IMX682 image sensor with f / 1.8 aperture, an 8MP ultra wide angle camera with 119 ° wide angle and f / 2.3 aperture and a 2MP macro camera with f / 2.4 aperture. The front camera has a resolution of 16MP and uses an f / 2.5 aperture.

At this point we would also like to refer to our  Test for the realme GT  refer. The smartphone uses an identical camera system and achieves very similar results. The minor differences are in the software processing.

The recording quality of the main camera is convincing in good lighting conditions. Details are captured well and the picture looks pleasantly sharp. There is nothing wrong with the dynamic range either. The camera can cope with backlighting. The (automatic) HDR mode only needs to intervene very rarely. Colors appear realistic, with a slightly enhanced note.

The ultra-wide-angle camera delivers a recording quality on an average middle class level. As you can clearly see, the recordings are a little darker and shifted in color. However, the example image was taken in light twilight.

In poor lighting conditions, the main camera still captures enough light to deliver reasonably useful recordings. The image noise is still limited, but the lack of image stabilization makes it increasingly difficult to take sharp photos. Night mode is a great help in maintaining good recording quality.

realme GT Neo 2: 16MP front camera

Realme has housed the 16MP front camera in a “punch hole”. The recording quality is impressive. Photos are pleasantly bright and show strong, yet natural color reproduction. For a blurred background you can easily switch to portrait mode (bokeh). The blurring of the background is not too aggressive and is cleanly separated from the foreground.

The front camera records videos in maximum 1080p resolution and at up to 30 frames per second.

realme GT Neo 2: Connectivity

The realme GT Neo 2 cuts a very good figure in mobile communications. The reception was stable at all times in the test and the voice quality was excellent. The same applies to the WLAN reception (WiFi 6), which scores with good signal strength and high data throughput. Bluetooth is available in version 5.2.

The navigation with the realme GT Neo 2 was also without any obstacles. Thanks to dual GPS, the exact position is found in fractions of a second. There were no deviations from the route while navigating.

 NFC is available so that mobile payments with Google Pay are also possible. An in-display fingerprint scanner reliably unlocks the smartphone. The position of the power button, which is slightly higher, harbors a small point of criticism at this point. When gripping and switching on, the thumb does not reach the fingerprint scanner quite as well.

The realme GT Neo 2 generates a stereo sound with the aid of the auricle. The sound is balanced and the volume is sufficient. Realme did without a 3.5 mm headphone connection this time.

realme GT Neo 2: battery

The 5000 mAh battery (2x 2500 mAh) gives the realme GT Neo 2 a very good battery life. The average user who uses the smartphone for telephony, web browsing, social media and to watch a video here and there has an average runtime of 2 ½ days. Heavy users who like to play mobile games should also get through the day without any problems.

The 65 watt "SuperDart" fast charging technology fully charges the smartphone in about 37 minutes. The quick charger required for this is included in the scope of delivery. Qi wireless charging is not supported.