Realme GT Neo 2 test smartphone

Presentation and characteristics of the Realme GT Neo 2

The Chinese brand Realme is increasingly present in France and, like its competitors such as Xiaomi or Oppo, offers a very interesting “middle class” range with quality models for less than $ 400. Here we are testing the GT Neo 2, an Android 11 smartphone for $ 389, which has a solid technical data sheet: a 6.6-inch OLED screen with 120 Hz, a triple photo sensor, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 Chip or a 5000 mAh battery.

Buy the Realme GT 2 Neo on Amazon

Design construction: le look d’un smartphone premium

This new Android smartphone from Realme offers an attractive price of less than 400 dollars, but still benefits from a very high-quality design and particularly satisfactory workmanship. The back of the chassis, which is made entirely of aluminum, benefits from a very effective matt treatment against fingerprints, while the “blue-green” color is pleasant to the eye. On the back, the “photo” part always takes a significant place, but the three sensors don’t protrude much. The terminal can therefore stand flat without hesitation.

The GT Neo 2 is quite a long and relatively imposing smartphone, but it shows a nice finesse. In the “20: 9” format it can be operated with one hand, but you still have to turn your thumb a few times to reach the top of the screen. On the other hand, we appreciate the large amount of space required by the screen, which covers almost the entire frame. The front camera is also very subtle (of the “punch” type), wedged in the upper left corner.

Also on the front, under the screen, is a fingerprint sensor, which is located in the lower area and remains easily accessible, although it would undoubtedly have been more convenient to place it a little higher. You have to twist your thumb slightly for it to work. However, it is extremely responsive and recognizes the imprint almost immediately. The edge keys are more efficient and better placed under the fingers. If you’re right-handed, your thumb will easily fit on the ignition button and your index finger can easily adjust the volume.

On the connection side, we have the right to the minimum connection, namely a USB-C port for charging, and that’s it. We regret the lack of a socket (which is increasingly common in smartphones) and a slot for a microSD card. Please note that the smartphone offers a “Double-Sim” function (Nano-Sim format). In conclusion, we note that the Realme GT Neo 2 has everything one would expect from a 2021 smartphone in terms of connectivity. While it is compatible with 5G, it is also compatible with WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1.

In short, it is a beautiful smartphone, well made, pleasant to use and with a good finish.

Screen: High brightness and high refresh rate

The Realme GT Neo 2 offers everything you would expect from a good smartphone screen in 2021. So we are dealing with a 6.62 inch AMOLED panel that displays 1080 x 2400 pixels (aspect ratio 20: 9) and a refresh rate of 120 Hz, “adaptive” type (changes depending on the type of content displayed) . You can also choose to enable 120 Hz (but watch out for the autonomy) or stay constant at 60 Hz to save battery.

The screen shows very good brightness and a good contrast ratio, which makes reading particularly pleasant. Note that different colorimetric profiles are available in the phone settings: “Vivid”, “Soft” and “Vivid”. The “Vivid” mode is selected by default, which offers slightly more intense colors without, however, deviating too far from reality, as is the case with the Vivid profile. But if you only swear by true-to-life colors, even if that means a somewhat duller display, you can choose the “soft” mode.

In everyday use, the display of the GT Neo 2 is definitely completely satisfactory thanks to its excellent brightness and the AMOLED-specific contrast ratio. It’s perfect for all types of content and uses.

Performance: great versatility and a “games” mode

This mid-range smartphone has a very good technical data sheet for its price. The version tested here is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 SoC, 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage (not expandable). Note that there is a version with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. The Snapdragon 870 is well known and has already proven itself in many cell phones. This SoC was released in early 2021. For example, it can be found in Xiaomi’s Poco F3, which was tested last July.

Therefore, unsurprisingly, we find a very good level of performance and particularly suitable for video games. All major 3D games run flawlessly, especially since the brand offers a “game mode” that increases the performance of the chip at the expense of autonomy. Even a title like Gensin Impact, known for its technical gluttony, will run stably at 30 FPS. And many other games will get you up to 60 FPS and more.

A software interface can also be displayed in the game, which offers various settings, such as optimizing the touchscreen, managing notifications during a game and managing the performance mode. Strictly speaking, the GT Neo 2 is not a “gamer” smartphone either; these mobile game-specific functions are welcome.

Anyway, the GT Neo 2 is very versatile thanks to an up-to-date and very powerful chip. It will serve you very well in everyday life for all applications.

Photo: Average, nothing more

In terms of photography, the Realme GT Neo 2 will clearly be in the good average for this product category, but without particularly shining. On the back there is a 64-megapixel wide-angle sensor, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle and a 2-megapixel macro sensor. On the front, the front sensor reaches up to 16 megapixels. On the video side, it can film in 4K at 60 FPS and has a stabilizer.

Here we use most of the photo modes of modern smartphones: A “night” mode illuminates a scene without having to resort to a flash, a portrait mode that applies a “bokeh” effect to the background or even an optimization via an “IA”. The photo interface is simple and classic and you don’t get lost in the different modes and settings.

During the day and outdoors, the 64-megapixel main sensor does very well and allows you to take high quality recordings with a good level of detail. Although the sensor reaches up to 64 megapixels, the photos are taken with 16 megapixels by default. However, you can “force” the image to 64 megapixels, which increases the file size dramatically, but is much more suitable if you then want to do the editing on the computer.

Night mode proves to be very effective and illuminates a scene in the dark very well while keeping the details of the objects well. It lacks a bit of responsiveness, however, and requires us to stay fairly calm while filming.

In general, without any real shine, the photo part of the Realme GT Neo 2 “does the job” for most applications, regardless of whether it is for video, portraits or night photos. It won’t be able to keep up with other high-end models such as the Galaxy S21, Pixel 6 or the iPhone 13, but it remains quite convincing in its price range.

Autonomy: More than a day and ultra-fast charging

The Realme GT 2 Neo has a generous 5000 mAh battery and comes with a 65 watt fast charger with Oppos SuperVOOC 2.0 technology (both brands belong to the same group). The latter is therefore particularly effective as the phone can be fully charged in just 35 minutes. In addition to this performance when charging, the GT 2 Neo has a very good general autonomy. In the context of versatile and “standard” use (surfing the web, messaging, social networks, video streaming), you can expect a service life of one and a half days. If you put the video game open all the way, the battery will inevitably drain much faster and will need to be recharged before the end of the day. In any case, the autonomy remains a strength of the product.

Buy the Realme GT 2 Neo on Amazon

Conclusion

Points fortresses

• Very high quality design
• A very powerful smartphone
• An OLED screen and 120 Hz
• Very good autonomy
• Ultra-fast charging

Weak points

• No watertightness
• No jack
• No microSD reader
• Built-in photo part

At less than $ 400, the Realme GT 2 Neo is a very good choice if you are looking for a powerful Android smartphone with a well-designed design. Another strength: a very good autonomy of one and a half days and ultra-fast charging. Finally, we appreciate the large OLED screen, which climbs to 120 Hz and is particularly bright. The photo section is set back, but the quality of the photos remains quite acceptable for everyday use. A good, very versatile and, above all, aesthetically very successful smartphone.