Flagship killer smartphones are getting more and more prevalent as users expect new mid-range phones to compete with flagship phones. The realme GT Neo 2 is exactly what is expected from a flagship killer phone with a reasonable price tag, providing you with incredible value for money.
With a target audience of gamers, the GT Neo 2 is the newest addition to the top-selling realme GT series, known for its high value for money. You get what you pay for, and more!
The phone comes jam-packed with amazing specs and features, including a Snapdragon 870 5G Chipset which is regarded as the best Qualcomm processor to date. Memory and display wise, the phone has perfect specs for both hardcore and casual mobile gamers.
Furthermore, the phone comes with the Stainless Steel Vapour Cooling Plus cooling system. Paired with a large battery capacity with superfast charging, these superior features further highlight the magnificence of the realme GT Neo 2 as one of the best flagship killer phones - all for less than RM2,000.
Here's what our video team thinks!
Table of Contents
- Specifications
- Build and Design
- Display
- Gaming Performance
- Camera
- Battery
- Conclusion
Specifications
- Processor: Snapdragon 870 5G (7 nm), Octa-core, Adreno 650 GPU
- Display: 6.62 inches, AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1300 nits, 20:9 ratio
- Memory: 8GB + 128GB / 8GB + 256GB / 12GB + 256GB
- Rear Camera: 64MP + 8MP + 2MP
- Front Camera: 16MP
- Battery: Li-Po 5000 mAh, non-removable, Fast charging 65W, 100% in 36 min
- Connectivity: USB Type-C 2.0, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC
- Operating System: Android 11, Realme UI 2.0
- Other Features: Fingerprint sensor (under display, optical), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, Corning Gorilla Gass 5 case
Build and Design
Overall, the build quality and design of the realme GT Neo 2 are very clean and modern. The back of the phone is fitted with anti-glare glass protection and has a soft matte finish to it, making the device smooth to the touch and comfortable to hold. For our unit, the colour we got was Neo Green, but there are also Neo Black and Neo Blue versions.
The back of the phone is furnished with a glossy black sidebar with the name of the brand. While we felt that the sidebar seems more vulnerable to fingerprints, it gives the phone a rather bold and unique design. There is also a slim black line beside it with realme’s tagline - Dare To Leap.
All in all, the phone design stands out really well and will surely catch the attention of people around you, especially with the Neo Green variant.
On the bottom of the phone, there are bottom facing speakers, a USB Type-C port, and a SIM card tray. The power button is on the right edge of the phone, while the volume buttons are on the left.
Display
The realme GT Neo 2 has arguably the best display we have seen from realme and is definitely the cream of the crop among phones within a similar price range. To note, the phone has a 6.62-inch 120Hz AMOLED Display with a hole punch at the top left corner for the selfie camera.
The display uses Samsung’s E4 luminescent material, resulting in a 15% lower power consumption and a peak brightness of 1300 nits. Its 120Hz Refresh Rate and 600Hz ultra high touch sampling ensure a smoother and faster response, perfect for watching videos and gaming.
There is of course the always-on display that can be customized with various layouts and widgets. The phone also comes with an under-display fingerprint sensor, which is very responsive and unlocks the phone consistently without issue.
In addition, the phone also has a dynamic range and supports HDR+ which makes videos look absolutely stunning, especially if you use their inbuilt video enhancement feature. Combined with Dolby Atmos and high res stereo speaker, the GT Neo 2 is really great for consuming videos or movies and gaming.
Gaming Performance
Perhaps the most important aspect of the realme GT Neo 2, gaming performance on the phone is excellent. We tested the phone with popular First Person Shooter (FPS) games such as Call of Duty Mobile and PUBG Mobile and the gaming performance was phenomenal.
While gaming, users can access the Game Space menu where they can configure the gaming performance along with notification management, brightness lock, touch optimisation, and even performance needs to ensure the best gaming experience. Important information such as CPU and GPU usage is also displayed.
Overall, our gaming experience on the realme GT Neo 2 was smooth and consistent, with the two games played with a constant 60fps. We also tested the games on the maximum resolution and the highest graphic settings, as well as enabling HDR on PUBGM, which made for an enjoyable buttery-smooth gaming experience.
The main concern with gaming on mobile devices is that the phone can get very hot and sometimes overheat, which might affect the durability and performance of the phone. However, when testing the realme GT Neo 2 with the games mentioned above, the phone did not heat up much at all, not even with the highest graphics settings turned on.
The Vapour Cooling Plus feature of the GT Neo 2 is responsible for cooling the phone and can reduce the core temperature by up to 18 degrees celsius. This makes the phone more effective when gaming (up to 20%) and the gaming experience is comparable to the latest iPhone 13 Pro which is a premium flagship mobile phone.
Camera
Despite favouring the performance and gaming aspects of the phone, the camera is also pretty decent on the realme GT Neo 2. The phone has a triple rear camera setup with a 64MP Main Camera, 8MP Ultra-wide Camera, and 2MP Macro Lens. The front camera is a standard selfie camera with 16MP.
While the images that come out of these cameras are not magnificent, the quality is certainly above average. Under decent lighting conditions, it can take some nice pictures with good colour balance and contrast. Although the exposure may be slightly off in high-contrast conditions, the picture quality is good enough for an amateur mobile photographer.
As for the video quality, the video recording is maxed out at 4K resolution, 60fps for the rear camera and 1080p, 30 fps for the front camera. However, stabilization during video recording is not so great and is less ideal compared to other phones with better camera quality.
Battery
The realme GT Neo 2 comes with a 5000mAh battery with support for 65W fast charging. The battery size is considered decent and our endurance tests put the battery life at 111 hours on a full charge.
With the battery size and the superfast charging speed, battery life is not something that Neo 2 users need to worry about. The Superdart charger that comes with the phone can fully charge the phone from 0% in merely 37 minutes. That is very impressive!
Conclusion
- Our rating: 9/10.0
- Pros: Interesting build and design, has 600Hz ultra high touch sampling, excellent gaming performance (on the highest graphics settings), good battery life and charging speed
- Cons: Average camera performance, unappealing video stabilisation
- Who is it for? Gamers who care about the phone’s performance more so than anything else including the camera.
The Realme GT Neo 2 is the newest entry in the very popular GT series and has top-of-the-line specs that are hard to find on a mid-range phone. With specs and performance that can compete with flagship phones, it is definitely one of the best gaming phones out there.
To recap, the gaming performance of this phone is outstanding and has no thermal issues as well. The sole downside of this phone is that the camera is subpar since the picture quality is dependent on lighting conditions and even then, the photos are only average. Therefore, if you’re looking for a good gaming phone and taking pictures is not your primary concern, then this phone will definitely not let you down.
The phone is a flagship killer and has the specs of a flagship phone at mid-range price tags. The gaming performance and display are phenomenal and are among the best in this price range. However, the camera quality may be a little disappointing for photography enthusiasts. Other than that, this has got to be one of the best mid-range phones released in 2021 and is definitely worth the upgrade.
What’s Good
- Build and design that stands out
- 120Hz Refresh Rate display with 600Hz ultra high touch sampling
- Excellent gaming performance with steady fps on the highest graphics settings
- No lag or stutters when gaming
- No thermal issues even when gaming on the highest graphics quality
- Good battery life and charging speed
What’s Bad
- Camera and video quality are average
- Stabilization of videos is bad
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