Filipinos know realme for its entry-level and mid-range smartphones. At first, we thought they will not come up with their own flagship smartphone, until the realme X3 SuperZoom was announced in July last year and the realme X50 Pro 5G a few months after. This year, they are finally releasing their newest flagship with the realme GT Master Edition. We are very fortunate enough to receive a review unit of the realme GT Master Edition so let’s go ahead and talk about this new smartphone.
Table of Contents
REALME GT MASTER EDITION REVIEW SPECS:
| OS: | Android 11 with realme UI 2.0 |
|---|---|
| Processor: | 2.4 GHz Qualcomm SM7325 Snapdragon 778G 5G Octa-Core Processor | Adreno 642L |
| Display: | 6.43" Super AMOLED Display 1080 x 2400 FHD+ with 120Hz refresh rate and 360Hz touch sampling rate |
| Wireless Connections: | 5G, Bluetooth 5.2, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac,/6. A-GPS, GLONASS, NFC |
| Memory: | 128GB/256GB Internal Storage; 8GB RAM |
| Connectors: | Type-C USB 2.0, OTG Support; 3.5mm audio jack |
| Cameras: | Rear: 64MP f/1.8 wide + 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide + 2MP macro Front: 32MP f/2.5 |
| Security: | on-display fingerprint sensor; Face unlock |
| SIM Card Slots: | 2x Nano SIM Cards |
| Battery: | 4,300 mAh |
| SRP: | 8GB/128GB - P18,990 8GB/256GB - P21,990 |
THE UNBOXING
realme uses the same packaging for all their smartphone lines. Whether it’s the C-series, Infinity or X-series, they all use the already familiar yellow box. Now that they have changed the X-series to the GT-series in their flagship line, they probably thought about changing the appearance of the packaging too. We now have an all black box that perfectly represents the GT Master Edition.
Inside the box are the realme GT Master Edition review unit, phone case, Type-C USB cable, 65W Super Charger, Quick Guide and SIM Card Tray ejector.
THE LOOKS AND FEEL
The only flagship phone I reviewed from realme was the X3 SuperZoom, which impressed me with its flagship qualities during that time. Now that I have the reallme GT Master Edition, I can’t help but compare my experience with the X3 SuperZoom. The first thing I noticed upon removing the GT from the box is its aesthetics. The phone is slimmer and weighs lighter compared to my X3 SuperZoom but still retains the premium feel of a flagship. While I love holding this sexy phone, its glass back cover is a bit slippery for my hands. Unless you have the other GT Master Edition with the suitcase design, I suggest using the phone case included in the package.
At 8mm thin, the GT Master Edition is much slimmer than the X3 SuperZoom and the X50. Do take note that the other colorway of the same model is a bit thicker based on its design. The SIM Cards and volume controls are found on the left side of the phone while the power button is located on the right.
At the bottom of the phone are the 3.5mm headphone jack, Type-C USB port and speaker grille. Quite surprising to see a headphone jack in a flagship phone, which is a big plus for audioheads.
realme offers two types of back covers for the GT Master Edition. There’s the unique suitcase design by Japanese world-renowned industrial designer Naoto Fukasawa (check out his works at MUJI and Herman Miller) made of 3D vegan leather, and the other is made of glass in a color they called Daybreak Blue. I prefer the suitcase design because it provides a better grip even without applying a case. Also noticed that the camera module now looks modern.
THE SOUND AND DISPLAY
There’s a big improvement in realme’s flagship phone’s display. The realme GT Master Edition has a 6.43″ screen display with 2400×1080 Full HD+ resolution. It’s a bit smaller than the X3 SuperZoom’s 6.6″ display, but the difference isn’t big. What matters is the GT Master Edition now uses Super AMOLED, my preferred type of display since the technology was introduced in 2009. What’s even better is it also comes with a 120Hz adaptive screen refresh rate and 360Hz touch sampling rate, which would benefit mobile gamers especially during a fast-paced game. There’s a punch-hole display for the selfie camera on the upper left corner of the display and an on-display fingerprint sensor at the lower portion of the phone. As expected with AMOLED displays, viewing on the GT Master Edition is always vibrant and produce sharp colors.
Sound volume coming from the GT Master Edition’s speaker grille sounds adequate and clear enough. The good news here is it still retains the 3.5mm headphone jack. Usually, flagship phones remove this port, forcing users to use their bluetooth headphones. If you want to use your favorite wired headphones, then it can definitely work with this new flagship phone from realme.
THE PERFORMANCE
So far, the realme GT Master Edition posses flagship looks and a screen display normally found in high-end smartphones. What about its processor? Is it also a flagship chipset? Powering the GT Master Edition is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G 5G processor, and realme is the first brand to use it for their flagship phone. Actually, the real flagship processor is the Snapdragon 888 used by Samsung on their Galaxy Fold3 5G and the ROG Phone 5 while the Snapdragon 778G 5G targets mid-range smartphones. Having said this, this doesn’t mean that the GT Master Edition shouldn’t be considered a flagship phone? Before I answer, let me share its benchmark scores:
With these benchmark results, I can definitely consider the Snapdragon 778G 5G processor flagship material! It even surpasses the Antutu Benchmark and PCMark scores of the X3 SuperZoom. As my main phone for more than a week, the realme GT Master Edition worked flawlessly like my other main flagship smartphones. It has plenty of storage – 128GB and 256GB depending on the variant you buy paired with 8GB of memory. Sadly, like most flagship smartphones nowadays it doesn’t support MicroSD cards for extra storage.
The GT Master Edition is definitely recommended as a gaming phone as it can play all the popular mobile games. Mobile Legends: Bang Bang played smoothly, though Ultra graphics is not yet enabled. The same can be said with Call of Duty Mobile whether it’s set to Max Frame Rate with High Graphic Quality or Very High Graphic Quality with Very High Frame Rate. I had my niece play Genshin Impact on the GT Master Edition at max settings and her experience was flawless and did not encounter any issues every time she plays it.
THE CAMERAS
One of my complaints before with the X3 SuperZoom were the cameras, specifically the 60x Zoom and the Night Photos. While I am not sure if they were addressed with the X50 5G Pro, I can say that they were addressed in the GT Master Edition.
Its triple camera system is composed of a 64 Megapixel main lens, 8 Megapixel ultra-wide angle and a 2 Megapixel Macro. Like previous realme phones, the main camera is defaulted to a lower megapixel which in the GT Master Edition’s case is 16 Megapixels. Using 16 Megapixels is not bad as a main camera, but if you want more details in your photos, simply toggle to 64 Megapixels found beside the shutter button. The ultra-wide lens is usable for scenic landscapes but not for other pictures like a small room. Some of the photos I took inside my small office looked warped in the foreground. At least they didn’t include a 60x zoom, though I wish they somehow include a 3x optical zoom lens instead of a macro. Images taken at night turned out quite well.
The front camera is a 32 Megapixel Sony Selfie camera is good enough without Beauty mode as it captures the natural color of my skin. When turned on, I found it a bit overpowering.
Here are some sample photos taken by the realme GT Master Edition:
THE BATTERY LIFE
Battery capacity of the realme GT Master Edition is rated at 4,300 mAh. My average usage is 12-14 hours with 5G connected outdoors and WiFi indoors. Not bad since there are other flagships out there with similar battery capacities, but I hope it would have more since it had a Battery King title with their entry level phones before. At least it comes with a 65W SuperDart Charger. I tried it out at 0% and it reached 100% in 35 minutes! I wish it has wireless charging.
DR’S CONCLUSION
The realme GT Master Edition meets most of the qualities of a flagship smartphone. It doesn’t have water-resistance, wireless charging, and super zoom lenses but its premium build quality, excellent display, super fast processor, decent cameras and 5G connectivity make up for it. I think this is the best smartphone you could buy in the P20,000 range.
PROS:
- Slim and lightweight
- Premium build
- Excellent display
- Super fast processor
- 5G
- Competitive Pricing
CONS:
- No telephoto lens
- No wireless charging
Buy the realme GT Master Edition HERE!
