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Don’t let Apple, Samsung tell you numbers don’t matter: Realme's insane new flagship is the proof

By Martin Filipov

Published: Nov 04, 2024, 7:21 AM

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This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.

Don’t let Apple, Samsung tell you numbers don’t matter: Realme's insane new flagship is the proof

The “flagship-killer” title has become incredibly overused in the past few years, which might be why some phone-makers try to avoid using it.

However, every now and then there’s a new phone that reminds me “flagship-killers” are still very much around, and the latest proof of that is called the Realme GT 7 Pro.

And while I don’t usually follow Realme as closely as I follow other Chinese phone-makers like OnePlus, Xiaomi, Vivo, and Oppo, there was absolutely no way I was going to miss the opportunity to shout out what Realme has done with their latest FLAGSHIP KILLER.

Because there’s no two ways about it - that’s exactly what the Realme GT 7 Pro is. And the cherry on top is that it costs a fraction of the price of Samsung, Apple, and OnePlus’ top flagships.

In fact, it even trumps other Chinese flagship phones in the Chinese market. Good luck finding another phone with a 6,500 mAh battery, an underwater camera mode, and a display that promises 6,000 nits of HDR brightness.

The Realme GT 7 Pro makes Apple, Samsung, and even OnePlus’ best new phones look just OK - costs less than 650 EUR to import

Classy. Fun. Clean. I'm going with the middle. What about you?

Before moving on to the head-spinning specs of the Realme GT 7 Pro, I’d like to take a second to acknowledge the top notch design of the phone.

While the overall look and colors are strictly a subject of taste, Realme has gone with a quad-curved glass panel that makes the GT 7 Pro look super futuristic from the front, and I really appreciate the symmetrical look.

Plus, I love the color selection with the bold Mars Orange, the classy grey color, and the super-clean white version (for now, exclusive to China). In other words, no design compromises have been made here. For what it’s worth, the phone is made of premium materials like glass and metal.

Realme GT 7 Pro’s unmatched spec sheet is led by a 40% larger battery than iPhone 16 Pro Max - WHAT?!

This spec sheet + this unboxing experience... At this price.

Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC - benchmarks higher than Galaxy S24 Ultra and iPhone 16 Pro Max
120Hz display with 2,000 nits of brightness in HBM vs 1, 600 nits on iPhone 16 Pro Max
50MP periscope zoom camera with 3x optical, 6x lossless zoom, larger sensor than the zoom cameras on the top Samsung/iPhone
6,500 mAh battery with 120W charging (50% in 15 minutes) - nearly 40% larger capacity than iPhone 16 Pro Max
IP69 dust/water resistance - Realme has developed a mode, which lets you take photos and videos under water

Despite this jaw-dropping spec sheet, the Realme GT 7 Pro is only 8.5mm thick vs the 9.2mm of its predecessor. Yes, that’s despite the insane 6,500 mAh battery, which uses the latest tech, which makes it way thinner and lighter.

The GT 7 Pro weighs 222 grams, which is on the heavier side compared to the latest flagships from China (with smaller batteries!), but it’s still 5g lighter than the iPhone 16 Pro Max - and Apple’s top dog has a 4,685 mAh battery, which is nearly 40% smaller in capacity.

The only obvious compromise Realme has made with the hardware of the GT 7 Pro are the 8MP ultra-wide camera, and the lack of wireless charging, which seem like a fair trade-off considering the class-leading spec sheet and price.

The €600-800 question: How much is Realme going to charge global users for the unrivalled package offered by the Realme GT 7 Pro?

Speaking of numbers, the most important number about the Realme GT 7 Pro spec sheet is going to be its price.

Currently, you can buy the phone in China for the equivalent of just $500/€460, which sounds like the deal of the year, because it probably is.

However, with the Realme GT 6 starting at 600 EUR, it’s quite likely the new Pro variant of the new 7 series will be at least 700 EUR at launch, when it lands in Europe.

This would make the GT 7 Pro a relatively pricey phone, but with direct competitors like the upcoming Galaxy S25 Ultra and iPhone 16 Pro Max (both around 1,450 EUR), the GT 7 Pro looks Ultra cheap for a phone that offers hardware Apple and Samsung’s conservative flagships might not be able to match.

The cheapest variant of the Realme GT 7 Pro might be sold in India, where the phone is expected to debut in November. A European launch should follow very soon after that. So, the GT 7 Pro is only sort of “global”, which is the case with almost all Chinese phones.

Realme GT 7 Pro proves you shouldn’t fall for Apple and Samsung’s cheap tricks: When it comes to 2024-2025 phones, numbers matter more than ever

But I guess the bottom line is that numbers absolutely matter. Especially when we’re talking about things like battery capacity, charging speeds, zoom camera resolution, IP rating grade, display brightness, etc.

In other words, don’t let Apple and Samsung fool you with their conservative upgrades. We know what happened with the iPhone 15, which “didn’t get Apple Intelligence because it has 6GB of RAM”. And we know how average the battery life of Samsung’s vanilla Galaxy S24 phones is thanks to the relatively small batteries.

Ironically, the Realme GT 7 Pro seems like an Ultra-grade phone with a “Pro” name. It even shares tons of AI features with the Galaxy S24 series, and it gives you 12/256GB of RAM/storage by default.

Heck, the 1,300 EUR iPhone 16 Pro has a 8/128GB base variant. Even if it costs 800 EUR in Europe, the GT 7 Pro would still be dramatically cheaper than Apple, Samsung, and even OnePlus’ flagships.

Unfortunately, as usual, Americans won’t be getting a taste of Realme’s flagship-killer but if you happen to visit Europe, or you don’t mind importing the phone from China, you can get a pretty good deal for some $700-900 depending on the variant. That being said, The OnePlus 13 is coming to the US, and it shouldn’t cost more than $900, which makes it a great (hassle-free) alternative.

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Martin, a tech journalist at PhoneArena, brings a unique blend of humor and insight to his work. His fascination with smartphones began with a Galaxy Young and evolved through a series of trades and upgrades, making him a self-proclaimed smartphone nerd. Martin's content often combines current analysis of market trends with historical references and future predictions. Whether it's a deep dive into technical issues or a first-person commentary on industry events, Martin's articles are designed to inform and engage. His critical perspective is driven by genuine curiosity and a desire to keep readers informed, not by any corporate sponsorship.