Weekly poll: Realme 7 and 7 Pro are here, but would you buy one?

Realme unveiled the 7-series mid-rangers this week and they will go on sale next week. Would you be lining up to buy one or has the company gone the wrong way?

The vanilla Realme 7 might be the better value. It’s cheaper, naturally, INR 15,000 gets you the 6/64 GB model while the Pro version starts at INR 20,000 (for a 6/128 GB phone). In absolute terms the difference isn’t huge, INR 5,000 (€60 or so), but that’s still 33% more expensive.

The Realme 7 model has a 6.5” LCD display with 90 Hz refresh rate. It’s also powered by a MediaTek Helio G95, which seems to have a faster GPU than the chipset inside the Pro model. The cameras are the same, save for the 16MP selfie cam. The battery is slightly larger at 5,000 mAh, though it needs twice as long to charge (65 minutes for a full charge).

The Realme 7 Pro gets a 6.4” AMOLED display, however it drops the refresh rate to 60 Hz. “Drops” because even the 6 Pro had a 90 Hz display. Speaking of, the 6 Pro brought the same Snapdragon 720G half a year ago. It had a tele cam as well, which this new model lacks.

Going back to vanilla 7 vs. 7 Pro, the Pro gets twice as much storage. And the 4,500 mAh battery charges twice as fast – the 65W charger needs 34 minutes to go from 0-100% (a half charge takes 12 minutes).

Still, is this really enough to earn it the “Pro” moniker? And what about the competition? The Samsung Galaxy M51 will be pricier (INR 25,000) when it launches on September 10, but it has a massive 7,000 mAh battery (25 W charging) and a 6.7” Super AMOLED display (60 Hz). The Snapdragon 730 chipset doesn’t seem much faster than the 720G, however, and the 64MP main cam on the back should be tested to determine if it’s better than Realme’s.

You might consider the Poco M2 Pro, for example, as an alternative to the Realme 7. It also costs INR 15,000 for the 6/64 GB model. It’s powered by an S720G chipset and a 5,000 mAh battery with 33 W charging. The 6.67” screen is a 60 Hz LCD, however, and the main cam has a 48 MP sensor.

We have a hands-on review of the Realme 7 if you want a more detailed look into the phone before you vote.