Realme 10 Pro+ review

Realme UI 4.0 on top of the latest Android 13

The Realme 10 Pro+ is the first non-Pixel smartphone we meet booting Android 13. Of course, it is skinned with Realme's latest UI v.4.0, so don't expect to see much of the latest Android. Still, the battery optimizations, the new media controls, color customizations, and privacy updates, among other improvements, are implemented in the new custom UI version.

Realme UI 4.0's most notable improvement is the new Aquamorphic theme, which offers a modern yet clean take on Android. It is a theme also available across Oppo and OnePlus phones.

There are new Media Controls, which are part of Android 13, along with better animations, dynamic widgets, and improved notification and control centers also come as part of Realme UI 4.0.

The phone supports fingerprint unlock, and the optical under-display scanner works great - it's fast as they come. You can also set up face unlock for an even speedier unlock - though this is not as secure.

Always-on screen is available, and it can show the usual content - clock, date, notifications icons, and battery, but you can opt out of some of the information. The AOD has been expanded with Realme UI 4.0 with various themes, clocks, and even custom patterns to draw. The AOD now supports Spotify media controls, too.

The AOD can be power-saving (hide after a short motionless period), scheduled, or always on.

Always-on display

And while we are talking about personalization, Realme UI 4.0 is flexible when it comes to this. There is an entire Style (and Wallpapers) page in Settings. You can change wallpapers (live and static), switch to different icon packs, different quick toggles icon shapes, change fonts, and choose completely different colors that will change the entire Realme UI look. Different AOD themes and fingerprint scanner animations are available, too. You can even turn on/off Edge Lighting, which is independent of the Always-On Display.

Personalization options

The launcher has no-nonsense homescreens, a simplistic and clean notification/toggles area, and an easy-to-use task switcher. An App drawer is available, too, and it is as clutter-free as one could hope for. You can opt out of the app drawer if you prefer.

Realme UI 4.0

The new launcher adds support for Large Folders and Dynamic Widgets. Any folder can be enlarged or shrunk. Meanwhile, the new Realme widgets are not that many, but they refresh in real-time and always show relevant information.

Large folders • Large folders • Dynamic Widgets

There is also an expanded Search page with dynamic widgets.

Search

Dark Mode is available, but unlike before, it does not offer three different dark styles. Instead, Realme UI 4.0 uses a combination of the previous three gray hues.

Dark Mode

There are many powerful tools within the settings menu if you want full control over your Android OS. Or you can leave everything as is and enjoy a hassle-free Android experience optimized by Realme's AI algorithms and machine learning.

Settings

You can also minimize an app to a floating window, now called a flexible window, because it's super easy to resize it on the go. You can exchange files between the full-screen and flexible apps by drag and drop.

Flexible windows are available within the Task Switcher or the Sidebar. If an app is compatible, you can do either of these or use the familiar Split Screen.

Task Manager • Split screen • Flexible window • Flexible window

And speaking about the Sidebar, it's quite familiar - a small visible mark on the edge of the screen that expands into a menu anytime you swipe on it. You can customize the actions for this menu and the app shortcuts that appear there.

The Smart Sidebar now offers background stream, meaning you can put YouTube, or any streaming app, in the background, and it will continue to play sound. This works when the screen is locked, too. Neat!

Smart Sidebar

The Realme 10 Pro+ also supports the RAM Expansion feature. As evident from the name, this feature lets you expand your smartphone's RAM - albeit virtually - by using the phone's internal storage. You can add from 4GB up to 12GB virtual RAM. This feature is active by default, and Realme has chosen 4GB for the default setting.

RAM expansion

Within the Realme lab section, you will find Dual-mode audio, Sleep Capsule, and Heart Rate Measurement. The Dual-mode audio allows you to connect both wired and wireless headphones and listen to music through both. Sleep Capsule is a night mode, which restricts specific apps. And the Heart Rate Measurement uses the optical fingerprint scanner to measure your heart rate. It may not be that accurate, though.

Realme labs • Sleep Capsule • Heart Rate

The multimedia apps such as Photos, Music, and Videos - are provided by Realme. There is also a revamped File Manager and even a Phone Manager app. This completes the non-Google app list.

Photos • Music • Videos • Phone Manager • Phone Manager • File Manager

Realme 4.0 UI also supports this cool auto-pixelate feature, which can blur/pixelate sensitive information when you take a screenshot in WhatsApp or Messenger, and you intend to share it with others.

We liked Realme UI 4.0. The interface is clutter-free and easy to use, and it feels great when working with 120fp. Yet, it retains plenty of powerful tools should you choose to dig deeper and use them.

Performance and benchmarks

The Realme 10 Pro+ is powered by the Dimensity 1080 chipset by MediaTek, and it is the first smartphone we have met using the said hardware. The 1080 SoC is an improved version of the Dimensity 920 with slightly better performance, better efficiency, and beefed-up camera support.

The most significant changes here are the chip's camera capabilities. The new Dimensity 1080 can handle image data from sensors up to 200MP (previously 108MP) with the Imagiq ISP. There's mention of hardware-accelerated HDR video at up to 4K resolution, but this isn't a new feature.

This new Dimensity 1080 5G chipset gets slightly updated performance with two Cortex-A78 performance cores clocked at 2.6GHz (up from 2.5GHz), while the six Cortex-A55 remain clocked at 2.0GHz.

The GPU is the same Mali-G68, and the chipset is still built on the 6nm process. From the performance aspect, benchmark scores may not see a significant jump compared to devices running the preceding chip.

The Realme 10 Pro+ is available in three memory options - 8GB RAM + 128GB storage, 8GB+256GB, and 12GB + 256GB (ours). The RAM is LPDDR4X, while the storage is UFS, probably v2.2.

The Realme 9 Pro+ was based on the Dimensity 920 5G chipset, and we are glad that the 10 Pro+ offers a bump in the SoC, even if it's not a significant one. Most of the affordable phones this year either keep the same hardware as last year or even worse, they downgrade it.

And now, let's run some benchmarks, shall we?

The Dimensity 1080 processor is indeed quite capable and a real champ in its class. It is bested only by the more powerful Dimensity 8100 and Snapdragon 870 within the two mid-range Poco phones, devices with incredibly aggressive pricing.

You can see the difference between the 1080 chip (Realme 10 Pro+) and the 910 chip (Realme 9 Pro+) is there, but it's a minor one.

GeekBench 5 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Poco X4 GT
  3719
• Poco F4
  3190
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  2801
• Realme 10 Pro+
  2371
• Realme 9 Pro+
  2335
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  2225
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  2063
• Realme 9 Pro
  2020
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  1891
• Realme 8i
  1886
• Realme 8s 5G
  1842
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  1820
• Realme 8 5G
  1784
• Realme 10
  1762
• Realme 8
  1690
• Realme 8 Pro
  1678

GeekBench 5 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Poco F4
  975
• Poco X4 GT
  917
• Realme 10 Pro+
  842
• Realme 9 Pro+
  814
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  771
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  743
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  736
• Realme 9 Pro
  694
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  688
• Realme 8s 5G
  616
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  588
• Realme 8 5G
  569
• Realme 10
  567
• Realme 8 Pro
  566
• Realme 8i
  539
• Realme 8
  533

The GPU inside the Realme 9 Pro+ and Realme 10 Pro+ is identical, and you can tell by the benchmark scores, too. It is a great GPU for this class, and the only threats are the higher-end chipsets inside the most recent Poco X4 and F4 phones.

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Poco X4 GT
  24
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  14
• Realme 10 Pro+
  10
• Realme 9 Pro+
  10
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  10
• Realme 9 Pro
  8.2
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  8
• Realme 8
  7.5
• Realme 8 Pro
  7.2
• Realme 10
  6.1
• Realme 8s 5G
  5.8
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  5.6

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Poco F4
  49
• Poco X4 GT
  46
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  28
• Realme 9 Pro+
  23
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  22
• Realme 10 Pro+
  21
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  19
• Realme 8
  18
• Realme 10
  17
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  17
• Realme 9 Pro
  16
• Realme 8 Pro
  16
• Realme 8s 5G
  14
• Realme 8 5G
  13
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  13
• Realme 8i
  11

GFX Manhattan ES 3.0 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Poco F4
  114
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  69
• Poco X4 GT
  65
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  57
• Realme 10 Pro+
  56
• Realme 9 Pro+
  56
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  55
• Realme 8
  48
• Realme 10
  44
• Realme 9 Pro
  41
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  41
• Realme 8 Pro
  38
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  36
• Realme 8 5G
  35
• Realme 8i
  33
• Realme 8s 5G
  28

3DMark Wild Life Vulkan 1.1 (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Poco F4
  4357
• Poco X4 GT
  4301
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  2491
• Realme 9 Pro+
  2296
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  2292
• Realme 10 Pro+
  2252
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  2014
• Realme 8
  1486
• Realme 10
  1320
• Realme 8s 5G
  1231
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  1231
• Realme 9 Pro
  1211
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  1204
• Realme 8 5G
  1104
• Realme 8i
  1102
• Realme 8 Pro
  1051

Finally, the compound AnTuTu 9 test puts the Realme 10 Pro+ on top of all its rivals in this hardware class, and its combination of newer hardware and newer software easily overpowers the Realme 9 Pro+.

AnTuTu 9

Higher is better

• Poco X4 GT
  747871
• Poco F4
  698586
• Realme 10 Pro+
  522376
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  506432
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  437872
• Realme 9 Pro+
  416031
• Realme 9 Pro
  401894
• Realme 10
  385829
• Realme 8s 5G
  383409
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  382902
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  379313
• Realme 8 5G
  361505
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  360255
• Realme 8
  357488
• Realme 8i
  308544

The Realme 10 Pro+ is powerful enough for its class, and it can provide smooth experience in most games. Realme doesn't offer high frame rate gaming on any of its phones, and that's the case with the Realme 10 Pro+, too. Though, being a mid-ranger means HFR gaming is not possible due to insufficient GPU power, anyway.

We also ran some stability tests, and the Realme 10 Pro+ easily aced those. It posted 88% on the CPU Throttle test, which we ran for 60 minutes - an excellent result. The GPU stability is superb, with a 99.4% score.

CPU test • GPU test

Overall, the Realme 10 Pro+ is adequately equipped to handle heavy-duty tasks and the occasional games on the go. It runs smoothly, doesn't get hot, and it doesn't throttle either. It is not the fastest phone in its price bracket, but it is among the fastest and will not disappoint anyone.