Realme 10 Pro+ review

The competition

The Realme 10 Pro+ is the most interesting specimen of the new series as it is the only one to offer notable upgrades over its predecessor. We like the design, the excellent display, the battery life, the good speakers, and the adequate performance for this class. The camera photo and video quality turned out pretty good, too.

The Realme 10 Pro+ launches at €380 for its base 8GB/128GB model, while the most beefed up 12GB/256GB one will set you back €430. Considering all the global hurdles and uncertainties right now, the pricing is adequate and competitive.

The first competitor that comes to mind is the €350 Samsung Galaxy A53. The Realme 10 Pro+ trumps the Galaxy A53 with faster charging, better battery life, a real proximity sensor, and HDR10+ certification for the screen. But the A53 is a fully waterproofed smartphone with better cameras and, arguably, a more comfortable, no-nonsense design. The One UI and the Samsung ecosystem can't be overlooked as well.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G offers a similar AMOLED screen, IP53-rated glass design, and similar performance. The camera specs and quality are also a match. This Redmi impresses with an incredibly fast 120W fast charging, comes with fan-favorite features like an audio jack, FM radio, IR port, too. If you prefer MIUI and Xiaomi's ecosystem, the Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G should be an excellent choice around the €350 mark. Its battery life is not as impressive as the Realme's, though.

The Poco F4 costs about €400, a massive threat to the Realme 10 Pro+, among many other phones in this price bracket. The F4 has an excellent AMOLED with Dolby Vision certification and is powered by the flagship-grade Snapdragon 870 5G chipset. Its main camera in the back features optical stabilization, which should help on certain occasions in both photo and video modes. And last but not least, the glass body of the Poco F4 is IP53-certified for dust and splash resistance.

The €430 OnePlus Nord 2T is a phone worth considering if you value performance over everything else. It runs on the Dimensity 1300 chipset with a lot more powerful CPU and GPU performance and can easily reach 60fps in games. The Nord 2T has a less impressive 90Hz AMOLED, but it comes with a 50MP OIS primary camera, which impresses with photo and video quality. It's a viable alternative to the Realme 10 Pro+ for its superb performance.

Finally, we want to mention the €380 Motorola Edge 30 Neo because of its Ready For desktop capabilities and the rather clean Moto interface. The Edge 30 Neo has a similar 120Hz OLED screen and an even better rear camera with a 64MP OIS primary and a 13MP ultrawide shooter with AF capabilities, so it can act as a high-res macro cam. The Moto is less powerful as it runs on the Snapdragon 695 5G chipset, and its battery life is less impressive, but you should give it a chance for its camera and software prowess.

Samsung Galaxy A53 5G • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G • Xiaomi Poco F4 • OnePlus Nord 2T • Motorola Edge 30 Neo

Our verdict

We were pleasantly surprised by the Realme 10 Pro+ - it is one of the few mid-rangers this year that has quite a few upgrades over the previous model. The 10 Pro+ brought us a larger OLED screen with a higher 120Hz refresh rate, more colors (10-bit depth), improved brightness and HDR10+ certification.

We also appreciated the improved chipset, even if the differences between the Dimensity 1080 and 920 are small. But the newer chip and the newer Android 13+Realme UI 4 software suite are probably responsible for the outstanding battery life the 10 Pro+ achieved on our battery life test. Oh, and we cannot but appreciate the slightly faster charging.

The new Realme 10 Pro+ turned out good enough for multimedia and gaming thanks to its great screen and adequate performance. But we also found it to be a good cameraphone, as it consistently delivered great photos and videos with its primary and ultrawide cameras. On the other hand, don't expect good selfies with this one.

The updated curved design is modern and beautiful, though the handling and the grip may not be as solid as they were on previous models. And the lack of even a simple splash resistance is something we did not enjoy as we do prefer to have this peace of mind.

Finally, the €380 launch price of the Realme 10 Pro+ is in line with other new phones from this class, but there are a couple of better phones at the same price, like the Poco F4, which may be chosen over this Realme.

Our verdict is quite straightforward for this Realme 10 Pro+ - we do recommend getting it if it ticks the right boxes for you. It's a great phone for its money and delivers solid performance across the board.

Pros

• Beautiful, curved design, a first for the number series. Eye-catchy colors.
• Excellent display - bright, color accurate, 120Hz refresh, HDR10+, small cutout.
• Outstanding battery life.
• Impressively fast charging.
• Loud speakers, ultra boost mode.
• Adequate performance, excellent stability, 5G.
• Very good photo and video quality from the main and UW cameras.
• Android 13 with Realme UI 4 is a sweet combo.

Cons

• No rated splash resistance.
• Unremarkable selfie photo and video quality.
• No OIS, while the EIS doesn't work for 4K videos.