Realme GT3 review

Realme UI 4.0 on top of Android 13

The Realme GT3 runs on the latest Realme UI 4.0 based on Android 13, which isn't much different from the previous version. Even the UI design changes are rather subtle. If you've used the last two versions of Realme UI, you will feel right at home. And in case you are making a transition from Oppo's ColorOS or OnePlus' most recent OxygenOS, you will find that those Android skins are nearly identical, sans some niche features.

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.

Home screen, recent apps, notification shade, general settings

The new Media Controls as part of Android 13 are present, better animations (read faster, less obstructive ones), dynamic widgets, and improved notification and control centers also come as part of Realme UI 4.0.

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.

Customizations

The Always-on display customization options are found in the same sub-menu. There are lots of styles to choose from, including a bitmoji and a canvas, which you can generate from a photo. The Contextual info option is rather new for Realme, although it's been around on OnePlus phones for a while now. You get relevant info depending on your current activity on the Always-on - upcoming alarms, meetings, current track playing, etc. The feature offers deeper integration with Spotify.

Always-on settings

In addition to the standard customizations, the same sub-menu holds controls for the LED lighting on the back, which can serve as a notification indicator, charging indicator and when the gaming-optimized GT Mode is active. The LED strip isn't very bright, though, and it may be hard to spot outdoors. And you have to keep your phone face-down to see it anyway.

Breathing light (illuminated RGB LED) settings

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. This time around, the app drawer automatically opens up with the keyboard ready to type in your search. This can also be turned off.

The new large folders and dynamic widgets are available. 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, new dynamic widgets, app drawer

For better multitasking, Realme has integrated a handful of neat features, none of which is particularly new, though. 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. The so-called Smart Sidebar is here to stay, allowing you even easier access to apps of your choice, especially if you have commonly used ones for multitasking purposes.

Floating windows and other multi-tasking features

And although the Smart Sidebar feature, in particular, isn't new, it gains a neat new feature called Background streaming, which allows you to play videos from YouTube in the background without having to pay for Premium. You just open a video on YouTube, pull the Sidebar, and there should be a shortcut there.

Smart sidebar

Even though the under-display fingerprint tech has been around for a while now, and pretty much all phones released in the last two years offer a speedy and accurate unlocking experience, the Realme GT3 feels somewhat snappier. The fingerprint area is large, and the scanner unlocks extremely fast. A brief touch is all it takes. Holding the fingerprint reader area for a second after unlock will prompt you with shortcuts to apps and actions of your choice.

Fingerprint reader features

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.

Within the Realme lab section, you will find Dual-mode audio and Sleep Capsule. 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.

Realme Lab

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.

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

Benchmark performance

Unlike its predecessor, the Realme GT3 packs the Plus version of last year's flagship SoC, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. The chipset promises 30% better power efficiency in the CPU and GPU department compared to its predecessor since Qualcomm changed from Samsung's fabs to TSMC's (both are still 4nm, though).

Update, Mar 13: The octa-core CPU consists of the 1+3+4 core combo (1x Cortex-X2 + 3x Cortex-A710 + 4x Cortex-510), each clocked at 3.00 GHz, 2.5 GHz and 1.80 GHz, respectively. These are the sort of clock speeds you normally see on the Non-Plus version of the chipset, so Realme has obviously aimed at better power efficiency for this model.

Of course, besides the manufacturing process, the Plus version of the chipset has other improvements, too. Aside from the CPU and GPU, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is also bringing a new Spectra ISP, premium Snapdragon Sound and more power-efficient NPU computing. The ISP can now record 8K HDR footage and video bokeh effect alongside face tracking simultaneously. The NPU's capabilities have been bumped up by 20% per watt.

There's also the Volumetric rendering support and improved power efficiency during gaming, and those alone theoretically boost gaming time by about an hour. Now off to the benchmarks to see how well it fares against the competition and see how good Realme's implementation is.

GeekBench 5 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Realme GT3
  1271
• Realme GT2 Pro
  1238
• Xiaomi 12T Pro
  1238
• Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 average
  1230
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  1196
• Realme GT2
  1131
• Google Pixel 7
  1051
• ROG Phone 6D Ultimate
  1001
• OnePlus 10 Pro
  975
• Realme GT Neo3
  968

GeekBench 5 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi 12T Pro
  4081
• Realme GT Neo3
  4079
• Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 average
  3924
• Realme GT3
  3898
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  3658
• ROG Phone 6D Ultimate
  3505
• Realme GT2 Pro
  3501
• Realme GT2
  3487
• OnePlus 10 Pro
  3447
• Google Pixel 7
  3288

AnTuTu 9

Higher is better

• Realme GT3
  1074427
• Xiaomi 12T Pro
  1032185
• Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 average
  967879
• Realme GT2 Pro
  966251
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  941895
• ROG Phone 6D Ultimate
  931170
• OnePlus 10 Pro
  886248
• Realme GT Neo3
  819348
• Google Pixel 7
  813114
• Realme GT2
  810512

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• ROG Phone 6D Ultimate
  59
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  59
• Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 average
  55
• Realme GT3
  51
• Xiaomi 12T Pro
  50
• Google Pixel 7
  49
• Realme GT Neo3
  42
• Realme GT2
  40
• OnePlus 10 Pro
  37
• Realme GT2 Pro
  36

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi 12T Pro
  45
• Realme GT3
  44
• Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 average
  44
• ROG Phone 6D Ultimate
  43
• OnePlus 10 Pro
  43
• Realme GT2 Pro
  42
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  39
• Google Pixel 7
  31
• Realme GT2
  27
• Realme GT Neo3
  27

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• ROG Phone 6D Ultimate
  63
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  60
• Xiaomi 12T Pro
  58
• Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 average
  55
• Realme GT3
  52
• Google Pixel 7
  46
• Realme GT Neo3
  43
• OnePlus 10 Pro
  41
• Realme GT2 Pro
  39
• Realme GT2
  38

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi 12T Pro
  50
• Realme GT3
  48
• OnePlus 10 Pro
  48
• Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 average
  47
• Realme GT2 Pro
  46
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  45
• ROG Phone 6D Ultimate
  44
• Google Pixel 7
  31
• Realme GT2
  30
• Realme GT Neo3
  28

3DMark Wild Life Extreme (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Realme GT3
  2792
• Xiaomi 12T Pro
  2740
• ROG Phone 6D Ultimate
  2599
• Google Pixel 7
  1848
• Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 average
  1187

The results suggest that Realme did a good job of utilizing the full potential of the SoC, and it falls short only to this year's Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 silicon. Still, we believe that the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is a capable piece of hardware that would run pretty much everything you throw at it.

The slightly lower GPU results in some tests are due to the relatively higher resolution of the GT3's screen, so refer to the offscreen tests for a better direct comparison between handsets.

Sustained performance

We ran the standard CPU throttling test on the Realme GT3 for an hour, and we were once again delighted to see the excellent results. Just like its predecessors, the Realme GT2 and GT2 Pro, the current GT3 aced the test with exceptional performance retention and was able to maintain near-maximal CPU clock speeds without fluctuation. This ensures smooth gameplay even if the phone heats up and starts to throttle. Still, we can hardly call this throttling as the silicon dropped only to about 89% of the initial performance putput.

CPU throttling test: 30 min • 60 min

Interestingly enough, the surface temperatures were pretty low. The phone didn't heat up as much as expected and maintained a perfectly cool chassis on the outside.