Realme GT 5G review

Realme UI 2.0 on top of Android 11 base

The Realme GT 5G boots Android 11 with Realme UI 2.0. The latest version of the launcher offers richer customization options, more AOD themes, a couple of extra Dark Mode styles, refined floating and mini windows, and enhanced security.

The phone supports fingerprint unlock, and the optical sensor works very well - it's fast and with high accuracy. You can also add a face for an even speedier unlock - though this is not as secure.

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 that's your thing.

Realme UI 2.0

Always-on screen is available, and it can show the usual content - clock, date, notifications icons, battery. The Realme UI 2.0 also brings many new AOD themes - we had a really hard time picking one.

Edge Lighting is available, too, and it's quite useful as there is no notification LED light on the Realme GT, but not everyone is keen on using the AOD screen as it impacts the battery life.

AOD • AOD • AOD • Edge Lighting • Edge Lighting

Realme UI supports different icon packs, so if you are not happy with the default one, you can opt for material style, pebbles, or you can even fully customize them by your liking. Thanks to Realme UI 2.0, you can also change the system colors, the fingerprint scanner animation, the notification drawer icons, even the system font. And there is a whole Theme Store if that's not enough for you.

Customization options

Dark Mode is available, too, and it's been enhanced with Realme UI 2.0 with support for three different dark styles - black, dark gray or light gray. It can be manual or scheduled. You can also opt to force it on third-party apps, though this doesn't always end well.

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 mini-windows or a floating window from within the Task Manager. If an app is compatible, you can do either of these or use the familiar Split Screen.

Task Manager • Mini app • Floating window • Split screen

Similar to the Galaxies, the Realme UI offers a Smart Sidebar on the edge of the screen - you can customize the actions and app shortcuts that appear there.

Smart Sidebar

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

A Game Center app is also available for better game management and notification behavior. You can also opt for smart resolution switch and performance/balanced/energy saving modes.

Gallery • Music • Videos • Phone Manager • File Manager • Game Center

We are fond of the Realme UI, and we like the new direction. The interface is snappy, clutter-free and easy to use. Yet, it retains plenty of powerful tools should you choose to dig deeper and use them.

Performance and benchmarks

The Realme GT 5G is the maker's first smartphone running on the new Snapdragon 888 5G chip. The SoC is based on the 5nm manufacturing process.

The flagship SoC has an octa-core processor with a familiar core configuration 1+3+4 - 1x2.84 GHz Kryo 680 Prime (Cortex-X1 derivative) & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 680 Gold (Cortex-A78 derivative) & 4x1.8 GHz Kryo 680 Silver (Cortex-A55 derivative).

The Adreno 660 is part of the SD888 and is currently one of the best in the smartphone segment.

Realme GT is available with either 8GB or 12GB of LPDDR5. The storage options are 128GB and 256GB, and the storage is of the UFS 3.1 kind.

The SD888 chip supports the latest connectivity standards - dual 5G, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, dual-band GPS.

Realme used a new multi-layer cooling system for the Realme GT in an attempt to make "the coolest Snapdragon 888". It is comprised of a copper vapor chamber surrounded by stainless steel. Then come multiple layers of graphite covering the entire chip area.

Let's run some tests now, shall we?

The Snapdragon 888 processor is the current best, and the benchmark tests confirm this. The Realme X7 Max 5G, also known as GT Neo, runs on Dimensity 1200 and its CPU performance is in line with the mid-rangers.

GeekBench 5 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• OnePlus 9 Pro
  3636
• OnePlus 9
  3629
• Realme GT 5G
  3555
• Xiaomi Mi 11
  3489
• ZTE nubia Red Magic 6R
  3486
• Realme X50 Pro
  3175
• OnePlus 9R
  3117
• Realme X7 Pro
  2997
• Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
  2909
• Realme X7 Max 5G
  2614
• Poco X3 Pro
  2574
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
  1780
• Realme 8 Pro
  1678
• Samsung Galaxy A72
  1627

GeekBench 5 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Realme GT 5G
  1139
• OnePlus 9
  1129
• ZTE nubia Red Magic 6R
  1128
• OnePlus 9 Pro
  1126
• Xiaomi Mi 11
  1085
• OnePlus 9R
  969
• Realme X7 Max 5G
  967
• Realme X50 Pro
  911
• Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
  803
• Realme X7 Pro
  756
• Poco X3 Pro
  735
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
  569
• Realme 8 Pro
  566
• Samsung Galaxy A72
  537

The Adreno 660 is also one of the most powerful GPUs on the market and will handle whatever game nicely. The GT Neo's / X7 Max 5G is also showing some real flagship potential with its 9-core Mali-G77 GPU, which is on par with the Snapdragon 865's.

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• OnePlus 9 Pro
  119
• OnePlus 9
  119
• Realme GT 5G
  112
• Xiaomi Mi 11
  111
• ZTE nubia Red Magic 6R
  111
• OnePlus 9R
  93
• Realme X50 Pro
  86
• Realme X7 Max 5G
  86
• Realme X7 Pro
  80
• Poco X3 Pro
  75
• Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
  65
• Samsung Galaxy A72
  29
• Realme 8 Pro
  28

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• OnePlus 9 Pro
  70
• OnePlus 9
  70
• ZTE nubia Red Magic 6R
  69
• Xiaomi Mi 11
  67
• Realme GT 5G
  65
• OnePlus 9R
  57
• Realme X50 Pro
  51
• Realme X7 Max 5G
  50
• Realme X7 Pro
  46
• Poco X3 Pro
  45
• Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
  40
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
  19
• Realme 8 Pro
  18
• Samsung Galaxy A72
  17

3DMark Wild Life Vulkan 1.1 (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Realme GT 5G
  5872
• OnePlus 9 Pro
  5701
• Xiaomi Mi 11
  5673
• ZTE nubia Red Magic 6R
  5667
• OnePlus 9
  5667
• Realme X7 Max 5G
  4216
• OnePlus 9R
  4154
• Realme X7 Pro
  3938
• Poco X3 Pro
  3401
• Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
  3136
• Realme 8 Pro
  1051
• Samsung Galaxy A72
  1031

Unfortunately, no game or GPU benchmark could utilize the screen's high refresh rate. We've seen a similar thing on previous HRR-capable Realme phones, and it seems even the GT won't be the one to allow HRR gaming.

A spoiler alert of sorts - the Realme GT Neo/X7 Pro Max allows using higher refresh rates in GPU tests and hopefully in games and seems to be the one to break the mold of this restrictive pattern.

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• ZTE nubia Red Magic 6R
  101
• Realme X7 Max 5G
  79
• Poco X3 Pro
  67
• Realme GT 5G
  60
• Realme X50 Pro
  60
• Realme X7 Pro
  60
• OnePlus 9
  60
• OnePlus 9R
  60
• Xiaomi Mi 11
  57
• Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
  57
• OnePlus 9 Pro
  57
• Realme 8 Pro
  31
• Samsung Galaxy A72
  26

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• ZTE nubia Red Magic 6R
  59
• OnePlus 9
  58
• Realme GT 5G
  55
• OnePlus 9R
  49
• Realme X50 Pro
  45
• Realme X7 Max 5G
  44
• Realme X7 Pro
  40
• Poco X3 Pro
  38
• OnePlus 9 Pro
  36
• Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
  35
• Xiaomi Mi 11
  33
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
  16
• Realme 8 Pro
  16
• Samsung Galaxy A72
  15

Finally, AnTuTu says the Realme GT 5G is one of the fastest phones on the market right now.

AnTuTu 8

Higher is better

• OnePlus 9
  715196
• ZTE nubia Red Magic 6R
  708156
• Realme GT 5G
  703986
• OnePlus 9 Pro
  691055
• Xiaomi Mi 11
  668722
• OnePlus 9R
  617766
• Realme X7 Max 5G
  605819
• Realme X50 Pro
  592447
• Realme X7 Pro
  510317
• Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
  465534
• Poco X3 Pro
  453223
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
  295442
• Realme 8 Pro
  286666
• Samsung Galaxy A72
  279342

AnTuTu 9

Higher is better

• ZTE nubia Red Magic 6R
  823354
• Realme GT 5G
  810433
• Realme X7 Max 5G
  680671
• OnePlus 9R
  676913
• Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
  522490
• Samsung Galaxy A72
  333668

Well, the Snapdragon 888 5G chip makes the Realme GT look like an over-equipped device, especially when the maker doesn't allow HRR gaming. But having such power under the hood means a lot for the future, and the phone can surely last a long time. We experienced hiccup-free performance across the board. Hopefully, Realme will allow HRR gaming with an upcoming firmware update.

Stability and sustained performance are also important. The phone has new stainless steel (+VC copper) cooling system, providing better conductivity and heat dissipations. Well, we can confirm the phone doesn't get as hot as many other SD888-powered phones. Warm - yes, hot - no. But that's because it throttles. The Realme GT scored a 55% stability score on the 3D Mark Wild Life Stress Test - an uninspiring number. It also exhibited a huge drop of battery life for these 20 loops (each 1m long) - about 35%.

The nubia Red Magic 6R also relies on a passive cooling solution, but it seems it does much better. The RM6R achieved 89% stability score on the 3D Mark Stress Test, and the battery dropped 19%. While the SoC was kept relatively cool, the phone's frame got incredibly hot, and we guess that's the tradeoff for not throttling.

3D Mark Stress Test

We've also decided to run the CPU Throttling test for an hour. The stainless steel cooling system allowed the CPU to keep just 47% of its maximum performance. For comparison, the passive cooling system of the Red Magic 6R managed to keep 83% of its CPU performance.

CPU stress test result

So, while Realme tried to make the coolest running SD888 - it came at the price of throttling. Both the Realme GT and the nubia Red Magic 6R use the same chip but different passive cooling solutions, and the Red Magic's much better even if the phone heats a lot under peak load around the frame. Maybe if Realme used a metal frame instead of plastic, things would have looked different. But it is what it is.

We want to end this chapter on a positive note, though. Few games, if any, will use 100% of the SD888 and games like Asphalt, Dead Trigger 2, Ace Force and Call of Duty ran fine for hours, and we did not notice any obvious throttling.