Realme GT 7 Pro review

Competition

Makers may have dropped off using the 'flagship killer' term (shudder), but handsets that follow that concept continue to come out, and the Realme GT 7 Pro can probably broadly fit into such a description. The top-of-the-line chipset elevates its status; the not-quite-so-flagship camera system brings it down a notch. Where does that place it among its peers?

A Xiaomi 14T Pro makes for a viable alternative in our book, the brand's T-series being sort of a sub-flagship lineup. The Xiaomi just might be a little better as a camera phone, more notably so in the video - though Xiaomi doesn't encourage you to go underwater as Realme does. The GT 7 Pro wins for battery life across the board, and by some margin too, and we don't think the 14T Pro's blazing-fast charging speed entirely makes up for it, plus you don't get a charger with the Xiaomi. The Realme's display is notably brighter, but the Xiaomi plays nicer with high frame rate games in our experience. Then again, the Realme's chip is meaningfully faster - in games too, but also in general.

The Galaxy S24 FE is Samsung's non-flagship and it has the Samsung experience going for it, if that's your thing. Again, you can expect heaps more performance out of the Realme, way longer endurance (and faster charging too), and a brighter display (though just how important is that beyond a certain point?). The GT 7 Pro is likely an overall superior cameraphone too.

Somewhat related to the GT 7 Pro, the OnePlus 12 can be had at around the same price in some markets, and it can be a better fit for certain buyers. Mostly those that are after a better cameraphone, really - the year-old OP is still better at that. A small victory in charging speed doesn't offset the 12's defeat in an endurance race against the GT 7 Pro; the Realme's new-gen chipset is way quicker, and you can also (kind of) go diving with the GT 7 Pro, while OnePlus isn't even promising an IP68 rating.

A couple of weeks separate us from the iQOO 13's global debut, and that one might be a viable alternative to the GT 7 Pro, albeit at a slightly higher price point (about 10% if the difference in the Chinese numbers translate to other markets). An obvious tradeoff is the 13's zoom-in performance, but you get a superior ultrawide camera instead - that seems to be a rather clear differentiator. We expect an insignificant endurance disadvantage out of it, and a similarly small charging speed edge. The iQOO does have the IP69 label too and it's also part of the new Elite bunch, so the Realme doesn't get either trump card here.

Xiaomi 14T Pro • Samsung Galaxy S24 FE • OnePlus 12 • vivo iQOO 13

Verdict

The Realme GT 7 Pro goes above and beyond on the fundamentals like battery life and display quality. The latest Qualcomm top-tier chipset is also among the GT 7 Pro's key selling points, as is the extra-tight water sealing that appears to be the hot new thing in the industry.

The one aspect where the GT 7 Pro falls a little short is its camera, but that's only so if you expect true flagship results from it, which you really shouldn't. It's not trying to be an all-out cameraphone - it goes all out in so many fields that the imaging department had to take a step back. And even though that may sound like a bad thing, we consider the compromises to be perfectly reasonable.

It's nice that Realme is making the GT 7 Pro available to the world - that way, we can go ahead and recommend it.

Pros

• IP69 in addition to the regular IP68 - underwater mode enabled!
• Display is bright beyond reason, excellent overall.
• Class-leading battery life.
• Very fast charging.
• One of the first to market with the new and super-powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset.
• Android 15 out of the box, plenty of AI features.
• Competent camera system for most things.
• Wi-Fi 7, IR blaster on the back; 360-degree NFC for contactless payments.

Cons

• A better ultrawide camera wouldn't have hurt; selfies are meh; selfie videos are especially bad.
• Video stabilization isn't great.
• Gaming is limited to 60fps, except for 5-6 popular titles.
• No eSIM support.