Realme X7 Max 5G / GT Neo review

Familiar triple-camera setup with a 64MP at the helm

Realme has been basing most of its camera setups around the popular 64MP Sony IMX682 sensor (1/1.73", 0.8µm). The Realme X7 Max 5G or Realme GT Neo are no exception. Just like the Realme GT, this 64MP camera doesn't come with any extra bells or whistles - there no OIS or special autofocus, other than PDAF.

As far as we can gather, this sensor is also used in the Realme 7 Pro and the Asian Realme 7. Also, quite a few Xiaomi pones, like the Redmi K30 Ultra, Mi 10T 5G, Mi 10T Lite 5G and the Poco X3, also some Samsungs, like the M31s and M51. A pretty popular sensor.

Complementing the main camera, we have an 8MP ultrawide with an f/2.3 aperture. The Realme X7 Max 5G was a bit more apprehensive about admitting what sensor it is based around. That goes for the third and final 2MP, f/2.4 dedicated macro camera snapper. One thing potentially worth noting is that Realme skipped on a fourth camera for the Realme X7 Max 5G like the one that is found on Realme 8 devices. We'll just have to see how the absence of a dedicated depth sensor affects portrait quality.

On the selfies side, the Realme 8 has a 16MP IMX471 sensor. It is also a pretty popular selfie cam, particularly favored by OnePlus and found in pretty much every one of their phones for a few generations now, including the OnePlus 9, 9 Pro and 9R. Though, not necessarily with the same f/2.5 lens found on the Realme X7 Max 5G, as well as other Realme devices, like the GT and the Realme 8.

The camera app UI on the Realme X7 Max 5G is a largely familiar affair. The overall layout is fairly simple, with few menus - most of the modes are now on the main rolodex, which is good. It offers AI Scene Enhancement (also known as Chroma Boost or Dazzle Color) - it's like an advanced HDR mode, which may stack several images to offers even further improvements in the dynamic range, but the most prominent "improvement" is the higher color saturation. Ai Scene Enhancement can also elect to trigger Night mode. It's most potentially disruptive auto behavior, however, comes in when the phone believes you are trying to "scan" something in the frame and then just clips that part out, potentially ruining a shot. It requires extra mindfulness.

Main camera UI

The settings menu is quite straightforward. However, it is not devoid of some idiosyncrasies. One particularly annoying one is that settings are only accessible through photo mode and not video capture. If you say, want to change recording resolution, you need to flip over to the photo and then go to settings, change it, go back and flip back to video. Annoying and unnecessary.

Camera settings

Another oddity is the way video resolution works in relation to the ultrawide. If you've selected 4K or 1080p@60fps, you won't see a 0.6x switch for the ultrawide camera as these resolutions aren't supported. The only way to enable it is to switch to 1080p@30fps from the advanced settings. And switch back to 4K when you are done. Other makers do this hassle-free by shooting at the maximum resolution available, when a camera can't do, say 4K, but Realme seems to have stumbled with this thing here.

Video camera UI

The other peculiarity is related to Expert mode. Switching between cameras in Expert mode is handled in a truly bizarre way. You get the familiar 1x-2x-5x selector, but that doesn't operate the actual cameras - it's a digital zoom from whichever camera you've picked from the tree selector on the opposite end of the viewfinder. Indeed, the trees switch cameras, and once you select a module from there, no focusing distance considerations will auto-switch it - that's good.

Expert mode

In the Expert mode, you get to tweak exposure (ISO in the 100-6400 range and shutter speed in the 1/8000s-32s range, 2s for the ultrawide), white balance (by light temperature, but no presets), manual focus (in arbitrary 0 to 1 units with 0 being close focus and 1 being infinity) and exposure compensation (-2EV to +2EV in 1/6EV increments).

Photo quality - daylight

Let's kick things off with the main 64MP camera. Like we said, it uses a popular and familiar Sony IMX682 sensor, which we have a pretty good idea what to expect from. It is a Quad-Bayer unit that is meant to shoot in 16MP by default.

Photos by this camera come out looking solid and with familiar Realme processing. Detail is plenty and noise is low, though not entirely absent. Colors look juicy but accurate.

White balance is good, more often than not. Though, shot-to-shot consistency could use some extra work. Our Realme X7 Max 5G did decide to shoot slightly warmer and even "reddish" shots on occasion, which is something to be mindful of.

To be clear, these are not what we would call "flagship-grade" shots. Still perfectly decent for a mid-ranger. Though, we are not sure that's the market territory the Realme X7 Max 5G is aiming for, though at least its retail price fits the bill.

Realme X7 Max 5G: 16MP main camera samples

Realme also offers an AI Scene Enhancement toggle (previously known as Chroma Boost and Dazzle Color) within the camera app. It usually makes an HDR photo with eye-popping colors, depending on the scenes, of course.

Realme X7 Max 5G: Ai Scene Detection 16MP main camera samples

You can capture stills in the full 64MP resolution of the main camera, as well. This comes with all the usual caveats, like occasional fringing, especially in finer details and five to six times larger file sizes than 16MP stills.

Realme X7 Max 5G: 64MP main camera samples

You can get noticeably more detail, especially in fine patterns by shooting in 64MP mode, which arguably makes it worth it in some cases. Plus, sharpening artefacts tend to be fewer at higher zoom levels.

The process is quite slow, though, taking a good few seconds. That is usually the case, unless when it isn't. Because, oddly enough, most of the time during the day 64MP shots take a while, but at night, capturing these is nearly instant. This is also true when you enable Ai Scene Detection in 64MP mode. Though, not always - it's quite inconsistent.

There is no dedicated telephoto on the Realme X7 Max 5G. However, the camera app does offer digital zoom up to 10x, with toggles for 2x and 5x in the UI. At 2x zoom, shots look surprisingly good. Expectedly, things are a bit softer overall, but other than that, we hardly noticed any extra noise. Processing and color look good and consistent with regular stills, which is expected, seeing how both come from the same camera.

Realme X7 Max 5G: 2x zoom 16MP main camera samples

Even at 5x zoom, daylight stills remain competent. Understandably, softer still, but definitely usable.

Realme X7 Max 5G: 5x zoom 16MP main camera samples

AI Scene Detection can be used at any of the zoom levels, and we actually found it to be beneficial more often than not. It seems to introduce an extra bit of sharpening in the scene, somewhat mitigating the inherent extra softness. Not exactly a better look while pixel-peeping, but arguably better when looking at a photo at 1:1 magnification. If HDR kicks in as well, you can get better highlight handling as well.

Realme X7 Max 5G: AI Scene Detection 2x zoom 16MP main camera samples

Realme X7 Max 5G: AI Scene Detection 5x zoom 16MP main camera samples

The 8MP ultrawide camera on the Realme X7 Max 5G can't quite keep up with the main one, which, to be fair, is perfectly expected and usually the case with ultrawides. However, exposure here is more unpredictable than usual, with both over and under-exposure occurring fairly regularly. In both cases, the fairly narrow dynamic range of the camera is quite apparent. Ultrawide shots are also noticeably softer, especially around the edges. Contrast and saturation are not great either.

Realme X7 Max 5G: 8MP ultrawide camera samples

Colors are also quite different on the ultrawide and noticeably more washed-out than on the main cam. Again, to be perfectly frank, though, this is about what we have come to expect from an ultrawide of this caliber.

Ai Scene Detection can thus be quite beneficial for ultrawide photos. HDR stacking, when it kicks in, obviously offers a boost in color saturation. Some detail is also salvaged in the highlights and shadows. Thanks to some extra algorithmic sharpening, Ai Scene Detection ultrawide snaps can look sharper. Though, that's not due to having any actual extra detail. Even so, we'll take it.

Realme X7 Max 5G: AI Scene Detection 8MP ultrawide camera samples

Before we move on, here is a set of shots at the various Zoom level toggles on the Realme X7 Max 5G, starting with the 0.6x ultrawide, then the 1x main camera, and 2x and 5x zoom shots. All done in the default mode, without AI Scene Detection.

Realme X7 Max 5G: ultrawide • 1x • 2x • 5x

Shooting with the 2MP macro camera on the Realme X7 Max 5G is often a tough task. Its focus plane is narrow and focus is set quite close at around 4cm. Getting a sharp, in-focus shot is hence a challenge.

Realme X7 Max 5G: 2MP macro camera samples

Once completed successfully, the resulting shots do tend to look rather good, considering they come from a tiny 2MP sensor, with a dim f/2.4 aperture. In relative terms, of course. Colors are nice and the amount of detail is decent. These photos are definitely good enough to end up on your socials.

The Realme X7 Max 5G can shoot portraits with its main camera even if there is no dedicated depth sensor. The subject separation isn't stellar because of that, but the photos are excellent - detailed, sharp, with good colors and contrast. We liked the defocusing, too.

Realme X7 Max 5G: 16MP main camera portrait samples

The selfie camera setup on the X7 Max 5G is also quite popular and widely-used. The same 16MP, f/2.5 module can also be found on the Realme 8 and Realme 8 Pro, as well as the Realme GT, to name just a few devices. It is a Quad-Bayer unit, which means it should theoretically output binned 4MP shots. However, just like other Realme phones, the X7 Max 5G saves selfie in 16MP.

Quality is pretty okay overall. Detail is good, though, it could be better. Though focus is fixed here as well, the focus plane is a lot more forgiving than on the macro camera and it is fairly easy to get a good shot. Contrast is good and so is the dynamic range. Colors are close to accurate, more often than not. However, just like the main camera, the Realme X7 Max 5G has a tendency to output stills with a noticeably reddish tint from its selfie every now and then.

Realme X7 Max 5G: 16MP selfie camera samples

Portrait mode is available for selfies, too. The photos have the same qualities as the regular selfie photos. The subject separation, while far from ideal, is acceptable for such a camera, and the fake bokeh effect looks good.

Realme X7 Max 5G: 16MP selfie portrait samples

One thing worth noting is that by default portrait mode applies some level of beauty filtering. Of course, it can be turned off.

Photo quality - low-light

The main camera on the Realme X7 Max 5G holds up surprisingly well in low-light condition with some very competent and laid-back processing all-round. There is some noise left behind, but also plenty of detail that would otherwise have been lost.

Realme X7 Max 5G: 16MP low-light main camera samples

Colors look true to life and even dynamic range isn't quite as limited as we have seen on other Realme's with the same sensor, like the Realme 8. Shadows aren't totally crushed and highlights aren't totally clipped. Light sources look well contained. While not exactly flagship-grade, what we get here is very competent all-around.

Naturally, there is Night mode available. A fairly speedy one, especially coming into this review after going through a few Realme 8 devices. Shots only take around 3 to 4 seconds on average.

Night mode has a positive effect on the photos. Clipped highlights are restored but there is not a huge difference in shadows. These photos look notably sharper overall.

Realme X7 Max 5G: Night mode 16MP low-light main camera samples

Quality deteriorates rather rapidly with zoom shots, which is hardly a surprise. Noise and noise-suppression artefacts increase incrementally and shots look increasingly soft overall.

Realme X7 Max 5G: 2x zoom 16MP low-light main camera samples

Just like on 1x shots, Night mode has a positive effect on zoom shots - most notably, much better highlight handling and more detail overall.

Realme X7 Max 5G: Night mode 2x zoom 16MP low-light main camera samples

The 8MP ultrawide camera expectedly struggles quite a bit in low-light conditions. Shots are soft. Color rendition is often vastly different than the main camera. Highlights are handled poorly and light sources blow out pretty much every time.

Realme X7 Max 5G: 8MP ultrawide low-light camera samples

Night mode arguably has the strongest and most noticeable effect on ultrawide shots. Of course, it can't do any miracles, but you do end up with noticeably better photos. Brighter, with more detail and better highlights.

If you are going to use the ultrawide camera in low-light conditions, we would definitely advise putting in the extra effort and time and using Night mode.

Realme X7 Max 5G: Night mode 8MP ultrawide low-light main camera samples

Speaking of the necessity of Night mode, the same is true for the 16MP selfie camera. In default photo mode, it almost always spits out very soft shots.

Realme X7 Max 5G: 16MP selfie low-light camera samples

Night mode once again makes a big difference. Sharpness is massively improved, so is contrast and overall handling of both shadows and highlights. The colors look better, too. On occasion, these shots can come out looking a bit "too bright" with overly boosted levels/ Even so, overall, we would say Night mode selfies look better than regular ones on average and it is well worth it to wait the few extra seconds at night.

Realme X7 Max 5G: Night mode 16MP selfie low-light camera samples

In case you were wondering how portrait selfies and the optional fill-light display-flash feature look, here are a few samples.

Realme X7 Max 5G: 16MP portrait selfies low-light camera samples

Realme X7 Max 5G: 16MP fill-light selfies low-light camera samples

Closing off the photo quality section, we have our extensive Photo comparison database. Naturally, we included samples from the Realme X7 Max 5G in both its default 16MP binned mode and full-res 64MP mode. Pixel-peep away.

Realme X7 Max 5G against the Realme GT 5G and the Samsung Galaxy A52 in our Photo compare tool

64MP: Realme X7 Max 5G against the Realme GT 5G and the Samsung Galaxy A52 in our Photo compare tool

Video quality

The Realme X7 Max 5G can capture video with both its main camera and the ultrawide. The former can go up to 4K@30fps and do 60fps at 1080p, while the ultrawide caps out at FullHD@30fps. The way Realme has its camera app currently set up, it is important to note that you can, indeed, capture video with the ultrawide. However, the option only shows up if you set the maximum resolution in settings to FullHD@30fps. We wish Realme would change this and just have the ultrawide toggle always on the camera UI.

You get the option to choose between the h.264 and h.265 codecs.

Electronic stabilization is available only at 1080p@30fps mode on both cameras. It is called Super Steady and it comes in a regular level, which works on the main camera and a Max setting, which crops from the wider field of view of the ultrawide instead.

The Realme X7 Max 5G is generous with the bit rates - the. 4K footage gets 50Mbps while 1080p/30fps is allocated a similarly above-average 20Mbps, or so when using the h.264 codec. The audio bitrate is always 320kbps, and the sound is stereo.

4K footage from the main camera is solid overall, though not perfect. Colors a bit too saturated for our taste. Detail is plenty, though and there is practically no noise to speak of.

There is an optional Ai Highlight mode in the default camera app. It is only limited to the main camera and 1080p resolution. We can't say that its effects left us particularly impressed, but it might be appealing to some of you. Interestingly, there is no trace of the excessive saturation seen in the regular video mode.

Zoomed video capture is a thing on the Realme X7 Max 5G, with toggles for 2x and 5x in the camera app. These clips remain consistent in terms of colors, processing, contrast and dynamic range with 1x videos, which is expected seeing how they all come from the main camera.

Noise is the main thing that creeps up as you go up in zoom levels. We would say that 2x videos still look decent, but 5x ones - not so much. They are usable, but not really impressive.

The Realme X7 Max 5G has EIS, but at a maximum of FullHD resolution. It is caller Super Steady and there are two different types or "levels" of stabilization, depending on how you interpret them. There is the "basic" stabilization that uses the footage from the main camera.

Beyond that, you can also use "Max" stabilization. It crops away from the ultrawide instead and stabilizes that.

Honestly, we weren't particularly impressed by either of the two EIS levels. They took care of the major bumps and shakes well enough, but still left plenty of smaller ones behind. Super Steady Max also introduced an odd small jitter in the footage. We would probably stick to the basic one.

In regular video recording, the ultrawide camera once again fails to impress. The 1080p footage it captures is a bit lacking in terms of detail. Colors are noticeably duller and a far cry from those on the main one. Even if the latter are a tad too vibrant at times. Noise is also surprisingly present, especially in finer moving patterns, in broad daylight, no less. Distortion near the corners is also quite noticeable.

Since we are already discussing the ultrawide, it unsurprisingly doesn't get particularly better in low-light conditions. Its footage is noisy and soft, with blown-out light sources. Still, on a slightly more positive note, at least it is far from the worse we have seen from an ultrawide and its clips are still what we would call usable.

At least the main camera captures very competent low-light videos. Detail is plenty, and we particularly enjoyed how good light reflections on the wet street look. Not too shabby at all. Zoom videos came out quite a bit dimmer and with increasing levels of noise, but were still usable. You can check all of the samples in the playlist. One of these clips is taken using the included Ai Highlight mode.

There is EIS available for the selfie camera, as well and it works surprisingly well. You do have to hold the phone quite a bit further from your face to compensate for the cropped frame, though.

We also added 4K samples from the main camera of the Realme X7 Max 5G to our extensive Video compare database. Browse and compare away.

Realme X7 Max 5G against the Realme GT 5G and the Samsung Galaxy A52 in our Video compare tool