Before this review, I had heard many great things about the Realme brand of smartphones. Some people have called them the best bang for your buck when it comes to a mid- to high-end smartphone, while others often refer to Realme smartphones as “flagship killers”—and I wanted to see if that holds up. While I did enjoy the device, I feel there are a few aspects that don’t quite sit right with me, although there were other elements I really liked. This was a very interesting device, and as a first-time user of the brand, it was cool to see how many differences this smartphone has compared to a typical Android device on the market.
Pound for pound, this has been one of the best unboxing experiences I’ve had in a very long time. As we know, when you get a new smartphone, you typically only receive the essentials—usually just a USB cable to attach to a power block you already own. The Realme GT 7 comes with not only a USB-C cable but also the power block and a silicone phone case. I was honestly incredibly surprised by this, as it rarely happens. It’s the simple things that are greatly appreciated, and Realme has really outdone itself here, setting up its users for success right from delivery.
At just 206 g, the Realme GT 7 feels surprisingly light and comfortable in the hand. The phone features an aluminum frame, which, while attractive, also makes it quite slippery. I typically never take the case off a phone after purchase, and I would highly recommend that if you’re picking up this phone, you do the same. You tend to lose grip with this type of body, which can make it awkward for typing or even taking photos and videos.
“At just 206 g, the Realme GT 7 feels surprisingly light and comfortable in the hand.”
Once a case is on—particularly the one that came with the phone—these issues with the Realme GT 7 go away immediately. The phone comes with a matte case that offers a very nice grip but is also a fingerprint magnet. There are plenty of options available for different cases, but since this phone came with one, I don’t intend to change it unless something really catches my eye.
Looking at the front of the device, the Realme GT 7 features an LTPO AMOLED display that can run from 120 Hz up to 2160 Hz at a resolution of 1264×2780. The display is HDR10+ ready, with brightness ranging from 600 nits (typical), 1600 nits (HBM), and maxing out at 6000 nits. The screen measures 6.78 inches with a 90.4 per cent screen-to-body ratio. The display is made of Corning Gorilla Glass 7i.
I need to preface this by saying I’m not sure whether this was an issue with my device or simply the version of Android that the Realme GT 7 uses, but out of the box, I encountered quite a few issues. As always, once the unboxing was complete, I booted up the phone and ensured it was fully updated to the latest version of its firmware—in this case, Android 15 with Realme UI 6.0. I experienced numerous connectivity issues, particularly with Bluetooth devices.
“Let’s get into the camera—it’s really good.”
I tried to connect the phone to my Powerbeats Pro 2, and it simply wouldn’t connect. I had the same issue with my Samsung soundbar. All devices were up to date, but for whatever reason, the Realme GT 7 couldn’t establish a connection. I also tried connecting it to my car—a 2019 Nissan Rogue—and encountered the same problem. The phone would only work in the car via the USB-C cable, and even then, I experienced issues using Android Auto. I also had trouble setting up Google Wallet on the device. I kept getting an error message indicating that, due to the version of Android I was using, Google Wallet wouldn’t work, which was very frustrating.
Let’s get into the camera—it’s really good. The phone has three cameras: two 50 MP lenses, one telephoto and the other wide, as well as an 8 MP 16 mm ultrawide lens. When it comes to being a supposed “flagship killer,” it’s not, but it comes dangerously close to matching the cameras used on last year’s Google Pixel 9. For video, the Realme GT 7 can shoot 8K video at 30 fps, as well as 4K at 30/60/120 fps using the main camera. The front camera features a 32 MP wide lens that can also shoot 4K at 30/60 fps and 1080p at 30/60 fps—pretty great for folks who enjoy vlogging.
As mentioned, the Realme GT 7 runs a custom Android 15 OS with Realme UI 6.0. It has a powerful octa-core processor (1×3.4 GHz Cortex-X4, 3×2.85 GHz Cortex-X4 and 4×2.0 GHz Cortex-A720) that, again, rivals most flagship smartphones on the market today. There are four storage options available for this smartphone: 256 GB with 8 GB of RAM, 256 GB with 12 GB of RAM, 512 GB with 12 GB of RAM, and 512 GB with 16 GB of RAM.
“The Realme GT 7 is a great smartphone with a lot to offer…”
Specs are one thing—but can the Realme GT 7 actually deliver on gaming performance? I’m not a big mobile gamer, but I do have a few titles in a tight rotation—Pokémon Café Remix, Pokémon TCG Live, and Diablo Immortal.
Starting with Pokémon Café Remix, this is by no means a resource-heavy game, but it runs very smoothly on the Realme GT 7. It’s a puzzle game with lots of cute animations and minimal visual effects, and the vibrant screen really makes the colours pop and come alive during gameplay sessions. As for Pokémon TCG Live, it also ran perfectly—no real notes there—as it’s optimized to run exceptionally well on all devices.
Booting up Diablo Immortal is where I finally got to see what the Realme GT 7 was capable of. Depending on the device, Diablo Immortal can run at either 30 fps or 60 fps. On this device, I was able to get it running at 60 fps on high graphics settings, though ultra settings were not supported. That said, there were only a handful of instances where the frame rate would drop and the device would bog down, usually when eight to ten or more enemies were on screen with multiple action animations happening. It wasn’t consistent, but it was enough to drop the frame rate to 30 fps at times for a smoother experience.
The Realme GT 7 is a great smartphone with a lot to offer, but based on my experience with its inability to connect to devices via Bluetooth and the lack of access to Google Wallet, it’s a shame to see such an impressive device lose points on basic quality-of-life features. I’m hoping there will be an update in the future to fix these problems, but for now, I’ll stick to what I know and hope an update arrives soon to address these issues.
