Specs
| CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 5G |
| Memory | 12 + 256 UFS 3.1 |
| Display | 6.62’’ FHD+ 120Hz e4 AMOLED |
| Camera | 64MP wide angle, 8MP ultra-wide angle 2MP macro 16MP front-facing camera |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.2,USB Type-C 2.0, 5G, Up to WiFi 6, Dual Nano SIM |
| OS | realme UI 2.0 (Android 11) |
| Battery | 5000 mAh with 65W charging |
| Available Colors | Neo Blue and Neo Green |
| Retail Price | RM 2,099 (12+256GB) |
The Works
“Striking, Appealing Design“
realme’s GT Neo 2 is an attractive piece to look at. Coming in either Neo Blue or Green, it has a rather high-end plastic feel that barely smudges (unless you look hard enough). We have the Neo Green, and it takes after a subtle lime green hue more than just being “Green”. There’s a stripe design at the back with the company slogan “Dare to Leap” plastered inside on repeat. It may be a turn off for some, but if you do like it, it actually compliments both color and design. The other larger strip just has the realme logo imprinted on it with the same lime green hue as the slogan and the rest of the phone.
The camera module is a small, rounded square with a bit of glass in it. It houses the triple camera setup and a dual tone flash. It doesn’t protrude out much and there are no complaints here.
All-in-all, the GT Neo 2’s eye-striking design has a nice grip to it, with a plastic side frame that I once thought was metal but it’s okay. It’s a smooth finish phone that isn’t slippery. You may choose to ignore the provided casing and you’ll still be golden .
The main screen is a 6.62″ AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. It’s the usual FHD+ resolution with a high refresh rate capability. You can toggle your preferred refresh rate in the settings without a fuss. What’s different from its predecessor is HDR certification and its supported formats. You can watch your HDR 10+ content here and it will look pretty vivid, sharp and most importantly bright.
Why Is It Still 60FPS for Games???
The system kind of holds it back still in performance. Although you do get 120Hz during navigation and some apps, the GT Neo 2 still pegs gaming to 60Hz and we’re not quite sure why. This hinders its actual gaming potential but at the very least the 60FPS gaming performance is consistent and cool. Genshin at Max Settings ran a near-perfect 58 FPS while simple games at Mobile Legends stayed at 60FPS without a hitch. It’s not like the Snapdragon 870 can’t handle higher frames and we hope to see an update on this.
The daily drive is still buttery smooth, thanks to 12GB of RAM that made multitasking a very encouraging thing to do.
Battery is a real treat here. The 5000 mAh battery can confidently last more than 2 days on non-gaming, app-heavy use and it gets topped up quickly thanks to the included 65W Dart Charger. A full tank from 0% takes about half and hour and 20 minutes takes you to the high 70’s if not 80’s. This is definitely a device you can depend on when you’re on the run!
Triple Camera Setup
The GT Neo 2 has a similar triple camera setup to the GT Neo, carrying over the 64MP Sony IMX682 sensor, which is a very mainstream choice for phones in the RM 2xxx range. apart from the main wide-angle sensor, it’s flanked by an 8MP ultra-wide-angle and a 2MP macro camera. Selfie are achieved by a single 16-MP front-facing camera.
Images from the main sensor have wide dynamic range and detail, but lacks in sharpness and natural color rendering. You will notice softness if not noise towards the edges and it gets worse in low-light. It actually does well in broad daylight, and you can even score a nice shot in overcast whether where most systems would go haywire on the HDR.
I wanna say that the Ultrawide results are pretty ordinary. I’ve tested dozens of mid-rangers this year and they all look like this. They lack detail and are plain noisy. There’s nothing much to be done for this sensor except some major post-processing and a saturation boost. What you get are warmer images that you shouldn’t pinch to zoom into. A good thing I can say is that the lens correction seems to work well and you won’t be seeing any color fringing towards the edge so that’s a nice consolation.
The Macro sensor stands alone, with no depth-sensor to give any sort of bokeh. Focus hunting can be quite slow at times and the shutter speed is not fast enough to land a solid shot where you’ll get all your details. Out of 5 tries, I managed to capture the most detail and this is the result. A somewhat detailed image with washed out colors and unimpressive contrast. The main sensor, zoomed in did absolutely better and I’m not surprised given the situation.
Main Sensor Crop Macro
2x Zoom does respectably okay, although it’s worth nothing that it’s a crop from the main sensor. Under daylight, you will capture good detail around the center of your subject that’s going to be surrounded with a watercolor effect.
Selfies looked a little more optimistic, but you’re still getting a pale, soft outlook that’s hyper sensitive to even the slightest drop in lighting. The selfie camera should not have such a narrow aperture (f/2.5). It isn’t too bad, but for the price I’ve seen the competition simply do better. Selfies are a core part of owning a smartphone regardless of price range and should not be taken lightly.
Portrait Mode adds a faux bokeh around, with some edges that stick out more than others. This isn’t a surprise and it’s definitely far from perfect.
Selfie Mode Portrait Mode
A Phone That’s Marketed For Vloggers Only
realme’s GT Neo 2 does expectionally well in being a long-lasting, speedy every day phone in all but gaming. You’ll definitely get one heck of an experience if you’re okay with it being locked to just 60FPS.
The cameras are a hit and miss but with some luck and skill you should be able to get some passable results.
You should look to this phone if you’re a busy individual with very little time for charging throughout your day since it lasts long on a single charge and fills up back again in just a few moments.
This display is pretty and viewing movies and videos were both color and sharp.
