Realme 7 Pro Review: Fastest Charging Tech With Better Multimedia Performance Make It Worthwhile

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The latest smartphones in the 'Realme Number' series cater to a wider set of audiences. While the Realme 7 (Rs. 14,999 & Rs. 16,999) focuses on delivering a fluid screen user-experience and long-lasting battery life (90Hz Refresh Rate LCD along with 5,000mAh battery), the Realme 7 Pro (Rs. 19,999 & Rs. 21,999) introduces the fastest fast-charging tech (65W) and emphasizes on better audio and video playback experience.

 

Rating:
3.5/5

Realme 7 Pro Review

We already had our fair share with the Realme 7 and found it to be a great sub-15k smartphone for the day-to-day routine. The Realme 7 Pro's spec-sheet is also very promising but it comes at a cost. You might have noticed by now, the Realme 7 Pro is priced much higher than the Realme 7 and its predecessor. The entry-level variant now costs Rs. 19,999 and the higher variant jumps the 20K price bracket and retails at Rs. 21,999 making it the most expensive Realme Number-series handset to date.

At this price-point, the market offers several other exciting options such as the Poco X2, Galaxy M31s, Redmi K20, Vivo V19, and the upcoming Poco X3. These devices are worth considering for people with a budget close to Rs. 20,000. That said, should you buy the Realme 7 Pro or settle down with the aforementioned devices? We try to find this out by testing the 8GB RAM variant of the Realme 7 Pro.

Premium Looks And Functional Design
 

Premium Looks And Functional Design

The Realme 7 Pro is by far the most premium looking handset in the Realme's Number-series portfolio. The mirror-split design with solid color scheme looks neat and subtle. There's no metal or glass at the back panel but the quality of plastic used is premium, giving it a sturdy feel. Besides, the matte finish coating also complements the overall aesthetics.

Our review unit came in Blue color variant (Mirror Blue) but you can also purchase the Mirror White variant which looks equally classy. Falling in line with its precursors, the Realme 7 Pro also comes equipped with a 3-slot SIM card tray, which means you get a dedicated microSD card slot for storage expansion. The phone has a Type-C charging port and the conventional 3.5mm audio jack.

Thanks to a smaller 4,500 mAh battery cell and a slightly smaller 6.4-inch screen, the Realme 7 Pro is lighter and a tad sleeker than the Realme 7. It weighs 182 grams and has a thickness of 8.7mm which gives it better ergonomics for one-hand use. As far as durability is concerned, the Realme 7 Pro is touted to be a splash-resistant phone and has a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 coating at the front to protect the screen from scratches.

6.4-inch AMOLED Display- Better Visuals But Dated refresh Rate

6.4-inch AMOLED Display- Better Visuals But Dated refresh Rate

The sub-20K smartphone market hasn't evolved to a point where you can get an AMOLED panel with a higher (90/120Hz) refresh rate. Even a brand like Samsung hasn't managed to offer the combination at a much higher price point (Rs. 78,000), let alone Realme and Xiaomi at a fraction of a cost.

That said, you can either go for a slightly inferior quality IPC LCD panel with a higher refresh rate or a good quality AMOLED screen with the dated 60Hz refresh rate.

Both have their pros and cons. If you want to experience the fluid user-experience of a higher refresh panel, you can go for the Realme 7 as it flaunts a 90Hz IPS LCD screen and will save you Rs. 5,000. But be ready to compromise a bit on the visual feedback as the IPS LCD's viewing angle, color reproduction, and black levels aren't super impressive. On the other hand, the Realme 7 Pro might fail to deliver a fluid user-experience but the vibrant colors, deeper blacks and good viewing angles make up for the loss. Having tested both devices, I would recommend the Realme 7 Pro if you are a movie buff and love binge-watching on your handset.

Realme 7 Pro AMOLED Display Vs Galaxy M-Series AMOLED Panel

Realme 7 Pro AMOLED Display Vs Galaxy M-Series AMOLED Panel

It is worth mentioning that AMOLED panels also have different quality standards. The 6.4-inch AMOLED display on the Realme 7 Pro is very good but the Samsung Galaxy M-series devices offer slightly better OLED screens in the same price bracket. For instance, the Galaxy M31s, which is priced at Rs. 19,499, offers a better AMOLED screen than the Realme 7 Pro.

However, it lacks a powerful CPU which affects the overall performance. In that case, the Realme 7 Pro comes across as a better overall device for all-round display and processing performance.

For protection, the Realme 7 Pro uses the Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection, which feels dated in the year 2020 at this price-point. The brand should have offered GG5 layer for better protection against scratches and accidental damages.

Camera Specifications

Camera Specifications

Similar to the Realme 7, the Realme 7 Pro also boasts a quad-lens rear camera featuring the 64MP Sony IMX682 sensor, 8MP wide-angle sensor, and two 2MP sensors taking care of macro and portrait photography. If you recall, the Realme 6 Pro has a 12MP telephoto sensor with 2x Optical zoom. Realme has replaced the zoom lens with a 2MP portrait sensor and has mentioned that the 64MP primary sensor should give similar results if you crop the high-resolution images.

Moving on, the Realme 7 Pro boasts a 32MP front-facing camera which captures marginally better selfies as compared to 16MP front-facing camera on the Realme 7. The rear camera performance remains pretty much similar.

Primary Sensor- 64MP, f/1.8, 6P lens, Sony IMX682 Sensor, 1/1.73"
Wide-Angle Sensor- 8MP, f/2.3, 119° Field-Of-View, 5P lens
Depth Sensor- 2MP B&W Portrait Camera, f/2.4, 3P lens
Macro Sensor- 2MP, 4cm Focus Distance, f/2.4, 3P lens
Photography Modes- 64MP High-Resolution Mode, Super NightScape, Starry Mode, Panoramic view, Expert mode (Pro Mode), Time-lapse, Portrait, HDR, Wide-Angle mode, Macro mode, AI scene recognition, AI Beauty, Filter, Chroma Boost, Slow Motion, Bokeh Effect, Night Mode Filters- Modern Gold, Cyberpunk and Flamingo
Video Recording- 4K/30fps video recording, 1080P/30fps/60fps video recording, 720P/30fps, 60fps video recording, EIS Support, No OIS, 4K Video not supported with the ultra-wide-angle lens, 1080p 60fps only limited to the primary lens, Ultra Night video recording mode, Bokeh Video mode, AI Filters or Video Recording
Front Camera- 32MP f/2.5, 79.3° Field-Of-View, 5P lens
Photography Modes- Portrait Mode, Timelapse, Panorama, AI Beauty, HDR, Face-Recognition, Filter, Bokeh Effect Control
Video Recording- 1080P, 720p/30fps video recording Daylight Performance

Camera Performance

Camera Performance

The Realme 7 Pro is excellent for daylight photography. The 64MP primary camera with the Sony IMX682 sensor captures crystal clear 16MP pixel-binned shots with well-preserved details, natural colors, and great HDR. The 64MP high-resolution shots show even better details and slightly superior contrast. Both pixel-binned and high-res. Images have an impressive dynamic range and show vibrant colors. If you prefer slightly saturated color output, the Chroma boost toggle is always there to help but mind you, the results can be pretty unrealistic.

Also, I would have still preferred a dedicated telephoto lens on the Realme 7 Pro. It's always easy and fruitful to use a good telephoto lens with native optical zoom to bring subjects closer without losing out on details rather than shooting in high-resolution and then cropping out the subject in the frame. I think Realme should have kept the optical lens intact for the Pro version if not the regular version. A decent optical lens for the ‘Pro' variants in the ‘Realme Number' series could give a personality to the line-up.

Moving on, the Realme 7 Pro also shoots crisp 4k 30fps and 1080p 60fps/30fps videos. The EIS works well only when the device isn't subjected to rapid movements. The wide-angle and macro shots come out decent if lighting conditions are favorable and the Realme 7 Pro also manages to create a decent bokeh, thanks to the dedicated 2MP portrait sensor.

Decent Low-Light Camera With Beautiful Night Mode Filters

Decent Low-Light Camera With Beautiful Night Mode Filters

The Realme 7 Pro can give you some impressive low-light pictures as the 64MP primary sensor allows for good light intake. Also, the dedicated night mode is capable to produce slightly better images with brighter details. Moreover, if you have a knack for photography, you can capture some stunning night-time images on the Realme 7 Pro with Tripod Mode and Starry Mode. The brand has also bundled some interesting night-time filters that can also be used in the daytime to give pictures an artistic look. The above camera sample shows the same shot in three additional filters such as- Modern Gold, Cyberpunk, and Flamingo.

Last but not the least; the Realme 7 Pro also features a dedicated night mode to shoot videos in low-light. The mode increases the exposure to make the scene brighter. It does bring some noted information in the frame but the overall results aren't very impressive.

Good Multimedia Smartphone- AMOLED Screen + Stereo Speakers

Good Multimedia Smartphone- AMOLED Screen + Stereo Speakers

The Realme 7 Pro is an excellent package for multimedia consumption, be it videos, games, or simply audio playback. The vivid AMOLED screen is aided by a stereo speaker setup which creates a good multimedia experience. If you are wondering where the second speaker is, it's the earpiece that doubles up as a secondary speaker. You can binge-watch movies and play games on the handset even if you don't have headphones handy. The stereo speaker setup produces loud and clear audio which is rare to find in this price-segment, thanks to Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res Sound support.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G SoC + 6GB/8GB RAM

Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G SoC + 6GB/8GB RAM

Realme hasn't upgraded the chipset on the new handset. The Realme 7 Pro still uses the capable Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G chipset, which supplied power to the Realme 6 Pro and the Redmi Note 9 Pro. Fabricated on the 8nm process, the SoC draws power from two high-performance 2.3GHz cores and six power-efficient 1.8GHz cores. The SD720G is aided by 6GB and 8GB LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB UFS 2.1 storage which is more than enough to deliver a smooth multitasking experience. The smartphone can easily handle all your day-to-day requirements such as video playback, web-browsing, camera usage, photo-editing, and other phone-relating tasks.

The phone easily handled four to five Call of Duty sessions without any performance dip and the graphics looked excellent on the AMOLED screen. While we have tested the higher variant, you can expect similar results even on the lower variant due to good software optimization. The Realme 7 Pro runs on Realme UI V1.0 based on Android 10 which works wonderfully on the handset. It is very well optimized and does not bombard you with unwanted ads and notifications. The user-experience is free of lags and unwanted app-crashes.

Battery Life And Connectivity

Battery Life And Connectivity

The Realme 7 Pro has the fastest fast-charging solution in the market. The smartphone is backed by a 4,500 mAh battery cell which uses a 65W fast-charger that can refuel the battery from flat to 100% in around 37 minutes. The innovative fast-charging solution is developed by Oppo and was first seen in the recently launched premium Reno 4 Pro smartphone. While the 4,500 mAh battery can only survive one day with moderate usage, the 65W fast charger comes across as a savior. A 10-minute charge can give this phone a 30-35% battery which is amazing. There's no going back once you start using the 65W fast-charging tech.

As far as connectivity is concerned, the Realme 7 Pro comes equipped with a Type-C charging port and 3-card slot (2 SIM Slot + 1 MicroSD Slot). The handset supports both 2.4 and 5 GHz 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi network and offers Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity. Besides, you also get the standard connectivity features like GPS, AGPS, and GLONASS.

Verdict

Verdict

The Realme 7 Pro is a true all-rounder that gets most of the things right. The smartphone has a premium and functional design, a vibrant AMOLED screen complemented by a stereo speaker setup, and a snappy Qualcomm chipset that delivers smooth performance. The 64MP quad-lens camera with the latest Sony sensor is a great overall performer but the company could have retained the telephoto lens to make the camera setup a bit more versatile. Moving on, the Realme 7 Pro's ‘Ace' feature is the class-leading 65W fast-charging technology that no other smartphone can match at the respective price-point.

In short, Realme has given a solid upgrade in the form of the Realme 7 Pro but no deal is good without evaluating the competition. If you take a look at the competition, the Poco X3 is worth waiting for. The Realme 7 Pro is bound to receive a tough competition by the upcoming Poco X3 which will offer a 120Hz refresh rate panel with HDR 10 support and a faster chipset. We are expecting Poco to launch the base variant of the Poco X3 in under Rs. 20,000 which will spice up the competition.

You can also consider the Motorola One Fusion+ for its stock Android UI and full-screen experience, thanks to the ‘Pop-up Selfie Camera' design. If you are a Samsung fanboy but cannot extend the 20K budget, the Galaxy M31s is a decent option; however, you must know that it is powered by an underpowered Exynos chipset which spoils the overall performance of a rather wonderful handset. Some other options that you should consider are the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro Max, Poco X2, Poco M2 Pro, Realme 7, and the Redmi K20 if your budget can exceed a little bit.

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