Realme Narzo 20 Pro: The Good, The Bad, And The X Factor

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Realme has refreshed its budget smartphone series Narzo with the launch of the Narzo 20A, Narzo 20, and the Narzo 20 Pro. As expected, the new lineup is equipped with some good quality internals, new design elements and an affordable price tag. While the device dons a new skin, it has almost identical features as the Realme 7 Pro which also hit the shelves in India recently.

 
Realme Narzo 20 Pro: The Good, The Bad, And The X Factor

The Realme Narzo 20 Pro is the top-of-the-line model in the new series. If we speak of its features, then the handset has a 90Hz display, 65W SuperVooC flash charge, and 48MP AI quad-cameras. All this for an asking price of Rs. 14,999 which is for the 6GB RAM+ 64GB storage model. The device will also be available with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage configuration which has been priced at Rs. 16,999. How well the new Realme offering fairs the expectations, let's have a look.

Realme Narzo 20 Pro: The Good

Realme Narzo 20 Pro: The Good

Tall High-Resolution Display

The Realme Narzo 20 Pro has the best panel amongst all the models in the new lineup. It is also a 6.5-inch IPS LCD panel but has an FHD+ resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels. The display delivers a screen-to-body ratio of 90 percent and has 20:9 aspect ratio.

The 90Hz panel features a punch-hole on the top-left corner instead of a waterdrop notch like its siblings. The high resolution and refresh rate allows for a good viewing experience. It can render 1080p videos at online platforms like YouTube. It has 480 nits of brightness and the content is visible easily outdoors. You don't have to struggle much.

We are yet to fully test it under harsh sunlight. The tall form factor with thin bezels and an in-display camera cutout allows for a maximum surface to view content. However, a bit smaller punch-hole would have complimented the design more. Notably, the punch-hole has a light effect which functions with the Face Unlock and selfie camera.

The display also supports eye protection mode, custom color mode, and OSIE visual effect features amongst others. Using the custom color mode you can switch between standard and vivid screen modes. The display overall is a pleasant experience on the Narzo 20 Pro.

48MP AI Quad-Rear Cameras
 

48MP AI Quad-Rear Cameras

The cameras are the major upgrade on the Realme Narzo 20 Pro in the entire lineup. It has four cameras on the rear panel which are housed inside a vertical rectangular module on the left. Sensors onboard are a 48MP primary lens with an f/1.8 aperture, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle sensor with 119-degree FoV, and a pair of 2MP sensors (black and white and retro) with an f/2.4 aperture.

The cameras click 12MP pixel-binned shots by default and you can switch to the 48MP settings directly from the app. The other features which you can access from the camera app are the HDR mode, Panorama, Portrait, Time-Lapse, and Slow-Motion. Similar to the standard model, this one also has a dedicated Night Mode.

Realme smartphones are known for good imaging capabilities and the Narzo 20 Pro seems to follow the same lead. While we couldn't test the cameras to their full potential, initial testing indicates them to be a decent performer.

Coming to the front, the device packs a 16MP snapper with an f/2.2 aperture for selfies and video calls. While the front camera has no additional sensor for depth shots, it can capture software-driven bokeh effects. The selfie shots are clear and would be perfect for social media uploads.

Realme Narzo 20 Pro: The Bad

Realme Narzo 20 Pro: The Bad

Smudge Prone Rear Panel

The Realme Narzo 20 Pro flaunts a gradient rear panel which similar to its siblings reflects patterns with light rays falling on the surface. However, it doesn't have a matte textured panel, rather it's a shiny surface which you will find slippery on occasions.

The device is launched in Black Ninja and White Knight color options. We got the latter for review and it already has started picking up fingerprints. It'd be a task to keep the surface clean unless you wrap it up inside a case. Which is suggested any which ways to keep the rear panel free from scratches.

Smaller Battery Unit Compared To Remaining Models

Smaller Battery Unit Compared To Remaining Models

The Realme Narzo 20 Pro is powered by a 4,500 mAh battery unit. This is smaller compared to the 6,000 mAh and 5,000 mAh battery units on the Narzo 20 and the Narzo 20i respectively. The company could have used a similar setup on this model as well.

However, Realme has thrown in its proprietary 65W SuperVooC flash charge support in the mix to make up for the smaller battery unit. This flash charge tech is found on the company's flagship offerings such as the Realme X50 Pro.

Realme Narzo 20 Pro: The X Factor

Realme Narzo 20 Pro: The X Factor

Game-Centric Processor With Latest UI

The Realme Narzo 20 Pro draws its power from the MediaTek Helio G95 processor which is the same as the Realme 7 Pro. The chipset is paired up with up to 8GB RAM and 128GB storage configuration. This model also has a dedicated microSD card slot as its siblings.

So it would be easier to use two SIM cards and one microSD card at a time. Speaking of which, the storage capacity is expandable up to 256GB here as well. This game-centric processor being paired with high RAM and 90Hz panel is meant to deliver a good gaming performance.

However, we will be giving feedback on the gaming performance in a comprehensive review of the unit.
Firmware is identical on all three models. The device runs on Android 10 OS and has Realme UI skin on top.

The device has some pre-installed bloatware without which the UI would have been neat. The other aspects remain at place such as Dark Mode, gesture-based navigation, smart slider bar, and others.

Is It A Hit Or A Miss?

Is It A Hit Or A Miss?

The Realme Narzo 20 Pro is a fully-loaded smartphone under Rs. 15,000 price mark. And since we are talking about the hardware, it would be worth to mention that the Realme 7 Pro which is another recent offering by the brand has identical set of features.

The primary difference is the processor. While one is powered by the mid-range MediaTek processor, other one uses the Snapdragon processor. However, the chipset on both smartphones is gaming-oriented. The company needs to fiddle along with the hardware more or atleast the pricing so that the consumers in this segment have wider options to choose from.

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