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| Realme 6 Pro Review; Professional Performer |
The realme 6 Pro sits at the top of the series, and it offers more advanced features than the 6i and even with the realme 6. So, what are those features? Let's all find out in this review!
PHYSICAL:
The realme 6 Pro has a 90Hz Ultra Smooth FullScreen Display that measures 6.6 inches diagonally, has a resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels, and has an aspect ratio of 20:9. The screen name might be too long, so we will explain it a bit further. The 90Hz refers to the refresh rate of the screen, which is 50% higher fps (frames per second) than regular 60Hz displays, giving users a smoother visual as we experienced first hand with our unit. Moreover, the brightness level is more than sufficient for outdoor use. Meanwhile, FullScreen simply means that it has minimal bezels and has no notch, that is why it can achieve a 90.6% screen-to-body ratio.
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| 6.6-inch 90Hz Ultra Smooth Display |
A similar kind of display technology is present in the non-pro variant, albeit screen size is slightly smaller at 6.5 inches. Moreover, the 6 Pro has a pill-shape cut out on the screen that houses two front cameras. Yes, it has two camera modules for taking selfies that can work independently with each other but will get to that in detail later.
Going back to the front, it is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. But, if it is not enough, there's also a pre-applied plastic for added protection. By the way, the phone still has an earpiece grille positioned at the upper-center of the screen. We guess vibration technology to produce sound is still expensive these days as we've only seen such thing in high-end devices like the Huawei P40 Pro.
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| Lightning-Inspired Design |
Moving at the back, it has a vibrant lightning design and also covered by a Corning Gorilla Glass 5. According to realme, they used UV-curing Gradient Offset Printing Technology and hundreds of re-adjustments to finally achieve its rich layers and elegant texture. It looks great, especially without the free clear case.
The quad-camera setup, along with its LED flash, is placed at the upper left portion, while the realme logo is in the bottom left. These kinds of arrangements are identical to those of the realme 6 and the realme XT. However, consumers can still identify which is which, because the 3 phones have different design philosophies.
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| Side-Mounted Fingerprint Sensor |
You may have noticed in the above images the non-appearance of the fingerprint sensor. And if you are guessing it's an optical in-display sensor, then you are incorrect. That is because it is placed on the right side of the phone, and it also doubles as the power button. The 6 Pro is one of the first two phones from realme that implemented that kind of setup, the other one is the realme 6. It is a capacitive sensor that can unlock the phone almost in an instant.
The realme 6 Pro measures 163.8mm x 75.8mm x 8.9mm and weighs 202 grams. It is slightly wider and taller than the realme 6, again that's because it also has a slightly bigger display. Comparing it to OPPO Reno 10x Zoom that also has the same screen size, it is still taller, but it is now a bit slimmer and thinner, not to mention lighter too.
Going through the sides, there is a secondary microphone at the top for noise cancellation. Again, the right side has the power button slash fingerprint sensor. The bottom is quite busy with the loudspeaker grille, USB Type-C port, primary microphone, and 3.5mm audio jack. Lastly, the left side has the power buttons and the triple-slot card tray that can hold two Nano-SIMs and a MicroSD card.
Realme 6 Pro Unboxing and Hands-on
To learn more about its physical appearance, and how it looks when compared to the realme 6, you can watch the above-embedded video.
Also Read: Realme 6i Review: Power Unleashed
SOFTWARE:
The realme 6 Pro runs on version 1.0 of their very own realme UI, this is precisely the same thing found in the realme C3 and realme 6i that we reviewed recently. As mentioned in our previous reviews, the realme UI is clean and has an energetic vibe in it. The default icons are round in shapes, but users can easily change it in the settings as they please.
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| Software |
The apps and folders are lined up on the home screen, but it also has an app drawer that can be accessed by simply swiping the screen from the bottom upwards. The pre-installed apps are quite plenty, mostly Google-related apps and realme owned applications; some of them can be uninstalled; most of them cannot. The phone has 128GB of internal storage wherein 112GB is available for the users, which means that there is plenty of space left. That said, it is not really an issue if there are lots of apps installed by default, but if you still want to save some space, no one is stopping you from doing so.
There's one thing we noticed about the apps, the SOLOOP Video Creation Tool is not present, unlike in the Indian market wherein this video editing app is part of the pre-installed goodies. Take note also that on realme Philippines' website, it is also part of the phone's feature. We know it is not a big deal, but we are still puzzled why it is not included, especially that consumers cannot also get it from the Play Store. Then after a while, we found it. It is downloadable via realme's own app store - the App Market.
As for the interface and navigation, If you have used an Android phone in the past, there is nothing or at least very little to learn about. Nonetheless, if you want to learn more about realme UI, you can visit https://www.realme.com/in/realme-ui.
PERFORMANCE:
The realme 6 Pro is one of the first devices to equip the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G octa-core chipset. This silicon chip was released earlier this year, and it is deemed as the successor of the SD712 chipset. It is made of an 8nm FinFET process and composed of 2.3GHz Kryo 465 Gold CPU, Adreno 618 graphics, and Qualcomm Hexagon 692 AI processor.
As compared to the Snapdragon 730G, the 720G has higher clock frequency at 2.3GHz than the 730G's 2.2GHz. But the 730G uses Kryo 470 while the 720G uses Kryo 465, albeit, both are based on Cortex-A76 ARM architecture. The 720G also uses fifth-gen DSP, which is again Hexagon 692, versus fourth-gen Hexagon 688 DSP of the 730G. The 720G also added NavIC support for better location-based services. That said, the 720G has several advantages than the 730G indeed, in fact, on our benchmark tests, it scores better.
Below are the scores it got on our favorite benchmarking apps:
| Benchmark | realme 6 Pro | OPPO Reno3 Pro | OPPO Reno3 |
| Antutu | 283,206 | 227,884 | 217,741 |
| Geekbench 5 (Single-Core) | 567 | 402 | 409 |
| Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core) | 1,678 | 1,502 | 1,501 |
| Geekbench 5 (RenderScript) | 1,195 | - | - |
| PC Mark | 10,350 | 9,694 | 9,105 |
| 3D Mark Sling Shot | 3,547 | 2,343 | 2,361 |
| 3D Mark Sling Shot (Vulcan) | 2,328 | 1,549 | 1,549 |
| 3D Mark Sling Shot (OpenGL) | 2,527 | 1,250 | 1,259 |
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| Benchmark Scores |
As you can see in the above table, the realme 6 Pro scores are far better than the Helio P95 of the OPPO Reno3 Pro and Helio P90 of the OPPO Reno3. Moreover, the scores are way beyond comparison with realme C3 and realme 6i, which are powered by Helio G70 and Helio G80, respectively, as well as the SDM665-powered devices like realme 5 and OPPO A9 2020. And, as mentioned earlier, the results are also slightly better than OPPO Reno2's SD730G.
So, you might be asking, what are the edges of the 730G over the 720G? The Image Signal Processor (ISP) of the former is Spectra 350, while the latter uses its light version or the Spectra 350L. This gives the 730G up to 3360 x 1440 pixels (Quad-HD+) display support, while the 720G is up to 2520 x 1080 pixels (Full-HD+) only. Moreover, the 730G has 1080p @120 fps and 720p @ 960 fps slo-mo video capabilities, while the 720G has none.
In real-life performance, the 6 Pro is able to fulfill its tasks as it should be. Playing games even in high settings is generally smooth, and there was no heating issue even with more than an hour of usage. Gaming with the phone is indeed immersive with its 90Hz display and loud audio, which makes it also ideal for binge-watching your favorite Netflix shows. Yes, it features Dolby Atmos and supports Hi-Res Audio.
Meanwhile, multitasking with it is also quite a breeze. There is no slowdown experienced when switching between several apps, even if there are about 10 tabs in the background.
By the way, if you are into Mobile Legends, we are glad to report that it has an Ultra mode. However, it is not ultra-smooth all throughout. We did encounter very minimal hiccups on gameplay, that is the time when the battery percentage is less than 10%. However, we tried to duplicate the scenario, but it did not happen, probably because of the phone's AI.
See Also: Realme C3 Review; Affordable and Powerful Gaming Phone
CAMERA:
One of the major highlights of the realme 6 Pro is its 6 cameras, there are 4 on its back and two on its front. The quad AI camera setup is composed of Samsung GW1 64MP 2mm f/1.8 main module, an 8MP 15.7mm f/2.3 ultrawide-angle lens with 119-degree field-of-view, a 12MP 54mm f/2.5 telephoto lens, and a 2MP f/2.4 macro lens.
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| 64MP AI Quad Camera |
Meanwhile, the dual in-display selfie cameras are a made of a Sony IMX 471 16MP primary module and an 8MP ultrawide-angle lens with a 105-degree field of view. What's impressive is that all these cameras can be used independently with each other.
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| 16MP Dual Front Cameras |
The Pro camera features Super Nightscape 3.0 with Tripod Mode, full usage of the 64MP resolution, and up to 20x Zoom. But, it is not just for photography, realme also equipped it with video shooting features such as UIS Max that enables the ultrawide camera to have a better video stabilization, slo-mo selfie, and video bokeh effect.
Camera Samples:
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| Ultrawide |
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| Primary |
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| Telephoto 2x |
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| Telephoto 5x |
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| Telephoto 20x |
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| Ultrawide |
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| Primary |
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| Telephoto 2x |
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| Telephoto 5x |
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| Telephoto 20x |
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| Ultrawide |
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| Primary |
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| Ultrawide |
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| Ultrawide |
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| Primary |
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| Telephoto 2x |
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| Close-up, Primary |
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| Close-up, Macro |
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| Evening, Primary |
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| Ultrawide |
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| Portrait Mode |
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| Evening, Selfie |
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| Outdoor, Evening, Portrait Selfie |
The realme 6 Pro cameras offer a wider range of versatility, and as expected, the image quality is generally above average and looks pretty good. The primary 64MP by default has a 16MP output that has nice sharpness into it and colors that tend to be slightly saturated. As for the 12MP telephoto and 8MP ultrawide sensors, each has its own unique characteristics. The 8MP has a better white balance, while the 12MP telephoto has sharper colors. For the 2MP, it gets the job done - captures good images at a very close range.
At night or when there is a limited light source, the realme 6 Pro's main camera module is able to deliver great low-light shots even without activating the night mode. The noise is also kept at a minimum, thanks to the pixel-binning nature of the primary sensor. When the Night Mode is turned on, it steps up the image quality by slight over-sharpening.
For the ultrawide and telephoto modules, the outputs are very much usable, especially if for social media purposes only. However, once zoomed in or viewed in full resolution, noise is very much evident, no matter if using Night Mode or not. This is understandable because the aperture opening of both cameras is smaller than the primary sensor.
Moving to the front snappers, the 16MP primary and 8MP secondary cameras are for taking wide and ultrawide selfies or groupies. This set up is quite great and surpasses most phones with dual front camera module in terms of functionality because consumers can use both sensors and not just as for depth sensing.
Quality-wise, both cameras give well-lit images, albeit the 8MP outputs are a lot more saturated than the 16MP sensor during day time and slightly darker during night time. As for the portrait mode, the images are on-point with great separation of the subject and the blurred background.
As for the video recording capabilities, the main module can record up to 4K videos at 30fps, while the ultrawide module is up to 1080p at 30fps only. Meanwhile, video stabilization is only available at 1080p at 30fps, there is no stabilization of any kind at 60fps and at 4K resolution. As for the video quality, UIS Max is more stable than UIS only. However, it is only advisable to use Ultra Steady Max mode when shooting in a very well-lit environment. At night, better to use UIS or, if possible 4K resolution. This is because the UIS Max uses the ultrawide module, which is again has a smaller opening than the main sensor.
CONNECTIVITY:
Like most, if not all realme devices, the 6 Pro has a triple-slot card tray that can accommodate two Nano-SIM cards and a dedicated slot for storage expansion. The LTE frequency band is wide and includes the popular 700MHz band. Based on our test using Smart Communications' network, the connection is fast, at least in our area. Meanwhile, the WiFi connectivity supports both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, the Bluetooth is version v5.1, and the positioning protocol includes dual-band GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, and NavIC. It still also has an FM Radio receiver, but it needs an earphone plugged in for it to work. As for the wired connection, it has a USB Type-C port.
BATTERY:
If our memory serves us right, all realme devices released in the Philippines have big batteries, at least 4000mAh or higher. And, we are glad to report that the realme 6 Pro retains that tradition as it packs 4,300mAh of fuel cells. Moreover, it has VOOC Flash Charge technology and a 30W charger included in the package.
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| Battery Score |
We played Mobile Legends for about 2 hours continuously, and the percentage dropped from 92% to 71%, which means only around 10% of battery juice is consumed for about an hour of gameplay. As for PC Mark Battery Test, it scored 14 hours and 12 minutes.
Realme advertised that the 6 Pro can be fully charged in 1 hour. However, they did not mention if it is from 0% to 100% or at what is the starting point. Based on our own tests, yes, we did try several times to achieve that claim, and we are glad to say that it is almost on point. The battery was refueled from 0% to 23% in just 10 minutes, 97% in 1 hour, and 100% in 67% minutes. For comparison purposes, the OPPO Reno3 Pro takes 57 minutes to fully charged its 4,025mAh battery. Both phones have an identical charger with model number VC56HAUH and have VOOC 4.0 technology.
FINAL WORDS:
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| Realme 6 Pro |
The realme 6 Pro has a long list of great features that make it a highly recommendable midrange device. It has a well-built body with nice looking aesthetics, an immersive 90Hz display, internal hardware that keeps it in tiptop condition, and long-lasting battery to name a few. Indeed, realme delivers the things it promises with the 6 Pro.
Realme 6 Pro Specs Philippines:
- Dual SIM, dual standby, supports LTE connectivity
- 6.6-inch Ultra Smooth IPS FHD+ (2400 x 1080) Display, 90Hz refresh rate, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection
- Dimensions: 163.8mm x 75.8mm x 8.9mm
- Weight: 202 grams
- Realme UI 1.0 based on Android 10
- 2.3GHz 64-bit octa-core CPU, Adreno 618 GPU, Qualcomm SM7125 Snapdragon 720G chipset
- 6GB/8GB RAM
- 128GB internal storage, expandable up to 256GB via MicroSD card, uses dedicated slot
- 64MP PDAF f/1.8 main + 12MP f/2.5 telephoto + 8MP f/2.2 ultrawide + 2MP macro quad rear cameras with LED flash, 2160p video recording at 30fps
- 16MP f/2.1 + 8MP f/2.2 dual front camera, 1080p video recording at 30fps
- Multimedia player
- FM Radio
- 3.5mm audio jack
- Hi-Res Audio
- WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
- Bluetooth v5.0
- GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, NaviC
- USB Type-C, supports OTG function
- Sensors: fingerprint (side-mounted), accelerometer, light, proximity, gyroscope
- Battery: 4,300mAh lithium-ion polymer, non-removable, 30W fast charging
- Colors: Lightning Blue, Lightning Orange, Lightning Red
- Price:Php16,990