Realme 6 Pro in Lightning Orange colour variant.
Realme recently launched the Realme 6 series in India. While the Realme 6 goes up against the Redmi Note 9 Pro, the Realme 6 Pro challenges the likes of Poco X2 and the Redmi Note 9 Pro Max. The new Realme smartphone offers a 90Hz high refresh rate display, 64-megapixel quad-camera setup and more. With competition being so aggressive, Realme 6 Pro has to do a lot more than just being a great value for money device.
Right now, Realme 6 Pro sits at a confusing price tag of Rs. 18,999. At this price point, one even has options like the Poco X2 and the Redmi Note 9 Pro Max. Also, the company has the Realme X2 in its portfolio, which brings in an AMOLED display, an in-display fingerprint scanner and more in the same price segment. So, should you buy the Realme 6 Pro ignoring all the other options? Let’s find out in our review.
Realme 6 Pro Review: Specifications
Realme 6 Pro features a 6.6-inch FHD+ IPS LCD display with a high refresh rate of 90Hz. The smartphone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G processor coupled with up to 8GB RAM and 128GB of internal storage. It runs on Google’s Android 10 operating system with Realme UI layered on top. All of this is backed by a 4,300mAh battery paired with 30W VOOC fast charging support.
On the optics front, the Realme 6 Pro sports a quad-camera setup at the back consisting of a 64-megapixel primary camera paired with a 12-megapixel telephoto lens with 20x hybrid zoom, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens and a 2-megapixel macro lens. Upfront, the smartphone sports a dual punch hole camera setup consisting of a 16-megapixel Sony IMX471 sensor paired with an 8MP super wide-angle lens.
Realme 6 Pro Review: Design and Display
Realme has been carrying a similar design language for all of its smartphones. From the Realme 6 all the way up to the flagship Realme X50 Pro 5G, they all tend to look the same. While the Realme 6 Pro manages to carry the same camera design, what sets it apart from the X2 and the other phones in the segment is the new flashy design.
It features a dual punch-hole design upfront.
The mix of orange and black is not something everyone would prefer but it surely does look appealing to some. Also, the ‘double-S’ pattern created when the light gets reflected, does look impressive for a smartphone in the sub-20k segment. Also, if you are not into flashy designs, I would highly recommend opting in for the Lightning Blue colour option, as it looks a bit subtle when compared to the Lightning Orange variant.
As far as the placements are concerned, the phone sports a USB Type-C port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a microphone and a speaker grille on the bottom edge. The right side holds the power button, which doubles up as a capacitive fingerprint scanner. The button is placed just right as that is where one would land their thumb naturally. This is a much-appreciated move as the in-display scanners are comparatively slower.
The 90Hz display takes the user experience to a whole different level.
On the left edge, the phone sports the volume buttons and the SIM tray, which can accept two SIM cards as well as a microSD card. The top edge of the phone is mostly left clean with just a secondary microphone placed on the right corner.
One of the major highlights of the Realme 6 Pro is the 90Hz high refresh rate display. The IPS LCD panel gets bright enough outdoors and manages to produce great viewing angles as well. The high refresh rate made the phone feel super smooth when jumping between apps or scrolling through the app drawer.
Realme 6 Pro Review: Performance, Software and UI
Realme 6 Pro is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G processor paired with 8GB of RAM. On paper, the 720G feels slightly underpowered when compared to the 730G on the Poco X2. However, it uses the same Adreno 618 GPU, which means the gaming performance should be more or less the same.
PC Mark, 3D Mark and GeekBench scores
In the real world, Realme 6 Pro seamlessly performed any task thrown at it. During my time with the device, I played multiple games including PUBG Mobile, Asphalt 9 and Ludo King. Even with graphics set to high, the phone did not drop sweat and performed flawlessly. As for the day to day tasks, it never felt like a mid-range phone.
Speaking about the day-to-day performance, the user interface plays a major role here. With the new Realme UI, the company has fixed a lot of issues and it has now become one of the best user interfaces I have used on a Chinese smartphone. While being heavily customisable, the UI manages to perform smoothly. However, it does come in with a ton of bloatware and the default browser keeps pushing notifications. These are just small problems which can easily be fixed by a little bit of tinkering around.
Realme 6 Pro Review: Camera
Realme 6 Pro sports a 64-megapixel quad-camera setup at the back and it is one of the major highlights of the smartphone. While the camera specs are impressive on paper, they do a great job out in the real world as well. With adequate lighting, the smartphone manages to grab some impressive shots with a good amount of details and accurate colours.
Also, the Realme 6 Pro manages to capture some great portraits with good edge detection. Even after being a phone from the budget segment, the pictures shot under low-lighting conditions came out pretty well. With Night mode enabled, the smartphone manages to tweak the shots to get more sharpness.
Upfront, there is a dual-camera setup, which does a great job at clicking selfies. The welcome addition of the wide-angle lens means you can fit more people into the frame.
Realme 6 Pro Review: Battery
Realme has slapped in a 4,000mAh battery here. Along with the high capacity, the company has also added support for 30W fast charging, which makes it one of the fastest charging smartphones in its segment. In just about an hour, the Realme 6 Pro manages to reach from 0 to 100 per cent charge. As for the battery backup, with all the optimisations made in the Realme UI, the phone was easily able to last one full working day with around 25 to 30 per cent left in the bank by the time I dozed off at night.
Realme 6 Pro Review: Verdict
Realme 6 Pro sports a 64MP quad-camera setup.
In a nutshell, the Realme 6 Pro does not only catches attention with its flashy design but also offers a smoother user experience. It brings in all the goodness of a 90Hz display along with the trendy punch-hole design. While the Realme X2 does offer an AMOLED panel, a higher refresh rate is a prefered choice among many users. Apart from the display, the phone also impresses on the performance as well as the battery side.
Coming back to the question. With options like Poco X2 and Redmi Note 9 Pro Max, should you consider the Realme 6 Pro? The answer is ‘Yes,’ considering the phone brings a great user interface, a great set of cameras along with features like a 90Hz display, 30W fast charging and more.
