The Realme 3 Pro launched last May to bring a #RealGamingPro device in the Philippines. This midrange smartphone offers flagship-level performance, dynamic camera capabilities, and impressive battery capacity for a pretty reasonable price. For P12,990 for the 4GB RAM + 64GB ROM variant and P14,990 for the 6GB RAM + 128GB ROM model, the realme 3 proves to be solid contender in the mobile device market.
Still not convinced with what’s on paper? Read our verdict after we’ve put the Realme 3 Pro to test.
Design & Construction
The Realme 3 Pro boasts a sleek unibody construction. The back is made of polycarbonate material and sports a glossy finish; the gradient coating–available in Lightning Purple, Nitro Blue, and Carbon Grey–looks gorgeous in every bit. Although, like many glossy rear cover, the back can be a fingerprint magnet and would best be covered by a jelly or hard case. You can also find at the rear the dual main camera setup–the two lens and the LED flash are arranged vertically at the upper left corner of the device. There’s a gold ring accent around the main lens of the dual shooters. At the center is the round fingerprint sensor, while at the lower left is the realme logo. You might also notice the slight curve shape of the back, which allows you to hold the device securely without it slipping your hand.
As far as buttons and ports go, they are all ergonomically placed at the side, top, and bottom part of the 3 Pro. To the right of the handset is the power button, and to the left are the volume rocker and the SIM/microSD card compartment. The latter comes with triple card slot–two for nano SIM cards and one dedicated tray for the microSD card. Moving over to the bottom part reveals the microUSB port for charging and conenctivity, the 3.5mm headphone jack, and the loudspeaker.
Flip to the front and you’ll see the 6.3-inch screen; this screen is slightly larger display than that on the Realme 3, which is only 6.22 inches. While the bezels in all sides are fairly slim, the dewdrop notch at the top takes a little more screen real estate and the chin is slightly thicker than the rest–but nothing too distracting or inconvenient, thank goodness.
Overall the Realme 3 Pro measures 156.8mm in height, 74.2mm in width, and 8.3mm in thickness. This phone weighs 172g, which gives it a solid feel but not that too weighty to carry around. Handling it for sometime confirms its durable construction and sleek form factor.
Display & Multimedia
As mentioned, compared to the Realme 3, the Pro version has a bigger 6.3-inch display with 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The screen comes extra protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5; you can stop worrying about the phone’s durability and resistance to minor scratches and smudges. The IPS LCD panel offers a Full HD+ resolution at 2340 x 1080 and 409ppi pixel density.
During the review period, the display didn’t disappoint one bit by giving great display quality. The text and icons are crisp and clear, the images produces fairly vibrant and well contrasted colors. This phone also gives good viewing angles. Under harsh lighting conditions, the screen remain bright to let you read or see what’s on it.
The catch, however, is the audio quality. The sound is good using a wired connection, better if you’re using a better quality headphones. But you may be slightly disappointed with the down-firing loudspeaker’s tinny sound, especially at higher volumes. At regular sound levels, the sound quality is manageable but nothing superb.
Camera
Realme, in general, produces good camera phone as demonstrated by the earlier Realme 3. In the Realme 3 Pro, users can get a much improved mobile photography experience. For the dual main shooter, the 16-megapixel Sony IMX sensor with F1.7 aperture works with a 5-megapixel lens with a F2.4 aperture to get great shots. The images come out with natural color and sharp details in good lighting conditions. Plus, they are greatly improved, post-process, by AI. Some of the fun camera software features are the portrait mode and the macro mode. Low light or nighttime photography isn’t a problem either on this phone; the Realme 3 Pro still produces good images even in underwhelming light settings. Turn on the Nightscape mode and you’ll see the photos greatly improve with much lesser noise.
On the other hand, the 25MP front snapper comes with F2.0 aperture. Over all, the selfie camera produces good images–much more so in good lighting conditions. What we like the most is that the beauty filter, when set to automatic, doesn’t apply unnatural effects on our selfies. Of course, depending on your preference, you can adjust them to your liking. Portrait shots on the front camera also look natural; the shooter produces natural depth (blurring of the background).
A bonus on the Realme 3 is its 4K at 30fps video shooting capabilities. The quality of the resulting video are decent in quality but shaky all in all; you may want to use a tripod or an external stabilizer when shooting in 4K. Opt for the 1080p setting, which has visibly lesser shake, if you only want to capture cool moments or create something to post on social media.
Sample Photos
Selfie – Natural mode:
Smoothen:
Portrait mode:
Performance
Under the hood, the Realme 3 Pro comes packing with powerful muscles: the 2.2GHz AIE octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 10nm processor and Adreno 616 GPU take care of your computing needs, not just for the usual smartphone tasks but also the demanding activities like gaming. To complement the power of this phone, there’s also the 4/6GB RAM built-in.
All these solid hardware come together and show their prowess when you’re playing graphics-heavy games or launching demanding apps. In games, even at high frame rates, you still get smooth graphics and lag-free playtime. Multi-tasking and switching between multiple apps are such a breeze.
Keeping the Realme 3 Pro running for almost a day of playing and watching is the 4,045mAh battery. The smartphone can even go beyond a day if only used for basic smartphone tasks like calling, messaging, taking photos, and light internet usage. but in the case that you run out of juice, the 3 Pro comes equipped with 20W VOOC 3.0 flash charge functionality for fast recharging.
Out of the box, you either get a 64GB or 128GB internal storage, which should be enough to store all your videos, photos, files, documents, and apps. If that’s not enough, the Realme 3 Pro offers expansion up to 256GB via microSD card. This device has a dedicated tray for the microSD so you won’t have to choose between having an extra network connectivity or expanding your storage space.
Read also: Realme 3 Pro vs Realme 3: What’s the difference?
Powering up the phone, you’ll be greeted by the neat and minimal ColorOS 6, which is based on Android 9 Pie. Realme’s operating system gives you an intuitive and smooth user experience. There isn’t much bloatware, which we really appreciate. By default you get the usual Google apps, some Realme tools and apps, and a few third-party programs like Lazada and Opera. Much of these apps can be uninstalled if you don’t deem them necessary to your mobile needs.
The ColorOS software also comes with bonus features to make your mobile usage more convenient. One example is the Smart Sidebar, which provides easy access to your favorite apps, tools, and shortcuts. If you’re a gamer, you’d appreciate the Game Space feature, which manages performance and notifications while you’re in a game play (no one can break your winning streak!). Security features, such as face unlock and fingerprint scanning, are also pretty accurate and responsive.
Connectivity-wise, this Realme phone comes with various options, starting with the dual SIM capabilities with support for 4G LTE. Calls are clear and mobile data connection are fast for most of the time–of course, this depends on your network’s coverage in the area. It also supports Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac , microUSB 2.0, and Bluetooth 5.0. For location, the GPS, A-GPS, and GLONASS ping where you are quite accurately when using location-based apps.
Verdict
To be a #RealGamingPro may be what Realme 3 Pro is aiming for, and in that terms, this smartphone is really is the pro if not one of the pros. But it’s not just in the gaming space that this midrange device conquers. Thanks to its powerful performance, great cameras, beautiful display, and reliable battery, the Realme 3 Pro can also claim to be one of the most well-rounded phone of today.