realme has been on a roll since last year by being the country’s No.1 Smartphone vendor for 2022!
The Chinese manufacturer is set to start this year great by launching the realme 10 Pro 5G and Pro+ today February 14, 2023, with the vanilla version having been launched last November 2022.
For this review, we will focus on the realme 10 Pro 5G model and hopefully give you the info you need to help you decide if this midrange offering is right for you.
Before we head into the review, here are the specs of the realme 10 Pro 5G:
- Chipset – Snapdragon 695 5G
- RAM – 8GB
- Storage – 256GB
- Display – 6.72-inch FHD+ IPS LCD 120Hz
- Battery – 5000mAh with 33W SUPERVOOC charging
- Rear Camera –
- 108MP main camera
- 2MP depth sensor
- Front Camera – 16MP
- Color/s – Dark Matter, Hyperspace Gold, Nebula Blue, and Coca-Cola edition
realme 10 Pro 5G Review
What’s in the Box?
- realme 10 Pro 5G unit
- Screen protector (pre-installed)
- Transparent case
- 33W SuperVOOC adapter
- USB-A to USB-C charging cable
- SIM eject tool
- Documentations
- realme black and yellow packaging with a fairly sturdy box
Build and Aesthetics
The 10 Pro 5G’s design is centered around flat surfaces and curved edges. The whole body has an aluminum/stainless steel feel that makes the phone a bit rugged when you hold it.
The unit we received has the Dark Matter colorway which has a matte finish that is fairly fingerprint resistant.
The buttons are all located on the right side of the device. The power button is located below the volume rocker and is a bit recessed. The SIM tray is on the left side of the phone which can hold two SIM cards and an SD card slot.
Moreover, the device is easy to handle with one hand even if you have small hands like me. Looking at the bottom of the phone, you can see the 3.5mm port beside the mic and the 4-grill speaker with the USB-C charging port located in the middle.
Display
This device sports a 6.72-inch FHD+ IPS LCD(not AMOLED like the others in the series) display with a 120Hz refresh rate that boasts ultra-thin bezels. The screen brightness is enough to make the phone comfortable to use outdoors with up to 680nits (peak).
The colors are vibrant and the sharpness is just enough to make viewing easy on the eyes and is definitely enough for casual gaming. The 120Hz refresh rate also helps make scrolling smooth.
However, one of the trade-offs is that you get a 120Hz display but it’s only an LCD panel. Personally, this isn’t a problem, but you may opt otherwise.
Battery
The phone is powered by a 5000mAh that has support for 33W SUPERVOOC charging. The PCMark Battery test showed the battery life is at 14 hours and 31 minutes with no significant temperature difference during the test.
For my everyday use, it lasted long enough without the need to charge for almost the whole day. The 33W SUPERVOOC charging charged the device from 0% to 50% in just a little over 30 minutes which is close to what the manufacturer promised.
Performance and UI
The phone has a Snapdragon 695 5G chipset under the hood paired with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage (this is the configuration that will launch here in the Philippines).
Personally, with my light usage of the phone, it was more than enough for my everyday use. I did not notice any hiccups or slowing down during browsing or when using social media apps.
As for gaming, we tested the phone by playing Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and CODM. Both games ran smoothly on medium settings. You can definitely play on a higher graphics setting but the framerates will suffer greatly.
On the audio performance side of things, the phone’s speakers are really loud even when you’re outdoors because of the brand’s Ultra Volume mode which boosts the levels to 200%.
Here are some screenshots of the benchmarks we did for the review:
The realme UI 4.0 that is on top of Android 13 is uniform but a lot of apps are pre-installed making the interface a bit cluttered and confusing at first so some organizing must be done on start-up.
For a quick refresher, the realme UI 4.0 offers new features like the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). Where you will be able to store personal photos, music, recordings, videos, documents, and more with a highly secure lock providing a plethora of privacy protection services.
Personally, I would’ve enjoyed navigating the phone’s UI if it weren’t for the number of unessential apps that were installed that needed more time to organize.
Here are some UI images:
Cameras
The 10 Pro 5G features a 108MP main camera and a 2MP depth sensor both offering a simple way to have fun taking pictures.
First off let us check out the normal photo mode option. The images produced offer nice colors but are too sharp, for us at least. Enough daylight really boosted the photo quality a lot.
Next is the street mode which somewhat lessens the color intensity and adjusts the lighting accordingly to produce a more balanced-looking photo.
As for the low light capabilities of this phone, these next photos were both taken in low light using normal photo mode without any enhancements.
Here we take a look at the low-light images taken with night mode on. However, this mode adds a lot of noise to the image that also affects color
For this next one, we take a look at the 108MP mode, This mode offers the best image quality you can get with this phone and it looks like it delivers the best color and lighting compared to the other modes.
Lastly is the selfie cam. The portrait mode seems to deliver a good separation from the background using its bokeh effect while the normal photo mode selfie does not give out a remarkable image quality but is enough for casual or non-pro users.
realme 10 Pro 5G Pricing and availability
The realme 10 Pro 5G (8GB+256GB) is priced at PHP 16,999 and will be available in physical stores from February 15 to 19. Every purchase will come with a FREE DIZO Power Bank (10,000mAh) alongside a pair of TechLife Buds Classic worth PHP 1,198.
You can also purchase the realme 10 Pro 5G through Shopee (February 15 only), and via Lazada (February 15 to 17 only) at PHP 2,000 off, along with a FREE additional 1-year warranty, and a FREE SIM Card.
Started his freelancing adventure in 2018 and began doing freelance Audio Engineering work and then started freelance writing a few years later.
Currently he writes for Gadget Pilipinas and formerly wrote for Grit.PH.
He is also a musician, foody, gamer, and PC enthusiast.
