If you thought the competition was stiff among premium smartphones only, think again. In the mid-range segment, smartphones have never been better on design, performance, and even battery life. realme 10 Pro+ 5G is the latest to throw its proverbial hat in the ring when it comes to snazzy mid-rangers, and here’s how it fares.  

Design-wise it’s definitely eye-catching with a rear panel that simultaneously looks like someone sprinkled it some diamond dust, while it’s catching the rays of the sun! The usual realme dark-hued cover might dull the shine on this one, so I just did without it. 

Display

The phone is surprisingly light for its size. It sports a massive 6.7-inch screen, with a super sleek form factor with a thickness of just about 7 mm. The barely perceptible curve on the screen makes for smooth scrolling, while the bezel all around has been kept to a minimum to maximise screen space - realme calls the ‘boundless display’. This design choice really works well, and the experience of consuming media on the phone ends up feeling very immersive. Coupled with a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz, the realme 10 Pro+ is also ideal for mobile gaming.

Camera

Realme has used a 108 MP sensor for the first time, as part of its primary camera setup. Paired with it is an 8MP ultra-wide-angle sensor, while the front camera has a 16MP sensor. The photos taken in bright light, without zooming in are of the best quality on this smartphone. The colours might seem just a little over-saturated but not altogether unpleasant.  

You’d expect a camera like this to do well, even in less-than-optimal lighting conditions. However, photos and videos taken in anything but perfect conditions turn out to be very noisy. In Portrait mode, the difference between the foreground and background is highlighted well. However, the software needs to do a better job around the edges as it tends to blur the subject’s ear and hair along with the background. Selfies are satisfactory enough, without any software tweaks and filters. And if you do wish to, there are enough AI tweaks for selfies that make you look like you went through a couple of virtual plastic surgeries.

Tech Specs

Under the hood is a MediaTek Dimensity 1080 5G chipset, a popular choice for well-performing mid-range smartphones. The variant I received for review had 8 GB RAM and 128 GB internal storage. Usage was seamless, without any hiccups or heating issues. The smartphone already comes with Android 13 out-of-the-box, topped with realme UI version 4.0, which takes away a bit from having a clean user experience. The only pre-installed app that I liked was Zen mode, which I used often - either to take breaks or nudge myself into finishing this review.

Battery

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the realme 10 Pro - even more than the stunning display - is its battery life. With medium usage including light gaming, reading, and watching the occasional YouTube video, the smartphone would stay on for the better part of two days. Sometimes I’d get this kind of juice out of it, even with the mobile hotspot on for close to 5-6 hours a day. The charger included takes less than an hour to charge the device fully. 

Verdict

For a phone in this price range, the realme 10 Pro+ 5G makes for a very compelling option. It delivers well enough when it comes to a vivid display, long battery life, and a sleek form factor. Except for the bloatware, there’s almost nothing that’s unappealing about this smartphone. 

(Corrigendum - The print version of this story had a factual error about the processor and the MRP. The realme Pro+ 5G has the MediaTek Dimensity 1080 5G chipset. The correct MRP is as mentioned below.)

Price -₹24,999 onwards

Pros - Great display, long battery life

Cons - Unnecessary apps pre-installed

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