realme 10 Pro 5G Hands-on Review
The realme 10 Pro 5G, the newest addition to the brand's number Series, is a mid-range smartphone with a display that rivals that of flagship models and is capable of providing a premium user experience without the premium price tag.
The realme 10 Pro 5G was made available to us weeks before its official launch in the Philippines. You can read our initial impressions here: realme 10 Pro 5G Unboxing and First Look
Although at first glance the new realme 10 Pro 5G may seem like not much of an improvement over its predecessor, but a closer look at its features and specs reveals otherwise. The realme 10 Pro 5G has significant improvements in terms of its borderless display, slim design, and long battery life. It also shares its upgraded primary camera with its bigger brother, the realme 10 Pro+ 5G.
Design and Built
The design of the realme 10 Pro 5G has changed drastically from that of its predecessors. Its display is now flat, and its corners are rounded, bringing it more in line with today's modern smartphone design. Additionally, it has slimmer and lighter dimensions than its predecessor.
It features a large 6.72-inch display with a thin 8.1mm profile. It's also lightweight, tipping the scale at only 190 grams, which is somewhat impressive. It has an all-plastic build, which helped keep the device under 200 grams.
Going around the back, it has a brushed, matte surface, but it's still obviously plastic. The Dark Matter color is smooth to the touch and displays a nice hue pattern when viewed from a certain angle.
The flat back also features two independently protruding camera lenses with LED light. The metal camera rings stick out quite a bit, but the device stays put when placed face down on a flat surface, and besides, it comes with a free protective case, so this minor issue is not a big deal.
The realme 10 Pro 5G's side frame is likewise flat, giving it an iPhone-like feel. The power button, which also functions as a fingerprint scanner, is flush on the right side and sits just below the volume rocker, which slightly protrudes.
The power button works perfectly, and the fingerprint scanner unlocks the phone quickly, making it very convenient to use. The volume buttons are also easy to distinguish and have a nice tactile feel when used.
The SIM slot is located on the phone's opposite side. Unlike the previous model, which had a triple slot, this phone has a hybrid SIM slot, which allows you to use either two nano-SIMs or one nano-SIM and one microSD card. However, to fully utilize the 5G connectivity, it is better to use both SIMs.
The USB-C connector, loudspeaker grille, microphone, and 3.5mm audio jack are located at the bottom; a second microphone is placed at the top.
The design is not at all new, but if you are familiar with Android smartphones in general, you will know that the realme 10 Pro 5G is a well-designed smartphone with a premium look and feel.
Boundless Display
With its large 6.72-inch Full HD+ display, the realme 10 Pro 5G provides a visual experience that is completely immersive. The display features a resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels, a 20:9 aspect ratio, a screen-to-body ratio of 93.76%, and 1mm side bezels.
In addition, its 120Hz refresh rate and 240Hz touch sampling rate make for a more fluid user interface and a more enjoyable gaming experience.
The screen refresh rate can be set to one of three different settings the default, "Auto Select," which determines the optimal value for you; the "High" setting, which uses 120Hz for smoother animation; or the "Standard" setting, which uses the more standard 60Hz refresh rate and can conserve battery life.
The colors look great from any angle, and the brightness levels are considerably better than those of other brands' competing IPS LCDs. The punch-hole on top of the screen houses a 16-megapixel camera for shooting selfies.
There's no denying the screen is quite attractive, even if the design isn't to everyone's taste. The screen bezel and side frame are expertly integrated, a trademark of the brand's high-quality craftsmanship. The design is minimalist and polished thanks to the screen's ultra-narrow bezel (just 1mm) and the subtle curvature of its outer edge.
Hardware and Performance
The realme 10 Pro 5G is powered by the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G chipset as its predecessor, the realme 9 Pro 5G. It is an 8-core chipset using 6-nanometer manufacturing technology that was released in October 2021.
In addition, it includes 256GB of expandable internal UFS 2.2 storage and allows microSD cards up to 1TB in capacity. Plus, it has 8GB of RAM that can be dynamically increased by 8GB, for a total of 16GB RAM.
The RAM Expansion option allows you to virtually expand your RAM by utilizing some of the internal storage. You can add between 4GB, 6GB, and 8GB of virtual RAM. This functionality is enabled by default, and realme has set the default value to 4GB.
With these specs, you can expect a powerful gaming experience and robust performance. In terms of benchmarks, below is how the realme 10 Pro 5G scores on major benchmarking apps:
AnTuTu v9.5.6 - 416,555
Geekbench 5: Single Core - 691 / Multi-core - 2017
3DMark: Wild Life Extreme Test Best loop -1,209 / Lowest loop - 1,203
3DMark: Wild Life Extrem Vulkan 1,773
Geekbench ML: TensorFlow Lite CPU score - 230
PC Benchmark for Android: Work 3.0 - 9,546 / Storage 2.0 - 27807
This phone performs really well for everyday use; opening multiple apps and switching between them is snappy and smooth thanks to its plenty of RAM. It can also run any apps available for download on Google Play.
Playing shooting, racing, and MMORPG games on this phone is excellent; the huge display with narrow bezels makes a huge difference, as the larger screen makes gaming more engaging. The high touch sampling rate is handy, it's highly useful when playing shooting games that require a quick response during critical gameplay.
realme UI 4.0
One of the first smartphone models to ship with Android 13 is the realme 10 5G series. It also features realme UI 4.0, but don't expect a completely redesigned UI. There are a few new design improvements and minor features, but overall, the new version of the UI appears and feels more responsive.
The realme UI 4.0 has the new Media Controls that came out with Android 13, as well as better animations, dynamic widgets, notification and control centers, and a redesigned home screen.
It is a dedicated style and wallpaper in the Settings menu. You can change wallpapers with live or static images, icon packs, quick toggle icons, fonts, and colors to change the overall look based on your taste or personality.
realme includes a few nice multitasking capabilities, none of which are new. It's easy to resize and minimize an app to a floating window. Drag-and-drop files between full-screen and flexible apps. While Task Switcher and Sidebar windows are flexible. You can use Split Screen if an app is compatible. The Smart Sidebar remains, making it quicker to access your favorite apps.
Fingerprint authentication is fast, accurate, and reliable. It can unlock with a light or firm touch. While fidgeting with the phone in your pocket may cause unwanted unlock attempts.
Overall, the realme UI 4.0 offers a modern, customizable user experience. The UI is optimized for better performance, making it smoother and more responsive. The new gesture controls are intuitive and easy to use, and the new security features provide added protection for users.
ProLight Camera
The Realme 10 Pro sports dual cameras at the back. The main camera has a 108-megapixel sensor, making it among the best in its class. The sensor has an f/1.8 aperture and measures 1/1.67", which is fairly large, while the sensor's pixels measure 0.64m. The secondary camera is a low-resolution 2-megapixel depth-of-field sensor. While at the front it has a selfie16-megapixel f/2.5 camera.
Those expecting an ultrawide and macro camera will most likely be disappointed. Even though the camera on the realme 10 Pro 5G is not the primary focus of the brand for this number series, it would have been nice if they had added an 8-megapixel ultrawide camera, which offers a better value.
The camera app is simple to use and provides AI Scene Improvement in the default Picture Mode (also known as Chroma Boost or Dazzle Color). In addition, there are Night, Street (with multiple filters), Video, Photo, Portrait, 108M, and other shooting modes.
The camera captures daylight images with plenty of detail, colors that look natural and are not oversaturated, as well as excellent contrast and dynamic range. Sharpness is an additional strength of the camera, with only minimal noise.
The image quality doesn't seem to suffer much when shooting indoors, as noise is present but minimal, sharpness is excellent, and colors are rich. Shadows are typically darker than they should be.
Overall, we have few complaints about the quality of the pictures, and the camera proves to be quite reliable in a wide range of conditions. While shooting at 108MP may provide some extra detail, it will not add much in terms of benefits.
More sample photos here: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAsM6c
Images taken using the camera's 3x zoom function show a noticeable loss of detail, and the overall effect is unimpressive. Most of the photos we shot were rather noisy but still worthy of sharing on social media with a little fine-tuning, but if the scenario is bright enough, like outdoors in daylight, you will get really good results.
In terms of video recording, it can only capture 1080p at 60 frames per second, and it lacks the AI low-light mode of the Pro+. The Ultra Steady mode is intended to provide the camera with a field of vision as well as stabilization. Although fine detail is visible, the overall video quality is not particularly impressive. It appears a little weak, even for 1080p resolution.
Battery life
The battery life of the realme 10 Pro 5G is good. The typical 5,000 mAh battery will last you through an entire day of work, play, and entertainment.
It supports 33W DartCharge with the included 33W charger. Charging the battery for 30 minutes, will fill-up 54% of its capacity, while a full charge takes about 1 hour and 34 minutes.
Pros
Stylish Design
Displays with thin side bezels
Superior performance
Good battery life.
Excellent photo quality during the day
Android 13 with Realme UI 4.0
Cons
Stereo loudspeakers have room for improvement
No 4K video recording, mediocre selfie quality
Old Chipset same as used by realme 9 Pro
Still no wireless charging support
Verdict
Overall, the realme 10 Pro 5G is a good option for users who are looking for a feature-packed smartphone at a reasonable price. The phone offers a nice, almost bezel-less display, good performance, a versatile camera, and a large battery, all in a stylish and sleek package. It offers a significant upgrade over its predecessor, with a larger display, better optics, and an improved realme UI.
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