Realme 5 Pro Review & Test: a new really convincing challenger Apr 2024

The Realme 5 Pro is a mid-range smartphone announced on October 15, 2019. Equipped with a Snapdragon 710, it differentiates itself by offering a photo solution with 4 back sensors and a 4035 mAh battery compatible with VOOC Flash Charge fast charge. 3.0. Introduction The Realme 5 Pro directly competes with the already very good Xiaomi Redmi Note 8T. But with a few small additional benefits, it may well surpass the latter. The verdict of this really tough little mid-range in our comprehensive test. Realme launched its 5 Pro in Bangladesh, after a first test a few months ago in India. With

The Realme 5 Pro is a mid-range smartphone announced on October 15, 2019. Equipped with a Snapdragon 710, it differentiates itself by offering a photo solution with 4 back sensors and a 4035 mAh battery compatible with VOOC Flash Charge fast charge. 3.0.

Introduction

The Realme 5 Pro directly competes with the already very good Xiaomi Redmi Note 8T. But with a few small additional benefits, it may well surpass the latter. The verdict of this really tough little mid-range in our comprehensive test.

Realme launched its 5 Pro in Bangladesh, after a first test a few months ago in India. With its seductive technical data sheet and its equally attractive price, it is indeed Xiaomi and its range of Redmi that have to worry about. Because in addition to offering specificities of the same order, it benefits from the Snapdragon 712 and the VOOC 3.0 fast-charging system which, let us remember, promises to find 50% battery in just half an hour. The smartphone exists with 8 GB of RAM at a price of 23500 BDT, but we had for this test the model with 4 GB of RAM at a price of 19000 BDT

A SMARTPHONE OF 2019

On closer inspection, Realme seems to be inspired by its cousin OnePlus. At least, this is the case on the front panel. We find quite fine borders and the famous little notch in the shape of a drop of water. There is little to say about this side of the smartphone: it’s classic.

If we return the smartphone, we discover more fantasy. The glass imitation plastic back is adorned with reflections that remind a little of a crystal, just that. The colors offer a blue and purple gradient, which was original at the start of the year, but which was repeated many times in the months that followed. In any case, it changes from the traditional black and other solid tones and goes everywhere. It is sure that if you are looking for discretion, you are in the wrong place. Another model exists in greener tones.

The back accommodates a fingerprint sensor well placed so that the finger falls directly on it. At the top left and vertically is the quadruple photo module. The latter, a little raised, prevents the smartphone from remaining very stable once placed on a flat surface. Otherwise, the rear is plastered with the Realme brand and legal information in a silver font that slightly breaks the effect desired by the reflections mentioned a little above. Pity.

The right edge houses the power / lock / unlock button, while the opposite side incorporates the keys to adjust the audio volume as well as the card drawer. In this regard, it can rotate two nano Sim cards and a micro SD up to 256 GB of storage space. Finally, the lower edge includes a USB Type-C port, flanked by a grid of speakers, a microphone and a jack.

For handling, the Realme 5 Pro is presented as ergonomic, neither too heavy nor too large to reach the buttons arranged on the sides of the case.

A QUALITY LCD PANEL

For this Realme 5 Pro, the manufacturer has chosen a 6.3-inch IPS LCD panel displaying a Full HD + definition (2,340 x 1,080 pixels) for a resolution of 409 ppi. This is more than enough, the screen shows enough detail and the pixels remain imperceptible to the naked eye. Our probe measured, on the default color profile, an average temperature of 7,124 K. It is a bit high, too cold to be realistic and above the ideal 6 5000 K. The delta E climbs up to at 4.7 which corresponds to a correct result. 123% of the sRGB spectrum and 82% of the DCI-P3 are covered.

By going for a walk in the display settings, you have the possibility of improving the rendering a little. By setting the color temperature a little warmer, we get 6 502 K which turns out to be excellent. The Delta E drops to 3.44. With this small adjustment, we arrive at a satisfactory result with fairly natural colors.

The contrast ratio is 1921: 1 and the maximum brightness reaches 506 cd / m². In other words, the slab remains legible, whatever the environment, even in direct sunlight. In addition, the reflections are well absorbed. It’s all good on this side!

WHY COLOR OS?

As in the Oppo smartphone family, the other brand of the BBK Electronics group, you have to get used to ColorOS. Why container? Because, although it has made some small efforts since its creation, this interface is very far from our Western habits. Its organization, the style of its icons and settings completely blur what is left of Android 9 Pie. So you have to know what we are getting into when we acquire a smartphone from this brand. In version 6, ColorOS still offers an application drawer, gesture navigation and a dark mode. It’s already taken. But besides that, we notice some small inconsistencies like the color of the activated shortcuts which is either blue or green. Why the difference? We will probably never know.

As mentioned at the beginning of this test, the brand lent us the model with 4 GB of RAM. Note that it also exists with 8 GB of RAM for an additional 50 euros. The SoC used is Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 which has already proven itself on the Xiaomi Mi 9 SE, an already more expensive device. It is more solid than we are in the competition namely the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8T and it’s Snapdragon 665. The latter already provides very good results in benchmark tests, but the Realme 5 Pro raises the bar a little more top

The navigation is particularly fluid and applications are not asked to start. Now let’s see what it’s worth for video games.

VIDEO GAME

You should already know that ColorOS provides a Realme play area. This allows you to optimize fluidity, boost performance during a game and cut notifications so as not to be disturbed.

On Arena of Valor, the screen does not display the 60 fps constantly, since we note some small drops of framerate at 59 or even 58 fps. However, this does not hinder the course of the game, these drops are very few.

For Call of Duty Mobile, the game is set from the start on a high quality of graphics and a frame rate also high. No problem there again, the title shows good fluidity, without slowdown noticeable to the naked eye. Despite its low price, the Realme 5 Pro impresses for its performance on particularly greedy 3D games.

4 PHOTO MODULES: BUT FOR WHAT?

The Realme 5 Pro is cluttered, as for its rival the Redmi Note 8T, with four photo modules. For its positioning on the market, it is audacious. But what are they used for? We checked one by one by hiding the objectives with the index to observe how they react to the selected modes. We were somewhat surprised. The first 48-megapixel camera takes advantage of pixel binning technology and has an f / 1.79 aperture. The “Ultra 48 MP” mode must be chosen in the menus. This is also where the ultra-wide-angle is launched. The second sensor and its 2 megapixels are used for portrait mode. The third sensor does not respond to any mode so we may wonder what it can do well for. Finally, the fourth of 2 megapixels is there for macro focusing.

In broad daylight, the photos bring satisfaction. For a smartphone at 200 euros, it’s even quite impressive. The colors are bright but very close to a natural rendering. The shots include enough detail and the texture effects are pretty well respected. The dynamic range is respected even when fairly complex conditions arise.

When there is a lack of light, photos become cluttered with electronic noise. Indeed we observe the presence of grains on the image. Light sources such as street lamps surround themselves with coarse halos of light. But thanks to the night mode, these few faults are erased. The difference is obvious. Maybe this mode can sometimes give a little supernatural side to the photo, but overall, it is a success.

THE ULTRA WIDE-ANGLE

This year, the ultra-wide-angle is now available on almost all ranges of smartphones. The Realme 5 Pro’s proposal is not perfect, but it is not doing so bad considering the price. The colors lose a bit of their naturalness, the edges of the image distort a little, but the photos still retain enough detail.

PORTRAIT MODE

Let’s say it right away, portrait mode disappoints. In high lights, the division of the subject poses a problem. On the photo taken below, the camera cannot delimit the person photographed from the wall on the left. It’s a shame because, on the other hand, the bokeh effect is quite successful. Otherwise, the software processing is quite heavy. This is noted on the skin of the face, particularly smoothed. In low light, it is ultimately better! Almost all of the strands of hair are well-cut.

MACRO MODE

Small originality for a smartphone of 200 euros: macro mode. To optimize it, you should place yourself four centimeters from the target. It is not easy to find the right distance for the first few times. Noise parasites the photos, unfortunately. This worsens as the light becomes more and more discreet. A good idea, but hard to convince in practice.

SELF-PORTRAITS

The front camera and its 16 megapixels offer fairly good selfies with enough color and detail. The cutting of the subject is doing relatively well too. During the day, portrait mode suffers from overexposure. It can be seen in the photo below: the sky makes a burnt image. At night, we lose a little detail and a few locks escape the delimitation between the background and the person photographed.

NETWORKS AND COMMUNICATIONS

The GPS works well, the compass is located the first time and therefore, you can trust it for your routes.

Realme shuns our SmartViser autonomy test protocol, we only have data about our experience with the smartphone. With a fairly extensive use including reading articles on the Internet, social networks, a few captured photos, video content, and a little video game, the 5 Pro manages to last between a day and a half and two short days. A result that is up to the competition.

THE REALME 5 PRO REVIEW

Design 9/10

The Realme 5 Pro looks like a OnePlus on the front but finds its originality at the back thanks to a successful set of reflections. It fits perfectly well in the hand.

Screen 9/10

To get closer to perfection, you have to take a look at the display settings. Otherwise, the slab is sufficiently bright and contrasted to remain legible in all situations.

Software 6/10

Color OS is improving, but the interface still has a long way to go to become flawless. Some options are welcome, but there are still some annoying flaws.

Performances 9/10

The Realme 5 Pro is surprisingly powerful for 17000 BDT. It even does better than the competition then already convincing. Fluid and ideal for video games, it is an excellent companion for those looking for maximum performance for cheap.

Camera 8/10

The photos are full of details and the colors are close to reality. The ultra-wide-angle is not to be thrown away and the night mode really makes the difference. Too bad the macro mode, however original, is not more convincing.

Autonomy 8/10

The endurance of the smartphone is average. Vooc charging allows you to find half of the battery capacity quickly.

Final test score

Tremble Xiaomi! The Realme 5 Pro offers just as much advantage as its rival the Redmi Note 8T: good design, quality screen, convincing photo part, up to par performance, good autonomy … And for the same price, it has more storage space (128 versus 64 GB).

Almost perfect and above all, excellent for its price, there is still one thing that could cool you: the manufacturer interface. Indeed, ColorOS will not please everyone and must still improve to become flawless. For Android lovers, it’s best to pass!

That’s all about Realme 5 Pro Review & Test. Thanks for staying with us