Realme GT Neo 3T review: a repackaged GT Neo 2?

Review Summary

Expert Rating
7.5/10

Design
★  
7.5
/10
Display
★  
8.0
/10
Software
★  
7.5
/10
Camera
★  
7.5
/10
Performance
★  
8.0
/10
Battery
★  
8.0
/10

Pros

  • Good performance
  • Nice display
  • Decent battery life
  • Stereo speakers sound good

Cons

  • Ultra-wide and macro sensors could be better
  • Uses same specs as Realme GT Neo 2

Realme’s spate of smartphone launches continues, as the company has revealed yet another device, this time targeting the affordable flagship space. The Realme GT Neo 3T offers a few upgrades over its predecessor, GT Neo 3 (review). However, when looking at specs on paper, the Neo 3T appears to mimic last year’s Realme GT Neo 2 (review), in more ways than one. Both smartphones have the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 SoC, 6.62-inch 120Hz E4 AMOLED panel, 5,000mAh battery, and 64MP triple-camera setup. So is the Realme GT Neo 3T just a repackaged version of the Neo 2? Let’s find out.

Verdict

The Realme GT Neo 3T might look like a repackaged GT Neo 2 with slightly faster charging capabilities, but remains an excellent choice. It does need some improvements in the camera department, but other than that, offers an all-round experience and deserves a closer look.

What’s the same

Both the GT Neo 2 and Neo 3T share almost identical design elements, down to the arrangement of the camera housing. The difference lies in the back panel, wherein the new phone has a racing flag design on the back instead of the single-tone colour scheme seen on the former. Everything else, such as the USB Type-C port, the SIM card tray and speaker grille on the bottom, the volume rocker buttons on the left and the textured power button on the right are positioned the same way across both devices. You would be hard-pressed not to mistake one phone for the other. Even so, I had appreciated the in-hand feel of the GT Neo 2 at the time and my feelings remain the same for the GT Neo 3T.

Talking about the display, both phones have the same 6.6-inch E4 AMOLED panel with FHD+ resolution, 120Hz refresh rate and up to 600Hz of touch sampling. The brightness levels are the same at 1,300nits while the display is also HDR10+ compliant and has a 5,000,000:1 contrast ratio. Needless to say the viewing experience on the Reame GT Neo 3T, like the Neo 2, is gratifying and enjoyable. Bezels surrounding the panel and the positioning of the punch-hole camera also remain exactly the same with both devices.

Camera-wise, you get the same 64MP triple-camera setup on the back that consists of an 8MP ultra-wide and 2MP macro shooter while on the front there is the 16MP selfie camera. With the same optical hardware and ISP (image signal processor) the Realme GT Neo 3T clicks photos of the same quality. Like the GT Neo 2, the detailing, dynamic range and colours on the images clicked by the Neo 3T are nothing out of the ordinary for the price. Shutter and focus speeds are fast enough for my liking and the low-light capabilities tend to favour sharpness in details over accurate colour representation.

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The dedicated night mode does not do a very good job of remedying this. Also, the macro and ultra-wide shots are average at best and the selfie camera has minimal facial oversharpening. I had previously declared the Neo 2 as a decent image-capturing device and my stance remains the same for the GT Neo 3T.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 870 5G chipset handles performance-related tasks on both devices. On Antutu V9.4 the Neo 3T has a score of 707,824 and Geekbench 5’s multi-core result is 2,553. As it has the same chipset, the Realme GT Neo 2’s scores are more or less the same. Both devices also have 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. Both phones perform well under sustained load, can play heavy-duty mobile titles and maintain internal temperatures.

Other aspects in terms of additional features also remain the same. This includes the in-display fingerprint sensor, Dolby Atmos stereo speakers, 5G capabilities and more. The GT Neo 2 was announced with Android 11, although now it has received the Realme UI 3.0-based Android 12 update that is currently running on the GT Neo 3T. Lastly, both devices also have the same 5,000mAh battery under the hood.

What’s different

What’s different you ask? Just the charging speeds. Yup. That’s it. Counting out the design on the back panel and not having a 12GB RAM option, the only difference of note is that the new Realme GT Neo 3T has 80W charging while the Neo 2 had to contend with 65W charging. Now Realme does make some stout claims on the GT 3T’s charging capabilities. The Neo 3T can do 0 to 50 percent in 12 minutes while the Neo 2 took about 20 minutes to do the same. A full charge still takes about 30 minutes on the Neo 3T while the Neo 2 does it in 42 minutes.

Final verdict

The Realme GT Neo 3T does seem like a repackaged GT Neo 2 with slightly faster charging capabilities. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad phone. As a matter of fact, even by today’s competitive standards, the GT Neo 3T is an excellent choice. It doesn’t lack in any part of the overall smartphone experience but it could do with some improvements with its cameras. With the GT Neo 3T, you get a snappy, well-built, efficient and thermally capable machine that will stand the test of time.

Editor’s rating: 3.5 / 5

Pros:

  • Good performance
  • Decent battery life
  • Nice display
  • Stereo speakers sound good

Cons:

  • Ultra-wide and macro sensors could be better
  • Uses the same specs as Realme GT Neo 2

Key Specs

realme GT Neo 3T 5G
RAM6 GB
ProcessorQualcomm Snapdragon 870
Rear Camera64 MP + 8 MP + 2 MP
Front Camera16 MP
Battery5000 mAh
Display6.62 inches (16.81 cm)
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realme GT Neo 3T 5G Price
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Rs. 20,999.00
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