Review Summary
Expert Rating
Realme has refreshed its India-centric P-series smartphone lineup with the second-generation Realme P2 Pro. Priced under Rs 25,000, it offers mid-range features like the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 SoC, a 5,200mAh battery, 80W fast charging, and a 120Hz AMOLED display. Can these specs help the P2 Pro stand out against rivals such as the Motorola Edge 50 Fusion, Vivo T3 Pro, and OnePlus Nord CE4? Keep reading to discover in this Realme P2 Pro review.
Table of Contents
Verdict
The Realme P2 Pro is a decent buy for its price, with a bunch of contemporary features such as striking design, vibrant display, respectable performance, and fast charging. However, it lacks any standout features that set it apart from its competitors. Additionally, its camera performance could use some improvement.
Design and display
The Realme P2 Pro design looks appealing. Though not drastically different from its predecessor P1 Pro, the handset grabs your attention with its cushion-shaped camera module, which features contrasting hexagon borders. The module protrudes, preventing the phone from lying flat on surfaces, but its design prevents wobbling, ensuring a stable and comfortable typing experience (if you type with the phone kept on the table). The model we received comes in a calming green colour which pairs well with the gold-coloured finish around the camera module and body. The phone features a textured back with a brush-stroke pattern, providing both a good in-hand feel and resistance to fingerprints and smudges.
| Realme P2 Pro | Vivo T3 Pro | Motorola Edge 50 Fusion | |
| Thickness | 8.21mm | 7.49mm | 7.9mm |
| Weight | 180 grams | 185 grams | 174.9 grams |
| IP rating | IP65 | IP64 | IP68 |
The P2 Pro boasts curved edges that enhance comfort during use, and its 180-gram weight ensures it remains easy to hold for extended periods. The phone features speakers both on the top and bottom edge for a stereo output with Hi-Res audio support for a crisp audio experience even at high volume. While there is no 3.5mm headphone jack – like many other smartphones within the segment, the handset offers a USB Type-C port for charging and data transfer. It can also be used to plug earphones with a Type-C port for a wired listening experience. For security, the phone features an in-display fingerprint scanner that works seamlessly to unlock the device in a jiffy.
The Realme P2 Pro sports a 6.7-inch OLED display with FHD+ resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and a punch-hole setup for the selfie camera. It is a curved screen, so some accidental touches are expected, but the display performs admirably otherwise. You get good viewing angles, with vivid colours, which can be tweaked from the settings menu. The company has upgraded peak brightness to 2,000 nits from 950 nits on its predecessor for better visibility outdoors under direct sunlight. The handset is Widevine L1 certified for streaming in FHD quality from streaming platforms.
| Realme P2 Pro | Vivo T3 Pro | Motorola Edge 50 Fusion | |
| Display size | 6.77-inch AMOLED | 6.77-inch AMOLED | 6.7-inch pOLED |
| Peak brightness | 2,000 nits | 4,500 nits | 1,600 nits |
The Realme P2 Pro boasts IP65 certification for water and dust resistance, along with Armor Shield Glass for enhanced durability. It also features a ‘Rainwater Smart Touch’ display, designed to minimise accidental touches when the screen or your fingers are wet. Additionally, the device is SGS-certified for AI Eye Protection, ensuring a more comfortable and eye-friendly viewing experience.
Cameras
The Realme P2 Pro sports a dual-camera setup comprising a 50MP OIS Sony LYT-600 sensor and an 8MP ultra-wide lens. This is paired with Realme’s AI photography architecture, HYPERIMAGE+, introduced with the Realme 13 Pro series earlier this year. To give you a perspective, the architecture integrates optics with image algorithms and image editing tools, backed by AI, to boost clarity and dynamic range. The AI is also said to enhance portraits, skin tones, and group photos. The front camera of the phone is a 32MP snapper for selfies and video calling.
Here’s how the cameras compete against the similarly-priced Motorola Edge 50 Fusion and Vivo T3 Pro in different scenarios.
Daylight
The Realme P2 Pro captures brighter images with its 50MP primary camera than its competitors. However, it falls short in detail compared to the Vivo T3 Pro 5G, which delivers sharper images, though with slightly enhanced colours. Meanwhile, the Motorola Edge 50 Fusion takes colour saturation a step further, producing vibrant, social media-ready photos.
Ultrawide
The Motorola Edge 50 Fusion excels at capturing ultrawide shots with impressive detail, while maintaining more realistic colours compared to the Realme P2 Pro and Vivo T3 Pro. On both the Vivo and Realme smartphones, the sky appears natural, but other elements, like bricks, show overly enhanced colours. The Realme P2 Pro, in particular, could have delivered better performance with landscape shots.
Portrait
When it comes to portraits, the Realme P2 Pro outshines Vivo T3 Pro and Motorola Edge 50 Fusion with near accurate skin tones. However, facial details and edge detections remain underwhelming. The Motorola Edge 50 Fusion offers better separation of subjects from the foreground and details, followed by the Vivo T3 Pro.
Selfie
The Motorola Edge 50 Fusion delivers better facial detailing in selfies compared to its counterpart, though its skin tone accuracy falls short. While the Vivo T3 Pro excels at capturing true-to-life skin tones, the Realme P2 Pro stands out for accurately rendering the colour of the specs. Nevertheless, both smartphones warp the facial detailing.
Low light (night mode)
The lowlight images from the Vivo T3 Pro have better appeal due to their brighter appearance. However, they are much grainier than those from the Realme P2 Pro, which maintains a more realistic look. The Realme smartphone also allows you to capture images without using night mode.
Performance and software
Under the hood, the Realme P2 Pro rocks the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 SoC, which has already made its way to several other mid-range smartphones. The handset is available in three RAM and storage configurations: 8GB + 128GB, 12 GB + 256GB, and 12GB + 512GB. We received the top-end 512GB storage variant for review, which scored 6,70,441 on AnTuTu. This performance is in line with other smartphones using the same chipset and is impressive for a non-gaming device. Similarly, on Geekbench, the phone scores a modest 866 on the single-core and 2,930 on the multi-core tests. The handset also performs decently under intense load, per the Burnout CPU throttle test where the performance dropped to just 76.4 percent.
For daily use, the Realme P2 Pro delivers a smooth experience, with no stuttering or app crashes during browsing, scrolling, or multitasking. However, power users may prefer alternatives like the Infinix GT 20 Pro within this price range. The Infinix model offers superior thermal management and power efficiency, particularly during gaming sessions with titles like BGMI, Call of Duty, and Real Racing 3. Despite the 3D VC cooling system on the P2 Pro, its temperature rose by around 19 degrees, compared to just 11 degrees on the GT 20 Pro after 30 minutes of gameplay, during our testing. Additionally, the P2 Pro’s average frame rates were lower than the GT 20 Pro at similar graphics settings.
The performance can be enhanced with the GT Mode, which allows you to customise CPU and GPU frequencies for quicker response times. It also helps you spot opponents more easily, enables voice-changing effects, allows fast re-entry into games, and reduces unwanted notifications for a smoother gaming experience. The mode can be enabled/ disabled during gameplay by swiping right from the top left corner or via the settings menu under Battery.
Coming to the software, the Realme P2 Pro comes with Android 14-based Realme UI out of the box. The interface feels slightly cluttered, with 64 pre-installed apps from Google, Realme, and third-party developers. Of these, 14 are third-party apps with millions of downloads in India, and they can be easily uninstalled after setup. Beyond this, the user experience mirrors that of other recent Realme smartphones. The device offers a wide range of customisation options and features, such as AI Smart Loop which recognises content and suggests sharing options, AI Smart Removal which removes unwanted subjects from a photo, and AI Ultra Clarity which unblurs your old photos in lieu of some details. The phone also supports Air Gestures for hands-free control, though the feature can be a bit unreliable at times. The handset will receive at least two years of major OS and three years of security updates from the brand.
| Pre-installed apps | Updates | |
| Realme P2 Pro | 64 | 2 years major + 3 years security |
| Vivo T3 Pro | 56 | 2 years major + 3 years security |
| Motorola Edge 50 Fusion | 35 | 3 years major + 4 years security |
Battery and charging
The Realme P2 Pro features a 5,200mAh battery, offering around 200mAh more than the typical capacity in its class. Despite this, it performed modestly in the PCMark battery test, achieving an average of 10 hours and 25 minutes. The test, which simulates a range of tasks, runs until the battery depletes from 100 percent to 20 percent. Moreover, on our 30-minute YouTube video streaming test, the handset consumed 4 percent battery life – equivalent to 208mAh. In our 30-minute gaming test, which included BGMI, Call of Duty, and Real Racing 3, the device used 20 percent of its battery in total.
| Charging speed | Charging time (20-100 percent) | |
| Realme P2 Pro | 80W | 36 minutes |
| Vivo T3 Pro | 80W | 52 minutes |
| Motorola Edge 50 Fusion | 68W | 36 minutes |
The phone supports 80W wired fast charging, which takes 36 minutes to achieve full charge from 20 percent. The charger is provided in the box.
Final verdict
Starting at Rs 21,999 for the base 8GB RAM variant, the Realme P2 Pro offers good value. However, if you can increase your budget slightly, the Vivo T2 Pro (review) and Motorola Edge 50 Fusion (review) could be more appealing options as lifestyle smartphones. The Vivo T2 Pro, starting at Rs 24,999, delivers superior performance and battery life, while the Motorola Edge 50 Fusion, priced at Rs 22,999, stands out with its sleek IP68-certified design and impressive cameras.
The Realme P2 Pro might not be able to distinguish itself from competitors, especially in cameras and software, but it brings together a good balance of design, performance, and battery life. Moreover, its vibrant OLED display, rapid charging, and IP65 rating make it a worthy contender in the mid-range segment.
Editor’s rating: 7.5 / 10
Reasons to buy
- Striking design with a comfortable in-hand feel.
- Vivid 6.7-inch 120Hz OLED display with excellent brightness.
- Good performance with Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 SoC.
- Fast 80W charging with decent battery life
Reasons not to buy
- Camera performance, especially in details and lowlight, could be better.
- Software cluttered with pre-installed apps.
- Not a compelling reason to buy.
