Realme P3 Pro review: the mid-range champion to beat?

Realme’s P series debuted in April 2024 as a performance-focused smartphone lineup. The Realme P1 (review) and P1 Pro (review) made a strong first impression, while the Realme P2 Pro (review), despite being a well-balanced device, struggled to stand out in a competitive segment. With the new Realme P3 Pro, the brand is looking to change that.

The phone packs an upgraded Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 processor, a beefier 6000mAh battery, and a more durable chassis with IP66, IP68, and IP69 water and dust resistance. These upgrades make it a solid contender. The question is, does it live up to expectations, and more importantly, can it carve out a place for itself in this highly competitive price segment? Let’s find out.

Verdict

The Realme P3 Pro is easily among the most compelling mid-range options available in India right now. It offers solid performance, an immersive multimedia experience, and a large battery. The cameras deliver good results too, though the lack of an ultra-wide lens limits its versatility. The only other drawback is the somewhat cluttered OS, though this may not be a dealbreaker for users upgrading from an older Realme smartphone.

Design and display

The Realme P3 Pro brings a few changes over its predecessor, at least in terms of form. The large camera island remains on the back, but it now has a circular shape instead of the previous, more jagged design. The in-hand feel is excellent, thanks to the softer, rounded edges that make it comfortable to hold.

The Nebula Glow variant I received for review also has an interesting quirk—like its namesake, it glows in the dark after enough UV exposure. The effect is subtle unless you have a UV light handy.

There’s also a brown and purple vegan leather variant available for users who like more subtle designs.

Otherwise, the phone includes the standard port and button options, which include a stereo speaker setup at the top and bottom, a USB-C port, and power and volume buttons on the right edge. Unfortunately, there’s no headphone jack.

Another great addition this year is the improved water and dust resistance, with an IP66, IP68, and IP69 rating, making it far more durable. I tested it with light submersion, and it held up just fine. Although I wouldn’t recommend pushing its limits too much—it’s water-resistant, not waterproof.

As for the display, the Realme P3 Pro uses a 6.83-inch quad-curved AMOLED panel with an FHD+ (2800 x 1272p) resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, 1,500 nits peak brightness, and a 100 percent DCI-P3 colour coverage. The curved edges add a premium feel, while the vibrant colours and excellent stereo speakers make for an immersive multimedia experience. Outdoor visibility is great, with no issues even under direct sunlight.

On the other end, the low brightness levels are easy on the eyes for nighttime reading—something I appreciate. There’s also an in-display fingerprint scanner that’s both fast and accurate. The panel comes with a wet touch feature, and in my tests, it worked well with wet fingertips or after submersion.

Cameras

Realme has dropped the ultra-wide 8MP lens on the P3 Pro, opting instead for a 50MP Sony IM896 primary camera with OIS support, paired with a 2MP portrait lens. For selfies, there’s a 16MP Sony IMX480 sensor, down from the 32MP front camera on the previous-gen model. While that may seem like a downgrade, and in some ways it is, it’s an understandable trade-off. For a performance-focused phone, the camera is often one of the easier features to cut back on.

Overall, the primary camera delivers impressive daylight shots with excellent detail, sharpness, and vibrant colours that can be shared on social media straight away. The shutter speed is quick, and even moving shots come out well. The selfie camera, despite the lower resolution, still produces good results and holds up well. You also get Google’s AI camera features like Best Face, AI Eraser 2.0, Reflection Remover, and Motion Deblur.

The rear camera supports videos upto to 4K 30fps and they’re quite decent with good stabilisation. You also get an ultra-steady video shooting mode, but it is limited to 1080p 60fps. I compared the phone’s camera prowess against some of its chief competitors, the POCO X7 (review) and the iQOO Z9s Pro (review). Check it out below:

Daylight

The Realme P3 Pro does a slightly better job than the iQOO Z9s Pro when it comes to details. Both phones produce vibrant, good-looking images, though neither is particularly accurate in terms of colour reproduction. Their dynamic range is similar, making them evenly matched overall.

The POCO X7 Pro, on the other hand, takes vibrancy a step further than the Realme P3 Pro. Its images, however, might appear overly saturated to some users as it substantially alters the natural look of the scene. The Realme P3 Pro once again comes out ahead in terms of detail.

Selfie

Both the Realme P3 Pro and iQOO Z9s Pro capture good selfies, but the P3 Pro has the advantage in colour accuracy. The iQOO Z9s Pro adds a slight tint to the subject’s face, whereas the P3 Pro keeps the skin tone more natural. In terms of detail, neither phone has a clear advantage, as both smooth out facial features.

The POCO X7 does a better job with skin colour reproduction than the iQOO Z9s Pro but still falls short of the Realme P3 Pro. It struggles to retain facial details, making the subject’s face appear overly smooth and slightly blurry.

Portrait

The Realme P3 Pro also does a slightly better job than the iQOO Z9s Pro in portrait shots. It has cleaner edge detection, although the colours are slightly boosted. The iQOO Z9s Pro also boosts the colours, but its comparatively more subtle than its competitor. The P3 Pro also maintains facial details without going overboard on sharpening, unlike the iQOO Z9s Pro.

The POCO X7 delivers good edge detection but struggles with exposure control, often blowing out shadows and making images look washed out. In comparison, the Realme P3 Pro produces more balanced shots with better colours and detail.

Low-light

In low-light shots, the Realme P3 Pro and iQOO Z9s Pro are evenly matched in terms of details. The key difference lies in colour science—Realme takes a more balanced approach, enhancing contrast for a more visually appealing shot. The iQOO Z9s Pro, however, applies aggressive colour correction, altering the sky’s colour to make the greens richer.

The POCO X7 handles night shots decently but lacks the sharpness of the Realme P3 Pro. It also adds a slightly warm tone, which causes distant buildings to appear somewhat fuzzy.

Performance and Software

Now, let’s get to the real question—how does the Realme P3 Pro perform? The phone is powered by the latest Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 processor, paired with up to 12GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage.

It’s a direct upgrade over its predecessor and appears to be specifically tuned for better performance, as reflected in its benchmark scores against rivals. Despite being a lower variant of the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3, it outperforms it in synthetic benchmarks like AnTuTu and Geekbench, as you can see.

In daily use, the device runs smoothly with no noticeable lag or stutters. It also handles multitasking well—I was able to keep 4-6 apps running in the background without major slowdowns, though pushing it that far did introduce a slight dip in speed. Still, it performed great overall.

Gaming is where the P3 Pro really shines, thanks to the new GT Boost feature. It handles demanding titles like Genshin Impact, COD: Mobile, and BGMI with ease, even at this price point. In fact, it’s optimised to deliver a competitive edge in BGMI, targeting a consistent 90FPS. While that’s not the case just yet, a software update after launch is expected to unlock it. Otherwise, its gaming performance is on par with the iQOO Z9s Pro (review) and a notch above the POCO X7 (review).

On the software side, the Realme P3 Pro runs Realme UI 6 based on Android 15 out of the box. While the OS feels slightly cluttered with a fair amount of pre-installed apps, most of them can be uninstalled. The Hot Apps & Hot Games section could use some improvement and has to be manually disabled from the App Market. The phone also includes Google’s AI-powered features like AI Writer, AI Recorder, and Circle to Search—handy tools if you rely on your phone for productivity. On top of that, Realme adds its own features like File Dock and Smart Loop which help in quickly navigating & sharing between different apps.

Overall, the software experience is solid, though the excess of pre-installed and third-party apps does take away from the otherwise smooth UI. There’s no word yet on the software support available on the Realme P3 Pro, but it will likely receive at least 2 major OS updates and 3 years of security updates.

Battery and charging

The Realme P3 Pro packs a larger 6,000mAh battery with 80W fast charging support—an upgrade that’s great to see in mid-range devices. A bigger battery is always a welcome addition, and in this case, it makes a sizeable difference in longevity. With a battery this size, the P3 Pro delivers impressive endurance. It also comes with bypass charging, which means when plugged in, the device directly draws power to its motherboard, which helps improve gaming performance and battery health.

The Realme P3 Pro scores well in our battery benchmark test compared to its rivals. Real-world performance backs this up and the device easily lasts me 1.5 days with moderate use, including multiple OTT episodes, YouTube binges, social media browsing, and gaming. The battery also holds up well under stress, dropping just 22 percent after roughly two hours of intensive use. The 80W fast charging is the cherry on top, refilling the massive battery in just under 40 minutes.

Final Verdict

Starting at Rs 23,999 for the 8GB+128GB variant, the Realme P3 Pro is one of the best value-for-money mid-rangers available. It boasts a durable design, strong performance, exceptional battery life, and a capable camera setup—despite the lack of an ultra-wide lens.

It goes head-to-head with the POCO X7 (review) and the iQOO Z9s Pro (review). Compared to the POCO X7, the Realme P3 Pro comes out ahead in nearly every key area, including cameras, performance, and charging speed. The iQOO Z9s Pro offers a more versatile camera system and comparable performance output but falls behind with a less durable design and a smaller battery.

The phone isn’t without its drawbacks, however, as the missing ultra-wide camera and somewhat cluttered OS are some aspects that could be improved. But if you’re looking for a value-packed mid-range device, the Realme P3 Pro is definitely worth considering.

Editor’s Rating: 8/10

Reasons to buy:

• The phone’s design feels very premium and is quite durable.
• The Realme P3 Pro delivers an excellent multimedia experience.
• The device performs great, both for regular use and heavy tasks like gaming.
• The battery life of the device is truly impressive.

Reasons not to buy:

• There’s no ultra-wide camera.
• The OS can feel a little cluttered due to pre-installed apps.