Realme 7 Pro : Detailed Review
Introduction:
The Realme 7 Pro, launched in September 2020, continues Realme’s trend of offering feature-rich smartphones at competitive prices. It stands out with its Super AMOLED display, fast-charging capabilities, and reliable performance. Aimed at consumers who want flagship-level features at a mid-range price, the Realme 7 Pro offers a well-rounded experience in display, performance, camera, and battery life. This review delves into the phone’s design, display, performance, camera system, battery life, and software, followed by a summary of its pros and cons.
Specifications at a Glance
- Display: 6.4-inch Super AMOLED, FHD+ (2400 x 1080), 60Hz refresh rate
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G
- RAM: 6 GB or 8 GB
- Storage Options: 128 GB (expandable via microSD)
- Rear Cameras: Quad camera setup (64 MP primary, 8 MP ultra-wide, 2 MP macro, 2 MP depth sensor)
- Front Camera: 32 MP (f/2.5)
- Battery: 4,500 mAh, 65W SuperDart fast charging
- Operating System: Realme UI based on Android 10 (upgradable)
- Dimensions: 160.9 x 74.3 x 8.7 mm
- Weight: 182 grams
Design and Build Quality
Aesthetics:
The Realme 7 Pro has a sleek and modern design that feels premium despite its mid-range price tag. The phone features a polycarbonate back with a matte finish, which reduces fingerprints and provides a smooth, comfortable grip. The gradient color options, such as Mirror Blue and Mirror Silver, give the phone a stylish look.
Durability:
Though the phone lacks official water or dust resistance ratings, it is sturdy, with the build quality generally reliable for daily use. The polycarbonate frame makes it lighter but less robust compared to glass-backed competitors.
Ergonomics:
The Realme 7 Pro is fairly compact for a phone with a 6.4-inch screen. It’s comfortable to hold and use with one hand, thanks to its lightweight build and slim profile.
Fingerprint Sensor:
The device has an in-display optical fingerprint sensor, which is fast and responsive for unlocking the phone and authorizing payments.
Overall:
The Realme 7 Pro balances modern design with comfort and usability, though it might lack the premium feel of metal or glass-backed phones.
Display
Specifications:
- Size: 6.4-inch Super AMOLED
- Resolution: 2400 x 1080 pixels (FHD+), 411 ppi
- Refresh Rate: 60Hz
- Color Gamut: Wide color (DCI-P3)
- Peak Brightness: 600 nits
- Contrast Ratio: 4,300,000:1
Performance:
The Realme 7 Pro’s Super AMOLED display offers vibrant colors, deep blacks, and sharp visuals, making it perfect for content consumption like watching videos and gaming. Though it lacks the higher 90Hz or 120Hz refresh rate found on some competing models, the 60Hz panel still offers smooth performance for everyday tasks.
Brightness and HDR:
The screen is bright enough for outdoor use, and HDR10 support ensures enhanced contrast and color accuracy for compatible content, providing a more immersive viewing experience.
Color Accuracy and True Blacks:
The AMOLED panel produces true blacks and vivid colors, making it ideal for multimedia consumption. It performs well in color accuracy, which is especially noticeable in video playback and gaming.
Overall:
The Realme 7 Pro’s display is one of its standout features, delivering a premium visual experience despite the absence of a high refresh rate.
Performance
Hardware:
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G (8nm)
- RAM: 6 GB or 8 GB
- Storage: 128 GB UFS 2.1 (expandable up to 256 GB)
Performance Evaluation:
The Snapdragon 720G chipset, while not top-of-the-line, provides solid mid-range performance. The Realme 7 Pro can handle multitasking, gaming, and daily apps with ease. Paired with 6 GB or 8 GB of RAM, it ensures smooth performance in most tasks, though more demanding games or apps may require a few graphic settings adjustments to avoid any lags.
Gaming Performance:
Games like PUBG Mobile and Call of Duty: Mobile run well on medium settings, and the Adreno 618 GPU ensures stable frame rates for casual gaming. However, for more graphic-intensive games, the performance may not match higher-end phones with flagship chipsets.
Benchmark Scores:
- Geekbench 5: Around 570 (single-core) and 1,780 (multi-core)
- AnTuTu: Around 280,000
Overall:
The Realme 7 Pro’s Snapdragon 720G is capable of delivering reliable performance for everyday use, including gaming, though it’s not intended for heavy multitasking or intensive applications at the highest settings.
Camera
Rear Cameras:
- Primary Lens: 64 MP Sony IMX682 sensor (f/1.8)
- Ultra-Wide Lens: 8 MP (f/2.3) with 119° field of view
- Macro Lens: 2 MP (f/2.4)
- Depth Sensor: 2 MP (f/2.4)
Front Camera:
Camera Performance:
- Daylight Photography:
The 64 MP primary camera excels in well-lit conditions, capturing detailed images with accurate color reproduction. The ultra-wide sensor offers more versatility, though it suffers from some distortion at the edges.
- Low-Light Photography:
The Nightscape mode enhances low-light performance, producing brighter images with better detail retention, though there’s some noticeable noise. The ultra-wide and macro lenses don’t perform as well in low light.
- Portraits and Macro:
Portrait shots come out well, with good subject separation and decent background blur. However, the macro lens struggles in terms of detail and sharpness.
Video Recording:
- Resolution: 4K at 30fps, 1080p at 60fps
- The video quality is solid, especially with the primary camera, and the electronic image stabilization (EIS) helps reduce shakiness when recording handheld footage.
Front Camera Performance:
The 32 MP selfie camera delivers sharp and vibrant images, particularly in good lighting. In low-light conditions, it holds up well, though there’s some softening of detail.
Overall:
The Realme 7 Pro’s camera system is versatile and capable, especially for mid-range photography, though the secondary sensors (macro and depth) aren’t as useful in everyday shooting.
Battery Life
Specifications:
- Battery Capacity: 4,500 mAh
- Charging Speed: 65W SuperDart fast charging (0-100% in around 34 minutes)
Performance:
The Realme 7 Pro excels in battery performance, easily lasting a full day with moderate usage, which includes gaming, browsing, and video playback. The 65W fast charging is a standout feature, fully charging the phone in about 30 minutes, making it one of the fastest-charging phones in its price range.
Power Efficiency:
The Snapdragon 720G is known for being power-efficient, and combined with the large battery, it ensures users don’t need to worry about running out of power mid-day.
Overall:
The combination of long battery life and extremely fast charging makes the Realme 7 Pro a great choice for power users.
Software
Operating System:
- Original OS: Realme UI 1.0 based on Android 10 (upgradable to Android 11 with Realme UI 2.0)
User Experience:
Realme UI is clean and offers a near-stock Android experience with useful customizations. The UI is smooth and user-friendly, offering features like Dark Mode, customizable icons, and a dedicated Game Mode for uninterrupted gaming.
Bloatware:
There is some pre-installed bloatware, but most of it can be removed. Realme has worked to reduce the amount of unnecessary apps with updates to newer versions of Realme UI.
Software Support:
The Realme 7 Pro receives regular updates, ensuring it stays current with security patches and new features.
Overall:
The software experience on the Realme 7 Pro is fluid and customizable, with the promise of regular updates to maintain its usability over time.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Super AMOLED Display: Vibrant colors, deep blacks, and excellent brightness levels make it ideal for content consumption.
- 65W SuperDart Fast Charging: Industry-leading fast charging, fully charging the phone in under 40 minutes.
- Good Camera Performance: The 64 MP main sensor delivers excellent results in daylight and decent low-light shots.
- Great Battery Life: 4,500 mAh battery lasts a full day of usage, complemented by fast charging.
- Affordable Pricing: The Realme 7 Pro offers excellent value for money with flagship-like features at a mid-range price.
Cons:
- No High Refresh Rate Display: The 60Hz refresh rate feels outdated compared to competitors with 90Hz or 120Hz displays.
- Secondary Cameras Underwhelming: The macro and depth sensors don’t add much value in practical use.
- Polycarbonate Back: Though it helps keep the phone light