Realme GT 2 Pro review: Refreshingly good flagship phone under Rs 50,000

The original Realme GT sent out a message that flagship phones need not come with an exorbitant price tag. However, making a phone with a flagship chip ‘affordable’ also means skipping out on design aspects, specifications or features that made a flagship worthy of the ‘Pro’ title. This is why when reports of the Realme GT 2 Pro came out months ago, expectations were higher than ever. But so were the risks.
I have now used the Realme GT 2 Pro for about a week and here are my thoughts about the phone and whether you should buy it at its asking price.
Realme GT 2 Pro specs: 6.7-inch QHD+ AMOLED LTPO 2.0 panel with 120Hz + HDR10+ | Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 + up to 12GB RAM + up to 256GB UFS 3.1 storage | 50MP+50MP+2MP rear camera/ 32MP front camera | 5000mAh battery + 65W charging |
Realme GT 2 Pro: What’s good?
Design
The Realme GT 2 Pro has an interesting design, which really can’t be classified as minimal or loud. The front of the phone looks average, but the back is quite unique. The back panel inspired paper has a nice feel to it and it is also largely impervious to smudges and stains. This means if you get the white variant I have here, it stays white for a long time.

There’s also a little square to the right of the camera island that protrudes a bit and carries the branding along with a signature of the phone’s designer. This one aspect might not be appreciated everyone. Thankfully, there is a Steel Black variant of the phone too that skips this for a more minimal look than the Paper White and Paper Green.
The Realme GT 2 Pro Paper White and Paper Green editions feature a drawable back panel with some extra branding, but you can also get the more minimal Steel Black. (Image Source: The Indian Express/ Chetan Nayak)
Another cool aspect worth mentioning is that you can actually pick up a pencil and draw on the back of this phone or take quick notes or even a number. This is a nice, fun touch to today’s bland phone designs. And yes, you can use an eraser too on the back here.
Display
The Realme GT 2 Pro has a flagship display panel, and using it has been a pleasing experience. It’s a big 6.7-inch panel and can switch to QHD+ resolution automatically when you need it (although you can also manually lock resolution at FHD+ or QHD+). I tested the phone with the refresh rate set to auto, which can switch between 120hz and 1Hz depending on usage and I had no complaints with the same. Transitions and animations look really good at 120Hz and there was no stuttering.
The phone also has a 6.7-inch 2K AMOLED screen that is great for media consumption and gaming. (Image Source: The Indian Express/ Chetan Nayak)
Watching some Netflix on the display panel was also quite immersive as the top left-aligned punch-hole cutout isn’t too big or too dracting. HDR10+ support is also always great to see and supported content looks gorgeous on the display. Max brightness can go up to 1400 nits and using the phone under sunlight isn’t an issue. The in-display fingerprint sensor is also fast and accurate and I had no problems using it, although the larger fingerprint scanner on the iQOO 9 Pro still remains my favourite in this segment.
Performance
With the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, the phone is fast and gets the usual bells and whles here. Multiple apps from social media apps to resource-heavy games like Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) are not an issue for the phone which can handle them all with ease. RAM management is also nice and older apps aren’t killed off in the background when you switch away from them.
You can game at max settings with all the titles out there with the Realme GT 2 Pro. (Image Source: The Indian Express/ Chetan Nayak)
My gaming experience with the Realme GT 2 Pro was smooth. The phone can output heavy games like BGMI and Asphalt 9 at max settings and gameplay is enjoyable. While the device did get warm quickly, I didn’t witness very high temperatures during gaming and gameplay was largely not affected.
Camera
The camera setup on the Realme GT 2 Pro left me quite impressed. This 50MP main + 50MP ultrawide + 3MP microscope camera is not just unique but more functional than I thought. The primary and ultrawide cameras take excellent shots with ample detail and natural colours. Colour shifting between the two is also minimal so your ultrawide shots don’t look like they have muted colours compared to the main camera.
The phone comes with a 50MP primary+ 50MP ultrawide + 2MP microscope camera setup on the back. (Image Source: The Indian Express/ Chetan Nayak)
I had my doubts about the 2MP microscope camera being a gimmick, but I was very wrong. This sensor actually does what it claims and you can get 20x and 40x zoomed in shots using the dedicated sensor and two flashlight modules which automatically kick in when you enable this mode. This lets you take pictures so close that you can see minute scratches on a watch, the texture of leather, tattoo pigments on skin and the weavings of a scarf in superb detail. Check out an example below.

@ixvidivya‘s #Shinchan tattoo captured on a #RealmeGT2Pro via the microscope mode 😮Review coming soon! pic.twitter.com/3JPxbfSVyH
— Chetan Nayak (@chet_code) April 12, 2022
Night mode also worked well and shots looked great with details well preserved for the most part. However, light sources near or within the frame sent the exposure haywire once in a while. The front camera shots were also impressive when it came to details, skin tones and lighting. Most importantly, I didn’t look artificial. Check out all our camera samples with the Realme GT 2 Pro clicking on the picture below.

Battery Life
Battery Life was better than average and unless you game at max settings for hours, this phone can easily pull off a whole day’s worth of light-to-moderate use without needing a top-up halfway. The 67W fast charging means it takes about 15-20 mins to charge the phone to 50% from 0% with some light usage.
Realme GT 2 Pro: What’s not good?
The Realme doesn’t get much wrong for its price, but the bloatware that comes with this flagship phone is a turn off when you first boot this phone. Thankfully these can be uninstalled, and Android 12-based Realme UI 3.0 with its wide range of features and customisability make it easier to forgive the bloat.

Another pointer that isn’t a deal-breaker but needs to be pointed out is the USB 2.0 Type-C port at the bottom, which isn’t as fast as USB 3.1 ports offered some other flagships.

Verdict: Is the Realme GT 2 Pro for you?
The Realme GT 2 Pro is not trying to be the flashiest flagship out there. But it delivers what it is trying to achieve. You get a good set of cameras, powerful performance, and good design clubbed with a solid build, feature-packed software, and terrific battery life, all at the starting price of Rs 49,999.
This puts it well below other Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 phones like the iQOO 9 Pro and the OnePlus 10 Pro. However, I did feel the 12GB/256GB variant which comes in at Rs 57,999 is a steep rise for extra RAM and storage. The base variant is the better bang-for-buck deal. If you’re looking to buy a true flagship phone, without compromising much on pretty much anything, the Realme is the best phone under Rs 50,000 right now.