The Realme GT Neo 3 Is The Newest Affordable Flagship In Town

Marking the end to what seemed like an endless stream of leaks and official teasers, Realme today launched one of the most awaited affordable flagships of 2022 — the Realme GT Neo 3. The phone, which succeeds last year's GT Neo 2, has been in the works for quite some time now. In China, where it will debut, the Realme GT Neo 3 couldn't have come at a better time, and squares off against the Redmi K50 lineup that Xiaomi launched just days ago.

The Realme GT Neo 3 is also among the first smartphones to feature the MediaTek Dimensity 8100 chipset – the only other phone to use that chip – as of today – being the Redmi K50. Realme one-ups the Redmi K50 when it comes to battery charging speeds, though. In fact, Realme pretty much outclasses every other smartphone on the planet in this department because, as of March 22, 2022, it is the fastest charging smartphone you can buy — thanks to the supplied 150W charger. 

The MediaTek 8100 chipset that powers the Realme GT Neo 3 is relatively new, announced just weeks ago. The naming scheme shows that this chip is positioned just below MediaTek's 2022 flagship processor – the Dimensity 9000 - though in actual fact the Dimensity 8100 shares many of its underpinnings with the 9000. While the real-world performance of the Dimensity 8100 is still unknown, this chip is expected to have the firepower to stand up against the likes of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 and the Snapdragon 870.

The upper mid-range positioning of the Realme GT Neo 3 means it boasts a fairly large 6.7-inch AMOLED panel that supports a 120Hz refresh rate and offers HDR10+ compatibility. The camera setup, on the other hand, is a tad underwhelming and shows evidence of cost-cutting. You get is a 50MP primary camera that uses Sony's IMX766 sensor, an 8MP ultrawide camera, and a 2MP macro camera. The front-facing camera nestles under a center-aligned punch hole and uses a 16MP sensor.

Before we talk at length about the battery and the charging speeds, you should know that buyers in China get the option to buy two variants of the GT Neo 3. The first variant features a smaller 4,000 mAh battery while supporting 150W fast charging, while the other option gets a bigger 5,000 mAh battery but drops the charging speeds down to 'just' 80W. For the 4,500 mAh variant, Realme claims a 0 to 50% charging time of 5 minutes.

It's common knowledge that fast charging smartphone batteries do no good to their life and longevity, but Realme (and OPPO) claims that the latest generation of their power tech has largely managed to mitigate the problem. In fact, the claim is that the Realme GT Neo 3's battery will maintain 80% battery health even after completing 1,600 charging cycles. That typically takes around four years for most smartphone users.

As well as the two different variants of the Realme GT Neo 3 with different battery capacities, the company also breaks down the line-up by storage and memory. There are two variants within the 150W charging option, for example, each with 256GB of storage but either 8GB or 12GB of RAM. The base variant of the Realme GT Neo 3 with the 80W charger, meanwhile, features 128GB storage and ships with 6GB of RAM, while the top variant with 80W charging offers 12GB RAM and 256GB of internal storage. There is also a mid-tier 8GB + 128GB option for those who prefer the 80W variant. 

• 6GB+128GB (80W) – 1,999 Yuan ($315)
• 8GB+128GB (80W) – 2,299 Yuan ($360)
• 12GB+256GB (80W) – 2,599 Yuan ($410)
• 8GB+256GB (150W) – 2,699 Yuan ($420)
• 12GB+256GB ( 150W) – 2,799 Yuan ($440)

The phone is already available for reservations in China, and should start shipping the weeks to come in three color options: a Le Mans edition hat gets blue and white racing stripes; a 'Silverstone' edition with black and white racing stripes; and an all-black variant for those who like their smartphones subtle. A broader global launch is expected in the coming weeks and months, with pricing and exact availability still to be confirmed.