Realme GT 7 Pro review: POWERFUL and nearly flawless!

Hey everyone, I am Pratima and Realme is back making flagship phones again! The last time I remember Realme had a proper flagship phone was the Realme GT 2 Pro! And we all know it didn't do well! It was often available for heavy discounts, as low as INR 25,000. Anyway, nearly 3 years later, Realme has launched its flagship GT 7 Pro and we are going to review it!

Realme GT 7 Pro Specifications

• Display: 6.7/6.8-inch Samsung-made 1.5K micro-quad-curve display, 2,000 nits peak brightness
• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite
• RAM: Up to 16GB LPDDR5X
• ROM: Up to 1TB UFS 4.0
• OS & UI: Android 14 with Realme UI 6.0
• Rear Camera: Triple Camera (50 MP Wide + 8 MP Ultra-wide + 50 MP Telephoto)
• Front Camera: 16 MP
• Battery: 6,500 mAh Li-ion cell with 120W fast charging
• Durability: IP68/IP69 water and dust resistant
• Colour Options: Mars Orange and Galaxy Grey

Click here to check out the detailed specs of Realme GT 7 Pro

Realme GT 7 Pro Review

This is the first phone in India to launch with Snapdragon’s brand new 8 Elite Chipset.   It's also priced quite competitively at 60,000 Rupees and with all the bank and launch offers, you should get this phone at an even lower price!  We are hearing rumours that the IQOO 13 will be priced a little higher than the IQOO 12, so the Realme GT 7 Pro might just be the cheapest SD 8 Elite Phone in 2025! And despite the aggressive price, I like how Realme has provided everything inside the box – from a nice cover, a pre-applied screen protector, as well as a compatible 120-watt charger. 

Performance

Now, since the most hyped thing about this phone is its chipset, let's talk about it first. And if you have watched my detailed comparison of the SD 8 Elite with the Apple A18 Pro and the Dimensity 9400, you will know the Snapdragon 8 Elite is a beast — be it in terms of benchmarks, overall stability or gaming.  I have played all sorts of games from demanding to mid-tier on this thing and I have to say, the FPS and especially the 1% lows are very impressive. The Realme GT 7 Pro outperforms the iPhone 16 Pro Max in games like PUBG, that too with better stability. 

Even playing Genshin Impact in the highest settings is not an issue on this phone. I got a stable 60 FPS, which has never happened before with any phone. And since the Snapdragon 8 Elite promises big things in terms of Ray tracing too, I played War Thunder and once again, I achieved nice FPS numbers and stable results. Likewise, be it rendering videos, or running the most extensive benchmarks, I have never seen the Realme GT 7 Pro struggle to maintain the power even once. 

But...

It does heat up though, I have recorded a maximum of 48 to 49 degrees when I played Genshin Impact for more than 45 minutes and things like recording 4K@60FPS video with full brightness heat up the phone as well.  Realme says that they have included a larger Vapor Chamber Cooling System here. And in my seven days of use, I have received a couple of updates already to fix the thermal issues. And after the updates, I recorded the temperature to be a degree or two cooler. Hopefully, future updates will stabilize the heating even more!

Software

On the other hand, while doing normal tasks like scrolling through social media even on mobile data, the Realme GT 7 Pro doesn't heat up or throttle. The new Realme UI based on Android 15 feels extremely smooth and fast and Realme has optimized the UI very well here, so I have enjoyed using this phone quite a lot. The only complaint I have with Realme is that even though this is their most expensive device to date, they have not let go of things like bloatware, app recommendations, etc. So, once I booted this phone, the first thing I did was turn off recommendations and uninstall unnecessary apps, which took a while, and finally, I was able to get a cleaner experience.

I am also a little disappointed that Realme has only promised 3 years of OS and 4 years of security updates with the GT 7 Pro. With the power and performance of the Snapdragon 8 Elite, the phone can easily run for 5 to 6 more years! So, because of this, the resale value might go down, as we saw with the GT 2 Pro, right?!

Design

Now besides the performance and software, most other aspects of the phone are quite premium too starting with the design. You are getting a very nice-looking glass and aluminium design here.

This Orange color looks particularly good as well. Realme has not specified which glass protection there is on the back. And on the front too, you only get the Gorilla Glass 7i. So, it's not as robust as the Victus 2! So yeah, in this aspect, Realme has definitely cut corners to meet the price point!  But, there’s an official IP68 as well as IP69 rating, which means other than being able to submerge the phone in water for a certain time, the GT 7 Pro is also able to handle high temperature, and high-speed water jets as well, so that's nice. 

Battery

Overall, it’s a premium-looking phone, but what's great here is that Realme has managed to fit in a massive 6500mAh battery and it doesn't feel that heavy! Yes, it has a definite weight to it, but it doesn't feel like you are carrying a phone with that big of a battery.  This is because the Realme GT 7 Pro has a Silicon-Carbon battery, which means it can fit in a larger capacity in a smaller form factor. This is in stark contrast to the traditional graphite-based technology, which is heavier and consumes more space. So, with this new tech, will see a lot of companies use 7,000 — even 8000mAh batteries in their upcoming phones. Anyway, the mammoth-sized battery on the GT 7 Pro means I am getting amazing battery life on this phone. I am easily getting 8-9 hours of SOT from this phone on normal usage while on days I was a little conservative, I achieved a whopping 10 hours, which is just awesome.

Charging the GT 7 Pro wasn’t a long wait either, the phone fully charges in about 40 minutes with the included 120-watt charger. 

Display

Moving on, Realme has tried to provide a great display as well. This is one of the brightest Android screens I have ever used. The phone boasts a whopping 6,500 nits of peak brightness while it can go up to 2,000 nits in auto mode. This means that even when I used this phone in the brightest of environments, I did not have any issues when it came to visibility.

Plus the Realme GT 7 Pro has all the features that any flagship display would have. This is a Samsung-made display with a 1.5k resolution, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, 120% DCI P3 color coverage, and Realme says that this is highly energy efficient as well. This is also an LTPO display and it goes as low as 1Hz to save power. Realme has also maintained even bezels here which really makes a huge impact on the content viewing experience.

User Experience

Another interesting thing I am noticing is that every BBK group brand — be it OPPO, VIVO, OnePlus, IQOO and even Realme has shifted to a more advanced ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor, instead of optical one for their flagship phones.  If you are not aware, ultrasonic fingerprint sensors are faster, they work with wet hands and do not throw in high beam light to unlock which is why they are considered better than optical ones. I did try to submerge the phone in water and then unlock it, and I am happy to report that it works just fine.

The stereo speakers here are decently loud and crisp without any distortion in the highest volumes — it’s not as good as the one you get on an iPhone, but it's definitely not average.  Even the haptics here are really impactful. The GT 7 Pro has borrowed OPPO’s O Haptics technology here, so, besides normal typing or while ringing, the phone has nicely integrated vibration in the UI elements as well; like when you are switching tabs while multitasking, increasing the volume, interacting with taskbar items, everything. I have to say, it’s such a pleasant experience. 

Camera

Ok… Finally, let’s talk about the cameras and while Realme has been doing such a great job with everything, I wish the company was a little more versatile with the camera setup as well.

What I mean is, that Realme has included a nice 50 MP primary camera and an equally impressive Telephoto lens. Both of them are high-end Sony sensors with OIS. But then, there is a measly 8MP snapper for the ultra-wide lens, which is quite average, to be honest.  I know it might not seem like a big issue, but that 8MP sensor limits a lot of things, like being able to switch between lenses while shooting at 4K footage, or just average image quality in general. 

Main Camera

Anyway, the primary camera on the Realme GT 7 Pro is really good. The color optimization and all are not different from other Realme phones, but the high-end ISP and DSP of the Snapdragon 8 Elite definitely seem to help. You can see on these images that they have really nice clarity, the colors are poppy and vibrant and the phone is able to maintain good dynamic range too. As I mentioned earlier, I have received a couple of updates during the review process already and the Realme GT 7 Pro has definitely improved on things like dynamic range. So I am happy about that.

It’s just sometimes the phone cannot handle the whites very well, and I wish the focus area was a little wider. But other than that, you will get good images from it — like 90% of the time.  I also went a little overboard and compared the Realme GT 7 Pro’s camera with the Galaxy S24 for the sake of this review. And I am happy to report that except for some difficult situations, the Realme GT 7 Pro actually managed to compete very well. 

Telephoto

In fact, most of the time, I was getting better 3x portraits from it than the S24 too. I know it’s a little hard to believe, but the skin tone and skin texture are actually more natural on Realme.

Talking more about this Telephoto zoom lens, you can use it to shoot some nice macro shots as well. Most brands use the ultra-wide lens to shoot macros, but the ultra-wide camera here lacks autofocus, so that’s not possible. Realme also allows zooming up to 120x, but since this is not a periscope lens, the output is usable up to 10X. 

Night Mode

Night-time photos, however, are impressive from the GT7 Pro! You don’t even need night mode in most situations. The images are nice and crisp by themselves.

Selfies

The selfies are only okay though. There is a little pinkish tone on the skin and also there is a little bit of a weird sharpness. This is not my cup of tea, but you might feel differently, here are some other samples for you to judge.

Videography

However, like the disappointing ultra-wide camera, you can only shoot 1080p@60FPS from the front. From the back, there’s a 4K@60 fps option, and unlike the selfie videos, they come out nice and stable. They are a little cropped and there is a little bit of a movement jitter, but that’s just me nitpicking. You can get some nice videos from this phone. 

Underwater Photography

Likewise, you can shoot underwater pictures too, if that’s something that excites you! The phone automatically goes to something called an underwater mode when it is submerged in water and you can click some cool shots with it.

Realme GT 7 Pro Review: Conclusion

So, let's wrap it up now and I think the Realme GT 7 Pro can have that sweet spot in the semi-flagship segment. I really do! I like how they have tried to max out all the specs. Whether it be the display, the performance, the battery, or the haptics. Plus, they are constantly working on fixing the issues. And, a lot of updates have come forth to improve the cameras too. So I am happy about the effort the company is putting in to make this a worthy device.  Especially for gamers, you will be able to get the absolute best bang for the buck FPS here! Even photography enthusiasts will have a good time with the phone. But remember — it's not flagship-level good though!  I only wish Realme had done three things well — No. 1 given at least 5 years of updates commitment. And — of course — a higher res Ultra-wide camera and 4K recording option from its front camera. It wouldn't have hurt Realme’s pocket that much. Both IQOO 13 and OnePlus 13 do have those features btw!

Realme GT 7 Pro: Pros and Cons

Pros

• Peak performance
• Massive battery
• Good UI
• Mostly good cameras

Cons

• Limited software promises
• Subpar ultrawide shooter
• Lack of 4K recording on the front