Leap Forward Innovation. That has been the promise of every realme number series release.
From the first-ever Quad Camera setup of the realme 5, to the revolutionizing 65W fast charging with the realme 7 Pro and the Sony IMX766 sensor backed of the realme 9 Pro+, the brand has committed itself to bringing at least one flagship aspect to its flagship series.
This time around, realme is focusing what users look for—or more precisely, looks at every time they use their phones—the display. The realme 10 Pro introduces 120Hz Large Flagship Tier Displays promising to #DisplayNewVision in the midrange arena.
I’ve always been excited whenever a number “10” of a smartphone series is released as its proven to be an important point for brands, does the realme 10 Pro 5G bring enough upgrades to become memorable as well?
And does it offer more than a good-looking display?
Here is our unboxing and first impressions of the realme 10 Pro 5G.
But first the specs:
realme 10 Pro key specs
- Dimensions: 163.7 x 74.2 x 8.1 mm Weight: 190 g
- Display: 6.72-inch LCD screen w/ 120Hz refresh rate, 240Hz touch sampling rate, FHD+ 2400 x 1080 resolution at 392 ppi
- CPU: 2.2GHz 6nm Snapdragon 695 octa-core processor with Adreno 619 GPU
- RAM: 8GB LPDDR4X RAM
- ROM: 128GB UFS 2.2
- Back Camera: 108MP f/1.75 ProLight Camera + 2MP f/2.4 Portrait Camera with LED flash
- Selfie Camera: 16MP f/2.45
- Battery: 5,000mAh with 33W SUPERVOOC
- OS: Android 13 / reaIme UI 4.0
- Connectivity: WiFi 6, 5G SA/NSA, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.2, OTG, GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, dual SIM
- Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic
- Others: Side-mounted fingerprint sensor, stereo speakers, Hi-Res Audio, USB-C,
NOTE: Our realme 10 Pro 5G review unit has an 8GB+128GB configuration, but the retail variant will come with an 8GB+256GB storage instead.
What’s in the box?
The realme 10 Pro 5G comes in the trademark yellow box. The front of the box displays the branding for the realme 10 Pro 5G, while the back portion of the box features the important details such as the model number, IMEI number, serial number, color, and the four key features of the realme 10 Pro 5G.
Lift up the top cover to reveal the “Welcome to the realme family” message and compartment which contains the plastic case, sim tray ejector pin and paper documents. You’ll find the realme 10 Pro 5G wrapped in plastic with the 33W SUPERVOOC Charging Adapter and Type-A to Type-C USB Cable located in separate partitions below.
Worth noting is that the plastic case that came with our Black Matter color variant is clear, compared to the darker frosted case that was included in our standard Clash White realme 10.
I’m not sure how they decide this, but lighter color variants goes better with the clear cases while the ones with a darker finish should have a “smoky”frosted TPU case instead just to further accent the colors. Is it just me that’s bothered by this? Let me know in the comments what you think about this.
DESIGN:
realme is known for flashy back designs, and the realme 10 Pro 5G again flaunts a unique looking finish. It comes in three colors: Hyperspace and Nebula for those who want a phone that is blindingly shiny and Black Matter, for a more subdued elegance.
You know I’m fascinated by shiny things so Hyperspace would probably be my color of choice with its “Prism Accelation Beams” reflecting a light show when you rotate it around. The Nebula Blue gives me more of a “unicorn” vibe while the black is for those who like something that’s a bit calmer to look at. All three have feature what realme calls nebula particles, which looks like a sandblasted finish that negates fingerprints and smudges at least for the Black Matter and Nebula Blue colorways.
Just like the standard realme 10, this Pro 5G variant has a flat design with angled edges. This sharp flat edged design is a carryover from the 2022 trend and it looks like it’s going to continue at least for the first part of the year.
In terms of ergonomics the realme 10 Pro 5G measures 163.7 x 74.2 x 8.1 mm and weighs 190grams. Its got a bit of heft to it and noticeably heavier than the standard realme 10. But the slimmer body still makes it quite comfortable to hold and operate.
Exploring the ports and buttons you’ll find the hybrid SIM tray on the left. This hybrid SIM tray can accommodate either a second SIM card or a microSD card for expandable storage.
The volume rocker and side-mounted fingerprint sensor embedded on the power button is on the right.
The top is clean except for the secondary noise-canceling microphone, while at the bottom is busy with the USB Type-C charging port, loud speaker, microphone, and a 3.5mm audio jack. My only observation is that the plastic case that came with the phone is quite thick and you have to press a bit harder so that it can scan your fingerprint.
On the front, you have a 6.7-inch screen with the selfie camera hole punch located in the middle and the earpiece which doubles as a speaker. We’ll talk more about the screen in a bit. The phone has double-reinforced glass for added durability plus a preinstalled screen protector.
Found at the back are two protruding camera modules that house a dual-camera set-up along with a single LED flash. Again more details on the camera below.
DISPLAY:
The realme 10 Pro is all about its gorgeous big display that makes it standout from other phones. With a screen to body ratio of 93.76%, realme is calling it the most expansive display in a smartphone with side bezels as thin as 1mm on the left and right sides and 1.15mm on the top.
It does have a sizeable 4.2mm chin though, which is the toughest part to hide for our Find The Pros challenge. You probably saw our social media postings about hiding the realme 10 Pro 5G amongst everyday things and and unless you cover it the chin was the hardest part to conceal.
Check out our posts here:
Back to the display, the realme 10 Pro 5G has a FHD+ (1080×2400) IPS display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 680-nit peak brightness. When you have bad eyesight like me, you’ll definitely appreciate just how bright the screen can be. Even when I’m using it outdoors, everything t remains quite readable.
I’ve been watching Simon Miller’s Ups and Downs videos on YouTube on this phone and that almost borderless screen is really impressive. There’s also a good pair of stereo speakers that complements the display and the even Ultra Volume (which maxs out at 200%) sounds better this time.
PERFORMANCE AND CAMERA
Keeping things running smoothly is the trusty Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 SoC. The chipset is built under 4-namometer process with up to 2.2GHz clock speed. The 10 Pro 5G has 8GB of RAM which can further be boosted via VRAM expansion and up to 256GB of storage.
Out of the box you get the latest version of realme UI – version 4.0 – on top of Android 13.
realme has proven itself when it comes to smartphone photography and the realme 10 Pro 5G is highlighting its 108MP ProLight Imaging Technology.
Now, I must admit I was a bit surprised when I saw only two cameras instead of the usual three or four, but I guess brands are starting to realize that more isn’t actually merrier when it comes to camera lenses (ehem macro ehem.)
The realme 10 Pro 5G has a whopping 108MP, f/1.8 sensor for its main camera and pairs it with a 2MP f/2.4 sensor for depth sensing to give you that nice bokeh effect on your shots.
Check out our initial photo samples here:
On the front, there’s a 16MP, f/2.5 wide camera takes care of selfie duties, and based on our initial testing, the selfie camera is quite good at taking clear selfies with just the right beauty enhancements.
You could still go crazy with all sorts of beauty settings though if that is your thing.
Lastly, the realme 10 Pro 5G has a 5000 mAh battery with 33-watt fast wired charging. realme says that it could charge your phone up to 50% in just 29 minutes. Again we have no complaints when it comes to realme phones battery life.
FIRST THOUGHTS
So far, I’ve been really having a good time using the realme 10 Pro 5G, it’s a beautiful phone to look at and the display really makes it stand out when placed side by side with other phones. The cameras are also quite capable of shooting nice photos. Using it for both work and entertainment, overall performance was smooth with no apps suddenly closing.
Now all we need to know is the price, but knowing realme, I’m confident that they’d price it very competitively to complete this osTENtatious offering.
