The Realme GT Neo 3T offers strong performance, long battery life and a great display at a fair price. The TechStage test reveals more about the smartphone.
The Realme GT Neo 3T is a slimmed down version of the new Realme GT Neo 3 (test report) . With a price starting at 409 euros, it is significantly cheaper and almost identical to the previous generation Realme GT Neo 2 (test report) in many technical details . So it uses about the same processor and image sensor.
As an upstart Asian, Realme has made a name for itself over the past two years with great value smartphones. In addition to the strong performance, the devices stand out especially in terms of design. Our test shows how big the differences to the third generation of the GT Neo are and where it differs from its predecessor.
Realme orientates itself with the GT Neo 3T similar to the GT Neo 3 on racing. In the white and yellow versions of the station wagon, for example, the look has checkered elements that are based on a checkered flag. In addition to a simple version in anthracite, there is also a special edition in bright orange, which is based on the Dragon Ball Z anime series. All models leave a very chic impression.
The Realme GT Neo 3T feels good in the hand, which is due to the rather thin case and the still acceptable weight of almost 195 g for the size. To protect against damage caused by falls, Realme includes a transparent protective cover, which we expressly recommend using. With a size of 163 mm x 76 mm x 8.7 mm, it is definitely one of the large smartphones, one-handed operation is only to be thought of with bear paws. This makes it about the same size as the Realme GT Neo 3 (test report) and Realme GT Neo 2 (test report) . Those who prefer more compact models will find plenty of alternatives in our top 10 list of mini cell phones .
Visually, apart from the racing look, it is very similar to the second generation of the GT Neo, which is particularly evident in the look of the camera on the back. This offers two large lenses and a small lens. These are arranged in such a way that they can also be understood as a surprised emoji – now a distinguishing feature of Realme. There is a small engraving between the two lenses, which is modeled on a racing flag. The GT Neo 3, on the other hand, uses one large and two small lenses. The front camera sits in a punch-hole notch on the left side of the screen – also like the GT Neo 2.
The back and the housing frame are made of plastic and not of glass as in the more expensive GT Neo 3. This makes for a less high-quality feel, which clearly identifies the GT Neo 3T as a cheaper mid-range cell phone. The workmanship is still impeccable and does not have any gaps or angular elements on the surface. Only the protective film on the display glass is a bit rough on the edge. This catches scratches quite quickly, so that over time it is better to attach a new protective film or bulletproof glass. The volume buttons on the left and the power button on the right offer a solid pressure point. Unfortunately, the GT Neo 3T does not have an IP certification for protection against water or dust.
screen
The screen largely corresponds to the display from the GT Neo 2. It offers a resolution of 2400 × 1080 pixels with a diagonal of 6.62 inches. This ensures a more than adequate pixel density of 397 ppi (pixels per inch). The refresh rate is 120 Hertz, which ensures a pleasantly smooth picture when scrolling or playing games.
The OLED technology ensures strong colors and strong contrasts. The screen of the GT Neo 2 already convinced us with its great image quality and successful viewing angle stability from all perspectives, which is no different with the GT Neo 3T. The Realme GT Neo 3 (test report) offers a slightly larger diagonal of 6.7 inches for comparison.
The maximum brightness in manual mode is almost 500 cd/m², with active automatic brightness adjustment, up to over 810 cd/m² are possible in the blazing sun. This means that the display is still sufficiently easy to read outdoors in bright weather. However, if the sun shines directly on the screen, strong reflections spoil the visual enjoyment. But this is the case with almost all smartphones.
camera
The camera uses the IMX 682 image sensor from Sony, which Realme already uses for the GT Neo 2 (test report) and GT Master Edition (test report) models. The main camera is a lens with an F/1.79 aperture and 64 megapixels. There is also an ultra wide-angle lens with f/2.25 and 8 megapixels and a macro lens with a rather meager 2 megapixels. There is no optical image stabilizer, this can only be found in the 50 megapixel snaps from the Realme GT Neo 3 (test report) or Realme GT 2 Pro (test report) .
The main lens delivers good pictures in favorable light conditions. These are sufficiently sharp, offer lively colors as well as pronounced contrasts and a good dynamic range. The image details are neat. However, the lens tends to overshine bright surfaces when there is strong light. The lens combines four pixels into one via pixel binning, which means that the photos correspond to around 16 megapixels. There is also the option of calling up the full 64 megapixels for individual shots for more detail. However, this leads to very lush image files.
Depth of field in portrait mode works flawlessly. Night mode effectively brightens up shots taken in the dark, but then causes a lot of image noise. The zoom is purely digital, so it only delivers decent results up to a double magnification.
With the ultra wide-angle lens with 8 megapixels, the image details decrease significantly. Fortunately, the coloring hardly deviates from the main lens. Distortions at the edge of the picture are also pleasantly limited. There is no hybrid zoom between the ultra wide-angle and main camera.
The macro lens itself is a typical close-up alibi lens. The image details are rather modest, and it’s also not that easy to find the optimal distance for the image to focus automatically. The microscope lens on the Realme GT Neo 2 (test report) is much more exciting .
Video recordings are possible in Full HD or 4K, with 30 or 60 fps (frames per second) available. Even without OIS, the video clips hardly appear blurred thanks to electronic image stabilization (EIS).
The pictures taken by the 16-megapixel selfie camera are also good, but appear a bit less colorful overall and are paler. The bokeh effect in portrait mode does a solid job. And the video clips with the front camera look a bit fainter than with the main camera. A maximum of Full HD at 30 fps is possible here.
If you look at the equipment, almost everything remains the same as with the Realme GT Neo 2 (test report) . The Snapdragon 870 is used as the processor. Although this came onto the market in December 2019, in our opinion it is still an excellent choice. The processor offers very strong performance, but does not get quite as hot as a Snapdragon 888 or Snapdragon Gen 1 and also protects the battery.
The Realme GT Neo 3T always runs quickly and smoothly in everyday use, which is illustrated by PCmark’s “Work 3.0” benchmark. 13600 points is a top value. The graphics performance is not bad either and offers a proud 4300 points in the “Wild Life” benchmark from 3Dmark. This means that even games with detailed graphics still run smoothly on the mobile phone. The more expensive Realme GT Neo 3 (test report) is only slightly faster. The main memory is a generous 8 GB of RAM and the fast internal UFS 3.1 storage offers a capacity of 128 or 256 GB. The device does not support expansion using a microSD card.
Realme GT Neo 3T – photo gallery
As far as wireless connectivity is concerned, the GT Neo 3T offers everything you need: Wi-Fi 6, 5G, NFC and Bluetooth 5.2 with the latest AptX codecs. A small drawback: The USB-C connection only works with the slower USB 2.0 transmission standard – this is not unusual in this price range and only a few other manufacturers are better. The voice quality when making calls is clear and understandable. The loudspeakers also deliver a successful stereo sound, which is also suitable for music playback in an emergency. However, there is no jack plug. The fingerprint sensor is at the bottom of the display and works reliably.
The operating system is Android 12. Realme uses its own Realme UI 3 user interface here. This is strongly based on the original layout of Android with an app drawer, but also offers many options for customization. For example, you can activate the display by double-tapping. There is some bloatware in the form of casual games or tools that can be completely uninstalled. However, the security patch is no longer up to date and dates from May. Consequently, monthly updates are not to be expected. The manufacturer promises a total of two major Android updates and security patches for three years.
battery pack
The battery capacity is very generous at 5000 mAh. In conjunction with the processor, this ensures excellent battery life. In simulated operation in the PCmark battery test, we managed a proud 14.5 hours at a brightness of 200 cd/m² – like the predecessor. It even surpasses the expensive GT Neo 3.
The power supply is also strong, which has increased compared to the GT Neo 2 and charges with 80 watts. The mobile phone is charged in just over half an hour. However, the smartphone does not support wireless charging.
Price
The RRP for the Realme GT Neo 3T with 8/128 GB is 429 euros. The version with 256 GB costs 469 euros. That’s more expensive than when the previous model was launched. Some online retailers are already offering the 128 GB version from 409 euros.
Realme GT Neo 3T Image: TechStage.de
