The Realme 6 Pro (available on Amazon, Lazada and Shopee) brings one of the latest features in flagship smartphones - high refresh rate displays - to a mainstream price point.
This $499 smartphone comes with a 90Hz display that runs as smoothly as the one on last year's Google Pixel 4.
But unlike the Pixel 4, which has a vibrant Oled screen, the Realme 6 Pro only has a standard 1,080p LCD screen. This display is sufficiently bright that the contents of the screen are legible outdoors in the sun.
Netflix users will be disappointed that the Realme 6 Pro lacks the L1 Widevine DRM (digital rights management) certification for Full-HD videos, which means they can only watch videos in standard definition (480p).
Except for a slightly thicker bottom bezel, the bezels around the Realme 6 Pro are relatively narrow. At the top left of the screen is a cutout for the phone's dual front selfie camera unit, which includes a secondary ultra-wide camera that makes it easier to capture selfies with a large group.
The Realme 6 Pro has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor. A headphone jack is located at the bottom, next to the USB-C charging port and the single, downward-firing speaker.
Its glass back is adorned with a lightning design that changes according to the angle at which light hits the glass. I personally find it tacky, but some folks may like it.
Sticking out slightly at the back is the phone's quad-camera system. Photos taken in good light conditions turned out decent with good detail and acceptable noise, but looked a tad overexposed.
In near pitch-black conditions, the camera app's ultra dark mode, which takes several seconds to take a photo, kicks in automatically. To my surprise, a picture of a fern taken in extremely low light came out looking lush and green.
The photo, though, did not pass muster upon close examination. It looked smeared with plenty of noise.
The Realme 6 Pro's user interface is close to stock Android. For instance, the default keyboard is Google's Gboard. The vibration from the phone's haptic feedback is a bit unruly and could be toned down slightly.
Realme did not overload the phone with third-party apps, but it has added system features such as the ability to run two instances of the same app and a dedicated gaming mode.
With its mid-tier Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G chip, the Realme 6 Pro feels snappy. Mobile games like Call of Duty runs smoothly at High setting.
However, I was disappointed by the Realme's 9.5hr battery life in The Straits Times video-loop battery test. This is about three hours shorter than the mid-range Realme XT smartphone that I tested last November.
FOR
Smooth 90Hz display
Clean and responsive user interface
Snappy performance
AGAINST
No HD support in Netflix
Haptic feedback a bit too strong
Battery life could be longer
SPECS
Price: $499
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G (Dual-core 2.3GHz, six-core 1.8GHz)
Main display: 6.6-inch IPS LCD, 2,400 x 1,080 pixels, 399 ppi pixel density
Operating system: realme UI (Android 10)
Memory: 128GB (microSD expandable up to 256GB), 8GB RAM
Rear cameras: 64MP (f/1.8), 8MP ultra-wide (f/2.3, 119-degree), 12MP telephoto (f/2.5), 2MP macro (f/2.4)
Front cameras: 16MP (f/2.0), 8MP ultra-wide (f/2.2, 105-degree)
Battery: 4,300mAh
RATING
Features: 4.5/5
Design: 4/5
Performance: 4.5/5
Value for money: 4.5/5
Battery life: 3.5/5
Overall: 4/5
