Realme is on a launch spree since this year began. Starting with the excellent and well-received realme 12 Pro+, the company shifted its focus to the sub-INR 20K segment, launching great value phones (like the realme P1 and Narzo 70 series) alongside some not-so-great options (realme 12 5G, C65 5G).
However, one of their biggest highlights this year has been the much-awaited return of the company’s premium GT series to India, after a long hiatus of two years, and it is back with a BANG!
The realme GT 6T has just been announced in India, and this is all you need to know about it.
Realme GT 6T: An ambitious budget flagship
The realme GT 6T is nothing but the global version of the GT Neo6 SE which debuted in China last month, save for a few minor tweaks.
However, the specifications (detailed as follows) really make me question if the company is making any real profit on this phone.
A near-flagship display
The realme GT 6T has a 6.78-inch curved OLED display with a 1.5K resolution (2780*1264p). Based on online information, it seems that it is a display panel supplied by BOE, with Wet Touch Protection so that the display can be used even with rain and splashes.
It carries support for LTPO technology, which allows granular variable refresh rate switching from 1-120 Hz, a feature previously seen only in the displays of more premium phones.
It also supports 2160 Hz PWM dimming to reduce eye-strain, with 2500 Hz instantaneous touch sampling rate, and crazy brightness levels: 6000 nits peak HDR brightness and 1600 nits in High Brightness Mode.
It also has HDR certification but sadly Netflix HDR is not enabled at launch. We hope the company fixes this issue soon.
A flagship-grade chipset
The phone marks the Indian debut of the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 chipset. It is fabricated on TSMC’s 4 nm process and comes with performance that is very close to the Snapdragon 8 Gen2 from last year.
The phone has four RAM/storage options: 8 GB RAM/128 GB UFS 3.1 storage, 8 GB RAM/256 GB UFS 4.0 storage, 12 GB RAM/256 GB UFS 4.0 storage and 12 GB RAM/512 GB UFS 4.0 storage. It has a segment-largest 10014 square mm VC cooling system.
However, don’t be fooled by realme’s marketing claiming it to be the same cores as 8 Gen3: the 7+ Gen3 cuts corners in many areas compared to even the 8 Gen2 (weaker ISP, weaker GPU, slower modem, lower amount of L3 cache).
So while the chipset is nowhere close to the 8 Gen 3 in reality, the GT 6T still has the best raw performance and the best gaming performance under INR 30K.
Huge battery, superfast charging
The GT 6T is powered by a massive 5500 mAh battery, with fast wired charging speeds of as much as 120W, via the company’s proprietary SUPERVOOC Protocol.
However, there is no wireless charging support, but this phone indeed has the biggest battery with the fastest charging support under INR 30K.
Sorted audio quality
The phone has Super Linear Dual Stereo Speakers, with support for Dolby Atmos and the proprietary O-Reality algorithm.
Audiophiles will be happy to know that it also has Hi-Res Audio Certification.
Software
The realme GT 6T runs realme UI 5.0 based on Android 14 out-of-the-box, with a promise of 3 major OS updates and 4 years of security patches.
It is the full-fledged version of realme UI without any missing features, and comes with a new animation engine and a control panel redesign right out of the box.
However, it still has a few bloatware apps (albeit less than budget phones), and Glance for realme, Global Search recommendations are still present and accounted for. The silver lining is that they can all be easily disabled.
Solid front protection, compromised build
One of the areas where realme has clearly cut costs is the build quality. While the company did well to incorporate Gorilla Glass Victus 2 for the display, the rear panel is still made entirely of plastic.
Yes, the side frame and the back panel are all-plastic, and what’s worse is that the rear has a GLOSSY PLASTIC FINISH.
Some reviews have already shown the fragility of realme GT 6T’s back panel: it accumulates dirt too quickly, and trying to clean it up with a microfiber cloth actually scratches up the back even more. This is a major bummer and hence a good case is a must for this phone.
The IP65 rating is a good bonus for the price though.
A very stale design
Realme definitely saved a lot of R&D money by reusing older designs, since the GT 6T has a camera layout which is very similar to older realme phones with that tri-lens camera island design.
Furthermore, there are just two colors: Fluid Silver and Razor Green, which does help simplify the lineup.
And a small bonus point for still keeping a stripe in the design (the horizontal dark stripe around the camera module), since this is a characteristic of their GT phones’ design language ever since the OG realme GT back in 2021.
But keeping that aside, it is pretty clear that the GT 6T’s basic design looks straight out of a budget phone.
The Cameras
This part is interesting, because while the rear camera setup is weaker than other phones in the segment, the selfie camera isn’t.
The main rear sensor is the Sony LYT-600, a 1/1.95-inch sized sensor with a f/1.8 aperture and four-axis OIS. It can shoot videos at upto 4K 60 fps.This is a good camera sensor in isolation, and it will definitely be helped by realme’s camera processing.
This sensor is joined by an 8 MP ultrawide lens, which has a f/2.2 aperture with a 112° field-of-view.
The surprising bit is the front camera, which has a 32 MP Sony IMX615 sensor, mated to a f/2.45 aperture lens and it can even do 4K 30 fps selfie video recording: a feature which is virtually unheard of in this price segment.
Connectivity & Haptics
The phone has an X-Axis Linear Motor with support for OPPO’s O-Haptics algorithm, so expect good haptics for the price. It also has an IP65 rating, support for 9 5G bands and doesn’t skimp on NFC (unlike the realme 12 Pro+).
It supports Bluetooth v5.4 and WiFi 6 as well, and there is an in-display fingerprint scanner with support for heart rate measurement.
Pricing
The realme GT 6T is priced as follows in India:
- 8 GB RAM/128 GB storage: INR 30,999
- 8 GB RAM/256 GB storage: INR 32,999
- 12 GB RAM/256 GB storage: INR 35,999
- 12 GB RAM/512 GB storage: INR 39,999
There are various offers, including a INR 2K exchange bonus (for people who have an old phone to exchange) and a INR 4K discount on ICICI, SBI and HDFC Bank credit cards. The phone will go on sale starting 29th May 2024 on Amazon, realme.com and select offline stores.
Furthermore, realme is bundling the newly-launched Buds Air 6 for a discounted price of INR 2,499 if purchased alongside the Realme GT 6T on the company’s own online store.
In my opinion, this is great pricing (especially with the introductory discounts), and takes the GT series back to what it was originally supposed to be: phones with the highest performance metrics, at the lowest prices, with as little compromises as possible elsewhere.
New Audio launches
Alongside the realme GT 6T, the company also announced the Buds Air 6 and Buds Wireless 3 Neo for the Indian market.
realme Buds Air 6
These continue realme’s legacy for great quality budget TWS earbuds, acting as a successor to the Buds Air 5 from last year.
It has the following features:
- 12.4 mm “Deep Bass” driver for bassy sound signature
- Smart Active Noise Cancellation (rated to 50 decibels) with Transparency Mode available
- 55 ms Super Low Latency Mode for gaming
- Support for SBC, AAC and LHDC v5.0 codecs (Hi-Res Audio Wireless certified)
- Realme Link App support with Mindflow mode
- 6 microphones for passive noise cancellation on calls
- Dynamic Bass Boost Mode, alongside a custom EQ for tweaking sound profiles
- Supports Google Fast Pair and Bluetooth v5.3, with dual-device connectivity
- IP55 rating for the earbuds
- Rated battery life of 40 hours (with ANC off) using both charging case + earbuds, and goes down to 10 hours (with ANC on) for only the earbuds
- 120 mins charging time for the charging case + earbuds and 50 mins charging time for the earbuds inside the charging case.
They come in two colors: Forest Green and Flame Silver, and are priced at INR 3,299 in India. A special introductory discount brings the price down to INR 2,999 for the first sale, which will start on 27th May 2024 at 12 noon.
They will be available on Amazon and realme.com, alongside some offline stores.
realme Buds Wireless 3 Neo
While many other brands are moving away from launching neckbands, it is great to see realme keeping this segment alive. The company launched the realme Buds Wireless 3 last year, and has now introduced a cheaper Neo version in the market.
The new Buds Wireless 3 Neo has the following features:
- 13.4 mm Dynamic Bass Driver with custom EQ support
- Supports realme Link App with custom EQ
- IP55 rating for dust and splash resistance
- 10 mins of charge gives 7 hours of playback, has a total rated playback time of upto 32 hours on a single full charge
- Supports Google Fast Pair, Bluetooth v5.4 and Dual-device connectivity
- Charging time: 120 mins from 0-100%
- 45 ms Ultra Low Latency Mode for gaming
- Instant Magnetic Connection to Play and Pause music
- Full set of buttons: Volume up, volume down and pause/play
- AI Environmental Noise Cancellation for calls
It is available in three colors: Pure Black, Aqua Blue and Forest Green, priced at INR 1,299 in India.
The sale is already live on Flipkart, Amazon, realme.com and offline stores.
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