Despite packing high performance hardware, realme insists that its new GT 6 model isn’t a flagship smartphone. Instead, it is dubbed as a “flagship killer”, which is a moniker often given to high end devices sold at midrange-like prices. That said, this particular model is available now at a starting price of RM2,599 in Malaysia, which is certainly below the usual price range of most flagship smartphones.
So, does the realme GT 6 really live up to the bold claim?
Specifications
realme’s so-called “flagship killer” not only packs powerful internals, but also a design that could make it fit in naturally with a lot of premium smartphones. To be more specific, in front is a 6.78-inch AMOLED curved display with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection, while on its back is a glass-covered metallic rear panel with a mirror-like reflective band that runs across the phone’s triple camera setup. Surrounding the entire device is a sturdy aluminium frame.
In terms of colourways, the GT 6 is available in either Razor Green or Fluid Silver, with the latter being the version passed to me for this review. Besides that, the phone also features an under display fingerprint scanner, stereo speakers, and is rated IP65 in terms of dust and water resistance.
Under its hood is the new Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset by Qualcomm, along with up to 16GB of RAM and up to 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage. Also onboard the GT 6 is a large 5,800mAh (5,500mAh base + 300mAh power saving) battery with 120W fast charging support via USB-C, Android 14 via realme UI 5.0 with the brand’s own NEXT AI features, a 32MP selfie camera, as well as a triple camera setup helmed by a Sony LYT-808 50MP sensor, a 50MP telephoto with 2x optical zoom and an 8MP ultra-wide.
Looks & Functionality
Despite its rear camera setup looking similar to that of an iPhone’s, I actually like the realme GT 6’s design, especially how the reflective band blends in nicely with the metallic finish on its rear case. Combined with the chrome rings surrounding each camera lens, along with a curved display up front, the phone looks and feels premium. However, the band is prone to fingerprints and smudges.
It is also decently hefty, while its thickness feels no different than your average smartphone in the market. Additionally, the curved AMOLED display is definitely a highlight, thanks to its rich colour output, high resolution (2780 x 1264 pixels), smooth 120Hz refresh rate, and satisfyingly responsive 360Hz touch sampling rate. All of which are more than essential for viewing images, videos, gaming, or just simply navigating its interface.
Speaking of which, the realme UI 5.0 is pretty much the usual Android experience and doesn’t offer anything out of the ordinary. To its credit, the interface itself is smooth and easy to get around, while the default animated lock screens and wallpapers are pretty to look at. Meanwhile, the phone’s under-display optical fingerprint scanner is quite snappy and accurate.
Performance & Battery
The Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 that’s equipped on the realme GT 6, despite being marketed as a slightly watered down version of Qualcomm’s current generation flagship chip, is still a powerful processor in its own right. Benchmark scores from Geekbench 6, 3DMark, and GFXBench have been quite impressive, but it’s the phone’s performance in real-life usage is where it actually shines.
Apart from your typical day-to-day apps and multitasking, the GT 6 fares very well in gaming – and in more ways than one, I must add. The phone surprisingly runs Genshin Impact on max settings smoothly, with fast loading speeds and frame rates averaging at 55 to 60 frames per second. What’s most impressive is how it handles heat, which was barely noticeable even after extended periods of play.
On that note, you don’t have to worry about constantly checking the phone’s battery levels, as its generous 5,500mAh battery provides ample usage time and then some. After running our non-stop video loop test, the realme GT 6 managed to push over 18 hours before calling it quits, which is impressive. Real-life usage, on the other hand, saw the phone lasting close to two days without charge.
Speaking of which, the GT 6 supports 120W fast charging via USB-C. Topping up its battery from 0% after completing our video loop test took more or less an hour to reach 100% via a compatible charger. In case you’re wondering, a charging brick is included together with the phone in the packaging.
Camera
The cameras featured on the realme GT 6 are great, but the same can’t be said for the corresponding app. On several occasions, I’ve entered moments where the software struggles to autofocus properly on subjects when using the telephoto lens. But when it eventually works, the results can be pretty impressive.
The HDR capability offered by the phone’s cameras are both a blessing and a curse. The lighting, shadows and colours are balanced just nice for daytime shots, allowing for finer details to stand out even under brighter conditions. This is quite ideal when you want to capture scenery.
Similar results are somewhat applied to lowlight shots as well, which does look nice at a glance. However, upon closer inspection, I start to notice that things look very unnatural due to how much artificial sharpening and noise compensation is applied, as well as how bright everything appears due to the HDR feature’s overzealousness in reducing shadows.
Then there’s the two extra photo modes: Portrait and Street. The former does exactly what you’d expect it to do, which is adding bokeh to your portrait shots, as if taken by a lens with a low aperture count. The problem is, it just looks too artificial and unconvincing. Street Mode, on the other hand, simulates shots taken by 23mm or 47mm lenses, and offers a cool feature that allows you to zoom to subjects after tapping them on screen. While intended for street photography, the shutter speed on both the primary and telephoto are just too slow for the task, often resulting in blurry shots.
As for video, the realme GT 6 only offers 4K60p through its primary and telephoto. Much like most camera setups on phones of this calibre, daytime and brightly lit footage tend to look much nicer than those shot in lowlight. Additionally, there’s an action camera-like Ultra Steady mode that effectively reduces shakes and wobbles, but activating this will limit resolution to just 1080p at 60fps.
Meanwhile, the 32MP selfie shooter is just fine, and does exactly what it’s designed to do. Just don’t expect the same performance as the phone’s much superior rear cameras.
Sample Images:
Competition
HONOR 200 Pro
POCO F6
Conclusion
realme’s “flagship killer” is so far the more affordable Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 smartphone available for the local market, albeit just RM100 short of the HONOR 200 Pro. It packs commendable performance and cooling, above average cameras, and the largest battery capacity as well as the fastest charging speed in this particular category.
While technically not a flagship, the realme GT 6 sure does feel like one in several ways. Needless to say, if you’re looking for an alternative to premium, high-end models that’s much easier on your wallet, this smartphone is one of those worth looking into.
