Last July, realme launched in the country, through the official importer Bug, its flagship smartphone - realme GT.
It recently launched the realme GT Master Edition to celebrate the company's 100 million smartphones sold worldwide.
Although, according to its name - GT Master Edition, one might think that this is a more upgraded version than the previous model - realme GT, but in practice, once you see the differences in prices: NIS 2,100 for GT at launch and NIS 1,600 for Master Edition, understand that the company Made the hardware lower in the new model, in order to sell it at a lower price.
Design: GT Master Edition - shiny silver back
The GT Master Edition sold in a number of designs, when I got the version that comes with a shiny silver back, which provides pink shades in different angles of light.
This is a slightly cheaper look, but the company also offers a version that should be more interesting with vegan skin and a look reminiscent of a suitcase.
This version might be a little more impressive.
In any case, the device weighs a reasonable 180 grams, but it does not include even minimal protection against water splashes, something we can already find today in this price category, for example, in Shiomi's Poco X3 GT.
realme GT Master Edition, Photo: Tzachi Hoffman
Screen: GT Master Edition - screen in Super AMOLED technology
Both models come with a 6.43-inch Super AMOLED screen with a resolution of 1080 by 2400 pixels (Full HD Plus) and a very fast image refresh rate of 120 Hz.
As with the regular model, this is a good screen, but it is not excellent and does not have the depth and rich shades that some other devices offer.
On the other hand, the high image refresh rate creates smooth motion.
Interface: GT Master Edition - not a smooth enough experience
realme here offers Android 11 on which the realme UI 2.0 interface is mounted.
This is all in a friendly interface, which offers, among other things, a screenshot with 3 fingers sliding and the news page of Google on the right screen.
What bothered me about the interface was that even though I chose an app drawer, the system still spilled all the apps on both the home page and the drawer and created a mess.
There is call recording here, but no WiFi calling, at least not on the Partner network I tested the smartphone on.
Also, the device did not work for me with my Android Auto system.
Hardware: GT Master Edition - CPU low
One of the places that realme has compromised in the current model compared to the realme GT is in the processor, instead of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 888 processor, you get the slightly lower processor here - 778G.
Both support browsing in 5th generation networks. On the other hand, in the new model we get a storage capacity of 256 GB instead of 128 GB.
It is worth considering that while the GT model is a UFS 3.1 fast storage, in the new model, I did not find a mention of it, which may indicate that it is a less fast storage, but I do not know.
Both devices come with 8GB of working memory, but even the new model does not specify what type of memory it is, while in the regular GT, the company highlighted its type - LPDDR5.
Anyway, I did not encounter any response or speed issues on both smartphones.
The fingerprint mechanism is integrated within the screen and it responds well, unlike the regular GT, here there is only a single speaker and not stereo speakers.
Camera: GT Master Edition - Satisfactory photo results
In the photography category we find an array of 3 sensors: 64 megapixels with auto-focus and f / 1.8 aperture key, 8-megapixel sensor (119 degrees) with f / 2.3 and 2-megapixel macro sensor with f / 2.4.
The shooting results were mediocre, while in daylight it is possible to produce satisfactory images, but with insufficient rich color tone, once the lighting conditions are not optimal, the quality drops significantly and the camera fails to produce something that can be satisfied enough.
In night photography, the camera manages to bring in a lot of light, but the images are smeared and lack detail.
It is worth noting that there is also no optical image stabilizer here.
Photos taken with the device, Photo: Tzachi Hoffman
The selfie camera comes with a 32 megapixel sensor with f / 2.5.
Its performance is reasonable and it is also possible to produce good portrait / bokeh images.
Battery: GT Master Edition - full day of use
The GT Master Edition comes with a battery with a capacity of 4300 mAh, which has no trouble finishing a full working day, from around seven in the morning until close to midnight and leaving 24% energy (screen time - close to three and a half hours).
In terms of fast charging, the company incorporated here a 65 watt charger (included in the kit), which managed to provide me with 64% energy in 15 minutes, which is very fast.
Price: NIS 1,600 (official bug importer)
Bottom line, the name of this model - GT Master Edition can be misleading, is less good than the original model, which now includes more compromises.
On the other hand, the price is also cheaper.
The review was published on The Gadget Reviews and in the Telegram
