Realme regained the charging speed crown last week with the launch of the first phone to run 240W. Last year the company briefly held the title with the arrival of his GT Neo3 with its 150W charging system, but the progress achieved in a year means 150W is the slower option.
The Realme GT Neo 5 240W has a 4,600mAh battery, which is 100mAh larger than last year’s GT Neo3 150W. As for his 150W version of the GT Neo 5, it’s back to his full 5,000mAh capacity that the 80W GT Neo3 had.
That’s an amazing progress in a year, and while it’s true that phones lose battery capacity on the fastest charges, the losses have dwindled over time. Also, if you’re happy with “just” 150W, the losses are completely gone. I should also mention that the 240W model is fully charged in just under 10 minutes.
Realme GT Neo 5
Realme isn’t quite ready to move to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 just yet, but the 8+ Gen 1 would be a fine choice, especially considering the mid-range pricing. ($370/€345/₹30,250) while the 240W model starts at CNY 3,200 ($470/€440/₹38,750) for 16/256GB units.
You might think these are pretty low priced for an 8th generation or higher 1st generation phone, and they are. Check here. The fully loaded 16GB/1TB 240W model is 3,500 RMB ($515/€480/Rs 42,500), only slightly higher than the base 16/256GB phone. How much is Samsung charging for a phone with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage? Right.
At a price like this, it’s hard to be upset about the lack of a microSD slot (although I love the RGB lighting on the back, but I’d like to trade it in for a 3.5mm jack if possible.
Of course, these are the prices in China, and we don’t know the global prices yet. Still, the two Realme GT Neo 5 versions have the potential to shake up the premium market.
Well, let’s see what the competition has to offer. Redmi Note 12 Discovery starts at CNY 2,400 and features a 210W charging system. It boasts a 200MP main camera, but it’s not widely available (only in China, really) and uses the weaker Dimensity 1080 chipset.
The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ retains the Dimensity 1080 chipset and 200MP camera, but drops the charging back to 120W. The price is 2,200 yuan in China and 30,000 rupees in India. The Discovery’s battery is fairly small at 4,300mAh and can be charged to 100% in nine minutes. The Pro+ has a 5,000mAh battery that fully charges in 19 minutes.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Discovery • Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro+
Last year’s iQOO 10 Pro has a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and a 4,700mAh battery with a 200W charge (100% in 10 minutes). One of these (8/256GB) can be purchased in China for RMB 4,400.
Attention has shifted to iQOO 11 and 11 Pro. Both switched to Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. The Pro model carries a 4,700mAh battery with 200W charging like its predecessor and runs CNY 5,500 for a 12/256GB phone. The vanilla model will stick to 5,000mAh/120W and will cost CNY. 4,100 for an 8/256GB unit. iQOO 11 is available in India for 8/256 GB phones for Rs 60,000. The two Pros also have 50W wireless charging, which the Realme phones lack.
vivo iQOO 10 Pro • vivo iQOO 11 Pro • vivo iQOO 11
We also have the Realme GT3 with 240W fast charging. GT3’s global launch is scheduled for his February 28th. Realme talks about how the GT3 differs from his GT Neo5. The two phones certainly look alike.
Realme GT Neo 5 (left) • Realme GT3 (right)
So what about the Realme GT Neo 5 with 150W charging and the Realme GT Neo 5 with 240W charging? Or none of the above? Vote below or on this page.
