Realme X2 Pro hands-on:is this the real flagship killer of 2019?

With the X2 Pro, Realme brings a high-end smartphone to Europe. Looking at the price of the device you wouldn't know but the spec sheet is impressive. We have tried the new Realme X2 Pro and here are our first impressions of the new Chinese smartphone designed for the people.

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Realme X2 Pro release date and price

The Realme X2 Pro was announced in Madrid. This is the first major event that the brand has held in Europe. A clear signal about the importance of this market. The Realme X2 Pro is available starting at €399 in Italy, Spain, France and the United Kingdom. Two colours are available: Lunar White and Neptune Blue. The 8GB/128GB costs €449 and the 12GB/256GB will set you back €499. Sales start in early November.

Inside the box that encloses the Realme X2 Pro, you will find a soft transparent cover, a Super Vooc 10V5A charger, a USB-C cable, a pin to pull out the SIM tray and an instruction manual. A protective film is already attached to the screen and although the smartphone has a 3.5mm headphone jack, earphones are not included in the package we received.

The elegance of metal and Gorilla Glass 5

The Realme X2 Pro is like most smartphones currently on the market: a body made of 3D Gorilla Glass 5 and metal without any special features. It has a beautiful design and is elegant. In its body of 161x75.7x8.7mm, it is not very light (199 grams).

Slightly curved edges on the back improve smartphone ergonomics

The glossy body easily attracts fingerprints but offers a clean design: most noticeable is the photographic compartment consisting of four vertically aligned sensors and the logo of the brand that has moved from previous models. The edges are slightly curved along the sides which improves the ergonomics of the smartphone. The cameras protrude from the body making the smartphone dance slightly when resting on a flat surface.

The phone has a 91.7% screen-to-body ratio / © AndroidPIT

There are three physical keys: a power button along the right-hand side, and a volume rocker on the left. Along the bottom edge is the USB-C port, the mini-jack for wired headphones and the speaker grille. In the upper-right corner there is the SIM card slot. Dual SIM is supported but not the use of a microSD card to expand the storage. On the front, the Realme X2 Pro offers a large display interrupted at the top only by the small dewdrop-shaped notch that houses the front camera. An excellent screen-to-body ratio of 91.7 percent is on offer.

The Realme logo has changed position / © AndroidPIT

On the design side, Realme did a good job with the new X2 Pro which reminded me a lot of the Huawei P30 Pro. Unlike the latter, however, it is more cumbersome and heavier in the hand. The Realme X2 Pro also lacks IP68 certification.

A large, bezel-less display

Realme, with the creation of the X2 Pro, has thought of users who like to use their smartphone to make the most of multimedia content , including gaming. This is evident by the large, almost borderless screen with a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED panel with a resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels resulting in 402 ppi and refresh rate of 90Hz.

90Hz refresh rate update and integrated fingerprint reader under the display

It is not the first brand to introduce this feature that focuses on fluidity. Until recently, it was only present on devices designed for real gamers such as the Asus ROG Phone, the first and second generation of the Razer Phone, the Nubia Magic 3, and the Sharp Aquos R3. OnePlus, which makes speed and fluidity a key point of its user experience, first introduced it with 7 Pro and now implemented it on OnePlus 7T and 7T Pro. In the meantime, other brands are also working on it: get ready for 2020 in which probably all the new flagships will mount a screen with a refresh rate of 90Hz.

A 6.5-inch Super AMOLED with a 2400 x 1080 pixel resolution and 90Hz refresh rate / © AndroidPIT

This is an intangible feature, difficult to evaluate in everyday use unless you switch to a device with a lower refresh rate: then you'll notice the difference. Finding this feature on Realme X2 Pro is a really nice surprise if you look at the price of the device and gamers, in particular, will appreciate it.

Another pleasant surprise is the integrated fingerprint reader under the display. Fingerprint registration is quite quick and the unlocking is precise and fast. Realme claims to be the fastest on the market with unlocking times of 0.23 seconds.

The screen offers good maximum and minimum brightness / © AndroidPIT

In the display settings, you can reduce the refresh rate to 60Hz to reduce battery consumption, adjust the color temperature, brightness, activate the filter to reduce eye fatigue, activate the night protection at a scheduled time, and resize the screen and character. Realme also offers a kind of Always-on display. It's called Clock, and when the screen is off and it's limited to displaying the date and time.

The 19.5:9 ratio screen offers good maximum and minimum brightness. The blacks are deep and the colors are bright. The white tends slightly towards gray but the Super AMOLED does a good job with any type of content. HDR10+ and DCI-P3 are also supported.

Android 9 and ColorOS 6.1

The Realme X2 Pro arrives in Europe with Android 9.0 Pie and ColorOS in version 6.1 , the same offered by Oppo devices. Despite being two independent brands, the umbilical cord remains and is visible. The security patches on the device I tested are dated September 5. Too bad the smartphone doesn't come with Android 10.

The user experience, during the short period in which I used it, was fluid. The transition from one screen to another is fast. It is a highly customized interface away from Android stock but offers some dedicated features such as a space for gaming, gestures and unlocking through facial recognition.

All the unlocking methods implemented respond quickly: between using the fingerprint reader and facial recognition, I prefer the latter, but that's just habit. On the smartphone you will find all the integrated Google services and some bloatware by default.

Android 9 and ColorOS run on Realme X2 Pro / © AndroidPIT

A top-of-the-range spec sheet

The Realme 2X Pro has a very impressive technical datasheet. The smartphone is powered by the latest Qualcomm processor, the Snapdragon 855 Plus made with a 7nm process. The Adreno 640 GPU takes care of the graphics performance. Realme provides three different memory configurations:

• 6GB LPDDR4X RAM and 64GB UFS 2.1 internal storage
• 8GB LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB UFS 3.0 internal storage
• 12GB LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB UFS 3.0 internal storage

The integrated components promise well and if you put all the pieces together, from the 90Hz display to the MIMO 4*4 antennas to improve reception and the liquid cooling system, you can see how Realme has thought of demanding users like gamers. The Realme 2X Pro also offers ultra-linear duality stereo speakers and Dolby Atmos surround support to compliment your multimedia experience. NFC support is also onboard.

We'll need to spend more time with this smartphone to understand how it performs under pressure, and we'll update this section when we publish the final review. We'll also be running benchmark tests too, of course.

Quad camera on the back

Realme X2 Pro offers four cameras:

• Samsung ISOCELL GW1 64-megapixel f/1.8 sensor that focuses on optimizing photos in low light conditions
• 8-megapixel f/2.2 wide-angle sensor with 115-degree viewing angle and super macro support (2.5 cm)
• 13-megapixel f/2.5 telephoto lens with 20x hybrid zoom
• 2-megapixel f/2.4 sensor dedicated to portrait mode

On the front there is a 16-megapixel f/2.0 sensor with AI support that works on the beauty effects and that should also help with the quality of selfies taken at night.

A quad camera on the back / © AndroidPIT

The camera offers support for Nightscape 2.0 mode, slow-motion, time-lapse, panorama, real-time filters, and a Pro mode. It will be interesting to test the camera both on the photography side but also on the video side. We'll be doing that for the full review.

4000 mAh and SuperVOOC 50W

The Realme X2 Pro integrates a 4,000mAh battery that will keep the large display alive. The Qualcomm processor plays an important role as does software optimization. We will need to test the smartphone to understand the true battery life offered, but it is important to highlight the support for fast charging SuperVOOC 50W that ensures a full charge in 35 minutes.

Early Verdict

Realme wants to be taken seriously in Europe and makes it clear by landing in Madrid with the Realme X2 Pro. This smartphone aims high and comes really well equipped in terms of technical specifications and integrated features. We'll need to test this smartphone to see if it can really deliver what it promises but our first impressions of the device are really positive.

The other devices of the brand that we have tested so far have shown how Realme is able to offer high-performance smartphones and updated design and features. If the Realme X2 Pro can do this at an affordable price, the other manufacturers, including those at the top, will be looking over their shoulders!

Realme X2 Pro

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