realme recently launched the realme 10 Pro series in the Philippines. Today, we’re going to take a close look at the realme 10 Pro+ 5G and find out if this is the phone for you.
The handset comes in at a friendly price that starts at ₱19,999 and features a 120Hz AMOLED display, a 108MP camera, and a 5000mAh battery with 67W fast charging, wrapped in a thin design.
It all looks well and good on paper, but can it live up to expectations? Let’s find out.
realme 10 Pro+ 5G specs
| Display | 6.7-inch FHD AMOLED Display, 2412×1080, 120Hz Refresh Rate, Up to 1260Hz Instantaneous Touch Sampling Rate, Up to 800 nits, 100% DCI-P3, Double-Reinforced Glass |
| Processor | MediaTek Dimensity 920, 6nm |
| RAM/Storage | 8GB+128GB 12GB+256GB |
| Rear Camera | 108MP Prolight Camera 8MP Ultra-wide 2MP Macro |
| Front Camera | 16MP |
| Network | 5G, 4G LTE, Dual SIM |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6 Dual Band, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS |
| Others | In-display Fingerprint Scanner, USB-C, Stereo Speakers, Hi-Res Audio |
| OS | realme UI 4.0, Android 13 |
| Colors | Hyperspace Gold, Dark Matter, Nebula Blue |
| Battery | 5000mAh Battery, 67W SUPERVOOC |
Design & Display
I stand by what I said in my first impressions of the realme 10 Pro+ 5G. The smartphone is a looker with premium styling and a sleek and slim design. Some might say it looks like a Samsung or Huawei phone, but I don’t care. This one still looks fresh and attractive to my eyes.
Our review unit is in Hyperspace Gold, which is a mix of gradients with streaks of light emanating from the cameras. It certainly is unique in this department. For those who prefer a more traditional black color, it also comes in Dark Matter.
Touring around the device, both the power button and volume rocker are on the left side, which is a personal preference since it allows me to easily manipulate the buttons like when I’m watching a video in landscape.
At the bottom part, we have the dual SIM tray, the primary microphone, a USB-C port, and the main speaker. While on the top side, there’s a microphone and a secondary speaker. Yes, this phone has a stereo speaker setup, which is great. Volume can get loud, and it’s not tinny, but the bass is lacking, which isn’t a surprise in this range of phones.
The realme 10 Pro+ 5G is built around a curved 6.7-inch full HD AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The glass’ sides slope down to meet the frame, contributing to a slimmer look. The OLED panel comes with HDR10+ support, a 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, up to 1,260Hz touch sampling rate, and a peak brightness of up to 800 nits.
It also comes with eye protection technology that includes a 2,160Hz PWM dimming technology (the highest of ANY smartphone right now), TÜV Rheinland Flicker-Free, and Low Blue Light Certification for eye protection.
The display has an impressive 93.65% screen-to-body ratio, thanks to the narrow bezels that surround it. As a bonus, the chin is surprisingly narrow as well, measuring just 2.33 mm, almost the same size as the top bezel, giving it an even-looking front that rivals flagship phones. And as expected of an OLED panel, it has vibrant colors and good contrast, which makes for a great viewing and gaming experience.
According to realme, the display is protected by a 0.65 mm double-reinforced glass with improved drop resistance and better anti-crack capacity. Although drop testing the phone was discouraged, I did accidentally drop it several times on granite flooring while taking product photos. So far, I dented one corner, but other than that, it survived without any noticeable damage.
Cameras
The realme 10 Pro+ 5G is equipped with a triple camera setup at the back. The primary camera has a 108MP lens, together with an 8MP ultra-wide and a 2MP macro secondary camera. On the front, a 16MP shooter takes care of selfies and video calls.
In daylight, the image quality is great. The colors are punchy and are not over-saturated. There’s a wide dynamic range with good details. Overall, the photos are pleasant and look natural.
The phone also performs well in low light. There is some noise, but the details and colors look good. There’s Night Mode as well for dark environments. Photos will look overprocessed, but it’s fine for social media.
The ultra-wide shots are also good, but image quality suffers in low light. As for the macro camera, performance is similar to other macro cameras in the same category in that it’s average. You won’t blow anyone away with your macro shots, but at least it’s there if you need it.
Selfies are good. It’s not the best, but it’s more than enough for social media. The colors look good and the skin tones are pleasant. The dynamic range is great as well, but the sharpness is a little soft with average details.
Performance
The realme 10 Pro+ 5G is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 920 processor, the same as the realme 9 Pro+ released in early 2022. Some countries get a Dimensity 1080 variant. However, the two chips, both manufactured using the 6nm process, have only a small difference in performance. The latter has a slightly higher clock speed of 2.6GHz and supports up to 200MP main camera. The former has a clock speed of up to 2.5GHz and supports up to 108MP main camera.
Our review unit comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, which is different from what was announced in the Philippines. The local market will have 8GB+128GB and 12GB+256GB models. realme Philippines assured us that there are no differences in performance between our review units and the variants that will be available in the country.
On the connectivity side, the phone supports 5G, dual-band Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and NFC.
The realme 10 Pro+ 5G runs on Android 13-based realme UI 4.0 out of the box. The UI has a modern layout and easy-to-use layout, card-style Control Center, improved icon design, and several baked-in features such as RAM expansion and heart rate measurement (hidden in the realme Lab segment under Settings), and display enhancements like Video Color Boost and Video HDR Boost.
Also, I am happy to report that the number of third-party apps was kept to a minimum, contributing to a more pleasant unboxing and start-up experience.
As a daily driver, the realme 10 Pro+ 5G is a snappy device. Basic navigation is smooth with no noticeable issues. I especially enjoyed watching content, thanks to the OLED display and stereo speakers. The phone does have L1 Widevine certification, which means it’s capable of full HD and higher resolution on streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, and Prime Video. But for some reason, HDR isn’t available on Netflix, despite the HDR+ capable display.
In gaming, Genshin Impact runs fine on high graphics settings, but better on medium. While Call of Duty Mobile can go on medium to high graphics without issue. However, it seems the OS is not optimized for some games to run at the full 120Hz refresh rate. On Genshin Impact and Alto’s Odyssey, for instance, only goes up to 60Hz. Also, long gaming sessions can make the phone warm.
Here are some benchmark scores.
- AnTuTu: 508,438
CPU: 138,723
GPU: 138,287
MEM: 100,553
UX: 130,875 - Geekbench 5: 815 (Single-core); 2,348 (Multi-core)
- 3DMark Wildlife: 2,299
As for the battery life, the phone is equipped with a 5000mAh battery, despite the very slim design. Battery life is actually very good. I was able to get a full day’s use with medium to heavy usage, with a bit more left for the night.
Charging via the 67W SUPERVOOC charger is very impressive. An 18-minute charge yielded 50 percent. While a full 100 percent charge took around 46 minutes.
Verdict
The realme 10 Pro+ 5G is a great option for its starting price of ₱19,999. Despite having the same processor, it’s a definite upgrade over its predecessor, the realme 9 Pro+. Three things make it stand out over other phones in the same category: a great 120Hz AMOLED display, a decent 108MP primary camera, and the long-lasting 5000mAh battery with 67W fast charging. And that’s on top of the premium-looking design.
It does have its drawbacks, such as the older processor, but the performance is more than enough for daily use and the occasional gaming session. Moreover, I think the three positives mentioned above warrant heavy consideration, more so if you consider the price.
Price and Availability
The realme 10 Pro+ 5G is priced at ₱19,999 for the 8GB+128GB variant, and ₱24,999 for the 12GB+256GB variant.
Both variants are available for pre-order starting February 27 to March 10, 2023. Those who pre-order can claim the device from March 11 to 12, 2023.
The 12GB+256GB variant is also available via Home Credit, payable for up to 18 months at 0% interest.
