Released in March 2021 and priced so as to land in our High-end ($400-$599) segment, the Realme GT 5G brings with it some very attractive features. Let’s take a look at how it performed in our comprehensive array of battery tests.
Key specifications:
- Battery capacity: 4500 mAh
- 65W charger
- 6.43-inch, 1080 x 2400, 120 Hz AMOLED display
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G (5 nm) chipset
- Tested RAM / storage combination: 12 GB + 256 GB
About DXOMARK Battery tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone battery reviews, DXOMARK engineers perform a variety of objective tests over a week-long period both indoors and outdoors. This article highlights the most important results of our testing. (See our introductory and how we test articles for more details about our smartphone Battery protocol.)
Test summary
Scoring
Sub-scores and attributes included in the calculations of the global score.
Realme GT 5G
Key performances
These key points are derived from the lab measurements during testing and do not figure into the overall score. The lab measurements, however, are used for the overall score.
Pros
- A charging beast — very fast
- Decent on the go performance for its segment
Cons
- Autonomy performances in our calibrated use cases are quite poor, especially for video playback
The Realme GT 5G brings with it some impressive specs at its price point. Despite a lackluster autonomy performance, its overall score places it at the top of the High-end segment, though it is just slightly above average in the Battery protocol database as a whole.
We compared the Realme GT 5G’s performance in several key categories with the Premium-segment ($600-799) OnePlus 9 device and with another High-end device, the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro 5G; battery capacity, charger, display type and resolution, and processor specifications for all three devices are shown in the table below.
|
Realme GT 5G | OnePlus 9 | Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro 5G |
Battery capacity (mAh) | 4500 mAh | 4500 mAh | 5000 mAh |
Charger |
65W |
65W | 33W |
Wireless |
No |
Yes |
No |
Display type |
OLED | OLED |
LCD |
Display resolution |
1080 x 2400 FHD |
1080 x 2400 FHD |
1080 x 2400 FHD |
Chipset |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 |
Autonomy (55)
How long a battery charge lasts depends not only on battery capacity, but also on other aspects of the phone’s hardware and software. The DXOMARK Battery autonomy score is composed of three performance sub-scores: (1) Stationary, (2) On the go, and (3) Calibrated use cases. Each sub-score comprises the results of a comprehensive range of tests for measuring autonomy in all kinds of real-life scenarios.
Compared to its two rivals in this review, the Realme GT 5G comes in last for autonomy, with the Oneplus and the Xiaomi scoring 56 and 62, respectively.
You can trust the Realme’s battery gauge to show you how much power your battery has left.
Battery Life (moderate)
Battery Life (moderate)
Stationary
Realme GT 5G
57
104
A robot housed in a Faraday cage performs a set of touch-based user actions during what we call our “typical usage scenario” (TUS) — making calls, video streaming, etc. — 4 hours of active use over the course of a 16-hour period, plus 8 hours of “sleep.” The robot repeats this set of actions every day until the device runs out of power.
The Realme GT 5G lasted 56 hours 10 minutes in our TUS testing, coming in behind the OnePlus 9, which lasted 57 hours 24 minutes, and behind the Xiaomi, which lasted 61 hours 13 minutes.
On the go
Realme GT 5G
69
96
Using a smartphone on the go takes a toll on autonomy because of extra “hidden” demands, such as the continuous signaling associated with cellphone network selection, for example. DXOMARK Battery experts take the phone outside and perform a precisely defined set of activities while following the same three-hour travel itinerary for each device.
The Realme did a great job here compared to its rivals (the OnePlus at 58 and the Xiaomi at 56). It bests its competitors in all the test cases, especially for calling and camera, where its autonomy is considerably better. For other use cases, its performance is slightly above the average across our database.
Calibrated
Realme GT 5G
54
100
For this series of tests, the smartphone returns to the Faraday cage and our robots repeatedly perform actions linked to one specific use case (such as gaming, video streaming, etc.) at a time. Starting from an 80% charge, all devices are tested until they have expended at least 5% of their battery power.
The Realme GT 5G comes in behind the OnePlus (58) and the Xiaomi (62) in our calibrated tests, with particularly poor performances for video playback and music streaming. It is slightly above average when gaming and when video streaming via Wi-Fi, and it put in a decent performance for 3G calling, coming in ahead of the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro.
Charging (102)
The DXOMARK Battery charging score is composed of two sub-scores, Full charge and Quick boost. Full charge tests assess the reliability of the battery power gauge; measure how long it takes to charge a battery from 0% to 80% capacity and from 80% to 100%; and measure how long and how much power the battery takes to go from an indicated 100% to an actual full charge. With the phone at different charge levels (20%, 40%, 60%, 80%), Quick boost tests measure the amount of charge the battery receives after being plugged in for 5 minutes.
Charging is the Realme GT 5G’s strong point, putting it among the top 3 in this category as of this writing. The OnePlus 9 has a slightly better score thanks to its wireless charger, but the two devices are very close — and indeed, the charging technology is almost the same for both.
Full charge
Realme GT 5G
101
121
It takes the Realme GT 5G only 34 minutes 17 seconds to fully charge its battery, which is currently the second-best performance in our database, which is a great achievement in this price range. It is slightly better than the OnePlus (38 minutes 40 seconds), and it comes as no surprise that the Xiaomi (with its 33W charger) is far behind at 1 hour 09 minutes.
Charging Time 0-80%
Charging Time 0-80%
Quick boost
Realme GT 5G
95
111
A very good score here — in fact, the Realme is tied for first with the Oppo Find X3 Neo in this category. Charging the Realme GT 5G for 5 minutes with 20% charge remaining provides nearly 8 hours of autonomy, which is twice as much as the Xiaomi.
Realme GT 5G | OnePlus 9 | Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro 5G | ||
Autonomy boost (hh:mm) | 20% | 7:47 | 8:26 | 3:50 |
40% | 7:20 | 5:59 | 3:58 | |
60% | 5:07 | 5:28 | 3:48 | |
80% | 3:45 | 4:02 | 3:23 | |
Percentage boost | 20% | 21.7 % | 23 % | 9.5 % |
40% | 20.5 % | 16.3 % | 9.9 % | |
60% | 14.3 % | 14.9 % | 9.5 % | |
80% | 10.5 % | 11 % | 8.4 % | |
Energy consumed | 20% | 4783 mWh | 4923 mWh | 2416 mWh |
40% | 4505 mWh | 3491 mWh | 2498 mWh | |
60% | 3148 mWh | 3188 mWh | 2397 mWh | |
80% | 2308 mWh | 2354 mWh | 2131 mWh |
Efficiency (66)
Our Efficiency score comprises two sub-scores, Charge up and Discharge. Charge up is the efficiency of a full charge (how much energy is drained from the wall outlet vs the energy capacity of the battery, as well as the efficiency of the charger and its residual consumption). Discharge is how much current the smartphone drains from the battery when in use (the ratio of battery capacity to autonomy). Better autonomy with a smaller battery means better efficiency.
Despite good Charge up efficiency, the Realme lands in the lower half of our database for overall efficiency, as its discharge performance is quite poor.
Charge up
Realme GT 5G
76
105
At 84, the OnePlus not only beats the Realme and Xiaomi in our comparison, it is the best for Charge up efficiency in our overall database so far. However, all three devices in this comparison are fairly close in terms of the efficiency of their respective adapters.
Discharge
Realme GT 5G
64
121
With particularly high discharge current during video playback and when idling (screen off, wifi on), the Realme comes in behind both the OnePlus and Xiaomi in this category.
Conclusion
The Realme GT 5G has just average autonomy, providing 52 hours of moderate use. But if you are looking for a powerful device under $600 that charges very fast, the Realme GT 5G will definitely fit the bill.
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