Realme GT 6 Review: The One to Beat

Very recently, I reviewed the Realme GT 6T, and was already impressed by all that it had to offer for its price. Now, with its gamma-radiation exposed version, the Realme GT 6, things get even more interesting. On paper and at the price of Rs 40,999 for the base variant, this device looks like it’s the best phone you can buy in this sub-Rs 45,000 price segment. But, is that really the case, or are there deadly compromises that come along?

Well, I have spent around two weeks with the phone and left no stone unturned in testing it out. So, here’s my detailed Realme GT 6 review, that should hopefully answer all your questions. Let’s begin!

Realme GT 6 Specs at a Glance

Before we get into the review, here’s a quick rundown of the Realme GT 6’s technical specifications:

Realme GT 6 Box Contents

As always, when it comes to box contents, Realme didn’t disappoint. Here’s what you get alongside the phone:

• 120W SuperVOOC charger
• USB-A to USB-C cable
• Silicone cover
• SIM ejector tool
• Some papers you will probably never read

I also liked the fact that the phone comes with a pre-applied screen protector. With that out of the way, it’s time to inspect the device!

Realme GT 6 Design and Build

I couldn’t help but notice how the Realme GT 6 looks exactly like its toned-down cousin, the 6T. It also comes in the same two Fluid Silver and Razor Green dual-tone color options. I have with me the Fluid Silver color option, and I’d pick the Green over it, any day. It’s good that the GT 6 doesn’t feel like its cousin though, since the build quality is superior here.

There’s a glass back instead of plastic, which makes me want to touch the phone more often than needed. As a result, the phone does feel slightly heavier than the 6T. However, the frame is still plastic with the same matte finish.

The 8.6mm thickness makes it a very grippy phone to carry around. But, if you have sweaty palms, use the in-box cover to prevent dropping it. This is one slippery phone and loves gravity a little too much. In one instance, I placed it on a couch (not even towards the edge, mind you), and it gradually slipped off it.

However, the glass back collects fingerprints faster than Sherlock Holmes, and every now and then, I found myself wiping off the smudges. Thanks-no-thanks OCD. But, I like the minimalism of the back panel, since apart from the branding at the bottom left, there’s no other texture or lettering here. I’m glad Realme didn’t take the GT Neo 3 route with the GT 6 and 6T.

I’m not fond of the silver tone at the back and around the three camera sensors though. The green looks better. It doubles down as a mirror though and lets you set your hair. The camera sensors’ placement is not the best though and makes the phone wobble on a desk.

Although the volume rockers and power button are on the right, the placement and spacing don’t make it too hard to reach for your fingers. One-hand usage is very comfortable, which is good, especially since this is a big boy.

Realme GT 6 Display and Speakers

The display is easily one of the GT 6’s strongest highlight features, capable of offering 6000 nits on a 6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED curved display. However, during my testing using the Lux Meter we have at the office, the brightness levels maxed out at 2,700 nits.

The 6000 nits can be reached only at a specific local point on the display. There are a bunch of other parameters involved too. The point is that the display was still abundantly bright, both indoors and outdoors. When I placed it against the likes of the iQOO 12 and OnePlus 12R, it still looked brighter. HDR content on YouTube also looked slightly better on it.

I watched Godzilla Minus One, Under Paris and Hit Man on this display and I was blown away. The viewing experience is stellar, with deep blacks and rich colors all around. The curve only made it all better along with the display being backed by Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and 100% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage.

So, this is a precious display we’re talking about, and we wouldn’t want anything to happen to it now, would we? I know I’m clumsy for sure, and the Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection is a big relief.

To go along with the display, there’s also a Dolby Atmos-tuned stereo speaker setup. You see one grille at the bottom, while the receiver doubles down as the second speaker. I was still surprised by how loud these speakers can get and the audio distribution is not too bad at all.

However, the output lacks base and that kick, which is evident when listening to music. When watching movies though, it left me more than satisfied. I do wish Realme had added a dedicated grille at the top for the second speaker.

Realme GT 6 Software Experience

No matter what you say, Realme UI is easily one of the cleaner skins out there in this segment, especially if you pit it against the likes of Funtouch OS and HyperOS. The GT 6 doesn’t disappoint either.

There is bloatware though, which always repels me. While you can uninstall apps like LinkedIn and Facebook, I hate that I can’t get rid of FinShell Pay. There are also two Game Centers on the phone, which is nuts.

If you look past that, it’s a rather seamless experience with fluid animations across the UI. What further elevates the experience is the premium haptics of the Realme GT 6. This is easily one of the best haptic motors I have used in the segment, and it brings a lot of joy to typing.

Whether I was opening and closing apps, doom-scrolling, or simply browsing through the UI, there was not one instance where I saw even a micro-stutter. I’m also fond of the File Dock you get on the OxygenOS-reskinned UI, and it comes in very handy for me.

Realme has also brought some AI to the device with features like Smart Removal, Smart Loop, and Screen Recognition. The implementations are not bad at all. However, during my testing, I noticed that Smart Removal doesn’t work too well with bigger objects.

It gets rid of humans bombing your photos very easily and rather impressively though. A couple of tries and runs gave me some solid results.

Realme GT 6 Performance

While I already had a good idea of the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3’s capabilities, I had to see how the overall experience was on this particular device. So, from my daily usage to running benchmarks and gaming on it like a madman, I did it all. Now, allow me to share my findings:

Day-to-day Usage

As I already said, Realme UI is very good and delivers a solid software experience. On a daily basis, I have anywhere between 20 to 25 apps running in the background, and the phone handled it like a charm. RAM management is great, and most apps resumed from right where I had left them. Top-notch daily usage experience, in other words.

Benchmarks

I also ran all the essential benchmarks, from AnTuTu and Geekbench to WildLife and more. Well, the phone did very well in these tests too. See for yourself:

Gaming

As always, I played a whole lot of CoD Mobile, Warzone Mobile, Genshin Impact, and BGMI. The Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 is very powerful and won’t disappoint you on this front either. Here are the settings you get to see on these games on Realme GT 6:

Even after gaming for around two hours, the phone never ran hot. The thermal management is very good, with temps barely ever exceeding the 42-degree mark.

Realme GT 6 Cameras

The GT 6 features a triple rear camera setup with a 50MP Sony LYT-808 primary sensor at the helm. The secondary sensor is a 50MP Samsung JN5 telephoto sensor, and the tertiary sensor is an 8MP Sony IMX355. At the front, there’s a 32MP selfie shooter. With those details out of the way, here’s a look at how the camera setups perform in real life:

Day Time

I have to say that Realme has done some solid camera optimization and processing here, especially with the primary sensor. Shots turn out to be absolutely amazing, and I honestly haven’t seen a performance-centric device take such good photos.

From the excellent dynamic range captured with a stellar balance between highlights and shadows to the mostly natural-looking colors and good details, the Realme GT 6’s primary camera performance surprised me. The telephoto sensor is also pretty good, capturing details well.

Sadly, there’s only so much an 8MP ultra-wide can do in 2024. So, you see lackluster details, with images looking alright only until you zoom in.

I also noticed that all three sensors capture colors differently, with the primary sensor keeping the color tones more natural. So, there’s a clear color disparity here. You notice this also when you shift between the sensors.

Night Time

At night as well, I have mostly good things to say about the primary sensor. Details are maintained well and the light sources don’t blow out. There’s also this aesthetic lens flare, which I actually like. The telephoto sensor takes consistently good shots as well.

However, the ultra-wide sensor’s details go out the window and there’s also quite some noise in the photos at night. Processing time also doesn’t hurt your patience much, and the shots turn out great.

Human Subjects

While the primary sensor captured great cityscapes both during the day and at night, it was the human portrait shots in particular that blew me away. The depth effect is very cinematic for some reason, and the shots turn out to look quite professional. The edge detection is also great, making the shots appear all the more aesthetic.

Selfies

The GT 6 doesn’t disappoint in terms of selfies either. Whether in low light or in brightly lit spaces, selfies never looked dull. The portrait mode is great too, with some solid edge detection. The skin tones are kept natural mostly, with slight boosts in some shots. But, overall, the results are great!

Videos

Talking about videos, all three of the Realme GT 6’s sensors can capture 4K videos. The primary sensor and telephoto can do 4K 60FPS. Meanwhile, the front shooter is limited to 4K 30FPS. Both the shooters are excellent, but the 60FPS at the rear makes a big difference, especially if you’re trying to shoot post-ready vlogs.

And, vlogging on this device is a charm. The not-so-much-of-a-vlogger in me tried vlogging using the phone and I had a gala time annoying my colleagues and friends with it.

Realme GT 6 Battery and Charging

While I already knew that the GT 6’s 5,500mAh battery would deliver quite some juice, I wasn’t expecting an SoT (Screen-on-Time) of around 10 hours going in. I always got around 8.5 to 9.5 hours of SoT on this battery.

You can easily last around two days with normal usage, which is phenomenal. This was after I had the brightness set to auto, and display resolution maxed out. In between, during gaming, I also used GT Mode for around an hour. The battery just doesn’t die. To drain it, I played 4K YouTube videos all night, only to be left with 9% juice in the morning.

What’s exceptional is that, with such an incredible battery unit, you get super-fast 120W charging as well. That easily tops off the battery fully in just around 30-35 minutes. Moreover, with just 10 minutes of charge, the battery levels reach around 50%, which is great.

Verdict: Best All-Rounder Phone Under Rs 45,000?

All things considered, the Realme GT 6 at Rs 40,999 (excluding bank offers) is indeed the best all-rounder 8s Gen 3 phone right now. There are a few other phones too, but nothing comes to being this near-perfect. For starters, there’s the POCO F6 which is priced at Rs 29,999, but it has its own set of problems. From an LTPS panel to a bloatware-ridden UI, plastic build, and weak thermal management, there are quite a few issues.

Next comes the Xiaomi 14 Civi, which falls flat in most regards in comparison and is also priced higher. Not to mention that despite being a camera phone, it doesn’t do as well in that department either. Then comes the Moto Edge 50 Ultra, which gets almost everything right, but starts at an unreasonable Rs 59,999.

Starting at Rs 40,999 and the top 16GB/512GB variant costing just Rs 44,999, the price-to-performance ratio is insanely impressive. Not to mention that the GT 6 also butts heads with the OnePlus 12R in the segment but shines over it in terms of camera and battery performance.

The only phone that beats Realme GT 6 is IQOO Neo9 Pro which comes with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and offers better performance. However, Neo9 Pro still has inferior cameras in comparison to the GT 6. So, it depends upon your preferences.

A battery backup as solid as that is also very rare to come across these days. All-in-all, leaving little to no room for complaints, this is the easiest phone to recommend in this segment.