Realme GT 6 Review: Reliable Performance at an Affordable Price

Is the Realme GT 6 the Top Choice for Premium Mid-Range Smartphones in India for 2024? Read this Realme GT 6 Review.

The Realme GT 6 offers a compelling option for those seeking dependable performance without breaking the bank. But does it stand out as the best premium mid-range smartphone to buy in India this year?

Realme GT 6 Review: Reliable Mid-Range Specs at a Competitive Price

Realme’s latest addition to the GT series, the Realme GT 6, boasts impressive mid-range specifications while maintaining a price point around Rs. 40,000. This smartphone is powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset and features a 50-megapixel triple rear camera setup, complemented by a 32-megapixel front camera. It also includes a 5,500mAh battery with 120W SuperVOOC charging capabilities. The GT 6 incorporates several AI features, but can it compete with other smartphones in its price range? Let’s find out in this review.

Realme GT 6 Price in India

The Realme GT 6 starts at Rs. 40,999 for the base model with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. The higher-end variants with 12GB+256GB and 16GB+512GB are priced at Rs. 42,999 and Rs. 44,999, respectively.

I received the Realme GT 6 in the Fluid Silver color, though it is also available in Razor Green.

Realme GT 6 Review: Design

The Realme GT 6 shares a design language with the more affordable GT 6T model, featuring curved display edges, a similar rear camera module, and color options. However, the GT 6 stands out with its premium glass back panel, which offers a more upscale feel. The back panel includes a mirror-like section housing the triple rear cameras, which also serves as a convenient pocket mirror. This section, while smooth and stylish, attracts fingerprints, smudges, and dust. The rest of the panel has a cloudy finish that better hides these imperfections. Due to the camera placement, the phone wobbles when placed on its back without the included TPU cover.

The front sports a curved display protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2. Over three weeks of usage, I found the 6.78-inch screen manageable, especially when using both hands. The curved edges did not hinder app scrolling.

The bottom edge features a speaker grille and a USB Type-C port, while the right side holds the volume and power buttons. At the top, there is an infrared transmitter for controlling household appliances. The phone’s sides have a metallic finish that feels cool to the touch.

The GT 6 package includes a charging brick, a USB cable, and a TPU cover that showcases the reflective rear panel section. I used the TPU cover consistently during my testing period to mitigate the slippery sides. The cover also has a raised section to protect the camera module.

Realme GT 6 Review: Specifications and Software

The Realme GT 6 is powered by the octa-core Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor, featuring an Adreno 735 GPU. This 4nm chip includes one Arm Cortex X4 core running at 3.0GHz, four Cortex-A720 cores at 2.8GHz, and three Cortex-A520 cores at 2.0GHz, complemented by up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM.

On the software side, the Realme GT 6 comes with Android 14 pre-installed, topped with Realme’s UI 5. However, it also comes with five pre-installed third-party apps — Amazon, Finshell Pay, Myntra, ORoaming, and Snapchat — which can be removed, although it’s surprising to see these on a device priced over Rs. 40,000.

Realme’s UI 5 introduces several useful features, such as a dedicated gaming mode, air gestures, and the capability to use wired and wireless headphones simultaneously.

This is Realme’s first smartphone branded with AI capabilities. The GT 6 includes ‘Next AI’, enhancing low-light camera performance, offering object removal from photos, and providing screen content analysis for action suggestions. Realme guarantees three years of Android OS updates and security updates, followed by an additional year of security updates.

In terms of connectivity, the Realme GT 6 supports Wi-Fi 6, 5G, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.4, GPS, and has a USB Type-C port for charging and data transfer. Additionally, the phone features an IR transmitter, which I tested successfully with a TV, home theater system, and several air conditioners.

Realme GT 6 Review: Performance

The Realme GT 6, equipped with a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset and substantial RAM, handles daily tasks and intensive workloads effortlessly. This includes activities like editing and exporting 4K videos using InShot, extensive gaming sessions, and frequent web browsing and social media use.

I played Genshin Impact and Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile on the Realme GT 6 at the highest settings by default. These are among the most demanding Android games, yet the phone exhibited no lag, stuttering, throttling, or overheating, even after an hour of gameplay. The integrated gaming mode enhances HDR content, improves touch response, and offers battery saving or performance modes.

In performance benchmarks, the Realme GT 6 either matched or outperformed the Poco F6, which uses the same Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor. Below are the benchmark results, comparing the Realme GT 6 with the Poco F6 and the slightly more powerful iQoo Neo 9 Pro, which has a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip.

Benchmark	Realme GT 6	Poco F6	iQoo Neo 9 Pro
Geekbench 6 Single Core	1944	1835	2050
Geekbench 6 Multi Core	4895	4693	5741
AnTuTu v10	1,405,190	1,457,491	1,585,868
PCMark Work 3.0	18,828	15,743	13,319
3DMark Wild Life	Maxed Out	Maxed Out	Maxed Out
3DMark Wild Life Unlimited	11325	11734	12789
3DMark Sling Shot	Maxed Out	Maxed Out	Maxed Out
3DMark Sling Shot Extreme	Maxed Out	Maxed Out	Maxed Out
GFXBench Car Chase	60	71	85
GFXBench Manhattan 3.1	60	112	119
GFXBench T-Rex	60	120	120

The Realme GT 6 runs on Android 14 with Realme UI 5, which is well-optimized, free of promotional messages, and has a few preinstalled apps that can be uninstalled. RAM management is efficient, and recently used apps remain in memory when switching back to them. However, users must agree to separate privacy and usage agreements before opening some system apps.

The phone features a 6.78-inch Full-HD+ (1,264×2,780 pixels) LTPO AMOLED screen with a dynamic refresh rate between 1Hz and 120Hz and a 360Hz touch sampling rate. The display is bright enough for outdoor use in direct sunlight, and there’s a toggle to increase brightness beyond the default limit, albeit with increased battery consumption.

Powered by a 5,500mAh battery, the Realme GT 6 lasted 21 hours and 7 minutes in our HD battery video loop test. In real-world usage, I achieved about 7 hours of screen-on time before needing to charge at 5 percent battery. The included 120W SuperVOOC charger fully recharges the phone in about 29 minutes. Despite its glass back, the phone does not support wireless charging.

Realme GT 6 Review: Cameras

The Realme GT 6 comes with a triple rear camera setup: a 50-megapixel main camera featuring a Sony LYT-808 sensor, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide angle camera with a Sony IMX355 sensor, and a 50-megapixel telephoto camera equipped with a Samsung JN5 sensor. Additionally, there is a 32-megapixel front-facing camera for selfies.

The main camera stands out for its clarity and color accuracy. Photos taken with it retain good detail, especially in well-lit conditions. Even in low-light situations, the main camera performs well, producing quality images in its default mode, and even better results can be achieved using the Night mode, which brightens photos quickly.

The ultra-wide angle camera, although offering lower resolution and slightly darker images compared to the primary camera, is useful for capturing larger subjects that are not too far away. It does not exhibit significant edge distortion. However, in low-light conditions, the ultra-wide camera’s performance drops, leading to less detailed photos, making the main camera a better option in such scenarios.

For subjects at a distance, the telephoto camera on the Realme GT 6 provides sharp images at 2x optical zoom, with an additional 4x zoom capability. The colors from the telephoto camera are slightly less vivid than those from the primary camera. In low-light situations, zoomed-in photos may show some noise and softening. When zooming beyond 15x, the camera interface guides you on when to capture the shot for optimal results.

Both the primary and telephoto cameras can record video at up to 4K/60fps. For enhanced stability while recording, the ultra-steady mode can be used at 1080p/60fps with the primary camera, which is ideal for shooting videos on the move. The ultra-wide angle camera records videos at up to 1080p/30fps.

The front-facing camera captures detailed selfies, particularly after turning off the ‘beautification’ features. It performs well in good lighting but tends to produce slightly blurry images in low-light conditions.

The primary and telephoto cameras also support recording in Dolby Vision at up to 4K/30fps, providing brighter and more contrast-rich videos, viewable only on Dolby Vision-compatible displays. Videos from the front camera are satisfactory during the day but lose quality significantly at night.

Realme GT 6 Review: Verdict

For those seeking a smartphone around Rs. 40,000 in India, the Realme GT 6 is a strong contender. It combines impressive performance, long battery life with fast charging, and dependable cameras. Throughout the review period, the device handled casual use, voice calls, and gaming without any issues.