Review Verdict: While it is more expensive than its predecessor, the realme 13 Pro+ proves to be better with significant improvements to its display, ergonomics, and especially its telephoto camera. 

Pros

• Significantly better telephoto camera performance
• Slightly better main camera
• Selfie camera can now shoot 4K video

Cons

• No upgrades with the processor
• AI features a hit or miss
• Steep price hike from 12 Pro+

Just 5 months after debuting the realme 12 Pro+ as a unique midrange phone with a periscope telephoto camera, realme is back with the 13 Pro+. Following the same formula, realme made improvements with the 13 Pro+ to make it a versatile camera-centric midrange phone—though some may contest its higher price tag. Do the upgrades justify the higher price tag?

realme 13 Pro+ Review Philippines: Design

Our review unit is in Monet Gold, which has a paper-like texture for its glass back and subtle details that are reminiscent of the iconic artist’s painting style. realme also moved on with placing the branding on the side in a landscape orientation, and the camera module is less pronounced compared to its predecessor.

The realme 13 Pro+’s ergonomics are better than its predecessor—having used both phones extensively, realme was able to figure out how to make the 13 Pro+ less top heavy And thinner while keeping its crown jewels.

The button and port layout of the realme 13 Pro+ is the same as its predecessor. That means you also get the same IP65 rating, along with stereo speakers and an in-display fingerprint scanner. The frame is still made from plastic, but it feels like metal with its matte texture and chamfered edges.

 

 

realme 13 Pro+ Review Philippines: Display

While the realme 13 Pro+ appears to have the same 120hz curved AMOLED display as its predecessor, there are a few upgrades to it. You’re getting improved glass protection with the use of Gorilla Glass 7i, and the peak brightness is significantly higher at 2000nits (vs 950nits on the realme 12 Pro+). In a nutshell, the realme 13 Pro+’s display feels more premium compared to its predecessor.

Outside of those upgrades, you get the same vibrant colors and deep blacks that’s characteristic of AMOLED panels, along with support for HDR video content.

As for audio, the stereo speakers have roughly the same soundstage as the ones used by the realme 12 Pro+, so audio quality is decent at best. Do note that there’s not headphone jack to be found, so your other options are either to use a pair of wireless earphones or use a pair of USB-C wired earphones.

 

realme 13 Pro+ Review Philippines: Cameras

The main highlight of the realme 13 Pro+ are its cameras, where you get upgrades in the main and telephoto shooters. The main shooter now uses an LYT701 sensor, which is said to be an iterative upgrade to the IMX890 used by its predecessor. The bigger upgrade is with the telephoto shooter, where you are getting an LYT600 sensor with multi-directional PDAF for snappier autofocus.

While we barely felt any difference with the main camera, the realme 13 Pro+ stands out with its telephoto camera, and we think that it is the best telephoto camera you can have on a midrange device. On top of its default 3x optical zoom, we were able to get good shots at 6x hybrid zoom even in low-light conditions.

As for color rendition, we found that the telephoto shooter is more consistent compared to the main camera, and we think a software update is needed to further tweak the main camera’s colors.

Outside of photos, the telephoto camera also showed improvements with video, where focusing is sharp and accurate and details are much better than its predecessor even in low-light situations. We shot a few clips using the telephoto camera in 4K resolution, and the quality we got from it is close to what you’d expect on a flagship device.

Speaking of 4K video recording, realme finally added 4K video recording to the 32-megapixel selfie camera, making the 13 Pro+ a solid all-around shooter for content creation.

We wished that realme upgraded the paltry 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera, but the improvements on the telephoto camera is just enough for us.

 

realme 13 Pro+ Review Philippines: Internals and Battery Life

realme decided to play it safe with the internals, as you’re getting the same setup with the 13 Pro+: Snapdragon 7s Gen 2, 256GB or 512GB UFS 3.1 storage, and 12GB LPDDR4X RAM. This is perhaps the biggest downside on the realme 13 Pro+, since similarly-priced rivals opt to use better internals like a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3.

While this would mean the realme 13 Pro+ would feel underpowered, we found it to perform just fine with regular use and heavy photo and video shooting. Even with multitasking and doing other tasks like photo editing, the realme 13 Pro+’s Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 is just right for what most people need.

The only time we had to manage expectations was with gaming, as pushing graphics settings on demanding titles resulted in the realme 13 Pro+ lagging at times–but noting major that makes these games unplayable.

The realme 13 Pro+ comes with Android 14 out of the box, and some if its highlights include AI features. Similar to what we experienced on the GT 6, these AI features are a hit-or-miss affair. AI Smart Loop had limited functionality that works best with the phone’s gallery app, while AI Ultra Clarity works best if photos were shot in daylight conditions. The most useful feature is AI Eraser, which proved to be a handy tool in cleaning up our photos free of any unwanted objects and photobombers.

The battery is slightly bigger now at 5200mAh, and we got a battery life score of 16 hours and 27 minutes. This shows that the slight capacity increase made the realme 13 Pro+ last longer than its predecessor. Charging speeds are slightly faster at 80w, and it took around 40 minutes to fully top up the battery.

 

realme 13 Pro+ Review Philippines: Wrap-up and Conclusions

While you’re getting a significant upgrade with the telephoto camera, display, and overall ergonomics, the realme 13 Pro+ could have been a great midrange device if not for its steep price tag. With a starting price of Php 29k (Php 32k for the 512GB variant), that’s a steep hike considering that the realme 12 Pro+ retailed for Php 25,999 for the 512GB variant.

If realme Philippines stuck with the pricing in India, where the 512GB variant is priced at around Php 25k, the 13 Pro+ could have been a great deal–a killer one at that since there’s no midrange phone that has a telephoto camera as good as what the realme 13 Pro+ has.

realme 13 Pro+ Review Philippines: Price

The realme 13 Pro+ is priced at Php 28,999 for the 256GB model and Php 31,999 for the 512GB model.