Review Verdict: The realme GT 6 does stay true to its promise as a much-awaited flagship killer in the Philippines. Aside from a powerful processor, realme was able to make the GT 6 well-balanced in terms of features–from the display, to the cameras, down to the battery capacity. 

Pros

• Very bright display
• Excellent main and telephoto cameras
• Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 performed better than expected

Cons

• The ultra-wide camera could have been upgraded
• Only one variant is available in the Philippines

The wait is over: after two years, realme is making its GT series available globally including the Philippines, and the GT 6 appears to be a solid comeback for the brand as a flagship killer. We’ve used the GT 6 for two weeks, and here’s our overall verdict with realme’s top-end offering in the Philippines.

realme GT 6 Review Philippines: Design

The GT 6 looks premium with its glass back that has a dual-tone design. The mirror finish on the camera module area can also act as your guide in taking Gen Z selfies with ease. There are two color options, and our review unit’s silver colorway looks aesthetically pleasing.

Despite packing a huge 5500mAh battery inside, the GT 6 is a smidge thinner and lighter than the 12 Pro+, which is a feat for realme in making the most out of its footprint. It does not scrimp when it comes to water and dust resistance with its IP65 rating.

The GT 6’s button and port layout are identical to the 12 Pro+, so you’re also getting stereo speakers and an in-display fingerprint scanner as well.

realme GT 6 Review Philippines: Display and speakers

Beyond being a flagship-grade display with a 120hz adaptive refresh rate, what makes the GT 6 attractive is how bright it can go. With a peak brightness of 6000nits, we had no issues using the phone even under direct sunlight–with everything on the display being legible. The colors are vibrant and accurate, and the display is also friendly to the eyes with its 2160Hz PWM dimming that aims to reduce eye strain and fatigue.

Echoing our experience with the 12 Pro+’s speakers, you’re getting the same soundstage and audio quality on the GT 6’s speakers, which complement well with its stellar display.

 

realme GT 6 Review Philippines: Cameras

As a flagship killer, the GT 6 comes with a capable triple rear camera setup that consists of a 50-megapixel LYT 808 main camera with OIS, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera, and a 50-megapixel 2x telephoto camera. The main camera is noteworthy, as it is used on other premium flagship phones like the OnePlus 12.

We took the GT 6 around Taiwan, and the main camera shows that it has a flagship-like performance with a great dynamic range and a generous amount of detail regardless of lighting conditions.

The inclusion of a very capable 50-megapixel 2x telephoto camera further bolsters the GT 6’s reputation as a flagship killer. Aside from giving 2x optical zoom for more flexible photo/video options, the telephoto camera performs just as good as the main camera. Flagship killers tend to cut corners when it comes to cameras, but the GT 6 is an exception from the norm.

Aside from great camera hardware and software, realme incorporated a bunch of its in-house Next AI features on the GT 6 like AI Night Vision for improved low-light photos and videos and AI Smart Removal for removing unwanted objects in the photo. We have yet to test these features as of writing this review, so expect a follow-up article showcasing them soon.

 

realme GT 6 Review Philippines: Performance and Battery Life

Powering the GT 6 is a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor that’s paired with 12GB LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB UFS 4.0 storage. realme is only offering one variant in the Philippines, and we wish we also got the 12GB/512GB variant that was offered in other countries like India.

There are many debates on whether the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 is a better choice over the previous-generation Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 despite its “s” designation, and GeekBench results gave us surprising findings.

While the multi-core results were expected, the compute results revealed that the GT 6’s processor has better GPU performance compared to a device using a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Being a Snapdragon 8 series chip, the GT 6 can run all of the most demanding mobile games with ease.

The GT 6 comes with Android 14-based realme UI 5.0, and you also get Next AI features like AI Smart Loop that streamlines your multitasking experience by recommending you do different things based on the content on screen. This feature proved to help save time and several swipes and clicks to do specific tasks on the GT 6.

Playing Genshin Impact at 60FPS with the highest graphics settings is a piece of cake with the GT 6, and you can even go beyond 60FPS with some games like Tower of Fantasy, which allows for 90FPS gameplay.

Another key highlight of the GT 6 is its larger-than-usual 5500mAh battery, which helped a lot with its battery life. Paired with the improved power efficiency of the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, we got 17 hours and 36 minutes of battery life in PCMark, which translates to being able to use the GT 6 for more than a day without needing to top up the battery–an incredible feat for a flagship killer.

What also makes the GT 6 great is that its huge battery is paired with 120w charging, which is the best combination we’ve seen on any phone. That wired charging solution can top up the battery to 100% in around 26 minutes, and the GT 6 only experienced minimal heat buildup while utilizing 120w charging speeds.

 

realme GT 6 Review Philippines: Wrap-up and Conclusions

The 2-year wait for a GT model to arrive globally is worth it, as realme managed to make the GT 6 one of the most well-rounded flagship killers for 2024. The GT 6 has all the key characteristics of what a flagship killer should be: great display, powerful internals, capable cameras, and a dependable battery life.

realme GT 6 Review Philippines: Price

The realme GT 6 has an official price of Php 34,999 in the Philippines, but is offering an early bird price of Php 29,999 to further entice buyers.