UPDATE (06/20/24): We finally have the price of the realme GT6. Dubbed as the “Flagship Killer” our predictions were spot on with the price of P34,999. This is a decent debut price for a phone that tries to sit with the Snapdragon 8 family of flagship phones, albeit clocking in slightly lower (it has a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chip). This is a huge step up in terms of performance from the realme 12 Pro+ but also more affordable than the Xiaomi 14. The pre-selling price is even better with P5,000 off.
TikTok June 28 – July 4
- Discounted Price: P29,999
- Freebie: realme Buds T300 (limited qty)
- Voucher Mechanism: To be distributed during live-selling
Lazada June 21-27
- Discounted Price: P29,999
- Freebie: realme Buds T300 (limited qty)
- Voucher Mechanism: Can only be redeemed and used once
Shopee June 28 – July 4
- Discounted Price: P29,999
- Freebie: realme Buds T300 (limited qty)
- Voucher Mechanism: Can use Mega Discount Vouchers: 30%, 15%, or 10% vouchers
OFFLINE OFFERS
PRE-ORDER
- Pre-order Period: June 21 – July 4
- Claiming Period: July 5 onwards
- Bundle Options (limited qty): realme Buds Air 5 or a TechLife Multi-Capsule Coffee Maker
FIRST-SELLING
- Bundle Options when purchasing from July 5-7 (limited qty): TechLife Portable Steam Iron or TechLife Foldable Trolley Box
- Credit Card: 18 months with 0% Interest from June 20 to July 31
- Home Credit: 18-month installment plan with 0% interest from June 20 to July 31
Industry darling realme is back with the GT series for 2024. For those unfamiliar, the Philippines has skipped out on GT releases for a while, with the two last launches touting the realme 11 and 12 Pro+ as the designated affordable flagships. But realme wants you to remember that they do have a more premium category and this 2024, CEO Sky Li graced the cover of Forbes Magazine to introduce the “return of the comeback” — their flagship killer GT 6.
For context, realme doesn’t seem to be competing with the likes of the HONOR Magic6 Pro or Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra or HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro. They are trying to be more strategic by offering flagship features at a more affordable price. As of this moment I still do not have pricing for the actual units but we are guessing that this should be in the low to mid P30k pesos. At the media preview for this unit, I was saying that at this price point, it’s only a few steps above the realme 12 Pro+ 5G, but still significantly lower than your standard flagships in the USD $1,000 range.
In terms of overall design, the GT 6 has taken a step back into a more conservative corporate look, considering previous models had the Dragonball Edition and the “speedy” look for the GT 5G. The new Nano Mirror Design is two tone with the top half of the camera giving off that mirror “stainless steel” look while the bottom half has a nice matte feel. I’m personally on the fence with the top half design as it can be a fingerprint hive. Without a case, the three camera system protrudes from the unit, which means you cannot really lay it down flat. Thankfully, the stock case that comes with it solves this issue as it also provides some perimeter cover so you don’t smudge the top half.
Camera and Performance
We put the triple system camera to the test across different environments. It performs quite decently in all aspects. The 50MP camera setup is headlined with a Sony LYT808 OIS sensor iwth a size of 1/1.4″ while the 8MP wide angle, powered by a Sony IMX355 sensor, is capable of 112 degrees shooting. The 50MP telephoto function is powered by a Samsung JN5 sensor with a very sweet aperture of f/2.0.
The GT 6 comes with a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor, which stands tall for gaming and performance. We were able to get a little bit more than 1.5M with Antutu. One thing to note is that the GT6 runs on a toned down version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen3 — if you’re a casual consumer, you may not feel the downgrade, with a 1.5M vs 2M score on Antutu.
AI Eraser
With the recent firmware update, we were able to test the AI eraser feature to some extent. Removing the white light switch using the lasso function was quite easy. As for the results, since the wall is textured, you may notice some variations in the pattern if you are a discerning sleuth.
6,000 Nits!
The realme GT 6 is thematically the first device that can achieve 6,000 Nits in very specific environments. What this means is that you cannot manually enable this for safety reasons. The manual brightness slider can achive a maximum of 1,000 Nits, with the extra brightness option allowing the screen to push at 1,600 Nits. The 6,000 Nits can only be achieved with auto brightness turned on and in very specific environments. According to realme, one such situation would be in the desert, under direct sunlight or having a 100,000 Lux light source pointed directly at the screen. Nonetheless, what is important to note is that the device has 2160Hz PWN dimming for use in bed, and if you’re out and about in direct sublight, the phone adjusts accordingly without killing your eyes.
Gaming and Performance
People may ask if the toned down Snapdragon 8s processor can actually compete with its slightly bigger sibling and based on some of our tests, we were able to get zero lag in games like Honkai Star Rail. In terms of battery performance, a full run of Simulated Universe takes up about 8% of battery life.
Conclusion
The realme GT 6 is overall a great device. If you love the BBK Electronics ecosystem (OPPO, Vivo, realme, OnePlus) you will feel right at home with this new iteration. It pretty much has everything a modern day flagship would have – Snapdragon 8, 5500mAH high capacity battery plus 120W SUPERVOOC charging, 120Hz refresh rate … everything except the 512GB storage capacity. From an optics perspective, this may turn off some users as 512GB has always been a standard for flagships, but if you’re the type that syncs photos to Google Photos or doesn’t really use up that much space with apps and media, then you’re fine.
The realme GT 6 is marketed as a “flagship killer.” I urge you to avoid this marketing smoke and mirrors play and just look at the device for what it is: a capable phone for all-around functions that is more responsive than the current line of realme 12’s, has great screen brightness, and fast charging.
What we love
- A truly “affordable” device for those looking at a Snapdragon 8 level performance device
- 120W SUPERVOOC is really great utility
- Does not heat up while gaming
- Decent camera
- Really good night video mode
What we are anxious about
- The 256GB storage may not be enough if you play a lot of games