I’ve been tinkering with the realme 13+ 5G lately. As a fan of the series since the 11 that came out in 2023, realme has been constantly knocking value for money phones with decent specs and cameras. The 13 series follows the tradition of the 12 in terms of looks. They both have cameras housed at the center of the device, almost like a timepiece, but the new 13+ foregoes the faux leather finish for something that looks like marble. I’ve noticed this trend in other brands as well. Personally I loved the leather feel from the previous model, but as most phones go, we keep them in a case. The realme 13+ comes with a typical stock gel case.
From a marketing standpoint, the realme 13+ 5G is positioned as a gaming device courtesy of its MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Energy 5G processor. I believe this is mainly to differentiate it from another model — the realme 13 Pro 5G which was just also released within a similar timeframe. This other device comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 processor. When you compare both side by side, they’re quite similar except that the Dimensity excels more in gaming performance. We need to put into context that this device just shy of P20,000 (roughly P19,900).
The GT mode carry
GT Mode on the realme 13+ 5G is a software feature designed to enhance the phone’s performance, specifically for gaming. This feature was first introduced in realme’s flagship GT series and has been incorporated into the 13+ model to offer users a more immersive and responsive gaming experience. So what does it do exactly?
- Resource Allocation: When GT Mode is activated, the phone’s resources are prioritized towards the game currently running. This means that the processor, RAM, and other system components dedicate more power to the game, ensuring it runs at optimal performance levels.
- Performance Optimization: GT Mode unlocks the peak performance capabilities of the device, similar to the performance levels found in the realme GT 6. This results in higher and more stable frame rates, smoother gameplay, and improved image quality.
- Personalized Gaming Features: GT Mode brings a suite of personalized gaming features to enhance the user experience. Some of these features include power tuning which lets you fine tune your phone’s CPU and GPU performance — sort of like running a camera on manual mode, game focus mode which blocks pop ups and notifications when you’re playing, and voice changer — a fun little feature that can mask your real voice during gameplay with friends
- Stable Frame Rates and Temperature Control: By optimizing performance and resource allocation, GT Mode helps maintain stable frame rates even during prolonged gaming sessions.
- Overall Enhanced Gaming Experience: GT Mode, in combination with the phone’s hardware capabilities, like the 120Hz OLED display and powerful Dimensity 7300 Energy chipset, aims to elevate the mobile gaming experience on the Realme 13+ 5G.
Road testing some games
I loaded up both NIKKE: Goddess of Victory and ZZZ to see how the 13+ fares. NIKKE is a shooting gallery autobattler that I pretty much leave alone to its own devices. I have a pretty heavy team of lolly waifus after about a year of investing time here so at this point it’s really a particle effects festival that I can get behind.
ZZZ is another story. This is really my new go-to game for testing from Hoyoverse and it can get quite demanding. On balanced mode + medium settings, you can see some animation lag when you load up battles for the first time.
It’s still definitely playable and it is what I expected from a mid-tier gaming phone. With GT mode turned on with the same settings, the lag almost completely disappears. Surprisingly, turning on GT mode doesn’t heat up the phone — I was able to get 30 degrees after several minutes of play as seen from the photo below.
Gaming … and an overall decent phone
The realme 13+ comes with a decent camera – a Sony LYT600 sensor with a size of 1/1.95” and an aperture of f/1.8. The camera system includes realme’s LightFusion Engine for improved image processing in night and HDR shots, resulting in clearer photos. So yeah, it’s a jack of all trades camera for night, portrait, and regular documentation. If you’re the type of user who enjoys editing DOF, the realme 13+ built-in editing software allows you to edit portrait mode shots and adjust the DOF as seen in this video preview below:
Overall, the realme 13+ ticks the boxes of what a mid-range powerhouse means in 2024. The only thing we have to consider now is pricing and we will have to wait for the official Philippine unveil for that, which is happening on October 23 2024. We will update the article accordingly.
