Realme X2 review: All charged up and ready to game on 

Back in September, Realme launched Realme XT - India’s first smartphone with a 64MP camera. During same keyte event, Realme h also anunced that it will launch an even more powerful follow-up version of Realme XT, aka Realme XT 730G, in India in December. Realme XT 730G will boast of same design as well as same 64MP camera, but re will be a faster processor inside as well as faster charging.   

It’s December and, in line with that anuncement, Realme has indeed launched Realme XT 730G in India. phone in question is called Realme X2 w, but that’s alright, I wasn’t very fond of name Realme XT 730G anyway. It seemed like a b idea from start. I am more excited that everything else about this phone, Realme X2, falls in line with Realme’s promise(s). Because that’s what really matters. 

You see, goal of Realme X2 is very simple. It isn’t out to replace Realme XT. It is simply a Realme XT with a faster processor and faster charging – you can call it Realme XT Pro maybe. But unlike or ‘pro’ setups, this one isn’t an ‘absolute’ must have. Something like it is in case of say Xiaomi Redmi te 8 and Redmi te 8 Pro, or even Redmi K20 and Redmi K20 Pro. Unlike any of se phones, Realme X2 – or as I like to call it, Realme XT Pro – doesn’t try too hard to differentiate itself from n-pro version. 

That's a good thing because n you don’t have to sift through product ps and countless reviews to be sure, what is it that you really want. Realme XT is meant for masses. Realme X2 is also meant for masses – but it’s ‘specifically’ meant for those who can afford to extend ir budget by ar couple of thousand rupees. Those extras will get you a phone with faster gaming performance, slightly better battery life, and faster charging. Realme X2 also has a higher-resolution selfie camera, if you’re into that sort of thing. If those are things that you’re looking for, and you have cash to spare, Realme X2 is what you should be looking at. If t, Realme XT will serve you well. It is still as ‘real’ value for money as y come, after all.  

Realme X2 is so similar to Realme XT at heart, you can’t talk about one without mentioning or. So, let’s do this review a little differently. Let’s start with differences. 

Performance 

Realme XT is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 processor. Realme XT 730G has a more powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G processor. gaming centric Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G was anunced in April and is built on an 8nm manufacturing process (as opposed to SD712 which is a 10nm chip). 

More specifically, Snapdragon 730G boasts of an 8-core CPU - two 'big' Kryo 470 cores based on ARM Cortex-A76 clocked at 2.2 GHz and six 'small' power-efficient cores based on Cortex-A55 clocked at 1.8GHz. SoC has an re 618 GPU. 

Snapdragon 730G inside Realme X2 is more powerful than Snapdragon 712 inside Realme XT, but chances are, it may t be very evident to you in day to day us. Both phones feel fast while handling basic tasks, with a difference so minimal, you would be hard pressed to tice it, 9 out of 10 times. But re will be differences when you’re browsing internet, say on Chrome, and you have multiple tabs open. Realme X2 will hold edge re. It will also be t better at multitasking. But thing so drastic, that it would become a deal breaker in case of ‘less’ powerful Realme XT. 

real difference will come in form of gaming performance. Simply put, if you’re looking to get a phone with high-end gaming credentials under Rs 20,000, Realme X2 is way to go. t Realme XT. That’s t to say that Realme XT can’t handle GPU-intensive game, including PUBG at high settings. It can do that well eugh. It’s just that with Realme X2, all-round experience will be better, with minimal or frame rate drops (most of time) and without breaking a sweat. Realme X2 is a phone that you can enjoy high-end gaming on.  

But, it’s t most powerful gaming phone in its category. Xiaomi Redmi te 8 Pro, with its MediaTek Helio G90T processor, beats Realme X2 both in benchmarks and real-world us. Also, Redmi te 8 Pro is even more affordable. That said, Realme X2 is more efficient, and runs cooler in comparison, so that’s something that you should keep in mind. 

Battery life 

Realme X2 is a more efficient phone in comparison to Realme XT and that reflects in phone’s outstanding battery life. Realme X2 packs a 4,000mAh battery – same as Realme XT - and is easily a one-day phone for even most demanding users. Toning things down furr should get you even more. But that’s also largely case with Realme XT.  

Where Realme X2 really takes le is in form of faster charging. Unlike Realme XT, Realme X2 supports Oppo’s VOOC 4.0 flash charge through USB -C and ships with a 30W fast charger (and proprietary cable) in box that can charge whole thing from 0-100 per cent in around one hour and ten minutes. Realme XT, with 20W VOOC 3.0, does that in around one and a half hours. It’s all about ‘ded’ convenience of getting a top-up faster, between two, and in case that’s what you’re looking for, you alrey kw phone you should opt for. 

Be that as it may, this insanely fast charging – 20W/30W - may have detrimental effect on battery longevity. Having used both se phones at length, y do tend to run warm while charging which is expected, but just something to be wary about.  

Selfie camera 

Realme X2 has a higher-resolution 32MP front camera – while Realme XT comes with a 16MP selfie shooter. Realme XT alrey shoots great natural selfies with good detail in all sorts of lighting conditions. Realme X2 is t that far behind, but somehow, I did t come out very impressed with its colour science. Still, all those extra megapixels do entail in marginally more detail, so that helps.     

Price 

Realme has launched  Realme X2 in India in as many as three configurations. While 4GB/64GB variant will sell for Rs 16,999, 6GB/128GB and 8GB/128GB variants will sell for Rs 18,999 and Rs 19,999 respectively. 

Realme XT also comes in same configurations. While 4GB/64GB variant of Realme XT costs Rs 15,999, 6GB/64GB and 6GB/128GB variants sell for Rs 16,999 and Rs 18,999 respectively. 

w, similarities. 

Design 

Realme X2 looks ‘exactly’ like Realme XT. Realme X2 is also available in Pearl White and Pearl Blue, like Realme XT. re is a new avoco-flavored Pearl Green option that Realme has introduced with Realme X2, which is striking. core design stays same though.    

Which means, Realme X2 also uses Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on front as well as on back – while outer frame is me of polycarbonate. It’s as thin (8.6mm) and as light (182g) too, which again, is amazing considering how Realme X2 is nearly all-glass. That’s almost as much as all-plastic Realme 5 Pro.   

I have h almost complaints with Realme phones when it comes to build quality and Realme X2 is different. Realme has kept power button and volume rocker on jacent sides which is a nice touch. It really helps that all buttons are well placed and offer excellent tactile feedback.     

only quibble I have with Realme X2’s design is that camera module sticks out a little too much which makes phone wobble when placed back facing down.   

Display 

Realme X2 has same 6.4-inch 1080p+ Super AMOLED display with a waterdrop-style as Realme XT. Realme X2 also retains Realme XT’s optical in-display fingerprint reer. 

I have h absolutely trouble with eir of se aspects in Realme XT and I have h complaints on se fronts in Realme X2 as well.  

screen of Realme X2 too gets plenty bright and viewing angles are quite good. Colours are nice and punchy - even unrealistically so, at times. display of Realme X2 is t HDR-certified like Redmi te 8 Pro but re’s Widevine L1 support out-of--box.   

optical in-display fingerprint scanner that sits at bottom of screen is fast and accurate.    

Camera 

Realme X2 has same qu rear camera setup as Realme XT. Here's a quick spec-check. 

-- 64MP main camera with f/1.8 aperture  

-- 8MP ultra-wide camera with 119-degree field-of-view  

-- 2MP depth camera  

-- 2MP macro lens 

Im quite is generally good across board, but if you were thinking to buy Realme X2 solely for that 64MP camera, well, don’t do that. Realme X2’s 64MP photos may get you wee bit more detail and allow you to zoom furr in, but more often than t, results are inconsistent.  

64MP main camera (that uses pixel binning to produce 16MP photos by default) can capture some good photos in ideal lighting with lots of detail and punchy colours. dynamic range is also quite good. Realme’s Chroma boost can bump up dynamic range a bit furr. But while se photos look appealing on phone’s OLED screen, viewing m on a larger display tells a different story. ise becomes evident, and so does softness, especially when you stray away from area in focus. effect becomes more prounced as intensity of light goes down. Realme’s night mode or Nightscape does help a bit in getting relatively brighter photos, but ise or grain remains an issue.    

8MP ultrawide camera offers a wider perspective but needs ideal lighting for best results. Realme X2 takes passable macros or close-up shots with macro lens and can capture one of best portraits in this price segment with its depth camera.    

Realme X2 can shoot n-stabilized 4K videos @30fps and electronically stabilized 1080p videos @30fps – results are one of best, in this price segment.  

Quick pointers on Realme X2 as an everyday phone -  

-- Realme X2 comes in 4GB/64GB, 6GB/64GB and 8GB/128GB configurations. That's LPDDR4X RAM and UFS2.1 stor. Realme X2 supports expandable stor of up to 256GB via a dedicated micro-SD card slot.  

-- Software inside is Android 9 Pie-based ColorOS 6.1. You can re more about it here. Realme has confirmed that Realme X2 will get Android 10-based ColorOS 7 in India in March 2020.   

-- Realme X2 has a mo speaker that pumps out good-quality audio that’s nice and loud with little or digitization at peak volume. ditionally, Realme X2 also supports Dolby Atmos.  

-- Phone calls me with Realme X2 are of good quality across board and I did t encounter any odd call drops beyond usual on my review unit. dual SIM phone supports dual 4G VoLTE. 

Should you buy Realme X2? 

I really like Realme XT. I think that it’s a fabulous phone. Realme X2 is t all that different, which means it’s also ar compelling option in under Rs 20,000 price segment. At same time, it brings some useful upgres that make sense going forward into 2020. But more than anything, it’s how Realme is giving buyers ar option to ‘indulge’ that sets Realme X2 apart from anything we’ve seen in this price segment in past. Realme X2 is yet ar winner from Realme that should keep Xiaomi on its toes for a while. 

(Photos by Saurabh Singh)

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