Realme 6 Pro review

Competition

At a price of INR17,999 in India and a projected number around the €300 mark in Europe, the Realme 6 Pro isn't exactly a cheap phone - Pros come at a price. The Redmi Note 9 Pro Max comes for roughly the same money with the same chipset, a bit more battery, and a higher-res macro cam. Then again, it's a 60Hz display on the Redmi, there's no telephoto cam or an ultra-wide selfie shooter.

If you're looking to save some cash, the Redmi Note 9 Pro (minus the Max) comes in at INR15,000 and is essentially the same package only with a 48MP main cam and a 16MP selfie unit in place of the Max's 64MP/32MP modules. The Realme 6 Pro is still, obviously, the superior phone.

There's also the Poco X2/Redmi K30 (whichever is available in your market) at the same price as the Realme 6 Pro. The Poco/Redmi beats the Realme in display refresh rate (120Hz vs. 90Hz), and the panel is also much brighter. The Realme continues to have a telephoto camera more than the competition, and while the Poco appears to have a second selfie shooter, it's a depth sensor and not nearly as useful as the 6 Pro's ultra-wide cam.

A Samsung Galaxy A51 is a viable option, particularly in western markets where its €300 price is more closely matched (at INR25K, it's a prohibitive 40% more than the Realme 6 Pro). The comes with a signature AMOLED display, which is better than the Realme's in all ways except refresh rate, and features higher-res ultra-wide and macro cams. Once again, the A51 has no telephoto or an ultra-wide selfie cam and also loses in the primary cam comparison. The Realme 6 Pro's chipset is vastly more powerful too.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro Max • Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro • Xiaomi Poco X2 • Samsung Galaxy A51

Verdict

The Realme 6 was already a competent package, and the Pro builds on that. It adds a telephoto camera on the back, which is unmatched in the segment, as it the ultra-wide selfie shooter. Beyond the mere hardware, the phone takes superior pictures too, some of the better ones for the money.

The 90Hz display, the great battery life (so what if the plain 6's is longer still) with fast charging, and capable midrange chipset round up to make the Realme 6 Pro another enticing offer when it comes to value for money, and an easy recommendation from us.

Pros

• Eye-catching design.
• High refresh rate display, can be color accurate too.
• Excellent battery life, fast charging.
• Clean yet feature-rich software, excellent performance for the class, no throttling.
• Properly good image quality across the board with minor exceptions.
• Telephoto cam on the back and an ultra-wide cam on the front are hard to come by in this segment.

Cons

• Display is on the dim side.
• Macro camera wouldn't be missed if it wasn't there.
• No image stabilization in 4K video.