Earlier this year, the series joined the “40 million units club”, marking the milestone of reaching 40 million sales globally in just over two years. And now, it’s got two new devices poised to keep up the pace: Realme 10 Pro 5G and Realme 10 Pro+ 5G. Between the two, the Realme 10 Pro+ 5G is the higher-end offering, featuring a 120Hz curved display, a 108MP primary camera, a Dimensity 1080 5G chipset, and a 5000mAh battery. Compared to its predecessor— Realme 9 Pro+—the Realme 10 Pro+ gets a few notable additions and omissions, some being good, while others raise some questions. So, for a starting price of Rs 24,999, is the Realme 10 Pro+ a true successor and a strong performer to take on its competition in the mid-range category? Let’s find out.
Realme 10 Pro+ 5G: What’s Good?
One of the biggest highlights of the Realme 10 Pro+ is its design. The phone comes with a curved plastic back that seamlessly blends with the polycarbonate mid-frame to give a striking appearance: one that offers a good in-hand feel and doesn’t feel cheap. Our unit is in the Nebula Blue colorway, and it manages to conceal fingerprint smudges nicely. We also like that despite holding a 5000mAh battery underneath, the Realme 10 Pro+ also feels surprisingly thin and light in hand. As such, we recommend putting on a case, like the one bundled with the device, to get a confident grip and prevent accidental drops.
Similar to the design, the display is another eye-catching aspect of the Realme 10 Pro+. Literally! It’s a 6.7-inch curved AMOLED panel with a 61° curvature and a 93.65% screen-to-body ratio. A curved panel gives the Realme 10 Pro+ a “premium feel,” and including it on a device in this price range is a commendable move by Realme, as curved displays have generally been reserved for high-end smartphones. Likewise, the display’s color accuracy is also pretty good, and you can choose to set it to your preference using the Pro mode. It’s a high-refresh-rate panel that can refresh at 120Hz, which is a nice touch and allows for a smooth and snappy user experience. In addition, the display is also TÜV Rheinland Flicker Free certified, which means it eliminates the flicker at low brightness levels to reduce eye strain and offer a better viewing experience at night. Moving on to the performance, the Realme 10 Pro+ does well on this front too. Under the hood, it runs on a MediaTek Dimensity 1080 5G chipset clocked at 2.6GHz, coupled with 6/8 GB of RAM and 128/256 GB of internal storage. There’s no expandable storage on the device. In everyday use, these internals mean the device can handle most day-to-day tasks you throw at it comfortably, including casual gaming. To test this out, we played titles like Call of Duty Mobile, Asphalt, and Apex Legends on the device during our testing and had an overall good experience. And the best part is the device remained cool throughout. However, that said, we did notice some frame drops in Apex Legends (in frames with intense graphics) occasionally after playing for some time, albeit nothing too significant.
Also contributing to the Realme 10 Pro+’s smooth operation is its software. It’s the latest Realme UI 4.0 based on Android 13, which brings along a bunch of new features, including some new UI elements that offer a smooth and snappy experience. Animations and gestures are smooth, and the subtle UI element changes allow for a more cohesive visual appearance on the device. Realme also offers a few customization options on the new UI, so you can personalize it based on your preference. Another area where the Realme 10 Pro+ excels is the battery life. Realme packs a 5000mAh on the device, which can easily see you through a day with moderate use. We consistently got over 6 hours of screen-on-time with day-to-day tasks (YouTube, social media, and music streaming) and little gaming. When the battery runs out of juice, you can use the 80W charger bundled in the box to top it up. However, keep in mind that the phone only supports 67W SuperVOOC charging, which, in our opinion, is still adequate and can charge the battery from 0 to 100% in roughly 50 minutes. Among other things, the Realme 10 Pro+ comes with O-Haptics. It delivers tight and accurate haptics, which we really appreciate on a device in this price range. Similarly, there’s also an in-display fingerprint scanner, which is quick, accurate, and unlocks the phone instantly. There are bottom-firing stereo speakers on the device, and they sound decent and get quite loud.
Realme 10 Pro+ 5G: What’s Not So Good?
We appreciate Realme for adding a curved display panel on the Realme 10 Pro+, given it’s a mid-range offering. But at the same time, we also feel this premium in-hand experience comes at a cost: usability. Even though smaller bezels and a curved display generally make holding the device easier, they don’t really facilitate the user experience, especially with one-hand use. So, if you care more about usability, you may be a little disappointed with the Realme 10 Pro+. Similarly, the variety of compatible screen protectors (with good fit) available for curved displays is also limited, which is another reason that can affect your purchase decision. Another gripe we have with the display is that, despite having an HDR10+ certification, it still can’t play HDR content on Netflix. It’s something we’ve seen on many Realme devices, and it’s time Realme addresses it.
On the software front, although we’re impressed with the smooth and fluid experience that the Realme UI 4.0 offers, one thing that bothers us the most and makes us hesitant to recommend the device is its bloatware situation. Realme pre-installs a slew of bloatware apps on the Realme 10 Pro+, a majority of which you won’t ever use. What makes things worse are the terrible app recommendations that pop up after you install an app from the Play Store. During our time with the device, almost every time we installed apps, the recommendations it threw at us weren’t related to the apps we installed. In fact, the majority of these suggestions were heinous, making it difficult to recommend this device to others, especially kids and elders. Moving on to the camera, the Realme 10 Pro+ clicks average-looking shots. It sports a triple-camera system with a 108MP Samsung HM6 primary sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide sensor, and a 2MP (4cm) macro lens. The primary sensor clicks day-light shots quite decently most of the time but fails to maintain the same indoors, where it struggles to get the saturation, shadows, and contrast right. Night-time shots come out decent, but the sensor struggles to get the colors right. When it comes to low-lighting conditions, the quality drops as the colors, saturation levels, and shadows go for a toss completely. Part of the reason for this is the lack of OIS, which is unfortunate because the Realme 9 Pro+ (review) did come with OIS, and that’s what allowed it to deliver better-looking night-time shots. On the other hand, the wide-angle lens is very underwhelming, and the images often come out soft and inaccurate, which is unacceptable. Not to mention, the color temperature shift between the main camera and the ultra-wide is very apparent.
Similarly, the macro lens on the Realme 10 Pro+ is downright bad, but we wouldn’t complain much since it’s something that can also be seen on many other devices in this price bracket. Talking about the front-facing camera, the 16MP shooter on the device captures average shots. Although it manages to get the skin tone accurate most of the time, the saturation levels and contrast are still not produced accurately, which gives them an unnatural appearance. Low-light selfies come out soft and look unnatural. Likewise, much like still shots, the videos also come out average on the Realme 10 Pro+, and the lack of OIS certainly makes a huge difference here too.
Realme 10 Pro+ Specifications
Realme 10 Pro+ Review Verdict: Should You Buy the Realme 10 Pro+ 5G?
Realme’s 10 Pro+ 5G is a visually appealing device with solid looks and feels. However, taking into account all the pros and cons we’ve discussed above, the Realme 10 Pro+, for its starting price of Rs 24,999, finds itself in an awkward spot.
While the phone manages to get things like the design, display, and performance right, it falters in two key areas: camera and software experience. But considering the price bracket that the Realme 10 Pro+ falls under, having a good design, display, and performance are equally as important as having good cameras and a clean software experience. Hence, choosing whether you want to buy the Realme 10 Pro+ or not depends on your personal preference. Here’s a breakdown, which we hope should help you in your decision-making process.
Buy the Realme 10 Pro+ 5G if:
You want a thin and lightweight design You want a high-refresh-rate display You’re comfortable using a curved display You want a good battery life You want good haptics
Don’t Buy the Realme 10 Pro+ 5G if:
You’re uncomfortable using a curved display You want to play graphics-intensive titles at max graphics settings You want a clean Android experience You want the best cameras
If you’re coming from a Realme 9 Pro+, we feel you don’t need to upgrade to the Realme 10 Pro+, as it can still serve you well and, in fact, offer better results with the camera. Alternatively, if you want more options, you can buy the Redmi K50i (review) if performance is of utmost importance to you. Or, get the Motorola Edge 30, in case you want a device with a better camera. Buy Realme 10 Pro+ 5G
