Unlike parent company Oppo, which always follows or introduces new technology trends, Realme mostly focuses on providing users a good experience at a more affordable price.

That strategy is evident in all 6 Realme smartphones launched in the Indian market in less than a year. It can be said that Realme's products offer good hardware configuration compared to the selling price, similar to what Xiaomi is doing.

The Realme 3 Pro continues to be the product of that strategy. This phone is available in two versions: a 3GB RAM / 32GB memory version for Rs. 8,499 and a 4GB RAM / 128GB storage for Rs. 13,999, and 6GB RAM + 128GB storage for Rs. 15,999. At this price point, Realme equips the product with an impressive configuration: Snapdragon 710 processor, 4,045 mAh battery that supports 20W VOOC 3.0 fast charging, and a 16MP dual-camera setup.

Realme 3 Pro: Display

Realme 3 Pro's waterdrop screen has the same specs as the Oppo F9 launched late last year: 6.3-inch IPS LCD panel, Ful- HD + resolution (2340 x 1080 pixels) with a pixel density of 409 PPI. The quality of the screen panel also has the same characteristics as that of the Oppo F9.

The color is tweaked by the manufacturer a bit darker than the reality. The maximum brightness is quite high and the viewing angle of the screen is wide. You can also adjust the colour temperature of the handset, but I’m not a big fan of it as it feels like thee is a yellow overlay over the screen. When taking pictures outdoors, the brightness of the screen is enough for you to view the shot read the text, or play games pretty comfortably. 

In terms of sound, this phone has only one external speaker located on the bottom edge. The loudspeaker has a fairly large volume and doesn’t get distorted when increasing to high levels.

Realme 3 Pro: Performance

Realme 3 Pro comes pre-installed with Color OS 6 interface, based on Android 9. This is the software that Realme and Oppo parent company use on all smartphones in 2019 such as Realme 3, Oppo F11 Pro, or Oppo Reno. New features of the Color OS 6 include a bright interface with white tones, a new Oppo Sans font, and an app tray similar to stock Android. On Realme 3 Pro, the application tray is set by default, not an option like other Oppo handsets. The sad thing is the lack of Dark Mode, which is becoming a trend on the new generation operating systems.

In terms of performance, this is the highlight of the Realme 3 Pro as it is equipped with the Snapdragon 710 chip that is often used on products at higher price ranges, such as the Oppo Reno. Along with that quite powerful chip, the device has two memory options: 4GB RAM / 64GB storage and 6GB RAM / 128GB storage.

On the performance measurement software, Realme 3 Pro (4GB RAM version / 64GB memory) outperforms products of the same price range as the Honor 8X and compares with products in the higher price segment of below Rs. 15,000. In particular, the graphics score of the machine is superior to competing phones using the Helio P70 and Kirin 710 chips.

In practical use, the Snapdragon 710 chip is good enough for everyday use. Apps open and close quickly while switching between apps and interfaces on the screen is pretty smooth. It can also handle quite well the current Android games, including top games like PUBG Mobile.

In order for you to easily imagine the gaming performance of the machine, we used the GameBench application (www.gamebench.net) to evaluate the smoothness and stability of the Realme 3 Pro gaming performance. Some familiar games with moderate to heavy graphics are used in this test, including Dead Trigger 2, Warhammer 40,000 Freeblade, and PUBG Mobile.

The Realme 3 Pro achieved a smooth 60 fps with quite high stability in both games. Notably, the phone did not need to degrade the graphics quality to achieve such fps in the two games.

Particularly with PUBG Mobile, Realme 3 Pro also had quite good performance. The handset achieved an average of 30 fps with up to 96% stability when playing in high graphics (HD) mode, but if the graphics are reduced to a lower level (Balanced), the fps increased to 40 with 91% stability. Note that with this game, the current high-end smartphones only reach 40 fps when playing in high-graphics mode due to fps cap.

Realme 3 Pro: Battery life

The Realme 3 Pro has a 4,045 mAh battery. In our tests, users can watch movies on the phone continuously for more than 13 hours or surf the web for more than 8 hours, or play games for nearly 6 hours. Note that this is the test result from the time the battery is full to 10%, not until the battery is fully drained. This is quite a good result compared to its rivals. The device is surely enough for ordinary users to comfortably use the device for daily tasks without worrying about running out of battery in the middle of the day.

In terms of charging time, the Realme 3 Pro features VOOC 3.0 20W fast charging technology. Fully charging time for the device is about 80 minutes, in which the first 30 minutes charged 48% and 1 hour to 93%. 

Realme 3 Pro: Camera

In the sea of 48MP cameras, the Realme 3 Pro seems to be a bit inferior with only a 16MP main sensor. Paired with a 5MP portrait camera, users who are interested in taking photos could lose interest on this phone as it doesn’t have the flexibility of the ultra-wide-angle camera as seen on the Galaxy M30. On the front, it gets a 25MP camera for capturing selfies. The camera app is pretty easy to use and navigate. You might notice that the app is very similar to that of the iPhone.

Image quality is nice, but not that great when you take the competition into consideration. The device clicks good shots in day-light scenes, but the dynamic range is less than ideal. Colors are slightly boosted up if the AI mode is activated and detects the object. In low-light scenes, you won’t get a high level of detail on the photos.