Realme GT 6T Review: Still Relevant?

Realme randomly shelved its GT series of mid-range smartphones after its GT Neo 3. The Neo series was not as popular as the older GT phones (including the leather-clad, suitcase-like Master Edition) because they did not offer all-round performance given their premium pricing. In 2024, Realme decided to revive its GT series once again with not one but two models. There’s the GT 6, which is a premium model, and then there’s the Realme GT 6T, which is the brand’s first T-series offering. The latter aims to offer equally good all-round performance at this competitive price point and surely checks a lot of boxes on paper. But does it perform like an all-rounder? And how does it stack up against the recently launched OnePlus Nord 4? Read on to find out.

Realme GT 6T Review Design: Treading a thin line

• Dimensions -162mm x 75.1mm x 8.65mm
• Weight – 191g
• Durability – IP65 (dust and water)

The Realme GT 6T is available in Fluid Silver, Miracle Purple, and Razor Green finishes. I received the Fluid Silver colourway in the top-end 12GB RAM and 512GB storage variant for review, which is priced at Rs. 35,999.

Its design is both practical and stylish. I like the dual-tone finish of the rear panel, which has a section around the three floating camera cutouts finished in a mirror-like finish, while the rest of the rear panel has this misty metallic finish which shines when light hits it at an angle.

The Realme GT 6T has a dual-tone finish for its plastic rear panel

 

The frame that holds both front and rear panels together is flat on all four sides, but this is prominent at the top and bottom. Despite the frame’s skinny appearance on the sides, which is where both the display and the rear panels converge, Realme has managed to squeeze in the power and volume rocker on the right, leaving the left side clean. The flat sides, which have bevelled edges, also make it easier to grip the otherwise slippery phone.

While the Realme GT 6T’s design looks identical to the more premium GT 6, the brand has cut down on the finish and materials used. For example, the rear panel of the GT 6T can be pressed down easily and has a flex to it. It is not made of glass or stiff polycarbonate but feels like soft plastic.

Realme may have its reasons (weight reduction or saving a few millimetres for its large VC cooling system) for going with this material, but it does feel a bit cheap for a mid-range smartphone. Then there’s its glossy finish, which makes the phone quite slippery. The combination of plastic and a glossy finish also makes it a major dust and smudge magnet. And in a city as humid as Mumbai, it takes a few seconds for the rear panel to become messy and grimy.

The Realme GT 6T’s plastic rear panel is a proper dust and fingerprint magnet

 

Given the flex that the rear panel has and that the frame is made out of polycarbonate, I was a bit surprised to learn that the phone has an IP65 rating, which offers good protection against dust and splashes of water. However, do keep in mind that water damage will not be covered under warranty.

Realme GT 6T Review Display: Looks great and runs great!

• Display – 6.78-inch, 1,264 x 2,780 pixels, full-HD+, 120Hz
• Display type – 3D curved, AMOLED (8T LTPO)
• Display protection – Gorilla Glass Victus 2

The large display has 3D curved edges, but Realme does make use of it by adding a slide-out console. Called the Smart Side-bar, it is useful when multitasking and can be pulled out by swiping on the curved edge. The curved edges, apart from making the display’s black borders appear thinner and uniform (they are physically thicker on the sides), also give the phone a sleek appearance despite its 8.65mm thickness.

The Realme GT 6T’s 3D-curved edge AMOLED panel gives the phone a slimmer appearance

 

Since this is an LTPO AMOLED panel, it is capable of dropping the screen’s refresh rate to 1Hz when not in use and cranks it up to 120Hz, 60Hz or 30Hz, depending on the application, reducing battery usage. The display is clearly visible even in direct sunlight and even has an extra brightness mode to make it even brighter by manually dialling it up when needed. It’s also HDR10 and Dolby Vision certified, and supported content in OTT apps appeared as expected. Colours are closer to accurate when viewed in the Pro (Cinematic) screen colour mode. HDR photos snapped by the phone’s cameras also looked great in full dynamic range on the Pro-XDR supported display.

Realme GT 6T Review Software: A bit messy

• Software – Realme UI 5.0
• Version – Android 14
• Latest security patch – 5 June, 2024

The phone’s software user interface is typically Realme and comes with the same personalisation options and settings available on OnePlus and Oppo devices. This also means Realme has acquired the newer AI-friendly updates and software features.

The AI Eraser photo editing tool isn’t reliable when it comes to tweaking photos. (Left: Original, right: edited)

 

One of them is called AI Smart Loop, which recognizes the content you long-press on and (with the power of AI) predicts the right recommendations (or apps). This works for images, text selections and screenshots. However, I did not find it as useful because the recommendations always seemed similar. The same goes for AI Smart Removal, which never managed to do a perfect job of object removal, even in the easiest of scenarios.

The Realme GT 6T comes pre-loaded with several third-party apps

 

With plenty of bloatware and preinstalled third-party apps (some of which cannot be uninstalled), I also noticed a lot of double apps. There are two apps for SMS (Google Messages and Messages), two file managers (Google Files and My Files), two web browsers (Internet and Google’s Chrome) and even two gallery apps (Google Photos and Photos). This can get overwhelming for someone who is used to a near-stock Android experience.

Realme GT 6T Review Performance: No problems here

• Processor – Qualcomm Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 (4nm)
• RAM – 8/12GB LPDDR5X
• Storage – 256/512GB UFS 4.0

With a top-end mid-range processor inside the Realme GT 6T, I expected no issues in terms of performance, and there were none.

With casual daily usage I faced no slow-downs or lag on my 12GB RAM variant of the phone. Animations and transitions, thanks to the responsive LTPO panel, appeared quite smooth, and apps remained in RAM for a long time.

The Realme GT 6T has a large vapour chamber cooling system, which keeps the phone cool when stressed

 

Gaming performance was quite smooth and stable when playing Call of Duty: Mobile and Asphalt Legends Unite. Thanks to the large vapour cooling chamber, I faced no heat-related issues whatsoever and this was effective even when using the camera app outdoors.

In terms of benchmarks, the phone surprisingly performed better than the OnePlus Nord 4 we reviewed as is visible from the table below. But the Poco F6 which is available at a similar price point, performed better with its Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 SoC.

Realme GT 6T Review Cameras: Gets the job done

• Main camera – 50MP (OIS), f/1.88 aperture, AF
• Ultra-wide camera – 8MP, f/2.2 aperture, FF
• Selfie – 32MP, f/2.4 aperture, FF

The Realme GT 6T’s primary camera captures binned 12-megapixel photos. These photos have good detail and great dynamic range ensuring plenty of visibility in the darker and brighter areas in any captured image. However, colours are a bit saturated and shooting at 2X digital zoom shows a noticeable reduction in quality, so it’s best avoided in low light.

The Realme GT 6T has two rear-facing cameras

 

Image quality at the camera’s native focal length (1X) is quite good when shooting at night. Photos are not very sharp but are low on noise. Colour reproduction is also quite good, but the camera tends to flatten out textures in some scenes, giving them a watercolour-like effect.

When using the portrait mode, edge-detection is decent but I did notice some flaws in slightly complex scenes. Selfies captured by the primary camera come out sharp with good detail and excellent dynamic range in daylight but are just passable in low light because of flattened textures and aggressive noise reduction.

Realme GT 6T Daylight camera samples. Top to bottom: Ultra-wide camera, primary camera, 2X digital zoom (tap images to expand)

 

Photos from the ultra-wide camera are strictly average, as they appear soft and blurry even in daylight. Noise is under control, but the longer exposures and sub-par lens setup end up making photos very soft and blurry.

Realme GT 6T selfie and low-light camera samples (Tap images to expand)

 

1080p videos appear scaled-down and lack detail when shooting in daylight. 4K recordings appear better, but I noticed some flickering when capturing complex textures or intricate patterns. There’s also visible noise in the shadows, which I did find a bit strange. As expected, low-light video recordings are just about passable as they have plenty of noise.

Realme GT 6T Review Battery: Charges really fast

• Battery capacity – 5,500mAh
• Charging rate – 120W (wired)

The Realme GT 6T comes with a 120W wired charging adapter in the box

 

Battery life as expected, is quite good. The large dual-cell battery not only charges up very quickly but can easily last two days with casual (non-gaming) usage. With camera and gaming usage, the phone will easily last a day and a bit more. Running our standard video loop test, the phone managed a good 24 hours and 32 minutes. Charging the device was equally impressive, reaching 93 percent (from a dead battery) in 30 minutes and completing the charge in just 38 minutes.

Realme GT 6T Review Verdict

The Realme GT 6T has turned out to be quite the opposite of its more expensive sibling, the Realme GT 6. While it’s just as capable as the older GT Neo models in terms of gaming performance, the 6T appears to follow the same path as its predecessors, which makes it hard to recommend as an all-rounder. Battery life and fast charging speeds still remain a very good reason to get a GT 6T, but I’m pretty sure most users will expect more from its cameras keeping in mind its Rs. 32,999 asking price.

If you are looking for better quality and a solid software experience, the OnePlus Nord 4 (Review) is an easy recommendation, given its all-metal design that does feel premium. The Poco F6 (Rs. 29,999 onwards) offers a similar feature set as the 6T, but with its Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor is a much better choice if you only have gaming on your mind.

For better camera performance, there’s Realme’s brand-new 13 Pro+ 5G (Review), which shockingly retails at the same price point. It offers a capable processor and a good telephoto camera performance like its predecessor.