Let me introduce my new phone, the Realme 5 Pro. First of all it’s one of the phones made from the same manufacturers as the popular Oppo. This means it’s another one of those Chinese phones. The basic specifications are 8G RAM, 128G internal storage expandable to 256G, dual sim + memory slot. I bought it online because you can’t pick it up from a store. This didn’t really scare me because I got it from the JB Hi Fi website so I know I can send it back if I REALLY need to. But I have managed to get my hands on one, my daughter got one a few weeks back so I have been able to have a play with it anyway.
We did our homework, looked at all the reviews, stacked up the ones in the shops against the specs online for the Realme, and figured out that you can’t really get better at the moment for a phone that’s less than $400. In fact, I like the phone so much that I got one for my wife too. My work colleague looks like he might get one as well so with four people getting the same phone, I think we’ll be able to really put this phone to the test.
First Impressions – Day one
My first thought was that it was big, the screen was large, the back was pretty and blue, the sides looked purple, but that’s not what you want to hear right?
The set up was quite painless thanks to Google’s app back up routines and with the “Clone Phone” app pre-installed it could have been easier. I set up three different security options to open the phone, first of all was the 6 digit passkey, then my face, then I tapped the fingerprint reader on the back for what seemed a whole lot of times to the point that I was thinking I was doing it wrong.
Once the security was up and running and my 60 odd apps were being downloaded I set the phone down to have dinner.
Picking up the phone after dinner it was down to business getting Tasker operational, copying music onto the phone, installing the SIM card and swapping the SD Card from the Samsung so I could make copying easier. Finding the passwords to my most commonly used apps and getting those up and running.
Once the bare essentials were performed I had time to look at the apps. I was very surprised that there wasn’t more actual bloat wear. I’d read reviews that there was a lot of it, but with the exception of a few, like Opera, Game Space, Google Music and Facebook I’m probably going to use everything.
I had started the day thinking that I would try my hardest not to replace any of the stock apps for as long as I can. The first casualty was Gboard, Googles own keyboard. Why did Gboard get that axe you ask? When in Google Sheets I wanted to enter text and I couldn’t switch from number to letters no matter how hard I tried….. GBoard…. You’re Fired! Bring back Swiftkey!
Settling in – Day Two
So far so good, I haven’t replaced any other stock apps but I’m already getting to dislike the stock phone dialler app. On the old phone I could put a link to my most favorite contacts on the home screens and therefore have a very quick and easy link to send them texts or call them… I can’t do that with the current dialler, I predict that it’s days are limited. Apart from that I ended the day with about 54% battery and I used it a lot during the day, as you do with new toys. My Wife who used hers at school a lot ended the day with over 60% battery which is quite amazing and my daughter who used hers more than me was just under 50% at the same time. I have to say that I’ve been impressed so far. The phone is snappy the fingerprint unlock is amazingly quick and the screen is clear.
One thing I found out regarding the Bluetooth and Tasker is that Tasker requires permissions every time it wants to toggle the bluetooth modem. This means that I can’t run my bluetooth switching routines for morning and evenings to and from work. If I want to use bluetooth in the car, I have to do that manually. This is not preferred and I hope to find a work around one day.
Having time to Play – Day 3
After a settling in period you have time to start looking at all the new little features that I didn’t have before. On the screen side of things there’s night mode that reduces the blue light, there’s grey scale and a dark mode. You can turn off all those pesky notifications or send them into “Unimportant” mode which hides them but keeps them available. There’s a smart drive feature which will try to automatically connect to the car’s Bluetooth and will send a text when you reject a phone call.
During this day the idea that I can actually start using apps that would have slowed my S5 to a standstill starts to dawn on me.
Expanding my horizons – Days 4 and 5
OK, This is where I start to look closer at the Google Assistant and brag to my wife that I have walked further than her, due mostly because the phone doesn’t fit well in her pocket and lays around on the coffee table at home while I put it in my pocket every chance I get at home and work. It’s also the point where I start thinking that I’m amazed at how quickly Google Chrome opens up soI can start searching for interesting topics like “Office 365 ocr” or “Scarlett Johansson Movies” and I marvel at how quickly I can get the results. This thing is quick, very quick, not only that but I can get through a whole day with battery to spare, something I could only dream of with the S5 on the best day (granted the S5 was going grey and using a cane).
I start thinking about installing fitness apps and trackers, I even start to consider installing the full version of Word and Excel on the phone. I’ve already installed “Google Lens“, “Office Lens“, and re-installed my bar scanner… because I can. My daughter suggested we join together on a Life360 Family group so we can know where we are, right before she turned off her location setting.
So far I haven’t replaced any other stock apps but again the limitations of the stock contacts and dialer app have me yearning for my previous one. I doubt I will keep the stock app but you know it’s still not too bad. My previous SMS messaging app Textra is also looking good at the moment instead of the stock one. I guess I’ll have to do a review of that one for you.
Final Words – Days 6 and 7
At the end of Day 7 I can honestly say that this phone has set a new benchmark for me. Sure it doesn’t have NFC so I can’t tap the back of it at the stores and it doesn’t have an inbuilt heart monitor. It also doesn’t make coffee, but that’s what I have an espresso machine for.
I went back to my S5 for a look and feel and noticed that I have already become accustomed to the large screen of the Realme and I’m finding that I’m using my gestures for every other phone I lay my hands on but one thing about that, sometimes the gestures don’t work for me. It’s an annoyance which might drive me back to using the soft buttons along the bottom. So in my traditional style of review…
Apart from the Bluetooth switching issue, which I think is an Android problem there’s nothing I don’t like about the phone, it’s snappy, doesn’t come with too many unused apps, has a load of good features. The only niggle I have is that sometimes the gestures don’t work, I’ll either get used to them or go back to soft buttons. My wife loves the Realme and my work colleague has just received his Realme 5 Pro in the mail today.
If you decide to get yourself one of these phones let me know what you think of them, I’d love to find out what you think.
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