Realme X2 review: All charged up and ready to game on 

Back in September, Realme launched the Realme XT - India’s first smartphone with a 64MP camera. During the same keynote event, Realme had also announced that it will launch an even more powerful follow-up version of the Realme XT, aka the Realme XT 730G, in India in December. The Realme XT 730G will boast of the same design as well as the same 64MP camera, but there will be a faster processor inside as well as faster charging.   

It’s December and, in line with that announcement, Realme has indeed launched the Realme XT 730G in India. The phone in question is called the Realme X2 now, but that’s alright, I wasn’t very fond of the name Realme XT 730G anyway. It seemed like a bad idea from the start. I am more excited that everything else about this phone, the Realme X2, falls in line with Realme’s promise(s). Because that’s what really matters. 

You see, the goal of the Realme X2 is very simple. It isn’t out to replace the Realme XT. It is simply a Realme XT with a faster processor and faster charging – you can call it the Realme XT Pro maybe. But unlike other ‘pro’ setups, this one isn’t an ‘absolute’ must have. Something like it is in the case of say the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 and Redmi Note 8 Pro, or even the Redmi K20 and Redmi K20 Pro. Unlike any of these phones, the Realme X2 – or as I like to call it, the Realme XT Pro – doesn’t try too hard to differentiate itself from the non-pro version. 

That's a good thing because then you don’t have to sift through product pages and countless reviews to be sure, what is it that you really want. The Realme XT is meant for the masses. The Realme X2 is also meant for the masses – but it’s ‘specifically’ meant for those who can afford to extend their budget by another couple of thousand rupees. Those extras will get you a phone with faster gaming performance, slightly better battery life, and faster charging. The Realme X2 also has a higher-resolution selfie camera, if you’re into that sort of thing. If those are the things that you’re looking for, and you have the cash to spare, the Realme X2 is what you should be looking at. If not, the Realme XT will serve you well. It is still as ‘real’ value for money as they come, after all.  

The Realme X2 is so similar to the Realme XT at heart, you can’t talk about one without mentioning the other. So, let’s do this review a little differently. Let’s start with the differences. 

Performance 

The Realme XT is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 processor. The Realme XT 730G has a more powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G processor. The gaming centric Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G was announced in April and is built on an 8nm manufacturing process (as opposed to the SD712 which is a 10nm chip). 

More specifically, the Snapdragon 730G boasts of an 8-core CPU - two 'big' Kryo 470 cores based on ARM Cortex-A76 clocked at 2.2 GHz and six 'small' power-efficient cores based on Cortex-A55 clocked at 1.8GHz. The SoC has an Adreno 618 GPU. 

The Snapdragon 730G inside the Realme X2 is more powerful than the Snapdragon 712 inside the Realme XT, but chances are, it may not be very evident to you in day to day usage. Both the phones feel fast while handling basic tasks, with a difference so minimal, you would be hard pressed to notice it, 9 out of 10 times. But there will be differences when you’re browsing the internet, say on Chrome, and you have multiple tabs open. The Realme X2 will hold the edge there. It will also be tad better at multitasking. But nothing so drastic, that it would become a deal breaker in the case of the ‘less’ powerful Realme XT. 

The real difference will come in the form of gaming performance. Simply put, if you’re looking to get a phone with high-end gaming credentials under Rs 20,000, the Realme X2 is the way to go. Not the Realme XT. That’s not to say that the Realme XT can’t handle GPU-intensive game, including PUBG at high settings. It can do that well enough. It’s just that with the Realme X2, the all-round experience will be better, with minimal or no frame rate drops (most of the time) and without breaking a sweat. The Realme X2 is a phone that you can enjoy high-end gaming on.  

But, it’s not the most powerful gaming phone in its category. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro, with its MediaTek Helio G90T processor, beats the Realme X2 both in benchmarks and real-world usage. Also, the Redmi Note 8 Pro is even more affordable. That said, the Realme X2 is more efficient, and runs cooler in comparison, so that’s something that you should keep in mind. 

Battery life 

The Realme X2 is a more efficient phone in comparison to the Realme XT and that reflects in the phone’s outstanding battery life. The Realme X2 packs a 4,000mAh battery – same as the Realme XT - and is easily a one-day phone for even the most demanding users. Toning things down further should get you even more. But that’s also largely the case with the Realme XT.  

Where the Realme X2 really takes the lead is in the form of faster charging. Unlike the Realme XT, the Realme X2 supports Oppo’s VOOC 4.0 flash charge through USB Type-C and ships with a 30W fast charger (and proprietary cable) in the box that can charge the whole thing from 0-100 per cent in around one hour and ten minutes. The Realme XT, with 20W VOOC 3.0, does that in around one and a half hours. It’s all about the ‘added’ convenience of getting a top-up faster, between the two, and in case that’s what you’re looking for, you already know the phone you should opt for. 

Be that as it may, this insanely fast charging – 20W/30W - may have detrimental effect on battery longevity. Having used both these phones at length, they do tend to run warm while charging which is expected, but just something to be wary about.  

Selfie camera 

The Realme X2 has a higher-resolution 32MP front camera – while the Realme XT comes with a 16MP selfie shooter. The Realme XT already shoots great natural selfies with good detail in all sorts of lighting conditions. The Realme X2 is not that far behind, but somehow, I did not come out very impressed with its colour science. Still, all those extra megapixels do entail in marginally more detail, so that helps.     

Price 

Realme has launched the Realme X2 in India in as many as three configurations. While the 4GB/64GB variant will sell for Rs 16,999, the 6GB/128GB and 8GB/128GB variants will sell for Rs 18,999 and Rs 19,999 respectively. 

The Realme XT also comes in the same configurations. While the 4GB/64GB variant of the Realme XT costs Rs 15,999, the 6GB/64GB and 6GB/128GB variants sell for Rs 16,999 and Rs 18,999 respectively. 

Now, the similarities. 

Design 

The Realme X2 looks ‘exactly’ like the Realme XT. The Realme X2 is also available in Pearl White and Pearl Blue, like the Realme XT. There is a new avocado-flavored Pearl Green option that Realme has introduced with the Realme X2, which is striking. The core design stays the same though.    

Which means, the Realme X2 also uses Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the front as well as on the back – while the outer frame is made of polycarbonate. It’s as thin (8.6mm) and as light (182g) too, which again, is amazing considering how the Realme X2 is nearly all-glass. That’s almost as much as the all-plastic Realme 5 Pro.   

I have had almost no complaints with Realme phones when it comes to build quality and the Realme X2 is no different. Realme has kept the power button and the volume rocker on adjacent sides which is a nice touch. It really helps that all the buttons are well placed and offer excellent tactile feedback.     

The only quibble I have with the Realme X2’s design is that the camera module sticks out a little too much which makes the phone wobble when placed back facing down.   

Display 

The Realme X2 has the same 6.4-inch 1080p+ Super AMOLED display with a waterdrop-style as the Realme XT. The Realme X2 also retains the Realme XT’s optical in-display fingerprint reader. 

I have had absolutely no trouble with either of these aspects in the Realme XT and I have had no complaints on these fronts in the Realme X2 as well.  

The screen of the Realme X2 too gets plenty bright and viewing angles are quite good. Colours are nice and punchy - even unrealistically so, at times. The display of the Realme X2 is not HDR-certified like the Redmi Note 8 Pro but there’s Widevine L1 support out-of-the-box.   

The optical in-display fingerprint scanner that sits at the bottom of the screen is fast and accurate.    

Camera 

The Realme X2 has the same quad rear camera setup as the Realme XT. Here's a quick spec-check. 

-- 64MP main camera with f/1.8 aperture  

-- 8MP ultra-wide camera with 119-degree field-of-view  

-- 2MP depth camera  

-- 2MP macro lens 

Image quite is generally good across the board, but if you were thinking to buy the Realme X2 solely for that 64MP camera, well, don’t do that. The Realme X2’s 64MP photos may get you wee bit more detail and allow you to zoom further in, but more often than not, the results are inconsistent.  

The 64MP main camera (that uses pixel binning to produce 16MP photos by default) can capture some good photos in ideal lighting with lots of detail and punchy colours. The dynamic range is also quite good. Realme’s Chroma boost can bump up the dynamic range a bit further. But while these photos look appealing on the phone’s OLED screen, viewing them on a larger display tells a different story. Noise becomes evident, and so does softness, especially when you stray away from the area in focus. The effect becomes more pronounced as the intensity of light goes down. Realme’s night mode or Nightscape does help a bit in getting relatively brighter photos, but noise or grain remains an issue.    

The 8MP ultrawide camera offers a wider perspective but needs ideal lighting for best results. The Realme X2 takes passable macros or close-up shots with the macro lens and can capture one of the best portraits in this price segment with its depth camera.    

The Realme X2 can shoot non-stabilized 4K videos @30fps and electronically stabilized 1080p videos @30fps – the results are one of the best, in this price segment.  

Quick pointers on Realme X2 as an everyday phone -  

-- The Realme X2 comes in 4GB/64GB, 6GB/64GB and 8GB/128GB configurations. That's LPDDR4X RAM and UFS2.1 storage. The Realme X2 supports expandable storage of up to 256GB via a dedicated micro-SD card slot.  

-- Software inside is Android 9 Pie-based ColorOS 6.1. You can read more about it here. Realme has confirmed that the Realme X2 will get Android 10-based ColorOS 7 in India in March 2020.   

-- The Realme X2 has a mono speaker that pumps out good-quality audio that’s nice and loud with little or no digitization at peak volume. Additionally, the Realme X2 also supports Dolby Atmos.  

-- Phone calls made with the Realme X2 are of good quality across the board and I did not encounter any odd call drops beyond the usual on my review unit. The dual SIM phone supports dual 4G VoLTE. 

Should you buy the Realme X2? 

I really like the Realme XT. I think that it’s a fabulous phone. The Realme X2 is not all that different, which means it’s also another compelling option in the under Rs 20,000 price segment. At the same time, it brings some useful upgrades that make sense going forward into 2020. But more than anything, it’s how Realme is giving buyers another option to ‘indulge’ that sets the Realme X2 apart from anything we’ve seen in this price segment in the past. The Realme X2 is yet another winner from Realme that should keep Xiaomi on its toes for a while. 

(Photos by Saurabh Singh)

Also Read:  Realme XT Review: Really Good Value For Money

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