I started using a realme smartphone with the realme 14 5G. Not to sound like I’m marketing this, but it remains one of my favorite phones not only because of the size, but also because of how easy it is to use.
I’ve always liked the straightforward design of realme phones, but most of all, their no-fuss camera is what keeps me sticking with the brand. So now that I’ve been using the realme 16 Pro 5G, the question is simple: does the love affair continue?
Short answer: yes.
The longer answer is that the realme 16 Pro 5G feels like a phone that understands what regular users actually want. You don’t need to spend hours figuring things out. You don’t need to dive into complicated settings just to get decent photos. And you don’t need to carry a power bank everywhere.
Display
The 6.78-inch AMOLED display is great for watching videos, scrolling through social media, or gaming. Colors look vibrant without looking too edited (I’m very particular in this aspect), and the display stays clear even outdoors. It’s not too small or not too big, although, as I’ve mentioned many times before, I really love big screen phones, regardless of whether it’s easy to carry with one hand or not. My concern is I want bigger fonts and images.
What I liked most was how smooth everything felt. Scrolling through Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and even just switching between apps felt fast because of the 144Hz refresh rate. It may be a small thing to some as it’s not really so much of a big deal to switch apps, but when you’re expecting a response from messaging apps, you can easily swipe before the messenger deletes it.
Even under direct sunlight, I could still see what’s on the screen. That may sound simple, but a lot of phones still struggle with brightness outdoors.
Despite the large display, the phone doesn’t feel too heavy in the hand. The curve on the sides make it look smaller though. It’s slim enough to hold comfortably, even during long use. realme also kept the design simple, which I personally prefer. It looks clean without trying too hard. I also got the Pebble Gray colorway, just the way I like it because it looks corporate especially without the protective case.
Performance
The MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Max 5G chipset handled social media, streaming, messaging, multitasking, and gaming without giving me problems. My nephew, who I tap when there’s a need to test games, tried Mobile Legends and Call of Duty Mobile, and both ran well on good graphics settings. And that one sentence pretty sums up what most casual gamers need: Walang lag.
Camera
But let’s be real. We all want a reliable camera when we buy our daily warrior of a smartphone.
It’s a 200MP main camera. While I have experienced other phones with 200MP cameras, there is something about realme 16 Pro 5G that feels separates it from the others. Yes, the pictures are sharp, bright, and the colors seem right. After much mulling, I realized they actually look natural or not overprocessed. Friends know how much I abhor overprocessed photos. Yes, I sometimes use filters when posting but too obvious overprocessed photos just don’t sit well with me.
You point, shoot, and most of the time, the photo already looks good enough to upload. Colors look natural, skin tones don’t look weird, and daytime shots are detailed. While I hardly used it for night shots, because I’m hardly outside beyond 6 p.m., some night shots also turned out better than I expected.
Who doesn’t love using portrait mode even if you are not taking a portrait. That blurred background gives more depth of field in your photos so maximize it.
The 50MP front camera also does a good job. Selfies look detailed without making your skin look overly smooth. Video calls also look sharp and clear.
AI features
I also ended up liking some of the AI features more than expected. If before, the usual selling point is the camera, these days, smartphone manufacturers bank on AI features to market their products. While, honestly, I don’t want to feed my face on some AI image editing, I found some features here are actually useful, especially for people who post often on social media.
AI LightMe helps improve lighting automatically, while AI StyleMe lets you play around with backgrounds and styles for photos.
AI Framing Master also helps suggest better framing and zoom, which is helpful if you’re not really into photography but still want better-looking shots. Imagine having photography lessons because you know you’ll carry this learnings when you move to another phone in the future.
AI Instant Clip is another nice addition because it can automatically create short video clips from your gallery, which is useful for TikTok or reels.
The good thing is these AI tools don’t feel forced. You can ignore them completely and still enjoy the phone.
Battery life is probably my favorite part of the realme 16 Pro 5G. And I can speak the same for the realme 14 5G. Man, I just love their battery life.
The 7,000mAh battery easily lasts the whole day, even with heavy use. For lighter users, it can stretch even longer. This is the kind of phone you can bring outside without stressing too much about your battery percentage.
And when you finally need to charge, the 80W fast charging helps a lot. Even a short charging session already gives enough battery for several hours.
realme UI 7.0 also stays easy to use. The interface feels clean, simple, and beginner-friendly overall.
So, yes, I guess that pretty sums up how this “love affair” with realme stands the test of time, even if it’s only been a year since realme 14. Still, I know many people like to have those fancy brands, it’s a status symbol. But I’m a very practical person, if it works for me, then it works for me. If a smartphone has all the things I need, proper display, large battery life, and solid performance, then I’m in.
Specs
- 6.78-inch AMOLED display
- FHD+ 1272 × 2772 resolution
- 144Hz refresh rate
- 240Hz touch sampling rate
- 1.07 billion colors
- 450 PPI
- Up to 6,500 nits peak brightness
- AGC DT Star D+ cover glass
- Thickness: 7.75mm
- Weight: 192g
- MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Max 5G chipset
- Arm Mali-G615 GPU
- realme UI 7.0
Rear Cameras:
- 200MP main camera with OIS
- 8MP ultra-wide camera
Front Camera:
- 50MP selfie camera
Video:
- 4K at 30fps
- 1080p at 60fps
- 7,000mAh battery
- 80W fast charging
AI Features
- AI Edit Genie 2.0
- AI LightMe
- AI StyleMe
- AI Perfect Shot
- AI Portrait Glow
- AI Framing Master
- AI Instant Clip
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