Rating： 4
I purchased the realme GT2 Explorer Master Edition (真我GT2大师探索版).
Hidden gaming smartphone
The realme GT2 Explorer Master Edition is a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 powered smartphone.
It has features that make it as good as a gaming smartphone, including shoulder buttons that are not visible from the outside and frame interpolation of Genshin to 90 FPS for smooth motion.
The bezel-less design is nearly even on all four sides, and the beige leather, which is rare for a smartphone, makes for a great design.
This review is done on the RMX3551_11.A.12_0120_202207191345, 8GB+256GB version.
- High performance & power saving 8+ Gen 1
- Vivid BOE AMOLED flat display
- Bezel-less design with nearly the same narrowness on all four sides
- 5000mAh battery with 80W charging capability
- Built-in microscope camera with up to 40x magnification
- Invisible shoulder touch buttons on board
- 90FPS frame interpolation available for Genshin
- Slow for LPDDR5x memory
- Performance degradation due to heat generation is greater than other 8+ Gen 1 phones
- Benchmark boosting
| realme GT2 Explorer Master Edition RMX3551 | |
|---|---|
| OS | Android 12 |
| RAM | 8GB/12GB LPDDR5x |
| Storage | 128GB / 256GB UFS 3.1 |
| SoC | Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 |
| Display | 6.7inch FHD+ 120Hz AMOLED |
| Size | 161.4mm × 74.3mm × 8.5mm |
| Weight | 195g |
| SIM | nano SIM + nano SIM |
| Rear Camera | 50MP (Sony IMX766) + 50MP (Ultra-wide Samsung S5KJN1) + 2MP (Microscope GalaxyCore gc02m1b) |
| Front Camera | 16MP (Samsung S5K3P9) |
| Battery | 5000mAh |
| USB Port | USB Type-C (USB 2.0) |
| Bands | 5G NR: SA: n1/n3/n5/n7/n8/n20/n28A/n38/n40/n41/n66/n77/n78 NSA: n41/n77/n78 GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 CDMA 1x: BC0 WCDMA: B1/B2/B4/B5/B6/B8/B19 FDD-LTE: B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28A/B66 TDD-LTE: B34/B38/B39/B40/B41 |
Index
- 1 Hidden gaming smartphone
- 2 Beautiful bezel-less display
- 3 High-speed in-screen fingerprint sensor
- 4 Leather back with good feel
- 5 Fisheye and microscope cameras
- 6 Supports up to 100W fast charging
- 7 Dolby Atmos supported stereo speakers
- 8 Scores are useless due to benchmark boosting
- 9 World’s first LPDDR5x memory on board, but not performing
- 10 Performance that allows Genshin to play at an average of 51.1 FPS
- 11 Genshin 90FPS play is possible, albeit unstable, with frame interpolation
- 12 Conclusion
Accessories include a protective case, 100W charger, USB Type-C cable, and instructions.
Unfortunately, 100V can only output a maximum of 11V/7.3A = 80.3W.
Beautiful bezel-less display
The realme GT2 Explorer Master Edition has a very narrow four-sided edge and a flat display for easy edge-to-edge viewing.
Protective film is applied from the beginning.
It uses BOE’s BF092_AB241 panel and SSAB390011 TP, which is a diamond array similar to Samsung’s.
It is so beautiful that it is comparable to Samsung AMOLED.
When compared, the realme GT2 Explorer Master Edition has a slightly higher contrast than the Samsung E5 display, and the blacks seem to float a bit more.
The touch latency measured by the WALT Latency Timer was 7.4 ms from touch to kernel, 6.3 ms from kernel to Java, and 27.5 ms for screen rendering, for a total of 41.2 ms.
It is equipped with the Pixelworks X7 chip, and Video Motion Enhancement can boost low frame rate video to 60FPS or 120FPS with MEMC frame interpolation.
The result is a considerably smoother video.
Unfortunately, it is Widevine L3.
High-speed in-screen fingerprint sensor
The realme GT2 Explorer Master Edition has an in-screen fingerprint sensor.
Authentication was quite fast and rarely failed.
There are settings to assist fingerprint authentication, such as the ability to display a fingerprint authentication icon when the device is moved or to enable authentication even when the icon is not displayed.
Leather back with good feel
The realme GT2 Explorer Master Edition was designed by The North Face designer Jae Jung.
In the hard box field color, recycled leather is used for a nice touch, and the burnt brown part at the edge acts as a non-slip surface.
At first I thought it was weird that only the upper left side had no decoration like screw holes, but in the real thing, the calm chocolate-colored color and the good touch outweighed it, and I didn’t mind so much.
Well, the back of a smartphone is touched more often than seen…
The weight is 196.4g including the initially installed protective film.
Fisheye and microscope cameras
realme GT2 Explorer Master Edition has
- 50MP (Sony IMX766)
- 50MP (Ultra-wide Samsung S5KJN1)
- 2MP (Microscope GalaxyCore gc02m1b)
triple cameras.
All photos taken hand-held and in auto are stored here.
The saturation does not seem to be too extreme, and it is easy to distinguish between red and magenta.
Night scenes in particular are quite strong, and even scenes that are dark to the naked eye can be photographed as if they were taken during bright hours.
The white pops are also very well suppressed.
However, it is darker than smartphones with even stronger cameras such as the Xiaomi 12S Ultra.
It also has a microscope camera with up to 40x magnification.
It is the same camera as the realme GT 2 Pro, but the realme GT2 Explorer Master Edition seems to be more difficult to focus.
The 150° ultra wide-angle camera allows for fisheye lens-like imaging.
Video can be shot at 4K@60fps and supports OIS optical image stabilization.
Supports up to 100W fast charging
The realme GT2 Explorer Master Edition is capable of fast charging at a maximum of 100W.
However, due to the specifications of the charger, it can only output 100W in 200V regions, and is limited to 80W in 100V regions such as Japan.
Even so, the charging time is quite short, and the battery life is good thanks to the GaN-based 5000mAh battery.
Dolby Atmos supported stereo speakers
The realme GT2 Explorer Master Edition is Dolby Atmos compatible and has stereo speakers.
The speaker positions are not symmetrical, but both the left and right sides have speaker holes on the sides.
The main speaker hole seems to be the speaker hole for calls on the display surface, and the image can be heard leaking through the hole on the side.
Although treble is weak, bass is adequate and sufficient.
The audio output delay was 32.3 ms when measured with the WALT Latency Timer.
The volume buttons are located on the left side.
The power button is located on the right side.
At first glance, it appears to have only a power button, but it actually has pressure-sensitive shoulder buttons on both ends.
Set in game mode, touching the buttons can be used to tap any position on the screen, allowing for quick operation.
Scores are useless due to benchmark boosting
The realme GT2 Explorer Master Edition, like the realme GT Neo 3, has a benchmark boost that fixes the CPU and GPU clocks to maximum values only when a benchmark application is opened, and also loosens the thermal throttling significantly.
Because of this unusual behavior, comparisons of benchmark results with other models are meaningless.
We would like you to stop trying to water down what is originally a good performance without the kind of cheap boosting that low-quality companies engage in….
Benchmark boosting is not something that is “okay because other manufacturers are doing it too,” but is something that is strictly prohibited by UL Solutions, the company that provides the benchmark application. There is no room to defend it as long as you are breaking the prohibition, and it is just a nuisance.
realme GT2 Explorer Master EditionでもGeekbenchやPCMarkでベンチマークブーストしてて泣いた
— AndroPlus (@AndroPlus_org) July 25, 2022
ゲーミングスマホのROG Phone 6ですらCPU周波数固定チートはしてないのに pic.twitter.com/NIRCWFjBad
With GT mode off, on the left is the Geekbench score disguised as Genshin, and on the right is the Geekbench score of the normal build.
This score is close to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and 870, although the version disguised as Genshin is the performance that will appear in actual usage scenarios.
It is quite tightly limited, and after boosting it, it is finally on par with the Xiaomi 12S Ultra in normal mode.
It was even worse in 3DMark, where the battery temperature rose to 46°C during the Stress Test, and the app was force-quit in the middle of the test because it got too hot.
Wi-Fi also turned off on its own, perhaps on purpose to prevent bad benchmark results from being transmitted.
In the past, the Meizu 18 has reached over 60°C during benchmarking and shut down, which is the second worst behavior.
Even in PCMark, it is easy to see that the CPU clock transition, which should normally have some waves, is almost horizontal and the clock is fixed.
The score does not increase much even though it is boosted, and it is difficult to understand why it was boosted.
World’s first LPDDR5x memory on board, but not performing
The realme GT2 Explorer Master Edition is equipped with the world’s first LPDDR5x memory and Samsung’s KLUEG4RHGB-B0E1 UFS 3.1 storage.
However, the memory copy figures are not much different from those of LPDDR5 memory and do not show dramatic changes.
The ROG Phone 6 with LPDDR5 memory is even faster.
Although disappointing in terms of performance, it may be effective in terms of power saving.
Performance that allows Genshin to play at an average of 51.1 FPS
Playing Genshin at the highest quality and 60 FPS setting and measuring with WeTest PerfDog, the average power consumption was 106.66 mW per FPS at 45.1 FPS.
With the performance-enhancing GT mode on, the average power consumption was 100.61 mW per FPS at 51.1 FPS.
Battery temperatures rose to 39°C, and the screen sometimes appeared to stop for a moment, suggesting that even GT mode is either highly restrictive or not well optimized.
It is a pity, because the Xiaomi 12S Ultra, which was released earlier than realme, can play at an average of 58.8 FPS.
In World of Tanks Blitz, when playing at 120FPS settings and all graphics settings at their highest values, the average was 101.9 FPS, with a power consumption of 53.56 mW per FPS.
The frame rate was limited to 60FPS when the battery temperature exceeded 35°C, and the frame rate dropped dramatically.
realme loosen the thermal throttling in the benchmark, but force a very tight throttling in actual gameplay….
Genshin 90FPS play is possible, albeit unstable, with frame interpolation
The realme GT2 Explorer Master Edition, like realme GT Neo 3, allows frame interpolation (for the time being) in the global version of Genshin.
However, it seems that the latest definition file is downloaded before you know it, and frame interpolation is unstable because it is disabled immediately or automatically disabled depending on the temperature….
It is better to be lucky if you can use frame interpolation and not to expect too much.
To use frame interpolation, first go to Settings → Apps → Manage Apps, find and uninstall Game Assistant.
Next, download and install Games 7.2.3 from here. (You will be asked to log in with your HeyTap account.)
Install Activity Launcher, find the Game Assistant item, and open com.coloros.gamespaceui.activity.GameDevelopOptionsActivity at the bottom. Turn on the “提升帧率” option.
If you turn on the other items, you can also force the activation of Ultra-steady frames, etc.
If successful, you will see the Frame Plus menu like this, and if you turn on “Boost frame rate” with the frame rate set to 60FPS, frame interpolation will be enabled.
If the frame rate is displayed as 45 FPS as the upper limit, it is working, and if it is 60 FPS, it is not working.
With frame interpolation enabled, 45 x 2 resulted in 90 FPS play.
This was an excellent result, averaging 86.2 FPS and consuming 59.23 mW per FPS.
However, thermal throttling had a negative impact here as well, and frame interpolation was disabled when the temperature exceeded 38°C.
Conclusion
- High performance & power saving 8+ Gen 1
- Vivid BOE AMOLED flat display
- Bezel-less design with nearly the same narrowness on all four sides
- 5000mAh battery with 80W charging capability
- Built-in microscope camera with up to 40x magnification
- Invisible shoulder touch buttons on board
- 90FPS frame interpolation available for Genshin
- Slow for LPDDR5x memory
- Performance degradation due to heat generation is greater than other 8+ Gen 1 phones
- Benchmark boosting
The realme GT2 Explorer Master Edition has a distinctive beige color with a bezel-less flat display and is recommended for those who do not want to share the design with other people’s smartphones.
It is power-saving and high-performance thanks to Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, and it also has useful and interesting features such as 100W/80W fast charging, microscopic camera, and shoulder buttons.
The realme GT2 Explorer Master Edition is available in 8+128GB versions starting at 3499 CNY.