Introduction
We won't pretend we have an intricate understanding of Realme's naming and marketing strategies, but we'll admit the GT Explorer Master we have for you today has quite the ring to its name. Promised for a European release, this particular member of the GT series comes with an unorthodox design, a great primary camera, and a nearly flagship-grade chipset.
A few things out of the way first. We're reviewing a Chinese version of the GT Explorer Master - it came without Google Play Services pre-installed, but works just fine with Google's suite sideloaded. A proper International version will probably follow at some point.
Additionally, you may find the phone called Explorer Master Edition or Master Explorer, or something of the sort - it should be the same phone. In any case, don't confuse it with the GT Master (non-Explorer) we reviewed recently.
Another point worth having in mind is that the Explorer Master will not be available in India, at least for the time being.
That lengthy preamble now behind us, let's go over the key bits. The GT Explorer Master features the standout Suitcase design we saw on the GT Master, and we're already off to a good start.
The curved-edge display scores it some additional points for style, but there's also plenty of substance in it - 120Hz of bright AMOLED substance.
On the inside, there's the Snapdragon 870 ticking, Qualcomm's second-best currently on offer behind the 888.
But it's in the camera department that the Explorer Master has one of its key selling points. The 50MP primary unit is all kinds of great, boasting a big 1/1.56" sensor, omnidirectional AF and OIS. The 16MP ultrawide is also one better than the basic 8MP ultrawides on them other GTs, while the 32MP is shared with the GT Master, where we did like it a lot.
Here's a recap of the most important specs of the Realme GT Explorer Master.
Realme GT Explorer Master specs at a glance:
- Body: 159.9x72.5x8.0/8.8mm, 183.5/185g.
- Display: 6.55" Super AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1100 nits (peak), 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 402ppi.
- Chipset: Qualcomm SM8250-AC Snapdragon 870 5G (7 nm): Octa-core (1x3.2 GHz Kryo 585 & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 585 & 4x1.80 GHz Kryo 585); Adreno 650.
- Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM; UFS.
- OS/Software: Android 11, Realme UI 2.0.
- Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.9, 24mm, 1/1.56", 1.0µm, omnidirectional PDAF, OIS; Ultra wide angle: 16 MP, f/2.2, 14mm, 123˚, 1/3.09", 1.0µm; Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4.
- Front camera: 32 MP, f/2.5, 26mm (wide), 1/2.74", 0.8µm.
- Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
- Battery: 4500mAh; Fast charging 65W, 50% in 13 min, 100% in 33 min (advertised).
- Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); NFC.
Realme GT Explorer Master unboxing
The GT Explorer Master arrives in the same overly large box that we received the GT Master in. Since both our review units are the Chinese version, their boxes have plenty of Chinese script on them, but regardless of region, there will be a lot of bold letters on the GT EM's box.
The box contents include a 65W SuperDart fast charger and a proprietary USB-A-to-C cable to facilitate that fast charging. Also bundled is a gray soft silicone cover case. The Suitcase versions get one that mimics the striped back of the phone, the plain ones get a plainer one.
Design
The GT Explorer Master is another entry in the growing lineup of phones that are a result of Realme's joint efforts with Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa. The signature Suitcase design of the Master and Explorer Master is unlike anything we've seen before and is obviously inspired by that item you've probably not used much over the past year or two.
There are two distinct versions of the GT EM when it comes to design, build, and materials - the Voyager Gray and Apricot colorways get the vegan leather suitcase-like back, while the White and Aurora ones have more conventional matte rear panels. We happen to have one of each. Thanks, Realme!
The two have quite different in-hand feel too. The glass one is tangibly thinner - the 0.8mm difference in thickness may sound negligible, but it's there. We're not saying the vegan leather one is thick - at 8.8mm, it's hard to call it that, but the white glass one is just a bit thinner.
There's also the matter of grip and fingerprints. We think the vegan leather variant is better in both areas, offering a more secure purchase and practically no memory for smudges. The glass one is more slippery, and tends to pick up some prints, though it's not remotely the smudge fest that glossy backs are.
As we observed on the GT Master already, the vegan leather variants of the Explorer Master have the designer's signature underneath a Realme logo next to the camera. The glass-backed options have just the Realme logo, aligned vertically, in the bottom left corner of the phone.
The three cameras have a separate glass circle each, with a ring around it, and are grouped in an oversized camera island. Also in there is the dual-LED flash and two more small windows whose purpose and function we can't quite figure out.
The whole camera assembly sticks out a little but is hardly the worst in this respect and whatever wobble it causes is minimal.
Unlike the GT 5G and GT Master, the GT Master Explorer has an aluminum frame, and the anodized metal lends it a decidedly more premium touch than the other two phones. The top and bottom are flat, something we find useful for product shots around the office, but it has little practical benefit otherwise. It does look nice, though.
That flat bottom is home to the USB-C port, the primary loudspeaker and mic and the SIM slot. The tray will take two nano SIMs back to back, but there's no microSD card support.
The top is nearly devoid of features, there's just a pinhole for a secondary mic. No, there's no headphone jack on the GT Explorer Master.
Bottom is home to the card slot too • Just a mic up top
Realme insists on keeping the power button and the volume keys on opposite sides of the phone, and we don't mind it. The metal keys click nicely and are well placed.
Volume buttons on the left • Power button on the right
The display side has another upmarket touch you won't find on lesser Realme GTs - the Explorer Master's screen has curved edges. The 120Hz AMOLED isn't exactly run-of-the-mill all in itself, but the gently sloping sides take that sense of a premium product a step up still.
Less fancy is the factory-applied screen protector, whose edges catch your fingertips when swiping from the sides. That's hardly ideal and is counterproductive to the curved screen's high-end aspirations. We removed it eventually to experience the phone as intended, and it's a much more pleasant experience. Plus, with the Gorilla Glass 5 protection, having the plastic foil on is a bit redundant unless you're a particular klutz. You do you.
There's a punch-hole style cutout for the selfie camera in the top left corner of the screen. It's best described as reasonably sized - it's not the smallest, and it's not too big.
The earpiece is placed behind a notch where the glass meets the frame. It also moonlights as a second speaker for music and video playback. To its right, you may be able to spot the barely discernible ambient light and proximity sensor window in the relatively thin top bezel.
The GT Explorer Master features an optical fingerprint sensor underneath the display. It's fast and reliable that much is clear. However, it's placed a little too low for our liking - it's nothing you won't get used to, but a few millimeters higher would have made for a more natural action.
The GT Explorer Master weighs 185g or 1-2g less, depending on the type of back - an immaterial difference if there ever was any. Subjectively, it feels lighter than what the number suggests, but that could be different for you depending on where you're coming from.
With a footprint measuring 159.9x72.5, it's essentially the same size as a OnePlus Nord 2 5G or a Galaxy A52(s) 5G, with the Moto G100 nearly a centimeter taller.
120Hz curved-edge Super AMOLED, plenty bright too
The GT Explorer Master has a 6.55-inch Super AMOLED display with a 1080x2400px resolution in a 20:9 ratio (that's a 402ppi pixel density). The specsheet also list a 120Hz refresh rate capability and HDR10+ support.
A standout feature sets the GT EM apart from its GT stablemates - its display is curved to the sides. Gently so, but we reckon just enough to bother flat-screen die-hards. They might find other reasons to like it, though.
Specifically, brightness. In our testing, the GT Explorer Master was good for 805nits in adaptive brightness mode under direct light and 504nits when operating the slider manually in less demanding ambient conditions. The Galaxy A52 5G and the Mi 11 Lite 5G are roughly in the same ballpark, but the OnePlus Nord 2 5G isn't quite as bright, and neither is the Moto G100. Then again, the Mi 11i is brighter still.
| Display test | 100% brightness | ||
| Black, |
White, |
||
| 0 | 504 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 805 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 443 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 650 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 437 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 634 | ∞ | |
| 0.349 | 498 | 1427:1 | |
| 0.434 | 613 | 1412:1 | |
| 0 | 378 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 787 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 396 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 825 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 438 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 633 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 514 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 939 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 514 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 846 | ∞ | |
The GT Explorer Master goes about color reproduction in the usual Realme way. Three modes are at your disposal - Vivid, Gentle, and Brilliant, and there's a stepless cool-to-warm temperature slider for further tweaking.
The default Vivid mode shows okay accuracy for our DCI-P3 target swatches (average dE2000 of 3.7), but has a visible cold tint, with the whitepoint some 9 units off-target. We got the most accurate results on average with the temp slider all the way to warm (dE2000 of 3.2), but even then, the whitepoint was off, this time pinkish.
Gentle mode is similarly not quite spot on with sRGB targets and is overly cold in the default state, only to shift to pink as you move the temp slider to the right.
Brilliant mode gives saturation a visible boost over Vivid mode and is a bit less accurate for DCI-P3 content.
Realme lists the GT Explorer Master as HDR10+ compliant. However, our unit, which is very Chinese, only had a Widevine L3 certification for DRM, meaning no HDR in Netflix or Amazon Prime Video, and also a limit of resolution to 480p. That's very likely not going to be the case for the international versions of the phone, which we expect to behave nicely and at least have Widevine L1 and 1080p playback (the HDR support in Netflix and Prime Video is often up to the platforms). Even as it is, our review unit does show HDR streams in YouTube.
The GT Explorer Master has the same settings and behaves identically to the GT Master when it comes to refresh rate handling. There are three modes - Standard, High, and Auto select. Standard locks the phone at 60Hz regardless of content of activity, that's the straightforward part.
In both High and Auto select modes, you'd be getting mostly the same behavior. For the settings menu, the refresh rate will be kept at 120Hz regardless of touch input, while in other spots of the UI, the phone will switch down to 60Hz after a brief period of inactivity, only to shoot back up to 120Hz when you touch it.
You can expect the same behavior in Facebook, Chrome, and the in-house gallery, to name a few. YouTube forces a direct switch to 60Hz, regardless of mode, while Netflix will give you 120Hz for the app UI and 60Hz for video playback in High mode, but 60Hz everywhere in Auto mode.
As has been our previous experience with Realme phones, the GT Explorer Master defaults to 60Hz for games. That was also the behavior with onscreen graphics benchmarks here.
Display settings
Realme GT Explorer Master battery life
The GT Explorer Master is powered by a 4,500mAh battery, a standard number for the class. That's as much capacity as the GT 5G has, but there, it powered an SD888, while the SD870 here should be a little more frugal.
Indeed, the GT Master Explorer posted better numbers than its sibling. The 21 hours of offline video playback is an excellent result (compare to 16:20h on the GT 5G), and the 16:02h of Wi-Fi web browsing is great as well (13:40h on the GT 5G). You'd also be getting 3 more hours of voice calls on the GT EM (27:49h) than on the GT 5G (24:44h).
The Realme GT Explorer Master ultimately gets an Endurance rating of 117h, and that's a class-leading result.
Our battery tests were automated thanks to SmartViser, using its viSerDevice app. The endurance rating denotes how long the battery charge will last you if you use the device for an hour of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. More details can be found here.
Video test carried out in 60Hz refresh rate mode. Web browsing test done at the display's highest refresh rate whenever possible. Refer to the respective reviews for specifics. To adjust the endurance rating formula to match your own usage - check out our all-time battery test results chart.
Charging speed
The GT Explorer Master comes with a 65W SuperDart adapter, Realme's most powerful commercial-grade unit. The company says the phone should charge from zero to 100% in 33 minutes, and we got there in precisely 33 minutes. It does take a few additional minutes on top of that for the phone to display a 'Charged' message.
30min charging test (from 0%)
Higher is better
- Realme GT Master
100% - OnePlus Nord 2
98% - Realme GT Explorer Master
96% - Realme GT 5G (65W)
87% - Poco X3 GT
75% - OnePlus Nord CE 5G
67% - vivo V21 5G
64% - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
58% - Motorola Moto G100
37% - Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
34% - Sony Xperia 10 III (Sony 30W PD)
28%
Time to full charge (from 0%)
Lower is better
- Realme GT Master
0:30h - OnePlus Nord 2
0:31h - Realme GT Explorer Master
0:33h - Realme GT 5G (65W)
0:39h - Poco X3 GT
0:48h - OnePlus Nord CE 5G
1:03h - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
1:04h - vivo V21 5G
1:05h - Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
1:39h - Motorola Moto G100
1:54h - Sony Xperia 10 III (Sony 30W PD)
2:30h
Speaker test
The GT Explorer Master adopts a fairly standard approach to reproducing stereo - there's a down-firing speaker on the bottom, while the earpiece also serves as another speaker. In landscape, the phone will respect the orientation and feed the correct channel to the correct driver, while in portrait, the earpiece is the left channel.
Bottom speaker (the three slots to the left) • Earpiece is left channel when in portrait orientation
When it comes to loudness, the GT Master Explorer placed in the 'Very Good' category in our test, same as the GT 5G, and notably better than the Master non-Explorer. The OnePlus Nord 2 5G is still a bit louder, but the Galaxy A52 5G and the Moto G100 are quieter than the Realme, to a varying degree.
Use the Playback controls to listen to the phone sample recordings (best use headphones). We measure the average loudness of the speakers in LUFS. A lower absolute value means a louder sound. A look at the frequency response chart will tell you how far off the ideal "0db" flat line is the reproduction of the bass, treble, and mid frequencies. You can add more phones to compare how they differ. The scores and ratings are not comparable with our older loudspeaker test. Learn more about how we test here.
Android 11 and Realme UI 2.0
The Realme GT Explorer Master boots Android 11 with Realme UI 2.0. In principle, that's the same version as the one we had on the GT Master, but this being a Chinese variant of the phone, there are certain differences mostly in terms of pre-loaded apps, keyboard specifics, and other more obscure bits. Essentially, the basics are the same, though.
The phone supports fingerprint unlock, and the optical sensor works very well - it's fast and reliable. You can also add a face for an even speedier unlock - though this is not as secure.
Biometrics and security
As we've previously mentioned, even though it does offer a ton of customization options, Realme UI 2.0 looks quite clean on the surface. The lockscreen and homescreen are straightforward, the notification/toggles area is simple and clutter-free. A basic App drawer is available, which you can opt out of if you prefer to have all your apps on the homescreens. There is a Google Feed panel to the left of your homescreens.
Realme UI 2.0: Lockscreen • Homescreen • Folder view • App drawer • Notifications • Quick toggles
The task switcher is non-nonsense too, but it has extra functionality - you can minimize an app to a mini-window or a floating window from within it. If an app is compatible, you can do either of these or use the familiar Split Screen.
Task Manager • Options • Mini app • Floating window • Split screen
Always-on display is available, and it can show the usual content - clock, date, notifications icons, battery. The Realme UI 2.0 also brings many new AOD themes, and you can even draw your own graphics or use images from the gallery - if you're one to struggle with decision-making, good luck picking one. Edge Lighting is available, too.
AOD
Realme UI supports different icon packs, so if you are not happy with the default one, you can opt for material style, pebbles, or you can even fully customize them by your liking. You can also change the system colors, the fingerprint scanner animation, the notification drawer icons, even the system font. And there is a whole Theme Store if that's not enough for you.
Personalization options
Dark Mode is available, too, and it's been enhanced with Realme UI 2.0 with support for three different dark styles - black, dark gray or light gray. It can be manual or scheduled. You can also opt to force it on third-party apps that don't support dark mode natively, though your mileage may vary with those.
Dark Mode
In the Convenience tools section of the Settings menu, you'll find options for navigation and gestures. Similar to the Galaxies, the Realme UI offers a Smart Sidebar on the edge of the screen - you can customize the actions and app shortcuts that appear there.
Convenience tools
The multimedia apps such as Photos, Music, and Videos are provided by Realme. There is also an in-house File Manager and a Phone Manager app. A Game Space app is available for better game management and notification behavior. You can also opt for a Smart resolution switch and Performance/balanced/energy saving modes.
Photos • Music • Videos • Phone Manager • File Manager • Game Space
Synthetic benchmarks
The Realme GT Explorer Master is powered by the Snapdragon 870 chipset, Qualcomm's re-re-release of the proven SD865. As such, it's the second most powerful SoC in the chipmaker's lineup, with the SD888 leading the way (unless you count the SD888+, then adjust positions accordingly).
The SD870 features an octa-core CPU in a 1+3+4 configuration with the prime core maxing out at 3.2GHz. The Adreno 650 handles the graphics. There's either 8GB or 12GB of RAM on the GT Explorer Master, with 128GB or 256GB of storage, respectively, and we have the higher-specced version.
The GT Explorer Master put out a great result in the single-core CPU test in GeekBench - aside from the SD888-packing Realme GT 5G, rivals are generally behind the GT EM. It scored slightly less impressive numbers in the multi-core, though not quite alarmingly low.
GeekBench 5 (single-core)
Higher is better
- Realme GT 5G
1139 - vivo X60 Pro
1034 - Realme GT Explorer Master
1020 - Asus Zenfone 7 Pro
996 - Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
988 - OnePlus 9R
969 - Motorola Moto G100
950 - vivo X50 Pro+
930 - Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
906 - Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro
901 - OnePlus 8T
893 - OnePlus Nord 2
814 - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
803 - Realme GT Master
785 - Motorola Edge 20
762
GeekBench 5 (multi-core)
Higher is better
- Realme GT 5G
3555 - vivo X60 Pro
3490 - vivo X50 Pro+
3411 - Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro
3311 - Asus Zenfone 7 Pro
3302 - Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
3296 - Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
3294 - OnePlus 8T
3126 - OnePlus 9R
3117 - Realme GT Explorer Master
3050 - Realme GT Master
2917 - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
2909 - Motorola Moto G100
2860 - OnePlus Nord 2
2792 - Motorola Edge 20
2550
The GT EM returned to the top of the chart in Antutu, easily outscoring rivals like the Moto G100 and OnePlus Nord 2 5G.
AnTuTu 9
Higher is better
- Realme GT 5G
810433 - vivo X60 Pro
720352 - Realme GT Explorer Master
717879 - Motorola Moto G100
681559 - OnePlus 9R
676913 - OnePlus Nord 2
598022 - Realme GT Master
529263 - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
522490 - Motorola Edge 20
488574
Graphics benchmarks show the GT Explorer Master's huge potential for gaming, hindered by its inability to go above 60fps in onscreen tests (or, you know, in practice in games).
GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)
Higher is better
- Realme GT 5G
112 - Realme GT Explorer Master
99 - vivo X60 Pro
96 - Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
94 - OnePlus 9R
93 - Motorola Moto G100
91 - Asus Zenfone 7 Pro
90 - Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
89 - OnePlus 8T
88 - Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro
87 - vivo X50 Pro+
85 - OnePlus Nord 2
75 - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
65 - Motorola Edge 20
57 - Realme GT Master
56
GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (onscreen)
Higher is better
- vivo X60 Pro
86 - Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
86 - Motorola Moto G100
79 - Asus Zenfone 7 Pro
78 - Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
77 - Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro
77 - vivo X50 Pro+
74 - OnePlus 9R
60 - Realme GT Explorer Master
60 - OnePlus 8T
60 - Realme GT 5G
60 - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
57 - OnePlus Nord 2
57 - Motorola Edge 20
51 - Realme GT Master
46
GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)
Higher is better
- Realme GT 5G
65 - vivo X60 Pro
59 - Realme GT Explorer Master
59 - OnePlus 9R
57 - Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
57 - Motorola Moto G100
56 - Asus Zenfone 7 Pro
54 - OnePlus 8T
53 - Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
52 - vivo X50 Pro+
51 - Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro
51 - OnePlus Nord 2
46 - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
40 - Realme GT Master
33 - Motorola Edge 20
33
GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Realme GT 5G
55 - vivo X60 Pro
51 - Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
51 - Realme GT Explorer Master
50 - OnePlus 9R
49 - Motorola Moto G100
47 - Asus Zenfone 7 Pro
46 - Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro
46 - OnePlus 8T
46 - Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
45 - vivo X50 Pro+
43 - OnePlus Nord 2
38 - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
35 - Motorola Edge 20
29 - Realme GT Master
27
GFX Aztek Vulkan High (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Realme GT 5G
38 - vivo X60 Pro
35 - OnePlus 9R
34 - Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
34 - Motorola Moto G100
33 - Realme GT Explorer Master
33 - Asus Zenfone 7 Pro
31
31
30
29
26
19
GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Realme GT 5G
39 - vivo X60 Pro
34 - Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
34 - Realme GT Explorer Master
32 - Motorola Moto G100
31 - OnePlus 9R
31 - Asus Zenfone 7 Pro
31 - Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
30 - Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro
30 - OnePlus Nord 2
30 - OnePlus 8T
29 - Realme GT Master
18
GFX Aztek Vulkan High (offscreen 1440p)
Higher is better
- Realme GT 5G
29 - vivo X60 Pro
24 - Realme GT Explorer Master
24 - Motorola Moto G100
23 - OnePlus 9R
23 - Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
23 - OnePlus Nord 2
20 - Realme GT Master
14
GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (offscreen 1440p)
Higher is better
- Realme GT 5G
28 - vivo X60 Pro
22 - OnePlus 9R
22 - Realme GT Explorer Master
22 - Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
22 - Motorola Moto G100
21 - OnePlus Nord 2
21 - Realme GT Master
13
3DMark Wild Life Vulkan 1.1 (offscreen 1440p)
Higher is better
- Realme GT 5G
5872 - Realme GT Explorer Master
4255 - OnePlus Nord 2
4224 - vivo X60 Pro
4203 - Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
4194 - OnePlus 9R
4154 - Motorola Moto G100
4114 - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
3136 - Motorola Edge 20
2494 - Realme GT Master
2481
One area where the GT Explorer Master deserves nothing short of praise is sustained performance. It got a 99% stability rating in the 3DMark Wild Life stress, while the CPU throttling test had only the occasional dip to 84% but maintained an average of 90% of its initial output. Solid stuff right there.
CPU throttling test • 3DMark Wild Life stress test
50MP main camera to explore the world
The GT Explorer Master is the camera-focused model of the whole Realme GT bunch so far. It comes with a flagship-grade 50MP primary unit on the back, flanked by a not-half-bad 16MP ultrawide and a 2MP macro. A 32MP selfie camera completes the list of image capture bits.
The main camera is based on the Sony IMX 766 sensor, a 50MP Type 1/1.56" unit with 1.0µm pixels and a Quad Bayer color filter array. That's the same imager used in phones like the Find X3 Pro and OnePlus 9/9Pro. It features omnidirectional phase-detect autofocus. The lens in front of it has a 24mm equivalent focal length and an f/1.9 aperture, and is stabilized.
The ultrawide camera isn't quite as remarkable in the grand scheme of things, but it's still the best one on any Realme (correct us if we're wrong on this one). This one employs a 16MP Type 1/3.09" Sony IMX 481 sensor with 1.0µm pixels - in a sea of 8MP ultrawides. The lens covers a field of view of 123 degrees and has a 14mm focal length equivalent, as per the specs, though the two numbers don't quite add up, plus with the distortion correction accuracy in this respect is a far-fetched concept. There is no autofocus on the ultrawide.
The 2MP macro camera has an f/2.4 aperture lens and a fixed focus distance of 4cm.
The front-facing camera uses a 32MP Sony IMX 615 sensor. The 24-ish millimeter lens has an f/2.5 aperture and fixed focus.
The camera app of the GT Explorer Master is very similar to other iterations we've seen on previous Realmes, with a few minor touches here or there. The overall layout is fairly simple, with menus hidden from view. A lot of the main modes are on the main rolodex, which is good, but there's a host of extra ones in the More tab.
The Street mode is the key addition, which we saw on the GT Master. We're not entirely sure we're fond of Realme's attempts to force on users by making it the mode the camera app opens to if you have the volume button shortcut enabled. In Street mode you get millimeter markings for the zoom level as opposed to the usual 'x' designation, a RAW toggle and a shortcut to enable manual focus.
The settings menu is quite straightforward. Getting to it, however, has its peculiarities. If you're in Photo mode, you tap on the cog wheel at the far end of the viewfinder, but if you're in video mode, you need to pull on the tab in the middle of the top edge of the viewfinder to expose a 'settings' button. That tab itself is a somewhat unintuitive UI element but it does only hold secondary stuff like a self timer and aspect selector, which you may never need in the first place.
Another oddity is related to Expert mode, and it's a long-standing one. Switching between cameras in Expert mode is handled in a truly bizarre way. You get the familiar 1x-2x-5x selector, but that doesn't operate the actual cameras - it's a digital zoom from whichever camera you've picked from the tree selector on the opposite end of the viewfinder. Indeed, the trees switch cameras, and once you select a module from there, no focusing distance considerations will auto-switch it - that's good. That's how Realme's been doing this and that's how it's going to do it, apparently.
In Expert mode, you get to tweak exposure (ISO in the 100-6400 range and shutter speed in the 1/8000s-32s range), white balance (by light temperature, but no presets), manual focus (in arbitrary 0 to 1 units with 0 being close focus and 1 being infinity) and exposure compensation (-2EV to +2EV in 1/6EV increments).
Camera UI
Daylight image quality
The GT Explorer Master's main camera photos in daylight are predictably great. Sharpness and detail are excellent, noise is minimal. Colors are pleasingly saturated - just right, we'd say, anything more would have been too much. White balance is consistently on point as well. Dynamic range is wide and the extremes are well developed.
Daylight samples, main camera (1x)
Enabling the AI scene enhancement will yield the results we've come to expect - an extra level of contrast and an overall bump in saturation with particularly exaggerated deep blues.
Daylight samples, main camera (1x), AI scene enhancement on
We found the full-res 50MP mode not overly useful for extracting significantly more detail in real life scenes. On the other hand, it comes with a visible hike in noise. Having said that, the 50MP mode does resolve a lot more detail in our studio scene, so the right lighting and subject distance could do the trick.
Daylight samples, main camera (1x), 50MP
Despite its emphasis on camera performance, the GT Explorer Master has no tele camera. There still are 2x and 5x toggles in the viewfinder, so we shot a bunch of test samples. 2x zoom shots are generally okay in terms of detail though you can tell the sensor is being stretched past its comfort zone. At 5x they look too soft at fit to screen magnification already, not to mention at 1:1.
Daylight samples, main camera (2x)
Daylight samples, main camera (5x)
The 16MP ultrawide camera doesn't go as far as being impressive, but it's better than the 8MP ones on other Realmes, for what that's worth. We wouldn't call these images pin sharp but they do resolve a good level of detail. Noise can be seen when looking up close, and the purple fringes around contrasting edges are visible at fit to screen as well. On a positive note, dynamic range and color rendition are excellent.
Daylight samples, ultra wide camera (0.6x)
Low-light image quality
The GT Explorer Master puts out flagship-grade low-light photos from its main camera. Sharp and well detailed, these also have well-controlled noise. Dynamic range is nice and wide, and exposure is judged and executed correctly.
A lot of the good that we're seeing here is down to the phone's auto Night mode processing that kicks in when it sees fit - with or without AI enhancement turned on.
Low-light samples, main camera
Since the phone may not always consider a scene Night-mode-worthy, it may be wise shooting in the dedicated Night mode when you want to guarantee getting the exposure benefits. We saw improved results in roughly half the scenes shot in Night mode vs. Photo mode. Check out the better developed shadows in samples 1, 2, and 4 in particular.
Low-light samples, main camera, Night mode
2x shots aren't spectacular when examined from up close and global parameters like exposure and dynamic range don't look great in Photo mode either. But if you switch to Night mode, you'll get the improved dynamic range and a boost in shadows. We'd call these easily good enough at fit to screen.
Low-light samples, main camera (2x)
Low-light samples, main camera (2x), Night mode
The ultrawide camera, left to its own devices in Photo mode, struggles with gathering enough light in dark scenes and delivers underexposed results. Images are soft and mushy, and somewhat noisy too.
Low-light samples, ultra wide camera
Night mode does wonders in this case and helps a ton with exposure and makes for good looking photos where previously was an dark mess. You get improved sharpness and detail both in well lit areas but also in the shadows - you now start to see tree leaves where you could have sworn was the night sky.
Low-light samples, ultra wide camera, Night mode
Once you're done with the real world samples, head over to our Photo compare tool to see how the Realme GT Explorer Master stacks up against the competition.
Realme GT Explorer Master against the Moto G100 and the OnePlus Nord 2 5G in our Photo compare tool
Portrait mode
The GT Explorer Master captures very good portraits with excellent subject detection in the vast majority of situations. It's one of few phones that correctly blurred the wood panelling in the sixth sample, even though it did a less than perfect job with the lantern in the 4th. There were no blunders with clothes and such, nor clipped ears or jawlines. All of that comes in addition to the pleasing skin tones and wide dynamic range.
Portrait mode samples
Macro
Finding a good word to say about the 2MP 'macro' camera isn't as easy. Detail is low, dynamic range is limited and colors are pretty drab.
Close-up samples
Selfies
32MP sounds like a great selfie camera and we get the marketing appeal in the number, but 32MP are too much for selfies, so the option for downsampling the output from that sensor to a reasonable 12MP would have been nice. Or offering an 8MP 4-to-1 binned mode, though some people might find 8MP too little.
Those philosophical musings aside, selfies out of the GT Explorer Master are actually very nice. The focus distance is just right for arm's length shots, there's a ton of detail, and colors are likeable too. The Auto HDR may not kick in every time you want it to (it messed up the 4th shot) but when it does, you get excellent dynamic range, backlit scenes included.
Selfie samples
That great performance continues into portrait selfies, where you get all that's good about regular photos, plus natural looking background blur and generally good subject separation. Unless, that is, we're dealing with messy hairstyles against a contrasting background, those can look weird.
Selfie samples, Portrait mode
Video recording
The GT Explorer Master records video up to 4K60 with its main camera, not just 4K30 as on lesser Realmes. Then again, the ultrawide is capped at 1080p30 and that looks like a missed opportunity - we get the 1080p limitation on the 8MP ultrawides which simply don't have the pixels for 4K, but this one does. Anyway, you can choose between the default h.264 and the h.265 codecs. Stabilization is available in all modes and can't be switched off.
4K30 videos from the main camera (50Mbps bit rate) are good for the class. We're looking at good levels of detail, with generally acceptable sharpening. Noise is present, but not really in your face. Color reproduction is pleasing, dynamic range is wide enough.
The ultrawide camera's 1080p footage (11Mbps bit rate) maintains that overall positive impression. Dynamic range is wide, particularly for a non-flagship ultrawide and colors are on point. Detail is actually pretty good, as 1080p ultrawide footage goes.
Electronic stabilization works great on the main camera in 4K. It smooths out walking-induced shake, there's no jelloing, and pans cause no abrupt motions.
All of that applies to the ultrawide camera as well, with the inherent benefit of the wide focal length making for some extra smoothness. Now if only this could have been 4K.
In typical Realme fashion, there are two Ultra Steady modes on the GT Explorer Master. First is the 'regular' one that uses the main camera and records in 1080p60 and then there's Ultra Steady Max that shoots in 1080p30 on the ultrawide.
The regular Ultra Steady mode actually looks shakier and more jittery than the footage from the main camera in plain video mode. Meanwhile, Ultra Steady Max doesn't appear to bring any benefits either, though at least it doesn't make things worse.
Here's a glimpse of how the Realme GT Explorer Master compares to rivals in our Video compare tool. Head over there for the complete picture.
Realme GT Explorer Master against the Moto G100 and the OnePlus Nord 2 5G in our Video compare tool
Competition
The European pricing for the GT Explorer Master is a bit of mystery - we have dollar numbers for a phone that won't be sold in the US, so we'll be treating them as Euro prices. That means €500 for the base 8GB/128GB version and €550 for the 12GB/256GB one.
€500 buys you an 8GB/258GB version of the brand new Galaxy A52s 5G, which we haven't had the chance to review yet. An update to the A52 5G we reviewed recently, the 's' version comes with an upgraded SD778 chipset, which is still no match for Realme's SD870 - so pick the Explorer Master for performance and gaming. We're also leaning towards the Realme for photography enthusiasts. On the other hand, the Galaxy does have niceties that the Realme doesn't, and they add up - an IP67 rating, microSD slot, headphone jack.
Motorola has the Moto G100 for Explorer Master money if you go by MSRP, but you could get one for as low as €400, though €450 is a more common number. Anyway, the Moto has the chipset to match the Realme and also uses it for its 'Ready For' PC-like functionality, so if you think the one-device life is your thing, go Moto.
The G100 also has a ring flash around its autofocusing ultrawide camera, plus two selfie cameras, including an ultrawide, making it a unique proposition in the imaging department. For more conventional picture-taking, the Realme is the better option, though. The GT EM arguably looks better on the fundamentals - superior screen, longer battery life with way faster charging, stereo speakers. The G100 counters with 3.5mm jack and memory slot.
Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G • Motorola Moto G100 • Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G • Xiaomi Mi 11i • OnePlus Nord 2 5G
€500 Xiaomis don't seem to be a thing around here. An 8GB/128GB Mi 11 Lite 5G retails for €400, and comes with IP53-rated splash resistance and a microSD slot. The Realme wins for battery life and charging and has the beefier chipset and better cameras - it's pricier, though.
On the other hand, there's the Mi 11i with a €650 list price, but widely available for €600 or a little less. That one has the SD888 inside, so it outperforms the Realme, and it outshines it (if by a little) in the display department, though it can't match it for endurance. The Mi 11i's 108MP main camera isn't necessarily better than the Explorer Master's 50MP unit, and we'd still pick the Realme for photography. A bit oddly, the GT EM is the more premium-feeling phone, too, even though the Mi boasts an IP53 rating.
The OnePlus Nord 2 5G starts at €400 for an 8GB/128GB configuration, while €500 buys you the 12GB/256GB - so it's cheaper than the Realme GB for GB. That appears to be its main selling point in this bout, even if it's not far behind on the merits - slightly slower chipset, not quite as HRR display, a bit shorter battery life. The premium for the Realme does seem justified, though.
Verdict
A GT for everyone, that must have been at least part of Realme's goal. The GT Explorer Master is, at first glance, the photography-centric model of the bunch, offering a proper high-end main camera, and the best ultrawide Realme's put in a phone. The GT EM does deliver on this promise, but the list of good things about it goes on to include the beautiful AMOLED display, excellent battery life, and high-performing chipset. Add to that the eye-catching shell of the suitcase version, and there's very little missing.
What we could come up with in terms of Cons for the GT Explorer Master are hardly show-stoppers. While a couple of competitors carry IP53 ratings, and the Galaxy is even properly water resistant, the lack of ingress protection is well within reason for a midrange phone, particularly one on which you can clearly see (and appreciate) where the budget went. The lack of by now almost legacy features like a headphone jack feels more like us deliberately picking on the GT EM.
Having said all that, the Realme GT Explorer Master is still nowhere to be found on official channels in Europe. But when it does show up, we can't name a legitimate reason not to get one.
Pros
- One of a kind design (if you get one of the suitcase-like variants).
- Excellent display - AMOLED, high refresh rate, good max brightness.
- Class-leading battery life and charging speed.
- Realme UI offers a ton of personalization without getting in the way.
- The SD870 chipset is just shy of present-day flagships, possibly has better sustained performance than them.
- Flagship-grade main camera in all light conditions, good ultrawide.
Cons
- No ingress protection rating.
- No headphone jack, no microSD slot.
0 Response to "Realme GT Explorer Master review"
Post a Comment