I was recently in Manila for realme FanFest 2024 and got a small hands-on with the new devices launched there. While the realme Watch S2 and realme Buds T310 were compelling companions, I mostly checked out the new phones: the realme 13 Pro Plus 5G and realme 13 Pro 5G. With that in mind, I thought of doing a mini comparo photoshoot with those phones and the two realme phones I had. They are the realme 12 Pro+ 5G and the realme GT 6.
Disclaimer: realme Philippines lent me both the realme 13 Pro+ and realme 13 Pro in Emerald Green during my Manila trip. I only spent more or less 3 days with the 2 phones. Super thank you to the realme PH team for lending me the phones to be able to do this comparison!
realme Upper Midrange Comparo – Table of Contents
Meet the realme Phones
realme 13 Pro Series 5G
Of course, I’ll start with the newest phones in realme’s Number Series: the realme 13 Pro+ 5G (which I will call realme 13 Pro Plus in this post) and the realme 13 Pro 5G. Both phones come with the vegan leather back in the Emerald Green color. These phones also have a textured glass back in two colors: Monet Gold on the 13 Pro+, and Monet Purple on the 13 Pro. While they both carry the same design, the same 6.7-inch 120Hz Curved Vision Display, the same 32MP front camera, and the same Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 processor, they both have very different sets of rear cameras.
realme 13 Pro+ 5G
SRP: P28,999 (12GB+256GB), P31,999 (12GB+512GB)
There are three rear cameras on the realme 13 Pro Plus. They consist of:
- a 50MP Sony LYT-701 main camera
- a 50MP Sony LYT-600 periscope camera (the first time this sensor is used in a periscope camera)
- an 8MP ultrawide camera.
realme 13 Pro 5G
SRP: P24,999 (12GB+256GB)
Meanwhile, the realme 13 Pro only gets the same 50MP Sony LYT-600 sensor as its main camera and the same 8MP ultrawide camera.
It’ll be interesting to see how realme’s image processing for the 13 Pro Series differs between the different main cameras.
realme 12 Pro+ 5G (P25,999 SRP)
It was only right to bring in the predecessor of the realme 13 Pro Series to the mix. Since the realme 12 Pro 5G was never made available in the Philippines, the only one we got was the realme 12 Pro+ 5G. While this phone has the same set of three rear cameras as the 13 Pro+, it used the Omnivision OV64B sensor for the periscope camera. (If that sensor sounds familiar, that’s because it’s the same sensor used as the main camera in the realme GT Master Edition.) This phone even has the same Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 processor! I’m really curious if realme’s work in its image processing made a giant leap between this and its successor.
realme GT 6 (P34,999 SRP)
The last contender for this comparo is the “flagship killer” realme GT 6. While it is the most expensive of all the phones I’m using here, the GT 6 has compelling enough cameras and a better Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor. This phone uses a 50MP Sony LYT-808 main camera, a 50MP Samsung S5KJN5 telephoto camera, and the same 8MP Sony IMX355 ultrawide camera. It also has a 32MP Sony IMX315 front camera for more detailed selfies.
Does that processor with realme’s image processing help this phone out more? Let’s find out in the comparo!
The Comparo Proper
This comparison will only cover 6 subjects with a focus on the use of the main and ultrawide cameras. Note that THIS IS NOT a full photo comparison since I only did this in an hour during my final day with trying the realme 13 Pro Series 5G. I’ll be posting some quick impressions of the new phones soon after this comparo so stay tuned!
Without further ado, let’s get into the comparo proper!
Click on the photos for full-resolution versions!
Subject 1
For the first subject, I went for this yellow fire hydrant surrounded by four black-and-yellow striped poles. I’m checking the photos for the color of said fire hydrant and poles that come closest to what I actually saw. A part of the sky can be seen in the background, so I would check whether that gets washed out or not.
The 12 Pro+ photo definitely makes the fire hydrant look more washed out than in the other photos. It did manage to do proper HDR on the sky in the background though. For this subject, it was neck and neck between the 13 Pro+ and the GT 6. I ultimately went for the GT 6 since the yellow was slightly closer to what I actually saw in real life.
My Preference: realme GT 6
Subject 2
I did multiple zoom shots using the telephoto cameras (the 13 Pro is just using the main camera). First up is this zoom shot of the “34th St” sign using 6x zoom. Note that only the 12 Pro+ and 13 Pro+ have support for 6x In-sensor Zoom. I expected the GT 6 to compete, but we end up having a photo that is washed out. The 13 Pro photo lacks detail on the sign itself and the greenery on the background just looks smudged up. Between the two Pro+ models, I prefer the slightly brighter 13 Pro+ here but you can’t go wrong either way.
My Preference: realme 13 Pro+
Subject 3
Still using 6x zoom, the subject this time is a logo of a well-known bank in the world. Unlike in the previous subject, the GT 6 put up a better fight here. Meanwhile, the 13 Pro has less detail compared to the other three and the 12 Pro+ has a cooler tone. The 13 Pro+ lost some detail on the logo itself, so I’ll have to give it to the GT 6 here.
My Preference: realme GT 6
Subject 4
The subject here is a mural on the wall of a building in BGC. These photos were taken with 2x zoom, meaning the phones used their main cameras here. Undoubtedly, I would choose the GT 6 photo here. While the photo taken with the 13 Pro+ is the closest to the GT 6 photo, there’s just more detail with the latter.
My Preference: realme GT 6
Subject 5
From Subject 5 onward, I forgot to take the 13 Pro photo! Sorry about that.
I took photos of this subject indoors at a popular coffee shop. These photos probably look the most similar out of all the subjects I took so far. The 12 Pro+ photo tends to be a bit overexposed, but not that obvious. For this one, I will actually go with the 13 Pro+ photo that brings a combination of the 12 Pro+ and GT 6 photos.
My Preference: realme 13 Pro+
Subject 6
The subject is me. I used the 32MP front cameras of these phones to take a selfie of myself.
I notice how the 12 Pro+ tends to lean brighter even if it doesn’t have to with the amount of lighting in the area. It’s basically a nitpick though, and all three photos are already good. I honestly couldn’t pick which one!
My Preference: Three-way Tie!
Subject 7
For the last subject, I decided to mix it up by putting multiple things on the table: a sandwich, iced coffee, and a book written by a good friend! (Go buy Crave by Kaye Allen!) Honestly speaking, the GT 6 photo just has the right amount of sharpness while being the closest in terms of color reproduction. I would personally pick the GT 6 here.
My Preference: realme GT 6
Conclusion
I recently sold my 12 Pro+ because I knew I wanted the smoother user experience and the performance that the realme GT 6 offers. The results of this mini comparison should not be an indication that you should also go for the GT 6. All four realme phones in this comparison have capable cameras.
My general recommendation solely based on this mini comparison is to go with either the realme GT 6 or the realme 13 Pro+. If the camera is your main priority, then the 13 Pro+ makes sense since getting two 50MP rear cameras with Sony sensors is a rarity in the midrange. Meanwhile, if you value a more balanced phone, then the GT 6 is for you. Having that flagship-level Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chip with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB of UFS 4.0 storage just makes the whole user experience better while still getting good cameras.
If you want the most affordable midrange phone with a periscope camera, the realme 12 Pro+ is plenty capable. I’ve had a lot of fun using this phone when it was my daily driver Android phone. If you find value in its periscope camera but can’t stomach the price of its successor, then this phone is capable enough.
While the realme 13 Pro offers most of what the 13 Pro Series has to offer in other aspects, the camera experience is just not on par with the other three phones. I’ve seen the 12 Pro+ get discounted to be lower than the 13 Pro, so I would still lean towards that phone.
Don’t get me wrong! Its 50MP Sony LYT-600 main camera is plenty capable in its own right. (That same camera impressed me when I reviewed the realme 12+ back in March.) I don’t blame you if you like the Monet Purple color.