While realme’s GT Series has gone through a lot of changes, its core philosophy has remained the same. The GT phones represent the best that realme has to offer. Whether its top-tier performance, one-of-a-kind design, larger batteries, or flagship cameras, you can expect flagship DNA running through these phones. While we’re currently swooning over the GT 8 Pro, the latest GT phones available in the Philippines are the realme GT 7 and realme GT 7T.
Honestly speaking, I really enjoyed my time with the GT 7 as my daily driver Android phone that it took me 4 months to even start this review. Despite how much of a great triumph this phone is, I have one big problem with it that would ultimately impact whether I would continue purchasing realme phones altogether.
Disclaimer: I purchased the realme GT 7 from the realme Flagship Store on Shopee on June 2, 2025. It arrived on June 13, 2025, and I’ve been using it as my daily driver Android phone for 5 months as of this writing.
Design
The first thing that stood out to me when I held the GT 7 for the first time is its ergonomics. While its predecessor really went for a curved and glossy glass back, this phone did the opposite. This phone has flat sides (that still has a plastic frame) and the back rocks realme’s new IceSense graphene back cover. (I have the IceSense Blue color. It also comes in IceSense Black.) The back cover is now a matte/frosted glass with slight curves toward the sides. While the back gets slippery at times, the sides really make up for that.
The red power button is a nice touch and I wish more phone makers just straight up adopt this. While the buttons themselves aren’t the clickiest, they get the job done. It also helps that realme basically brought the ace tier of ingress protection ratings with IP69 dust and water resistance.
While the realme GT 7 looks simpler than its predecessor, I definitely prefer its design and ergonomics. I also had no problem in using this phone without a case.
Display and Speakers
I was already satisfied with the display on the GT 6 that it’s pretty hard to find major flaws that need improvement. The GT 7 keeps that same 6.78-inch 120Hz AMOLED display with up to 6000 nits of peak brightness. While the front glass only uses Gorilla Glass 7i compared to the Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on its predecessor.
The GT series phones always had good displays in general and the GT 7 is no different. Since its display inherited most of what its predecessor had, I liked the quality of this display overall. The display is bright enough outdoors, and the color reproduction is really good.
Its dual stereo speakers complement the display well. I can get away with listening to music in an old car without resorting to full volume.
Performance and Software
The realme GT 7 rocks a MediaTek Dimensity 9400e processor with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. It runs realme UI 6.0 based on Android 15 and features a slew of AI features such as AI Planner and AI Gaming Coach, as well as various camera-centric ones.
We’ve honestly reached a point where most smartphones are already good enough for most tasks. It may seem like getting a phone with high-end specs seem overkill. But as someone who has experienced different levels of smartphones over the years, I have come to prefer those with at least a good midrange processor. The GT 7 basically provides that in spades, and games like Genshin Impact and Zenless Zone Zero run well in max settings.
In case you need some of these benchmark results, here they are:
Software Updates and realme UI 7.0
A good thing about the GT 7 is its software update policy of 4 years of OS updates and 6 years of security updates. This is a slight improvement over even the GT 7 Pro’s 3 years of OS updates and 4 years of security updates (which I find weird considering that phone is more of a flagship than the GT 7). As of this writing, the GT 7 got its first OS update: realme UI 7.0.
While its Light Glass Design tries to emulate a mobile OS from a certain fruit brand, realme UI 7.0 feels more or less the same in terms of ColorOS / realme UI design language. Being a GT Series phone, the GT 7 feels just as fast with this update.
I got to try some of the NEXT AI features on the GT 7 like AI Planner, which detects for events that can be added to your Calendar based on what’s on your screen. It can be useful, especially if you need to organize all your activities.
Besides realme’s NEXT AI, this phone also rocks Google’s Gemini. While I understand these various phone makers wanting to have their piece of the AI pie, I feel like some features are kind of redundant when your phone has Gemini available. (I personally prefer using Gemini Live for a more conversational feel, even on the iPhone with the Gemini app!)
Battery Experience
If there’s one aspect of the realme GT 7 that gives me supreme confidence in how good it is, it would be its battery. This phone rocks a 7000 mAh battery and supports 120W SUPERVOOC fast charging. While having fast charging is nice and it really helps when I’m in a pinch, it’s how long the battery on this phone that makes the whole experience a lot better.
While I have seen better PCMark Work 3.0 battery life results, just seeing that more than 18 hours number still impresses me to this day. In real-world use, I have a hard time killing this phone no matter what I do! Heck, I can even stretch it to two days with lighter use.
Cameras
One weird thing I notice with these non-Pro GT phones is realme being undecided whether to bring some camera love or not. While the GT 6 I used had good cameras, it was clear that the realme 13 Pro+ and 14 Pro+ had the better cameras. On paper the GT 7 has very capable rear cameras: a 50MP Sony IMX906 main camera, a 50MP Samsung JN5 2x telephoto camera, and an 8MP ultrawide camera. This phone also has a 32MP Sony IMX615 front camera.
Does the GT 7 hold its own in the camera department? Let’s see for ourselves through the photos.
Click or tap on the photos for full-resolution versions!
When it comes to general image quality, the realme GT 7 holds its own against most of its competition in its price range. Color reproduction, white balance, and sharpness are mostly on point. What ultimately contributed to the delay of this review (besides the multiple breaks) is me just enjoying the photos I took with this phone.
Telephoto Camera Shots
While zoom shots may not be the GT 7’s specialty, this phone can produce mostly decent to good photos from its 50MP Samsung JN5 2x telephoto camera. I would recommend not going beyond 5x unless you’re absolutely sure about the lighting situation since not even natural light can help out in that department.
Product Photography
I sometimes use my main Android daily driver to take photos of the stuff I review or showcase on the website or on social media. The detail when taking photos of products up close is exactly the level of detail I want. The detail is even more apparent on the meowkuku shown in the middle photo.
Low-Light Photos
When it comes to low-light photography, the realme GT 7’s main camera mostly does a good job of highlighting the details without smearing the rest of the photo. While the 8MP ultrawide camera lacks the detail and information needed for these scenarios, the 2x telephoto camera holds its own when there’s enough light.
Face Shots from the Rear Cameras
The GT 7 handles faces really well, whether up close or in a group setting. Unless you’re in a very challenging lighting situation, you can count on this phone to take those group photos.
Front Camera Shots
The 32MP front camera really does a good job with taking detailed photos. What impressed me is its low-light capabilities, where there is still enough detail for clearer faces in group photos.
realme did a good job overall with the cameras of the GT 7. While the telephoto camera may not be as capable as a recent Number Series phone, the overall package is definitely more than the sum of its parts.
One More Thing…
Despite all the good things I’ve said about the realme GT 7, there is one thing that definitely bothered me: THE PRICE.
With a suggested retail price (SRP) of P37,999 (and P39,999 if you sprung for that Dream Edition), it’s honestly a significant price jump over its predecessor. If it wasn’t for the big 7000 mAh battery and the flagship-level Dimensity 9400e processor, I would really have a hard time justifying the price. It should be noted that this phone with 12GB RAM and 512GB storage is priced at 52,999 INR in India (~P35,000 converted).
Should You Buy the realme GT 7?
On one hand, the realme GT 7 is the best realme phone I have ever used. Its huge 7000 mAh battery, speedy 6.78-inch 120Hz AMOLED display and performance courtesy of the Dimensity 9400e processor + IceSense graphene design make this GT Series phone really feel like a flagship. While it is possible to justify the price increase due to the upgrades, I cannot automatically recommend this phone. With a lot of options at its price point or lower, the GT 7 is a harder sell than its predecessor.
If you value what it offers more and you prefer realme UI over other Android skins, then the realme GT 7 is the best realme phone made officially available in the Philippines.
Pros
- Sleek IceSense Graphene design with matte back
- Really bright and flagship-level 6.78-inch 120Hz AMOLED display
- Flagship-level performance thanks to Dimensity 9400e processor + 12GB RAM and 512GB storage
- Speedy user experience and decent software update support with realme UI
- Great battery experience with its 7000 mAh battery and 120W SUPERVOOC fast charging
- Good 50MP main and 32MP front cameras, decent 50MP telephoto camera
Cons
- Still has a plastic frame
- Matte back makes the phone more slippery
- Speakers aren’t as loud as expected
- graphene + vapor chamber cooling doesn’t really work as expected
- Not all AI features are really useful
- Disappointed at the use of an 8MP ultrawide camera