Realme X2 review: Under Rs 20,000, this may well be the best smartphone

Realme X2 review: When you go out to bat and score a century, two things can happen - either you cash in and follow it up with another great knock or post a series of low scores before another big one emerges. Those who manage the first, often end up re-writing quite a few record books. In the smartphone industry, Realme seems to have mastered the act. It is giving a tough time to all its competitors by dropping at least one standout smartphone every month, targeting different price points. The latest smartphone to join this list is Realme X2 - an upgrade of last year's Realme XT. 

Now, while most other brands are launching smartphones every month or so, Realme has been unbelievably consistent with the quality that it provides at almost all price points, proving many critics wrong in the process. The Realme X2 which uses Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G chipset was announced by the company in September, when it launched its first 64-megapixel camera smartphone Realme XT. 

The company had also confirmed the specs of the new smartphone in September itself and it borrows most things from the Realme XT with changes in design, camera setup and even the processor used. The Realme X2 competes against Redmi K20, Redmi Note 8 Pro and Vivo V17, among other smartphones. So, let's find out how good is Realme X2 and where it stands against the competition. 

Realme X2 Design and Display

Not much has changed when it comes to the design of Realme X2. The smartphones come with the same 3D Curved Glass finish with a glossy back that shines like anything. Realme X2 has been launched in three colour options - Pearl Green, Pearl Blue and Pearl White.

We had the Pearl Blue variant for the review purposes. It does stun you on the first look but a colleague who had the chance to use the Pearl Green variant tells me that it is a total killer! 

The back panel, however, is almost like a mirror and continues to attract fingerprint smudges - an issue you might not face with the White colour variant. The smartphone features a Type-C USB charging port and a 3.5 mm jack. It is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on both the sides which adds an extra layer of security.

Realme has kept almost edge-to-edge display on Realme X2. It is good to see that most smartphone brands are looking to offer better screen-to-body ratio in the mid-range segment and hopefully, the same will also be extended to the budget category over the next 12 months. 

The Realme X2 features a 6.4-inch AMOLED Display with a dewdrop notch for the front camera. The display offers a good touch as well as viewing experience. It is bright, has good viewing angles and punchy colour reproduction. You get 430 nits of peak brightness which held while using the smartphone in outdoor conditions but the panel is slightly reflective which affects your overall experience. 

You do realise the importance of better screen-to-body ratio while streaming content or playing games. The Realme X2 also comes with Widevine L1 certification, allowing you to stream content in high definition. 

Realme X2 uses fingerprint scanner as an additional layer of security. It is both fast and responsive.  

Realme X2 Performance and Battery Life

Realme X2 is a major upgrade on the Realme XT in terms of performance. It is equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G processor where 'G' stands for Gaming. It features eight Kryo 470 cores and an Adreno 618 GPU that combine to deliver a powerful output. The smartphone has been launched in three RAM variants - 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage (Rs 16,999), 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage (Rs 18,999) and 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage (Rs 19,999).

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The Snapdragon 730G chipset has been used on other smartphones like Samsung Galaxy A80 and Oppo Reno 2 - both priced over Rs 30,000. This itself gives Realme X2 a lead on competition. The Realme X2 ships with ColorOS 6.1 but should soon get ColorOS 7 update.

Realme X2 gives a satisfactory performance on the gaming front. We played PUBG Mobile, Asphalt 9: Legends, Call of Duty Mobile, among other games. The graphics were great and there was no excessive heating. This is also where the high-quality display makes a lot of difference.

Realme has also given Dolby Atmos support for the single speaker used on this smartphone. The audio produced is clear and loud.

The smartphone packs a 4,000mAh battery which lasts over a day on medium to heavy usage. You also get a 30W fast charger with VOOC Flash Charge 4.0 inside the box. It helps juice up the device quickly - taking it from 0 to 100 per cent in about an hour.

Realme X2 Camera

The camera setup of the smartphone is very similar to the Realme XT with a 64-megapixel primary sensor, 8-megapixel wide-angle camera, 2-megapixel depth sensor and 2-megapixel macro camera. The camera app also remains the same with - Photo, Video and Portrait mode on the main menu along with the option to add filters or switch to the ultra-wide angle lens.

You can also access other options like Ultra 64 MP, Nightscape, PANO, Expert and Ultra Macro, among others from the menu bar.

By default, the camera clicks 16-megapixel photos that are quite good in ideal light conditions, primarily in daylight. The subjects are sharp and details are good too. However, there were times when the lens failed to auto-focus on the subjects, especially while using the macro lens.

The wide-angle camera was useful and manages to click good images without too many grains.

On the front, Realme X2 gets a 32-megapixel selfie shooter with f/2.0 aperture. Again, you get good images in daylight conditions with good exposure. The camera allows you click selfies in portrait mode but in low-light you will have to take help of the Night Mode to get desired results

Realme X2 Final Verdict

Playing a scintillating knock is not easy, but achieving consistency is much more difficult. That is what creates iconic reputations. That's why a Virat Kohli is rated higher than a Hardik Pandya or Glen Maxwell. What Realme has done over the last 12 months, is that it has achieved an unbelievable amount of consistency with Realme X2 emerging as the best mid-range smartphone of the year, with only Redmi Note 8 Pro and Samsung Galaxy A50s coming close.

The smartphone is an all-rounder in a true sense with a quality display, powerful processor and brilliant cameras. However, it must improve image quality in low-light settings. Nevertheless, the smartphone helps click quality images and delivers good gaming performance.

Having said that, the overall experience can be improved going forward with a better operating system.