Realme X50 Pro 5G: A worthy Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro challenger

Realme has just unveiled its ultimate flagship smartphone yet with its Realme X50 Pro 5G. The new device is a class higher than the Realme X50 5G and it is a dual-mode 5G smartphone that’s powered by a top-of-the-line Snapdragon 865 chipset.

The X50 Pro 5G comes with a 6.44″ Super AMOLED display that pushes a Full HD+ resolution. It has a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio and a maximum brightness of 1000 nits. For a fluid experience, the screen has a 90Hz refresh rate with 180Hz sampling rate. The screen also features an in-display fingerprint sensor and it’s also HDR10+ certified.

Under the hood, it runs on a Snapdragon 865 processor and it can be configured with up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 3.0 storage. To keep things cool during intensive gaming sessions, Realme has fitted a five-dimensional vapour cooling system that features multiple layers of graphite.

In terms of connectivity, it supports a variety of 5G bands for both SA and NSA networks. The device can offer theoretical download speeds of up to 3.45Gbps and it also gets a 360-degree surround antenna design for better reception. In addition, the Realme X50 Pro 5G also supports WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1.

Upfront, the screen gets a dual-selfie punch-hole camera setup on the top left corner. This consists of a 32MP f/2.5 main selfie camera and a secondary 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle shooter. The rear gets a quad-camera array which features a 64MP f/1.8 main camera with Samsung GW1 sensor, an 8MP f/2.3 ultra-wide-angle camera, a 12MP f/2.5 telephoto camera and a 2MP f/2.4 monochrome shooter for portrait effects. The device can shoot videos up to 4K 30fps and it also has UIS video stabilisation.

Unfortunately, the device lacks a 3.5mm headphone jack but it does come with dual stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos enhancement. The device comes with a decent 4,200mAh battery and it charges via USB-C.

To replenish the device quickly, the Realme X50 Pro supports 65W SuperDart Charge which lets you get to 100% charge in just 35 minutes. In addition, it is also compatible with 18W Quick Charge and USD-PD as well as 30W Flash Charge standards.

Out of the box, the device runs on Realme UI that’s based on Android 10. The device is only available in two colours – Rust Red and Moss Green. Below is the official pricing for the Realme X50 Pro 5G in Europe and India:

8GB RAM + 128GB storage – EUR 599 (RM2,756) / INR 37,999 (about RM2,231)
8GB RAM + 256GB storage – EUR 669 (about RM3,079) / INR 39,999 (about RM2,349)
12GB RAM + 256GB storage – EUR 749 (about RM3,445) / INR 44,999 (about RM2,642)

Overall, it is an interesting alternative to the Mi 10 Pro which was launched in China. As a comparison, the base Mi 10 Pro model with 8GB RAM + 256GB storage is priced at CNY 4,999 (about RM2,997) while the 12GB RAM + 256GB variant is priced at CNY 5,499 (about RM3,297).

It is also worth noting that European pricing is often much higher than our region and it is likely that the Malaysian price would be somewhat closer to the Indian market. Looking at the Indian pricing, it appears that Realme is undercutting Xiaomi by offering similar hardware at a much lower price. For the Mi 10 Pro, it offers better imaging and battery life on paper as it utilises a 108MP Samsung image sensor and it comes with a larger 4,500mAh battery. Of course, there’s the more affordable Mi 10 (non-Pro) but it comes with a less versatile camera setup as it replaces the telephoto unit for a macro camera.