We previously reviewed the excellent Realme GT Neo3 Naruto Edition and now we have this newest GT2 Explorer Master. Unfortunately, just like the Naruto phone, this one is also limited to mainland China. Let’s get the unboxing done to see how the latest from Realme stacks up against the competition.
Unboxing the Realme GT2 Explorer Master
Even though this is a unique device, the unboxing experience is definitely not as salivating as the Realme GT Neo 3 Naruto Edition. Upon unboxing you get the insert, the smartphone, a really good quality black TPU case, USB-A to USB-C cable, and a 100W fast-charging brick.
Unique hardware design language blends the old and new effortlessly
Realme partnered with Jae-Jung for the second iteration of the Explorer Master series. And unlike its predecessor, the Realme GT2 Explorer Master has the flagship Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset instead of the mid-range series. But the headlining feature for this smartphone is the Travel Trunk model with its unique rear cover design. Inspired by the travel luggage from about a century ago the back is vegan leather with corner riveted accents along with a color-matching metal frame. I am a big fan of the beige vegan leather and the copper color of the metal frame and corner accents. Definitely, a refreshing device design blending the old and the new. From an ergonomics perspective, it feels premium and well-balanced for a device that weighs about 195 grams. And for those who are not a fan of this retro-modern chic design, well you can get the black or white options with a glass back. At which point you might as well get the OPPO Reno 8 Pro which is pretty much identical in size to this device minus the thickness and weight.
Camera module design is unique without being outlandish
One way smartphone manufacturers try to distinguish their devices is the camera module on the rear. Lately, these camera modules have gotten garishly large (looking at you ZTE Axon 40 Ultra) and gimmicky. Full props to Realme for keeping things unique without being cartoonish. On the GT2 Explorer Master, the main sensor is on the top with the other two cameras underneath. Essentially it looks like the iPhone 13 series rotated about 90 degrees. I do like the distinction of the main camera having a larger diameter compared to the other two cameras on the module. The downside of this design is some serious wobble on a flat surface if you use the phone sans the case. The rest of the hardware design is not so unique. The power button is on the right while the volume buttons are on the left rail. It is easy to reach the buttons on either side. What is not easy is getting to the fingerprint scanner which is placed a bit too low on the display for my taste. On the bottom rail, we have the dual SIM card tray, USB-C port, microphone, and a speaker grille. And on the top rail, we have the second microphone and the top speaker grille.
On the front, you will notice that the bezels are very tiny and evenly distributed. There is a small hole in the center at the top for the selfie camera. The flat display with small bezels gives the device a definite premium look. I love the retro-modern look and the choice of materials gives it an excellent in-hand feel without any smudges or fingerprints. Realme keeps pushing the envelope on these limited edition design smartphones and I am all for it.
Performance is absolutely top-notch thanks to the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
This is a flagship device with the latest Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor. Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 promises 30% better power efficiency for both the CPU and GPU. ‘Performance boost is however only 10% primarily via higher clock speeds on the cores. The newest chip comes from the TSMC fab instead of Samsung (still the 4nm manufacturing node) for the regular 8 Gen 1 chipset. Our review unit has 12GB RAM and 256GB storage and delivers some impressive Geekbench 5 scores. Single-core performance is 1331 and the multi-core score is 3915 which are some of the best in the Android world. In terms of raw performance, the phone is a beast and you will not have any issues in terms of daily use including long sessions playing graphics-intensive games.
Gaming features and shoulder triggers
Realme also added an advanced cooling system on the GT2 Explorer Master along with some neat gaming triggers on the right side of the frame. These triggers aren’t marked like those on the POCO F4 GT or RedMagic 7 series which is fine by me but may annoy some users. I like them hidden because they don’t distract from the overall clean design of the device. You can access the gaming features via the Realme GT Mode 3.0 under the battery settings.
The GT Mode 3.0 basically optimizes CPU and GPU performance to maintain a stable frame rate during gaming. A double swipe from the side shows the in-game overlay. You can then customize the setup, block calls and notifications, and record your gaming session. There are other options such as game FPS, connectivity, and battery discharge available for tweaking. Oh and you can also map certain game actions to the shoulder triggers, these come in handy for shooting games. Perhaps you can also use them for steering in racing games as well. The haptics are excellent- as noted in my other reviews Android devices from Chinese makers are now as good as Samsung/Google and even Apple – and you will get great feedback while gaming.
The 120Hz AMOLED display on the Realme GT2 Explorer Master is one of the best
I am going to keep this section short. Simply because the flat 6.7-inch AMOLED display on the GT2 Explorer Master is basically the same as that one on the OPPO Reno 8 Pro. It is excellent with tiny bezels and great brightness specs. I had zero issues using it during the hottest part of the year in the outdoor sun on a hike near Santa Barbara. Yes, the display does not have LTPO type refresh rate control – it is either 120Hz or 60Hz but I suspect a lot of users will not care especially for the price they will pay for this device. I did not mess with the natural color preset and found the colors to be accurate and vivid. Overall you will thoroughly enjoy the display on this smartphone, I know that I did during my review period.
Superb battery life and ultra-fast charging for zero battery anxiety
One area Realme did not make any compromises with this device is battery capacity. The GT2 Explorer Master has a big 5,000mAh battery and comes with 100W UltraDart fast charging support. What I like about these China-only smartphones is that they actually come with the US charging brick in the box. So for a change, it is easy to evaluate how good the charging brick in the box is unlike most other global versions that come with Euro charging bricks. The GT2 Explorer Master has GaN technology for great thermal management for charging. The 100W brick charges the battery from zero to 100% in just 25 minutes which is extremely fast. Oh and I noticed that the 160W charger that came with the Naruto Edition phone charges the devices a little bit faster! While there is no wireless charging available, I suspect once you get used to these blazing fast charging speeds you won’t miss it. And the standby discharging is excellent on the GT2 Explorer Master. For daily use minus gaming, this is easily a 2-day device. If you play games over a couple of hours a day then expect to charge it every night.
Rear cameras produce excellent results day or night
Besides stellar design, beautiful display, blazing fast performance, and great battery life the GT2 Explorer Master packs great cameras on the rear. There are two 50MP cameras for main and ultrawide duties and a somewhat unique 3MP microscope camera. The main camera is a Sony IMX766 50MP sensor while the ultrawide is a 150 FOV 50MP sensor as well. Last year’s version had a 3MP microscope camera and it is carried over unchanged for 2022. There is a 16MP selfie shooter on the front which we’ve seen on other OPPO/Vivo/Realme devices.
Main and ultrawide cameras produce good pictures all around
Main camera performance is excellent indoors and outdoors in daylight. There is a slight softness to some of the pictures but the color science is spot on and not overly vibrant or punchy. For people used to Samsung/Google/Xiaomi these pictures might look a bit flat. Ultrawide camera crops from the middle to get distortion-free images. You can however turn on the full barrel view or fisheye view to get images that are curved at the edges or all around. Colors are accurate and there is good amount of detail in the pictures. One thing I noticed is that day or night the pictures come out quite good consistently. These aren’t Pixel level but definitely good for social media. I would give the camera system on the rear at solid A minus. Take a look at the pictures in our Flickr Gallery and see how the results stack up against the competition. Realme GT2 Explorer Master Camera Samples - Flickr Gallery Selfies from the front camera are good but a bit soft. There is good detail and dynamic range in the pictures but it takes practice to get the lighting exposure correct on the subject’s face. One thing to keep in mind is that the zoom in the camera app is just a 2X digital zoom. On a final note, the 3MP microscope camera will take quite a bit of practice to take useful pictures. I strongly suggest using a tripod if you plan on using the microscope camera on a regular basis. Overall though, the GT2 Explorer Master has a great camera system for the retail MSRP of the smartphone.
Software experience is good but with some caveats
Realme GT2 Explorer Master runs Realme UI 3.0 on top of Android 12. Now since this is a China-exclusive device there are no Google services or apps included. Luckily for me, I have a few Realme/OPPO devices around me. So I used a fairly well-known hack to run Google services/apps on the GT2 Explorer Master. I just opened the ‘Clone Phone’ app on my OPPO Reno 8 Pro and proceeded to copy the apps/settings from the OPPO device to the Realme GT2 Explorer Master. In about 5 minutes or so, I was up and running the GT2 Explorer Master like a global version Realme smartphone. I would say there’s about one occasional hiccup per day where I encounter something completely in Chinese but other than that zero issues using this device as a daily driver during the review period. All Google services/apps work just fine without any issues. Even Netflix works on this smartphone! So if you are thinking of importing this device and using it I suggest you have another OPPO or Realme device handy.
Speakers on the Realme GT2 Explorer Master are loud and clear
Realme GT2 Explorer Master has dual speakers – one on the bottom and one on the top. Both speakers have a dedicated grille and produce audio that is loud and clear. The only caveat is that you don’t block the bottom-firing speaker grille. In terms of overall stereo sound, there is good clarity for vocals and mid-tones provided you don’t crank the volume up to 100% on the slider. For a phone that costs about 550 Euros, I would say you are getting a pretty audio setup for streaming and gaming.
Connectivity is surprisingly good for a China-only smartphone
I had zero issues in terms of connectivity on the T-Mobile network here in Southern California on the GT2 Explorer Master. My guess is that this device has a Qualcomm processor versus the Dimensity one on the Oppo device. I did not however get a 5G signal and could not even find a manual option to turn it on in settings. 4G LTE speeds were lousy but comparable to what I get on my Google/Samsung devices. Besides the cellular and data connection options, you get NFC, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi6, Screen Sharing, Screen Cast, Multi-Screen Connect, and even Car Connect (although it is China-specific) on this device. I would caution against using this device for Tap to Pay because the only options available are Wallet and AliPay and no way to add Google Pay as a preferred method in the Settings menu. Aside from that hiccup, you should be able to use this smartphone just like any other Global version device from Realme.
Should you buy the Realme GT2 Explorer Master?
Well for starters this device is limited to mainland China. While it works just fine in the USA thanks to the Phone Clone app on another OPPO/Realme smartphone, there are some software limitations for seamless daily use. One big issue is the Tap to Pay via NFC. This is a great device outside China if you plan to use it as a secondary device. You may also want to use it just as a standalone gaming device. But for a daily driver, you may have to make a few sacrifices and I am not sure if everyone is willing to do that. On the flip side, if you do decide to get the Realme GT2 Explorer Master, you are getting a stellar-looking phone, with great performance, a beautiful display, phenomenal battery life with 100W charging, and a capable camera system. If you are willing to live with the software quirks, this is probably one of the best-priced Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 devices on the market right now.
