Realme X2 vs Realme 5 Pro – Initial impressions of which is best. Including Antutu & Geekbench benchmarks

Next week Realme will launch in Europe officially at an event in Madrid where they will launch the Realme 5 Pro, X2 and the X2 Pro.

With the Realme 5 Pro and X2, they have already launched in India so we know everything there is to know about them, and Realme has been kind enough to send review units out for me.

The X2 Pro, you will have to wait and see what they have in store, but it sounds exciting, being their first true flagship phone. More information can be found here.

I have only just received my sample devices so not had much chance to test them, however, they are both quite similar, with the 5 Pro being a more affordable choice. As the two phones are not official in Europe yet, pricing is a little misleading, grey importers charge a markup so it is not a true reflection of the final price.

Current Prices

Currently, Aliexpress is one of the few places listing both phones and the X2 6GB/64GB is £217.28 and the Realme Q 4GB/64GB, which is the same as the 5 Pro, is £139.47.

Personally, I would opt for the X2 but these are at two very different price points, one being well on the budget end of the spectrum. For what it’s worth, both phones represent exceptional value for money at this price, and it will be interesting to see how much more they are with official UK/EU stock.

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Specification

At a passing glance, both phones look the same, their dimensions are almost the same, as is the basic design. The Realme 5 Pro has a slightly different back, I thought the case was cracked at first but there are angular designs that reflect the colour differently. Whereas the X2 has a smooth design.

The 5 Pro also has a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, and that is where the visual similarities end.

The specification, however, is quite a bit different, and you get a lot more phone with the X2.

The chipset has been updated to the latest gaming orientated mid-range SoC from Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 730G. In comparison, the 5 Pro uses the older Snapdragon 712 chipset.

The base configuration is slightly different, the Realme 5 Pro starts off with 4GB with options going up to 8GB, and storage is either 64GB or 128GB.

For the Realme X2 you get either 6GB or 8GB RAM, then 64GB/128GB/256GB storage. Both phones can also use a microSD card.

The camera is very similar for both phones, they both have a quad rear camera. However the 5 Pro uses a 48MP wide lens while the X2 bumps this up to 64MP. I am excited to test how much difference that 64MP lens makes, and will get some demo shots live soon.

For the selfie, the 5 Pro has a 16MP lens, while the X2 has a 32MP lens.

The Realme 5 Pro actually has a slightly larger battery at 4035mAh vs 4000mAh of the X2 but I doubt that will make any difference. If anything the Snapdragon 730G built on the 8nm fabrication process should allow the X2 to achieve a better battery.

For charging, you get 20W VOOC 3.0 in the 5 Pro which will charge your phone to 50% in 30 mins. This gets bumped up to 30W for the X2 and this will do 67% in 30 mins.

For me, there is one big issue with the Realme 5 Pro, and that is the lack of NFC. Considering the cost of the phone, it is forgivable, NFC is not present on a lot of budget phones, but it would make this difficult for me to use as my main phone.

Benchmarks

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Photo Samples

Realme X2

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Realme 5 Pro

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Specification Comparison Table

	Realme 5 Pro	Realme X2
Dimensions	157 x 74.2 x 8.9 mm (6.18 x 2.92 x 0.35 in)	158.7 x 75.2 x 8.6 mm (6.25 x 2.96 x 0.34 in)
Weight	184 g (6.49 oz)	182 g (6.42 oz)
Build	Front glass, plastic body	Front/back glass (Gorilla Glass 5), plastic frame
SIM	Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)	Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
Display	6.3 inches, 97.4 cm2 (~83.6% screen-to-body ratio)	6.4 inches, 100.5 cm2 (~84.3% screen-to-body ratio)
Resolution	1080 x 2340 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~409 ppi density)	1080 x 2340 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~403 ppi density)
Chipset	Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 (10 nm)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G (8 nm)
RAM	4GB/6GB/8GB	6GB/8GB
Storage	64GB/128GB	64GB/128GB/256GB
Front Camera	48 MP, f/1.8, (wide), 1/2", 0.8µm, PDAF	64 MP, f/1.8, (wide), 1/1.7", 0.8µm, PDAF
	8 MP, f/2.2, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/4", 1.12µm	8 MP, f/2.3, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/4", 1.12µm
	2 MP, f/2.4, 1/5", 1.75µm (dedicated macro camera)	2 MP, f/2.4, 1/5", 1.75µm (dedicated macro camera)
	2 MP, f/2.4, 1/5", 1.75µm, depth sensor	2 MP, f/2.4, 1/5", 1.75µm, depth sensor
Selfie	16 MP, f/2.0, 1/3.1", 1.0µm	32 MP, f/2.0
3.5mm	Yes	Yes
Fingerprint	rear-mounted	in-display
Battery	4035 mAh battery	4000 mAh battery
Charging	20W: 50% in 30 min (VOOC 3.0)	30W: 67% in 30 min (VOOC Flash Charge 3.0)

Overall

We will have to wait and see what UK pricing is like. For me, the lack of NFC on the Realme 5 Pro would rule it out for a personal phone. However, based on the current Aliexpress prices, it is still an exceptional phone for the price and I doubt many or any other phones can compete with specs at this price point.

My initial impressions of the Realme X2 are superb, for your average user, this is more than you will ever need.

How much it will cost in the EU remains to be seen, the price will likely go up. The obvious phone to compare it to is the Xiaomi Mi 9T which currently costs 292-Euros or £260. The X2 has the advantage of the 64MP camera, but I think it needs to land at this price or lower to be an easy recommendation over the Mi 9T.

I have not really had enough time with the phones to judge the OS or do a lot of photos to see how well it processes the images. However, Realme use ColorOS which is the same as used in OPPO phones, so this is a well established OS from a major company so I am confident there will be no major issues.

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