realme GT7 Pro Racing Edition reviews by real users realme GT7 Pro Racing Edition

As a Canadian mostly limited to North American phone brands, I’ve always been fascinated by smartphones from China and other markets. On March 23, 2025, I finally took the leap and bought a Chinese-exclusive phone from AliExpress 16GB RAM / 256GB storage for $704 CAD ($509 USD). Surprisingly, it came with a power brick and case something rare in North America these days. The display is slightly curved, vivid, and loaded with all the flagship-level certifications you'd expect.Performance is excellent thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Elite, scoring 2.8 million on AnTuTu while keeping cool at just 37°C (98.6°F). The only issue is that Winlator 10.2 doesn’t yet play well with this newer chip. Battery life is outstanding, lasting over two days even with an 80% charge cap, and the 120W fast charging fully powers it up in just 30 minutes. Realme UI 6.0 also stands out with tons of customization options and smart features. On the downside, the camera is underwhelming especially coming from my Pixel 7. Photos are often pixelated and lack sharpness. Another minor gripe: the fingerprint scanner is the older optical type, not ultrasonic. And being a Chinese-exclusive device, it includes Chinese text on the box, region-locked settings like the keyboard, and some features require a Realme account, which can feel restrictive. Price-wise, it’s also more expensive in Canada than in Europe or Asia, which might make alternatives like the upcoming Realme GT7 or older GT7 Pro more appealing. I chose this mainly for the Snapdragon 8 Elite’s performance, especially for gaming and emulation. But if that’s not your priority, the GT7 Pro might be a more practical and affordable pick. Especially due to the upcharges different storage sizes may apply.