FOR gamers who’ve played Final Fantasy 7, I’m pretty sure you remember that one special Easter Egg status, called “All Lucky 7s” or “All 7 Fever” (Ōru Sebun Fībā). This happens when one of your character’s HP lands on exactly 7,777. That “fevered” character will always strike for 7777 damage, even if an enemy has special defenses. This “Lucky 7” attack also appears in Final Fantasy 9 as an ability used by Zidane from the Skill command. If Zidane’s current HP ends in 7, the skill randomly inflicts 7, 77, 777 or 7777 damage to a single enemy.
It’s a nice trick, but something that’s not so easy to pull off—much like the tricky situation realme Philippines finds itself in with the release of the realme 7 series.
It’s been less than four months since the realme 6 trio and their entry level-lineup of C11, C12 and C15 helped catapult them into the second spot of the top smartphone brands in the country. It’s the fastest growth in local smartphone history and their record-breaking achievement of 97 percent quarter-on-quarter growth, as reported in the Q2 2020 SEA study of Counterpoint Research, was very impressive considering the lockdown and global pandemic.
While it may seem like a marketing move to “strike while the iron is hot,” the arrival of the realme 7 series actually follows the brand’s release cycle as the realme 5 was released almost the same time last year.
Still, isn’t it too soon for a follow-up? And can the luck of the “7” prevent it from striking out? First let’s check out the differences between the realme 6 Pro and the realme 7 Pro.
The realme 6 Pro has a slightly bigger screen size at 6.6-inch with a 90Hz refresh rate, compared to the realme 7 Pro’s 6.4-inch Super AMOLED panel with an 80Hz touch sampling rate.
As for the design, the realme 7 Pro looks more like a 2020 phone with its rectangular rear camera module, compared to the previous horizontal layout. As much as I loved the lightning back design of the realme 6 Pro, the mirror space design of the realme 7 Pro makes it look more premium.
Both the 6 Pro and 7 Pro sport quad rear cameras and the same 64MP main camera, but while the former uses the Samsung GW1 sensor, the latter has the Sony IMX682. The realme 7 pro also replaces the 12MP telephoto lens with a B&W sensor.
Other upgrades include an in-display fingerprint scanner, a slightly larger battery and faster charging and better speakers.
So is the 7 Pro way better than its predecessor? Not exactly. If you just got a realme 6 Pro, don’t worry as it’s still one of the best value phones of the year.
But for those looking for an upgrade, here are some reasons why the realme 7Pro is worth checking out.
The realme 7 Pro’s claim to fame is being the Philippines’s fastest-charging smartphone as evidenced by the main theme of its launch. It can charge its 4500mAh battery from zero to 100 percent in just 34 minutes thanks to its 65W SuperDart Charge. It’s like those workaholics who seemingly never gets tired, and only needs a moment to recharge. Even during heavy gaming, the 65W SuperDart Charge can charge to 43 percent in just 30 minutes; or 13 percent in only three minutes—that’s equivalent to three rounds of PUBG (1.22h), two hours of Instagram, 150 minutes of YouTube (2.54h) and four days on standby. During my seven-minute challenge, I was able to charge it to 26 percent, the fastest among all the phones I’ve used.
It comes with 8GB RAM + 128GB storage and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G processor with an Adreno 618 GPU making it a formidable gaming device. This is made even better by a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED screen. The display has a 2400 x 1080 FHD+ resolution, 90.8 percent screen-to-body ratio, 600nits peak brightness, 98 percent NTSC color gamut. Overall, display quality is great with excellent colors and viewing angles, arguably one of the best from the brand.
For those who are active in online content engagement—whether it’s livestreams, vlogs or photography, the realme 7 Pro’s 2nd Gen 64MP Sony IMX682 Quad Camera and 32 MP selfie cam can help your photos stand out. It might have lost the wide-angle selfie cam, but it does have the brand’s highest resolution front camera. The 32MP camera with AI beautification can take clear selfies even in dark nights using the Night Mode setting.
As for the main rear cameras, you get a 64-megapixel main camera; an 8-megapixel 119-degree ultra wide-angle lens, ultra macro lens and a new black and white Portrait lens that detects a wider array of light, and assists the main lens to capture light better, enhance image contrast, create retro-style images and add texture to portraits.
The resulting photographs are really good, with excellent amounts of detail and true-to-life colors with minimal noise. I do miss the telephoto lens a
bit as you only get digital zoom in the realme 7 Pro. The macro camera is actually fun to use especially if you want to create those super closeup shots of everyday objects.
Even more fun are the addition of three new night filters: Cyberpunk, Flamingo and Modern Gold. I know filters aren’t usually a selling point, but these new additions will definitely give your photos a distinct visual effect. I think I’ve abused the Cyberpunk filter a bit too much. Also worth noting is AI Color Portrait mode, where you can keep part of the portrait colored while the rest of the color is changed to different shades of gray to highlight the people in the video.
Speaking of video, the realme 7 Pro’s front and back cameras support UIS Video Stabilization, Real-Time Bokeh Effect Video, 1080P/120fps slo-mo video recording while the rear cameras also has UIS Max Video Stabilization, Pro Nightscape Video, AI Color Portrait Video, Ultra Wide-Angle Video, 4K/30fps video recording.
The realme 7 Pro is the first smartphone to receive a TÜV Rheinland Smartphone Reliability Verification. This covers 22 major tests (12 daily-use scenarios, four components reliability and six extreme environment) and 38 minor tests so you can be assured about its quality.
Overall, the realme 7 Pro presents a substantial upgrade from the realme 6 Pro with its Super AMOLED display, improved cameras and superfast charging.