Realme's GT Neo5 phone can go from zero to 20 percent charge in 80 seconds
Remember that Redmi phone which featured a whopping 210W charging? Well, another Chinese contender has made its next move with a 240W upgrade. The Realme GT Neo5 can apparently charge its 4,600mAh dual-cell battery from zero to 20 percent in merely 80 seconds, or to 50 percent in four minutes, or to 100 percent in 9.5 minutes. On an mAh-per-minute basis, this actually beats the Redmi Note 12 Discovery Edition's 9-minute record, considering that it has a smaller 4,300mAh battery.
Realme's 240W SuperVOOC rapid charging feat is enabled by a surprisingly compact dual-GaN power adapter, which is paired with a proprietary high-current USB-C cable to deliver 20V/12A of power. This is then converted to 10V/24A by three 100W power management chips before it reaches the battery - a similar implementation to the Redmi. The adapter is also compatible with USB-PD at up to 65W, as well as existing Qualcomm QC and Oppo VOOC-based solutions - the latter's previous record was 150W. Realme further claimed that even after 1,600 cycles (about four years of usage), the battery health wouldn't go lower than 80 percent.
Realme's GT Neo5 has a nice little gimmick on the back: an under-glass Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 decoration surrounded by an RGB light ring, which can be customized with 25 colors for scenes including charging, gaming, messages and more. This is all wrapped around an NFC circuitry positioned to the right of the camera island. Speaking of, you'll also find a 50-megapixel main camera (featuring a Sony IMX890 sensor and optical stabilization), an 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera and a 2-megapixel macro camera here.
On the other side, there's a 6.74-inch 2,772 x 1,240 AMOLED screen (supplied by China's Tianma) which not only runs at up to 144Hz, but also offers a sensitive 1,500Hz touch sampling rate - a plus for mobile gaming. This is complemented with an under-display fingerprint reader and a 16-megapixel punch-hole selfie camera. Other notable features include a infrared remote blaster at the top (a common feature on Chinese phones), a pair of stereo speakers and an 8-layer heat dissipation design for optimal gaming performance. All of these are packaged into a 199g-heavy, 8.9mm-thick body which comes in black, white or purple, and it's mostly covered with a piece of frosted glass on the rear side.
The Realme GT Neo5 is already available in China with two flavors offered: the model with 16GB RAM and 256GB storage is asking for 3,199 yuan (around $470), but bumping it up to 1TB storage is just 3,499 yuan (about $520). Interestingly, there's also a 5,000mAh variant of the GT Neo5 which features "just" 150W charging, and it ranges from 2,499 yuan ($370; 8GB RAM and 256GB storage) to 2,899 yuan ($430; 16GB RAM and 256GB storage).
Realme has confirmed to Engadget that the GT Neo5 will be headed to international markets "soon." That said, the 240W SuperVOOC feature will actually be introduced to the global market by way of the company's upcoming flagship phone, the Realme GT3, later this month. Smells like an MWC special here.