Realme Gt Neo 3 Naruto Edition Hands On

For 2022, the Realme GT Neo 3 Naruto Edition will only have 5,000 units available for sale on a first come first serve basis. So, if you are a big fan of the iconic Naruto anime franchise and want a unique-looking smartphone, then this device is the one to get.

The Unboxing experience is extraordinarily unique

Everything with this smartphone is purposefully and tastefully executed to pay homage to the Naruto franchise. The retail cardboard box is environmentally friendly (no plastic) and is a one-piece design for easy opening and recycling.

Upon opening the cardboard box, you’ll see a maroon and green scroll package which resembles the Ninja scroll Naruto carries with him. The outer sleeve is made of vegan leather in sheepskin pattern and has realme and Naruto logs on the outside. Pop open the lid on one side and a tray slides out with an insert, underneath is the smartphone, followed by the fast charging brick, clear TPU case and USB-C cable. Everything follows the Naruto theme. The insert has the red color Naruto family badge. The SIM tray tool is the exact shape of the Naruto headband symbol – most definitely a unique flourish. Even the charging brick and USB-C have the main smartphone color theme applied to them. For once, I was very happy to get a 160W Fast Charging brick compatible with the USA power outlets.

Realme GT Neo 3 Naruto Edition design language stays true to the anime franchise

One could argue that basically, this is a Realme GT Neo 3 150W smartphone. While this is true on paper, in reality, Realme has gone the extra mile to make this device as unique as possible. And all of the little design flourishes stay true in terms of paying homage to the Naruto franchise. The back cover has orange and black accents with the Naruto family badge which matches the outfit of the Ninja warrior. On the top is the camera module, and it mimics the forehead protector (Hitai-ate) worn by Naruto. There are the rivets – three on each side and in the middle is the engraved symbol that represents Naruto’s ancestral village. Realme claims that it had to use a lot of varying processes to achieve the different textures, colors, and patterns. The end result of this expensive low yield process is a back cover like no other. In my entire time reviewing smartphones, I have yet to come across something as unique and as well-executed as this smartphone. The rest of the smartphone is like any other modern device, so I’ll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

Hardware performance is excellent for gaming

The Realme GT Neo 3 Naruto Edition is being offered in a single memory variant: 12GB/256GB. The limited quantities will be available for purchase in Mainland China starting May 31, 2022. Realme is staying quiet about this phone being available in other markets.

For gaming and streaming, the Realme GT Neo 3 Naruto Edition has a vivid 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Powering the smartphone is MediaTek’s Dimensity 8100 processor along with 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB UFS 3.1 flash storage. Geekebch 5 scores aside, in my limited time with this device, I didn’t find any issues in terms of performance for daily tasks or gaming. Thermal management is good enough so the phone doesn’t overheat too much during extended gaming periods. The in-display fingerprint scanner works great and the haptics are right up there with the flagship devices.

The 150W Fast Charging on the Realme GT Neo 3 Naruto Edition is absolutely bonkers

The Realme GT Neo 3 Naruto Edition comes with support for 150W fast charging. There is some marketing discrepancy here because the box says 150W, but the charging brick says ‘160W SUPERDART’. Nevertheless, those are some impressive wattage numbers in terms of fast charging. Realme claims that the phone is capable of reaching from 0% to 50% in about 5 minutes, and from 0% to 100% in just 17 minutes with the Rapid Charging setting turned on. The seat of the pants impression is that the claims might be ideal numbers but in actuality, you can still fully charge the device in about 20 minutes which is spectacular. Expect the phone to heat up when charging at the 150W and Rapid Charging setting turned on. At the standard charging setting, there was negligible heat generation.

Naruto themed accessories are also going on sale

Besides the limited edition smartphone, you can also purchase custom Naruto theme cases and a 10,000 mAh power bank. You can also purchase a spare fast-charging brick which complements the device very well.

Software and Connectivity Impressions

My device is running a Chinese realme 3.0 UI with a Naruto theme throughout the entire software experience. In order for me to run Geekbench and install a few games, I had to sideload the Google Play Store. I was able to get the tasks done, but there were frequent encounters with pop-ups in Chinese. This is to be expected since this is a China-only limited edition smartphone.

In terms of connectivity, I got 4G LTE upon inserting my T-Mobile SIM card. There’s realme Share, Screencast, NFC, Bluetooth and Screen Sharing available. So, in terms of connectivity there should be no issues.

Audio and Camera impressions

There are dual stereo speakers on the Realme GT Neo 3 Naruto Edition. I like that there are dedicated speaker grilles at the top and bottom to distribute the sound more evenly. And for the most part, they sound loud and clear. The vocals and mid-ranges are crisp and don’t get distorted easily, but the bass is a bit lacking. Audio output via Bluetooth connection was quite good. And if you have Realme Buds, then they link up nicely via the realme Link app.

The rear camera module has a 50MP Sony IMX766 sensor with OIS as the main camera, an 8MP ultrawide angle camera, and a 2MP macro camera that can focus up to 4cm close. I haven’t fully played with the camera in the two days I have had with this device. For the most part, sticking to the main camera produces great pictures in the daytime and reasonably good pictures in low light. The Ultrawide camera is so-so and I would steer clear of the macro camera. The front has a 16MP selfie camera and it is fine for the most part in terms of sharing pics via social media.