Realme 13 Pro 5G First Impressions

Realme has upgraded its number series for the second time this year. The company first introduced the Realme 12 Pro series in India in January and now, it is back with the upgraded lineup which includes the new Realme 13 Pro 5G and the Realme 13 Pro+ 5G. The latest handset from the Chinese brand brings a refreshed design language coupled with some upgraded cameras and useful AI features. Although the Pro+ variant offers top-of-the-line features from the series, the Realme 13 Pro also has a lot in its arsenal. With a starting price of Rs 26,999, the Realme 13 Pro sure seems to be an interesting option. Having used the device for a short while, here’s what you need to know.

Starting off with its design, the Realme 13 Pro does borrow some design elements from its predecessor, the Realme 12 Pro 5G (Review). You get the same large camera module on the rear panel with the fluted bezel design, although it is slightly different from the Realme 12 Pro. This rear panel now comes with a new Monet-inspired design, which is a tribute to the famous French painter Claude Monet.

The Realme 13 Pro 5G comes loaded with a Monet-inspired texture finish at the rear panel.

The phone is available in three colour options, including Monet Purple, Monet Gold, and Emerald Green. The first colour option offers a different texture, while the Green colour option offers a Vegan leather finish. I received the Monet Gold variant of the Realme 13 Pro, and the rear panel certainly stands out, especially when the light hits it at an angle.

The texture is quite interesting as it is a mix of light and shadow effects, which is found in Monet’s work. The front panel offers a curved OLED display with a centre-aligned selfie shooter. The right side of the device features volume controls and a power on/off button, while the bottom packs a SIM slot, USB Type-C port, and speaker grills. Interestingly, the handset also has an IP65 dust and water resistance rating along with the Swiss SGS Premium Performance 5 Stars Drop resistance rating, which means that it can withstand splashes and drops.

The Realme 13 Pro 5G features a curved 120Hz OLED display.

Coming to the display, the Realme 13 Pro 5G features a 6.7-inch Full HD+ OLED display. The display has a 120Hz refresh rate and a maximum 240Hz touch sampling rate. Realme claims a peak brightness of 2,000 nits, 100 percent DCI-P3 colour gamut, and so this display is also Pro-XDR certified. During my short time with this device, its display surely looked promising and is bright in both indoor and outdoor lighting conditions.

The major USP of the Realme 13 Pro 5G is its new AI photography architecture, known as the HyperImage+ camera system, which the company claims is an industry-first. The phone features a dual-camera setup on the rear panel that has a 50-megapixel Sony LYT-600 primary camera with an f/1.88 aperture and optical image stabilisation (OIS). The second camera is an 8-megapixel ultra-wide  with an f/2.2 aperture.

The handset offers useful AI features to enhance the photos and videos taken from the device.

This is where things get interesting. The latest handset from Realme comes loaded with a plethora of AI features. There’s a new AI HyperRAW Algorithm that restores the light and shadows in an image to its optimal condition. The AI portrait algorithm identifies the foreground, mid-ground, and background of the image to give a natural bokeh effect.

Then you have AI Ultra Clarity mode that allows you to enhance the resolution and increases the clarity of the blurred photos. Apart from this, the brand has also introduced AI Group Photo Enhance, AI Smart Removal, AI Audio Zoom, and more to enhance the overall user experience in the camera section.

The Realme 13 Pro 5G is loaded with a Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 SoC.

In terms of performance, the Realme 13 Pro 5G is loaded with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 processor, which is based on a 4nm process. The handset is available with up to 12GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage. It runs on Realme UI 5.0, which is based on Android 14. It packs a 5,200mAh battery and supports 45W wired charging.

Although it is too early to comment on the performance of the device, during a brief testing period, the performance seems to be fluid. However, there is still a noticeable amount of bloatware present in the Realme UI, especially the Hot Apps and Hot Games, which is a deal breaker for me. That said, we will talk about it in depth in the upcoming review.