The world’s fastest-growing smartphone brand Realme has a habit of releasing new handsets every other week. The company is no stranger to rebranded products, either. But today, the brand has done something really weird and traditionally unheard of. It seems to have relaunched an existing model in the same market with huge fanfare.
A few hours back, Realme launched a new phone in China called the Realme GT Neo 2T (stylized as realme GT NEO2T). With both the Realme GT Neo 2 and 2T present in the same market, things were getting too confusing for the average consumer.
So we decided to take a closer look at the newly launched model. Surprisingly, after careful analysis, we have come to the conclusion that this device is nothing but a realme GT NEO with a glass back and a new name.
Chinese handset maker Realme had been teasing the launch of Realme GT Neo 2T for the past few days as if it was a brand-new smartphone. The brand even held a full-blown press event to unveil this phone.
These actions made us believe that the device was indeed a new model. But turns out, it isn’t.
Initially, we were confused as to why the Realme GT Neo 2T sports a different design when compared to Realme GT Neo 2. We got even more skeptical when we compared the specifications in detail. Neither the specs nor the design suggested that both these handsets were part of the same lineup/generation.
Then, as we started comparing the new phone with the previously released devices, we hit a home run. Upon closer observation, we can, for sure, confirm that the Realme GT Neo 2T is a Realme GT Neo (review) in disguise.
Earlier this year, realme replaced the Realme X series with the introduction of the Realme GT lineup but confirmed it only in August. The first model in the lineup was simply called the Realme GT (stylized as realme GT 5G). The same model was launched worldwide.
The original GT smartphone from March 2021 was soon followed by a new model called Realme GT Neo (stylized as realme GT NEO) in the same month. The newer device later made its way to India in the form of the Realme X7 Max at the end of May.
Now, almost seven months after its initial debut, Realme has re-released this handset in a new avatar. It is called Realme GT Neo 2T and has a glass back instead of plastic.
The name and the rear finish are the only major differences between the two products. In fact, even their dimensions are identical (158.5 x 73.3 x 8.4mm).
If we talk about minor changes between these two models, there are things like charging speed and chipset. The original Realme GT Neo only supported 50W fast charging, compared to 65W on the Realme GT Neo 2T. But interestingly, there’s a variant of the GT Neo which has these missing features. If you recall, around late May, Realme had launched a new variant called Realme GT Neo Flash Edition with 65W fast charging in China.
As far as silicon is concerned, both Realme GT Neo and Realme GT Neo 2T house a MediaTek Dimensity 1200 SoC inside, However, the chipset on the latter model has some optimizations made possible through ‘Dimensity 5G Open Resource Architecture’. Hence, it is known as Dimensity 1200-AI, just like the silicon powering the OnePlus Nord 2.
Coming to the price, despite being the same phone, the Realme GT Neo 2T is costlier than the Reame GT Neo. If the new product was announced alongside the original, we would have been fine with the price as it offers a premium matte glass finish.
However, seven months later, it does not make sense when we know that this is the exact same handset. It even runs the same old Realme UI 2.0 based on Android 11. So it will be also receiving identical software support (2 Android updates). Just because Realme advertises Realme GT Neo 2T as a brand-new phone, it doesn’t make it one.
At the end of the day, we have to agree that Realme is good at doing business. It knows how to target customers and market products. Though the realme GT Neo 2T is a rebadged smartphone from a few months ago, the company presents it in such a way that no one seems to remember that it’s nearly the same phone from seven months ago.
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