WhileUS residents are stuck referring to 45W charging as “fast,“international companies are pushing further than ever before. AtMWC 2023, Realme announced the GT3, its latest flagship smartphone headed for global availability. And just one year afterdebuting 150W fast-charging at last year’s conference, the company has returned with a device capable of charging nearly twice as fast, reaching some seriously ludicrous speeds in the process.
The Realme GT3 is, effectively, the company’sinternational version of the GT Neo 5, which the company launched a couple of weeks ago in China. By far, that 240W rating is its most impressive feat, claiming the title of the world’s fastest charging smartphone to date. Realme says the phone can fully power up from 0 percent in less than ten minutes, putting devices with 30 minute ratings like theOnePlus 11to absolute shame.
On stage at MWC, the company demoed the ability to power a phone to 20% capacity in just 80 seconds, allowing anyone to continue using the device just by finding a spare outlet. Realme claims the GT3 will hold its “fastest charging smartphone” title for years to come, as it’s using the maximum rate USB-C allows for in its current standard. Still,Redmi teased 300W charging on its Weibo account this week, using a modified Redmi Note 12 to power up to 50% in that same 80-second window.
As with any ultra-fast charging phone, battery longevity remains a concern. Realme claims the GT3 withheld 80% of its capacity after 1,600 240W charge cycles. The company also uses different charging modes — travel, sleep, and car-based settings — in order to prevent the phone from powering up at unnecessary speeds. After all, if you’re plugging the GT3 in at night, you don’t need to place that level of stress on your battery.
The phone also sports a C-shaped RGB light next to its camera, which uses different lighting effects and colors in various states. Specific charge levels cause it to flash red or purple, while calls and notifications rapidly blink or shine bright white lights to grab your attention. This system — which Realme calls the Pulse Interface Design — is also fully customizable within the phone’s settings menu.
Naturally, the rest of the specs sheet matches the GT Neo 5 from earlier this month. It’s rocking a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, and sports a massive 6.74” AMOLED display. On the back, you’ll find three cameras including a 50MP main lens and an 8MP ultra-wide sensor. The Realme Neo GT3 will be available in Booster Black and Pulse White when it launches in various regions later this year for $650 in its base configuration.
