Realme 3 Pro review

Interface and reliability

• Runs ‘ColorOS’ on top of Android 9
• Very similar to iOS

This story of triumph becomes a little more complex when we move to the software. As before, Oppo has loaded the Realme 3 Pro with its custom 'ColorOS'. This is an alternate version of Android from stock, being far more stuffed with features and faux pas.

In essence, it is a wholesale copy of everything from iOS, which is to say that installed apps pile off into infinity on home screens to the right when adding themselves, there is a widget drawer to the left and the settings menu is a bit of a mess.

There are also a few included apps and games, though these can mostly be avoided.

What can't easily be avoided is the cartoonish icons, the heavy handed attempts to solve problems you may not in fact possess, and a settings menu worthy of Kafka.

On the plus side, while swiping through the operating system we encountered no chokes or slow-downs. Nor did we encounter any stability issues or bugs, and the phone received 2 software updates during the course of the review process, which bodes well for how future-proof the device will prove to be.

Movies, music and gaming

• Has a headphone jack
• Good for all content on the go

With a large screen and an equally large battery to match, the Realme 3 Pro is pretty much made for consuming content while on the go.

For music, the speakers proved to be plenty loud enough to hear above a noisy shower, though they were a little tinny when pushed to maximum volume, especially in the trebles.

The inclusion of a headphone jack will prove to be catnip to many, while the support for Bluetooth 5.0 will also please wireless audio enthusiasts.

As for gaming, the powerful chipset burns through most titles with ease at high graphics settings. A 'high performance' mode is also available for those who feel that they need it in order to achieve the best experience.

We also found that the Realme 3 Pro didn’t get too hot under the collar while playing various titles, which is another significant bonus.

With movies, the bright screen makes viewing content a pleasure, and again the headphone jack means that watching videos on the go is the stress-free affair it should always be.

Performance and benchmarks

• Powerful multi-core chipset
• Strong performance throughout

The Snapdragon 710 chipset is one of Qualcomms newer efforts, built with the intent of matching the performance of the Snapdragon 835 from 2017 - a chipset which at the time was top-end. 

The Snapdragon 710 has two high performance cores which take the brunt of the heavy lifting, and six high efficiency cores which take over in every other area.

In our standard Geekbench test, the single-core score doesn’t impress a great deal, offering a score of 1,437, not even matching the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S7. The multi-core score of 5,843 is far more interesting, coming not too far off the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S8.

As before, in general use the 6GB of included RAM and generous included storage means that no task takes too long to complete and that most will never have an issue.