Why you can trust TechRadarWe spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best.Find out more about how we test.
Verdict
One of the most difficult things for a phone classed as ‘budget’ to do is leave a lasting impression.
Most arrive in a blaze of glory, before quickly petering out - and many are often not the first choice of their respective buyers.
The Realme 3 Pro is a little more than this, having a strongly defined personality of its own. Though its software design might be divisive, it has no major issues. It has a class-leading camera for the price point, along with dependable stamina and the handy option of very fast charging.
Sporting an eye-catching and robust design, along with a bright capacious screen, decent speakers, generous specifications and a powerful chipset, the Realme 3 Pro really does have an odd character of its own.
And it is for this reason that it should be the device which most should look to buy if shopping at this level - for the price the value offered here is pretty much unbeatable.
Who’s this for?
Anyone looking for value and a smartphone which is highly competent in almost all areas who’s willing to compromise a little of design and accept life without NFC for contactless payments and easy pairing.
Should you buy it?
If you don’t have a lot of cash to splash and are looking for the best value possible, your search should go no further than this.
First reviewed: June 2019Consider these three alternative phones:
Xiaomi Redmi Note 7
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 comes with a slightly weaker chipset than the Realme 3 Pro, but offers slightly better battery life, a more premium design and a camera with more megapixels. Based on a pure specification war, the Realme 3 Pro comes out on top.
Read our fullXiaomi Redmi Note 7 review
Huawei P Smart (2019)
The Huawei P Smart (2019) offers a nicer build quality compared to the Realme 3 Pro, and better general availability. Given the current political situation surrounding Huawei at the moment however, we would once again recommend the Realme.
Read our fullHuawei P Smart (2019) review
Honor Play
For a slightly greater outlay, the Honor Play offers better performance and an arguably more capable camera, but again given the difficult situation currently facing Huawei and Honor, we would encourage readers to look elsewhere.
Read our fullHonor Play review
First reviewed: June 2019
Current page:Verdict and competition
Sean is a Scottish technology journalist who’s written for the likes of T3, Trusted Reviews, TechAdvisor and Expert Reviews.
I’m a Nintendo Switch expert, here are the five best early Black Friday deals right now
Turns out most of us really don’t mind data centers
How Agentic AI will revolutionize business operations – are you ready?
