Mobiles

The Realme GT Neo 3 is faster than other fast-charging smartphones

Realme GT Neo 3 Naruto Edition phones aren't available at Verizon or AT&T. Realme branded phones can be found in the United States only as unlocked global versions sold on Amazon, and they may not be compatible with your wireless carrier's network.

As a special edition device, only 5,000 units were made in honor of the Naruto anime series. It's either that US consumers don't care about special edition phones, or manufacturers don't think it's worth the effort to sell them here. We seem to get the green iPhone the most often, which is just... an iPhone that is green.

This GT Neo 3 is an excellent special edition phone. There is more to Realme than slapping a logo on the box and changing the color of the phone. The branding is carried through from the UI to the ninja scroll-shaped box the phone comes in. There is even a SIM ejector tool shaped like a leaf symbol from the show.

Another reason to check out this phone is the possibility of very, very fast charging, which might actually turn out to be a reality. The parent company of Realme is BBK, which also owns OnePlus, which sells US-compatible phones.

(As well as the Naruto Edition) the GT Neo 3 is available with wired charging of 150W. Tanya Tang, a spokesperson for Realme, told me that the phone would adapt to just 125W in the US due to the lower standard voltage and that it would be slower.

What is the speed? It takes only five minutes to charge 46 percent. Comparatively, the OnePlus 10 Pro's 65W charger charges it from 0 to 100 percent in about 30 minutes. With the slower speeds permitted in the US, this would still be twice as fast. Please send the phone as soon as possible.

Within a few days of receiving my DHL delivery, I have seen the future of fast charging, and it is impressive. It took just over 16 minutes for me to charge the phone up to 100 percent after it was fully discharged. The process did not cause my house to catch fire, either.

Around two minutes after the phone started charging, I turned it on when it reached about 10 percent. My next step was to periodically check the progress on the screen of the phone, which likely slowed down charging slightly.

I didn't get a full charge until 16:30, but I did get 33 percent in five minutes, 68 percent in ten minutes, and a full charge in 30 minutes. It would have been reasonable for me to receive the 46 percent in five minutes figure I was given with the phone turned off the whole time. Still, this is impressive.

During the charging process, the phone and charging brick both warmed up significantly. Through most of it, I held the phone in my hand and it never became uncomfortable to hold, but the charging brick actually got hot.

After charging ended, an infrared thermometer measured 120 degrees (full disclosure, the thermometer is designed to take a baby's temperature, so this is not a precise measurement). Warm, but not enough to burn your house down.

It appears that you do have to use the Realme-provided fast-charging brick if you want the fastest charging speeds. ChargerLAB testing shows that third-party charging bricks only deliver about 18W when using a different USB-C cable.

As for the Realme charger, it tops out at 45W when used with other USB-C devices, so you can fast charge a 30W device like the Google Pixel 6 Pro, but you can't use it to charge your MacBook Pro at the same time.

In the near future, will OnePlus phones in North America receive 150W charging? Possibly. In India, OnePlus phones support 150W charging. How useful is charging this fast, or is it just a gimmick? We don't know.

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