The competition
Currently, the Realme 15 Pro is available only in India, and it may stay there for its lifespan, as in our experience, Realme usually launches the even number models globally. The Indian price starts at INR 32,000 ($365) for the 8/128 model and goes up to INR 39,000 ($445) for the 12/512 version.
The first alternative that comes to mind is the OnePlus Nord 5 with a similar pricing. It has a more powerful chipset under a similar screen and surrounded by similar cameras. The battery life is not as impressive as on the Realme 15 Pro, nor is the ingress protection ratings. But if more oomph is what you need, you should check the Nord 5.
The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus is has a cool design with notification LEDs on the back, a similarly large and smooth display, impressive battery life, and similar camera but with a capped 4K30 video capturing. The Dimensity 7350 Pro is not as fast as the SD7G4 chip inside the Realme 15 Pro, but no slouch either. Exploring this INR 21,000 Nothing Phone makes sense if the Realme 15 Pro is over your budget.
Then there is the ultimate choice for everyone that wants the maximum bang for the buck – the Poco X7 Pro priced around INR 26,000. The phone has a Dolby Vision 144Hz AMOLED, a far more powerful Dimensity 8400 Ultra chipset, and a catchy vegan-leather back. Its camera quality and battery life are mediocre, though, so it’s not all sunshine and rainbows.
The vivo V50 is probably the most logical competitor in India. It is a similarly priced phone with largely similar specs – it has a slim and lightweight body that packs a 6,000mAh battery, a 6.8-inch OLED, and has similar performance and camera kit. The vivo V50 has the previous generation chipset and fewer screen pixels, but it supports autofocus on all cameras – ultrawide and selfies included – and this open many new possibilities.
The Redmi Note 14 Pro+ for India may win you with its Dolby Vision AMOLED and its dedicated telephoto camera with 2.5x optical zoom and telemacro capabilities. It is a similarly nice phone and while it does not excel in selfies and ultrawide photos, it does great with its main and zoom cameras.
OnePlus Nord 5 • Nothing Phone (2a) Plus • Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro • vivo V50 • Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 Pro+ 5G
Finally, there is also the Realme P4 Pro, which is literally the same phone as the Realme 15 Pro, but with an 8MP ultrawide camera instead of a 50MP one. It is INR 7,000 cheaper than the Realme 15 Pro and it’s worth exploring if you don’t care about the ultrawide-angle shots or for budget reasons.
Realme P4 Pro
Our verdict
The Realme 15 Pro excels in everything that’s important – design and protection, screen, performance, battery life, charging speed, feature-rich software and powerful AI capabilities, photo quality and video capturing. And it’s priced just right.
We were impressed on a couple of occasions, while the rest was up to par at the least. This makes the Realme 15 Pro a very good smartphone that’s easy to recommend.
We are surely missing the dedicated telephoto camera, and the 144Hz refresh rate turned out to be a gimmick. But given how good the phone is elsewhere, we think many users will forget about those setbacks.
At the end of the day, the Realme 15 Pro is a solid offer and an excellent smartphone. It has competitive features and gets an easy recommendation from us.
Pros
- Stylish design, well protected.
- Bright OLED screen, HDR10+.
- Outstanding battery life, fast to charge.
- Pleasing photo and video quality.
- Good performance for this class.
- Feature-rich Realme UI, plenty of AI options.
- Pulse Light is nice.
Cons
- 144Hz refresh rate is not available where it matters.
- The telephoto camera is gone.