Realme GT 3 is the fastest charging phone you can buy

Realme has officially unveiled its next flagship phone, the Realme GT 3 at MWC Barcelona 2023. This new smartphone comes with 240W charging, the fastest ever seen in the market to date.

An advertisement for the phone shows that the charger in the box can boost the Realme GT 3’s 4,600mAh battery from empty to full in 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The phone also comes with Realme’s specialized custom 12A cable and a 240W GaN (Gallium Nitride) dual mini charger.

The GT 3 will be released globally in May or June (as confirmed to me in a Q&A after the event) and will be on sale for $649, with UK prices still to be confirmed. The phone is basically a rebranded version of the China-exclusive Realme GT Neo 5, which also comes with the same fast charging technology.

Realme sister company Oppo first unveiled a 240W fast charging concept at MWC 2022. Now the tech is on sale in Asia and Europe – but no other phone maker has sold any. phones with these charging speeds other than Realme – in keeping with its classic “dare to jump” motto.

It was the fastest charging speed ever seen on a smartphone…until today, ironically. Xiaomi cheekily showed off a demo phone, which has 300W fast charging that can take it from flat to full in under five minutes (really, that’s getting silly now). When it will arrive in a commercial phone, anyone can guess.

As this is a relatively new technology, it’s unclear if there are any long-term effects on the phone’s overall battery life. Realme doesn’t seem to believe that should be the case. At launch, the company claimed it could last 1600 cycles while retaining 80% of the original battery capacity.

Previous phones reviewed by Tech Advisor with fast charging speeds have sometimes produced heating issues, although we’re not yet sure if this is also an issue with the GT 3. Realme has confirmed that the phone has battery cooling technology, but we won’t. I don’t know how effective it is until I test the phone.

Apart from the main function, the GT 3 also comes with a 144Hz OLED display and is available in a choice of two colors: black and white. The camera module has RGB lighting on the outside, which lights up for incoming notifications, and can indicate battery life by lighting up red.

In terms of performance, it sports the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, with five different RAM and storage options available. It also has a 50Mp triple rear camera with OIS.

You can read the full Realme GT 3 specs here. We’ve also got all the latest from MWC, including the new foldable OnePlus and Lenovo’s new budget 2-in-1 device.