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You literally can't get a faster charging phone than this one
- Realme has launched the GT Neo 5 smartphone in China.
- The phone offers 240W wired charging speeds, maxing out USB-C’s current capabilities.
- The company adds that 240W charging will come to the upcoming Realme GT 3 as well.
Realme announced that it was working on a smartphone with 240W wired charging speeds just over a month ago, dubbed the Realme GT Neo 5. Now, the phone has finally launched, indeed bringing blazing-fast speeds.
The key selling point is indeed the 240W wired charging speed, hitting the limit set by the USB Implementer’s Forum (USB-IF) with the USB PD 3.1 revision back in 2021. In other words, you simply can’t get a faster charging phone than this one, unless the USB-IF increases speeds with a new revision or a rival brand launches a 240W phone with a smaller battery.
A fast charging beast
Speaking of the battery, you’re getting a 4,600mAh battery here. And Realme says 240W charging will take the phone from 1% to 100% in nine and a half minutes, or from 1% to 50% in four minutes. There’s no word on how long the phone will take to go from zero to a proper full charge, though.
One concern with the Realme GT Neo 5 is battery degradation. The smartphone brand says the battery loses 20% of its effective capacity after 1,600 charging cycles. Realme confirmed to Android Authority that the 1,600 cycle figure was reached with 240W charging.
In any event, Realme is also offering a version of the phone with a 5,000mAh battery and 150W wired charging. So those who value endurance more than fast charging have an option too, although 150W charging is still ridiculously fast.
Realme GT Neo 5: What else to know?
The new Realme handset brings a solid list of specs elsewhere, serving up a Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor, a 144Hz screen (2,772 x 1,240, no word if it’s OLED or LCD), and a triple rear camera system. The latter consists of a 50MP IMX890 main camera, 8MP ultrawide shooter, and 2MP microscope lens.
Other notable features include a 16MP selfie camera, customizable lighting for the back, dual stereo speakers, Bluetooth 5.3, an IR blaster, and Realme UI 4.0 atop Android 13.
The Realme GT Neo 5 is only available in China, starting at 3,199 yuan (~$472) for the cheapest 240W variant. Meanwhile, the 150W option starts at 2,599 yuan (~$383). There’s no word on the phone coming to global markets, but Realme has confirmed that the upcoming GT 3 flagship will offer 240W speeds when it launches globally next month.