Christmas seemingly comes early as realme brings us yet another pleasant numbered series surprise courtesy of the gamer-geared realme 13+ 5G. It arrives with a compelling promise of premium, gamer-centric features alongside the pizzazz that installment number 13 brought to the table. This, all at a price point that won’t break the bank–or your thumbs from rage quitting on an inferior device.
At first glance, we’re getting a plethora of gaming features and a specs sheet that won’t exactly make a hardcore gamer drool–but give an affirming, inquisitive nod. But upon further inspection, and a bit of good ol’ gaming, there’s a chance that the realme 13+ 5G will not only have their interest, but also their attention. The midrange battle colosseum of smartphone supremacy is chock full of contenders–all of which bring a variety of quirks into the fray. The same goes for this new kid on the block.
So after spending some sweet, quality time with the device, we’re ready to give you the 411 on what we’ve gathered. Could this be that gaming midrange champion you’ve been waiting for, or does it fall short of simply being a realme GT 6 Lite? Read on to find out.
Geeksthetic
While gaming may be the focal point of this device, the realme 13+ 5G doesn’t skimp on the aesthetics–especially with our Victory Gold variant. Stylish? Sturdy, too. The device sports their patented ArmorShell Protection composed of robust die-cast aluminum construction with integrated metal for the chassis, and some decent tempered glass up front. At 185g and measuring just 7.6mm thin, it’s like holding a premium trading card–like Blue Eyes White Dragon from Magic The Gathering.
To be more specific, it’s known as the 7.6mm Victory Legend Design–a choice definitely made for the hands of those who got game. Aesthetically, it’s also quite the eye-catching design–especially when you take a gander at the chassis. You just can’t help but let the light dance around its backside. It’s also worth noting that under different lighting situations, it actually changes to a bit of a rose gold finish. Probably unintentional, but nice nonetheless. Coincidentally, the wear and corrosion-resistant surfaces somewhat contribute to that premium feel and texture. Meanwhile, the IP65 dust and water resistance rating ensures it can handle a bit of, well, splash damage. We intend all our puns.
To the sides, you have your usual selection of buttons and ports including dual-firing stereo speakers. No 3.5mm headphone jack, and no fingerprint sensor, as the latter makes its way onto the screen. The in-display sensor is sensitive enough, and is quick with its responses.
Capping off the backside, we have an ostentatious camera setup complete with camera spec engravings. Up front, the 6.67-inch display lacks even more chin than before, and comes with an impressive 88.9% screen-to-body ratio. We’ll get right to that.
Binge-Watching Factor
It might not be a milkshake, but the realme 13+ 5G brings all the boys to the yard–with its purdy AMOLED display. That big ol’ screen has a snappy 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ support. So, if you’re following the likes of Dandadan or just discovered aespa through the new Whiplash MV, you’re guaranteed some pretty clear and vivid visuals. No, we’re not just talking about Winter, but also, yes.
The 2000 nits peak brightness means you won’t have trouble seeing your screen even under the harshest sunlight. Colors pop with clarity, and the dynamic brightness adjustment works well enough that you won’t have to manually adjust it every time you step outside.
As for audio, those hi-res dual stereo speakers can definitely work the room. You can further enhance your aural experience with OReality Audio, which has a few sound profiles baked right into your audio settings. If you’re rocking some wireless earbuds like, say, the realme Buds T110, then the device’s Holo Audio has some customizable settings for those who want to tweak their spatial settings on the fly.
Gaming Prowess
Powered by the Mediatek Dimensity 7300 Energy processor and Mali-G615 MC2 GPU, you’re pretty much off to the races. The Mali-G615MC2 GPU complements the chipset rather nicely. While we do get a total of 26GB of RAM, you’ll only really be utilizing 12GB, which is good enough for gaming. Storage-wise, we were really hoping to get 512GB of space, as it’s a gaming phone, after all. Just 256GB might not be enough if you’re a HoYoverse connoisseur as those titles add about 20GB of files per patch update. It’s some serious business.
We did cover most of the meat and potatoes in our earlier gaming test, and we did get some decent results. That being said, we did claim that a firmware update just might fix a few of the problems we encountered. Sure enough, as if divine providence, that exact update arrived the next day. Were our problems completely solved? Well, to some extent, yes.
Post-update, Genshin Impact finally ran decently at medium settings. We got just about 30 FPS without motion blur turned on. As for Wuthering Waves, we pretty much got the same good results, with just above 40 FPS at higher settings. Still no stutters or screen tearing. As for Honor of Kings, well, the new results were as expected–max everything out and play your heart out. Almost 100 FPS, and no chance of lag.
The Stainless Steel Vapor Chamber Cooling System keeps things cool even during extended gaming sessions, so you won’t have to worry about thermal throttling ruining your winning streak. As such, you’ll only get a bit of warmth after extended play, but you’ll never have a blast furnace in your hands.
Now, for the crowning glory–GT Mode. This essentially guarantees that your phone will be focusing on the game just as much as you are. Any and all resources will be allotted to whatever you’re playing, making sure that no energy is wasted. You also get Geek Power Tuning which basically allows you to overclock your phone. However, it’s only available on more popular titles, so it might not work on newer games, like Wuthering Waves. AI Boost 2.0 is the updated version of their previous software that allows you to choose between Smooth Boost–for overall productivity, or Game Boost–for unbridled gaming performance. Also, if you’re more inclined towards FPS titles and gate the idea of using your fingers to aim all the time, the device comes with a pretty nifty 6-Axis Hypersensitive Gyroscope–something most hardcore COD players would appreciate.
When it comes to gaming performance, we have no nitpicks. Considering its chipset, we’re satisfied with its capabilities. Would we have wanted something a bit beefier? Sure. Are we disappointed? Not at all.
Geek Photoshoot Capabilities
Now, this is quite the tall task, coming off the success of the realme 13 Pro+ 5G. Then again, that smartphone went all-out on cameras. That’s not the case here. The 13+’s camera setup might seem modest on paper, but it definitely delivers where it counts.
It comes with a singular 50MP Sony LYT600 OIS main camera which captures sharp, detailed shots under most lighting conditions. While it lacks the secondary telephoto lens, the quality is just as good. Portrait mode also works well, delivering clean subject separation with natural bokeh–mostly for food shots. We don’t know why, either.
Low-light performance is decent, though you might notice some noise in particularly dark scenes. The 16MP selfie camera handles your social media needs adequately, and it’ll take some decent shots even without beauty mode turned on. Because you’re beautiful just the way you are. As for portrait selfies, you can expect some decent bokeh, with no AI interference along the edges of your face. Cool stuff.
As for video, you can shoot up to 4K 30 fps with the main shooter, while up front, you get up to 1080p 30 fps. Not bad, considering that we, ourselves, have been shooting mostly on 1080p.
Everyday Reliability
As a daily driver, the realme 13+ 5G proves its worth with some decent quality of life features and impressive stamina. First off, you’re running on Android 14 and Realme UI 5.0–which is as smooth a combo as they come. Sure. we did experience a bit of hiccup with that late update, but a multitude of factors could have caused that. The built-in antenna array matrix system allows for great connectivity, regardless of how we’d grip our phone–whether on WIFI or mobile data. While we don’t exactly use 360° NFC regularly, we know it works well here, as it triggers every time the backside taps onto another phone with the same feature.
We’re also glad that Real Essentials has seemingly become a staple for all of their phones moving forward, and not limited to higher-tiered variants, too. Personally, we didn’t really make use of every feature at the same time. But rainwater smart touch, riding mode, and the dynamic power button were pretty useful on a daily basis. Smart Mode Scan–which allows you to tap the backside to scan codes. and Air Gestures work well enough, though we didn’t make full use of them on our end. They’re nice to have, regardless.
One percent short of something nice.
Now, for power. The hefty 5000mAh battery easily lasted about 6 hours after some heavy gaming and mobile data enabled. With lighter usage, you can increase those hours to around 10. When you do need to charge, the 80W SUPERVOOC charging gets you to 50% in under 30 minutes and fully charged in less than 45 minutes.
Given all these features, the overall day-to-day experience is pretty smooth. Gaming aside, this smartphone can definitely function as a capable daily driver. It’s really nice when a device decides to level up all their stats adequately instead of rushing one stat to 99 and calling it a day.
Final Geek Lifestyle Verdict
Now, this is one capable fighter in the battle for midrange supremacy. With solid performance, premium build quality, and practical features, you’d be glad to have this little doohickey in your weapon holster. The realme 13+ 5G is a formidable gaming device that just so happens to benefit from its rich 13 Series lineage when it comes to performing outside of its comfort zone.
In terms of pricing, it comes in at P19,999 SRP, so it’s safe to say that you’ll be spending arguably less than what most people shell out on their gacha games. Yes, it may not have the most versatile camera system in its class, it makes up for it with strong overall performance, impressive battery life, and a gorgeous display. It’s definitely worth considering, should you be someone in search for a gaming phone that has a few more tricks up its sleeve.
Make sure to check out the brand’s physical stores or online retailers once the phone hits shelves to avail of any special promos. For more updates and announcements on the realme 13 Series 5G, visit the official realme Facebook page and website.
realme 13+ 5G Full Specs:
- Mediatek Dimensity 7300 Energy (4 nm)
- Mali-G615 MC2
- 6.67″ AMOLED Display, 1080 x 2400 resolution, 120Hz, HDR10+, (~88.9% screen-to-body ratio)
- 12 GB RAM + 14GB RAM Expansion
- 256 GB Storage
- 50 MP Sony LYT600 OIS Camera, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.95″, PDAF
- 2 MP Camera, f/2.4, (depth)
- 16 MP Selfie camera
- 5G, LTE, Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
- WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, fingerprint scanner, USB Type-C
- 5000 mAh battery with 80W SUPERVOOC charging
- Android 14, Realme UI 5.0
- Victory Gold, Speed Green, Dark Purple
- IP65 dust and water resistance