Sony Xperia 5 III review

 What Realme did is essentially take the Realme GT and swap out the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset for a MediaTek Dimensity 1200 one. The latter is currently the top dog in the Dimensity lineup and is not a particularly widespread chip. In fact, this is the first time we are seeing the Dimensity 1200.

Realme X7 Max 5G specs at a glance:

• Body: 158.5x73.3x8.4mm, 179g; Glass front, plastic frame, plastic back; Splash resistant.
• Display: 6.43" Super AMOLED, 120Hz, 1000 nits (peak), 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 409ppi.
• Chipset: MediaTek MT6893 Dimensity 1200 5G (6 nm): Octa-core (1x3.0 GHz Cortex-A78 & 3x2.6 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55); Mali-G77 MC9.
• Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM; UFS 3.1.
• OS/Software: Android 11, Realme UI 2.0.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 64 MP, f/1.8, 26mm, 1/1.73", 0.8µm, PDAF; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.3, 16mm, 119-degree, 1/4.0", 1.12µm; Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4.
• Front camera: 16 MP, f/2.5, 26mm (wide), 1/3.0", 1.0µm.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/480fps, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
• Battery: 4500mAh; Fast charging 50W, 50% in 16 min (advertised), Reverse charging 2.5W.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); NFC; 3.5mm jack.

Beyond this chipset swap, the X7 Max / GT Neo is pretty much identical to the vanilla Realme GT. You get the same 6.43-inch, 120Hz, Super AMOLED display, as well as an identical camera setup, based on a 64MP main came, with an 8MP ultrawide, 2MP macro cam and a 16MP selfie. There are some minor differences, as well, mostly related to the slightly different feature sets of the two chips.

For instance, the Realme X7 Max 5G is capped at 50W of fast charging on its 4,500 mAh battery, instead of the 65W the vanilla Realme GT gets. The Dimensity 1200 is equipped with Bluetooth 5.1, instead of the 5.2 modem on the regular model. Beyond that, however, the Dimensity manages to deliver pretty much every feature, including 5G connectivity and DSP capabilities.

In fact, the adoption of the MediaTek chip could even be behind an odd difference in high refresh rate handling, which we observed on the Realme X7 Max 5G, compared to other recent Realme phones. But, we'll get to that in the performance section of the review, which will likely be the most interesting bit overall, seeing how the Dimensity 1200 is kind of the spotlight of the experience.

Before we move on further with the review, we should point out, once more, that though pretty much all of our findings will apply to the Realme GT Neo, as well, we are basing our review on a Realme X7 Max 5G unit.

Also, looking at the two specs sheets in detail reveals that the X7 Max 5G officially advertises a few extras its Chinese counterpart lacks, or at least does not officially advertise. These include splash resistance, Dragontrail Glass on the front for protection, as well as 2.5W reverse charging support.

Finally, to the best of our knowledge, there is no 6GB RAM version of the Realme X7 Max 5G available, while the Realme GT Neo does offer that in its base tier.

The Realme X7 Max 5G kicks it off with 8GB of RAM and goes up to 12GB. That's what we have in our review unit, alongside 256GB of non-expandable UFS 3.1 storage.

Design and materials

Realme has a thing for this segmented, "two-tone" design for its back panels lately. The X7 Max 5G is no exception. The "DARE TO LEAP" slogan is also present, which is a naturally polarizing aspect of the design. However, compared to, say the Realme 8 and its back, the Realme X7 Max 5G's back design is markedly "tamer". The text is a lot smaller and also less, for that matter, with our unit lacking the CE markings.

In terms of the look and feel of the finish on the back, the Realme X7 Max takes some inspiration from other Realme designs like the Realme 8 we already mentioned, as well as the Realme 8 Pro. The main part of the panel has a fine "sand-blasted" finish to it, similar to the Realme 8 Pro. The strip is a lot glossier and akin to that on the Realme 8. Though, it doesn't have nearly as strong of a rainbow reflection effect to it. We count that as an overall positive in our mind, since it contributes to the less flashy overall nature of the design. Though, this is not necessarily a universal point. Many Realme devices tend to target a young demographic likely to appreciate a more eye-catching look.

Regardless of your standing on the look, you will, unfortunately, find that both surfaces on the back of the phone are hard to keep clean. The texture of the main surface gathers dust and skin flakes easily. This is particularly noticeable on our Asteroid Black unit. We imagine the Mercury Silver and Milky Way variants will show less dirt overall. To Realme's credit, though, the surface is nice and grippy.

In contrast, the accent strip is very shiny and polished. It's where all of your finger grease and fingerprints end up. Since the Realme X7 Max 5G lacks any formal ingress protection rating and just advertises splash protection, we were also quite hesitant to clean it with water. Frankly, having experienced the flagship eco leather back on the vanilla Realme GT, we found ourselves missing the option on the Realme X7 Max 5G.

Speaking of materials, the Realme X7 Max 5G relies heavily on plastics. Both the middle frame and the back panel are plastic. Realme says it used high-density polycarbonate to keep weight down. The overall build on the phone feels solid, with little to no flex. The phone is also filled up nicely on the inside and feels dense. Yet, in part due to the plastics and in part because of the relatively tame 4,500mAh battery capacity, it is on the lighter side, especially for a 5G phone at 179 grams.

Unlike the Realme GT Neo, the specs sheet on the X7 Max 5G is a lot more forthcoming when it comes to materials and specifically describes Dragontrail Glass for the front of the phone. We'll take the extra peace of mind any day of the week over wondering if there is just plastic protecting the display. That being said, the oleophobic coating on offer here is not stellar and there is a fair bit of resistance when scrolling. Not experience-breaking, but noticeable.

Speaking of the front of the Realme X7 Max 5G, it has a fairly modern design, as does the rest of the phone. Bezels are reasonably small and so is the punch hole for the selfie cam. Not exactly flagship-grade, but then again, the X7 Max 5G is sort of in "flagship-killer" territory. In any case, Realme still found enough space to fit a bottom-firing main speaker, as well as an amplified earpiece on top of the display for its stereo setup.

In no particular order, a couple of other bits we like about the design of the X7 Max 5G include the relatively small height of the camera island. Also, the nifty color accent on the power button.

Controls

Speaking of buttons, we have no complaints regarding the ones on the X7 Max 5G. The power button on the right side, as well as the volume ones on the left, are nicely positioned height-wise and offer good tactile feedback.

The SIM tray sits above the volume buttons. It can hold two Nano-SIM cards, but lacks support for microSD. The top bezel is mostly empty, except for the secondary microphone.

In contrast, the bottom is quite busy. You get the Type-C port in the middle, which has a USB 2.0 controller behind it, with OTG support. Next to that - the main microphone and then the trusty, old 3.5mm audio jack. Realme advertises 24-bit/192kHz audio output from that jack, as well as Dolby Atmos support. On the other side - the main bottom-firing speaker. The second channel of the stereo setup is handled by the amplified earpiece above the display.

The X7 Max 5G has an under-display fingerprint reader. It is a standard optical one and one of the speediest and most accurate out there. Pretty typical for Realme phones. One thing we did notice is that at times the reader refuses to trigger when the display is off and the phone is on a surface. Likely the phone lacks sensor inputs to properly wake it up.

Even when that happens, however, all it takes is a second try to get it to work p no big deal. You can also use the fingerprint reader for the App lock and Private Safe features built into the OS.

Unboxing

Our Realme X7 Max 5G unit came in a nice, thick two-piece silver box. In terms of accessories, you get a charger and USB Type-A to Type-C cable, as well as a nice clear TPU case. An appreciated addition so you can get up and running straight away.

For fast charging, the X7 Max 5G has SuperDart. It maxes out at 50W on the side of the phone. Though, the included charger we got is capable of up to 65W of SuperDart charging. This is done with a 10V@6.5A output. Clearly a non-standard output, which is why you need the supplied USB cable to make it work as it has an extra pin for negotiation. Without the cable or the wall ward, you are limited to 10W charging, which the provided charger does also support with a 5V@2A output.

Using a proprietary cable is far from ideal and we wish Realme switches over to a Type-C to Type-C implementation of their charging, preferably with USB PD support, sooner rather than later.

It is also worth noting that according to some of the official Realme documentation we received, the X7 Max 5G might ship with a 65W SuperDart charger in some places. That is of little actual practical consequence to buyers, though.