Realme Narzo 20 Pro has a quad-camera setup on the back (Express Photo: Arun Rawal)Realme Narzo series has certainly evolved with the introduction of the Pro variant, which has a spec sheet that will impress many. The Realme Narzo 20 Pro is a phone that is targeted at gamers looking for a budget device. Some of the features Realme Narzo 20 Pro boasts can be seen on flagship devices. I used the device with 8GB RAM and 128GB internal storage for a long period of time. Here’s my detailed full review to help you decide whether the specs sheet translates to good performance or not.
Realme Narzo 20 Pro price: Starts at Rs 14,999
Realme Narzo 20 Pro specifications: MediaTek Helio G95 processor | up to 8GB RAM | up to 128GB storage | 48MP quad rear camera | 16MP selfie camera | 6.5-inch Full HD+ screen | 4,500mAh battery | 65W SuperDart charging | Realme UI based on Android 10 | side-mounted fingerprint sensor
What’s good
Realme Narzo 20 Pro has a 6.5-inch Full HD+ display with a punch-hole selfie camera on the top-left corner. There is no in-screen fingerprint scanner and it is mounted on the right side of the phone which I found convenient and very quick to unlock the phone. It has a bit of a chin on the front but it increases the length of the phone only a bit. The rear panel of the phone is made of polycarbonate material, which is basically a fancy word for a plastic back.
However, I found the finish on the back to be premium. I had the White Knight version, which also has a ‘V’ pattern which is nice to look at compared to the regular single colour phones. The phone is on the heavier side weighing 191 grams but the weight is justifiable for the battery backs.
Realme Narzo 20 Pro’s back does not feel like cheap plastic (Express Photo: Arun Rawal)
Realme Narzo 20 Pro has a 90Hz display, which is a jump from the regular 60Hz. However, it has not been optimised to an extent that it challenges the 90Hz refresh rate on phones that are priced higher. The display is bright and streaming OTT content is a good experience. The details were clear when I watched Avengers Endgame and Haunting of Bly Manor on it.
Realme Narzo 20 Pro has a 6.5-inch Full HD+ display (Express Photo: Arun Rawal)
The performance on the Realme Narzo 20 Pro is one of the best in class you will see. The MediaTek Helio G95 processor helped me switch through multiple tabs and apps flawlessly. It barely struggled no matter how many apps I opened.
Talking about gaming, the phone delivers on the promise as you can run First Person Shooter (FPS) games like Call of Duty Mobile easily. I had the same experience while playing Forza as well. And yes, the 90Hz refresh rate does help to smoothen the gaming sessions.
Realme Narzo 20 Pro is powered by MediaTek Helio G95 processor (Express Photo: Arun Rawal)
The Realme Narzo 20 Pro has a quad-camera setup on the back with a 48MP primary camera, 8MP ultrawide lens, 2MP B&W portrait camera, and a 2MP macro lens. The daylight photos were impressive and there is enough detail for Instagram-worthy posts. The ultrawide clicked good pictures too in daylight. Another thing I liked was the night mode filters which you can play around with.
Realme Narzo 20 Pro ultrawide shot (Express Photo: Arun Rawal)
Realme Narzo 20 Pro photo from primary 48MP camera (Express Photo: Arun Rawal)
Realme Narzo 20 Pro photo from primary 48MP camera (Express Photo: Arun Rawal)
Realme Narzo 20 Pro photo from primary 48MP camera (Express Photo: Arun Rawal)
Realme Narzo 20 Pro night filter (Express Photo: Arun Rawal)
It has a 4,500 mAh battery which is average when it comes to numbers in this price range, but it supports 65W SuperDart charging. This is the part where Realme Narzo 20 Pro excels. I tested it multiple times and the phone gets charged from zero to 100 per cent in under 40 minutes. You can just go for a shower, plug the charger and the phone will be good to go for hours.
Talking about the battery backup, even if you are a heavy user like me who forgets to close apps running in the background, watches lots of videos and scrolls through multiple social media and also shopping apps looking for good deals during the festive sale season.
The Realme Narzo 20 Pro is clearly loud if that’s what you are going for. It has a solitary bottom-firing speaker that gets covered easily when you are playing games or watching videos. It also has a 3.5mm audio jack to connect those good old wired earphones/headphones of yours.
What is not so good?
There is a blue tint which prevents Realme Narzo 20 Pro from becoming a device that is equipped with a top-notch vibrant display for the price. This can also be adjusted in the display settings but unfortunately, there are no presets to fix the issue. The LCD display also looks a bit dull in the sunlight.
The camera struggled in lowlight conditions and if you have shaky hands like me it will be a tedious job for you to click a good photo. But a little effort does produce good results.
Realme Narzo 20 Pro night mode (Express Photo: Arun Rawal)
Realme Narzo 20 Pro night mode (Express Photo: Arun Rawal)
I didn’t like the results produced by the 2MP macro camera. I would not have missed it if this was not there. It lacked detail and created problems focusing on the object. The black and white portrait camera overexposes at times.
Realme Narzo 20 Pro macro camera shot (Express Photo: Arun Rawal)
Realme Narzo 20 Pro B&W camera (Express Photo: Arun Rawal)
The front-facing camera is a 16MP one. The camera quality is okay but I could see some softness of shots even with the beauty mode turned off. Using the selfie portrait camera, the lens had trouble separating the background as the edges often felt smudged.
Realme Narzo 20 Pro has a 16MP selfie camera (Express Photo: Arun Rawal)
As I mentioned earlier, the charging speeds are phenomenal but the only point to worry about is how it will affect the battery’s longevity once the phone is more than a year old.
Gaming sessions are fun but he phone also heats up a bit when you have a long game session, but it can be fixed to an extent by putting on the clear case that comes with the phone.
Also, the sound output disappoints and the bass is never enough even if you turn on Real HD Sound in settings. The problem can be fixed by connecting wireless earbuds/earphones/headphones. The sound is hollow when coming out of the speaker as well. However, if you keep it a few notches down from the maximum, it will be a fairly good experience.
Should you buy Realme Narzo 20 Pro?
If you are someone who does not like to charge your smartphone too often, this phone is as good as a budget smartphone gets in the department. It is a direct challenger to the likes of Poco M2 Pro, Redmi Note 9 Pro Max and others. Buy it for the performance, better charging and better than average display. It is clearly one of the better smartphones in the lower mid-range segment.
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