And do you know this one? A Viking walks into an electronics store, sees the prices of new phones, and shouts: "highway robbery!". Then he grabs his axe… wait, I don't think I can finish the joke, as minors also have access to the blog. And that's a shame, because it went on to include severed heads rolling on the floor.
I can't blame the Viking, really – I'd also love to know what's on the minds of the people responsible for the pricing policies of most smartphone manufacturers. Until now, I've only checked their eyes, but I have no idea what the dollar signs glinting in them might suggest.
On one hand, phones for the least demanding users – those that simply don't provoke you to practice throwing them on the floor – are becoming more affordable, as even a model for 600 or 700 PLN functions somehow. On the other hand, however, high-end prices have crossed all thresholds of absurdity. Even if you throw a bag with two thousand zlotys on the counter, it won't impress anyone anymore – you can't have everything for that kind of money.
But, according to Realme, you can have almost everything, at least! The Realme brand appeared in Poland last year, quickly sailed into wide waters, and is now conducting the most effective expansion since the Viking settlement expeditions in the 10th century. What do the two have in common? Well, in both cases, the secret to success is the fleet! Because you don't need much of that fleet to buy a good quality Realme smartphone. In other words: it's like a second Xiaomi.
And why a second one when there's a first? Well, the first Xiaomi got a bit carried away with its achievements in Poland and forgot that it was supposed to be about ever lower prices and ever higher quality, not the other way around, so competition will be very useful to it.
And the Realme GT Neo 2, for example, is very strong competition. For 1799 PLN, you get almost everything that can make me smile in a smartphone. And almost nothing that can give me a heart attack. For movies? A great large AMOLED screen with fast refresh rate and stereo speakers. For not deleting those photos you've never looked at, but might still be useful someday? Sure, 128 GB or 256 GB of built-in memory is enough.
For games? The Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 processor is, in my opinion, the ideal compromise between high performance and high price. Oh, and unlike the theoretically more powerful Snapdragon 888, it not only handles every task but doesn't even overheat while doing so. Like a Viking on a raid! And Realme can raid continuously for quite a long time, because thanks to its large battery, it rests in its socket only every day and a half. And it only needs 35 minutes of charging to be fully powered again.
The location tracking on the GT Neo2 also works wonderfully. In the sense that all you have to do is pick up this phone, and your friends will spot you even from two kilometers away. Great for when you suddenly need help with pillaging. Well, it's undeniable that the Neo looks… well, it certainly looks. And it looks so that it can't be hidden. I'm not a big fan of it, but there are also more subtle color versions – for those who prefer ambushes to loudly blowing horns and signaling their position. Oh, the appearance and color palette of the system itself can also be easily changed here.
Okay, so we have super performance, a super screen, super speakers, a super battery, super charging, and a reflective, smudge-proof case thrown in for free. Isn't that too much "super"? Yes, all these powerful advantages have their price (and that's not counting the 1799 PLN price tag), because as I mentioned, for that much money, you won't get a rose without thorns. There's only one thorn here, but for some, it's as big as a horn.
A horn that you can immediately stick in your eye to avoid seeing photos from the Realme GT Neo2's cameras. Okay, they're not really that bad – it's just that every other element of this phone seems too good for its price, and the photos seem bad for their price. Those from the main lens look okay, but the wide-angle and selfie shots are more at the level of smartphones for 1200 PLN, not 1800 PLN.
But not everyone has to like taking photos – some, as a form of artistic expression, prefer to shoot a beer from a barrel instead. And for such Vikings, the Realme GT Neo2 is perfect – because there are no photos from the best feasts! Plus, it won't run out of power during it, it will be easy to find if it falls out of your pocket, and Uber will load on it faster than your friends'.
Are Realme smartphones better than Xiaomi? It's hard to judge them collectively – one Viking will say yes, another Viking will say no. But the GT Neo2 is definitely one of the best smartphones available for under 2000 PLN. In many respects, it's almost too good! And for mobile photographers at this price, I recommend the Samsung S20 FE, or the OnePlus Nord 2, which we've already reviewed here.
