HUAWEI MatePad 12 X (2026) Review
Realme is aiming to make heads turn with the realme 15 Pro 5G, and the triple 50MP setup is proof of that. Combine it with a 144Hz OLED screen, Snapdragon 7 Gen 4, and IP68/IP69 protection, and you’ve got a phone that looks well-rounded on paper.
The question is: how does it hold up in real-world use? We will find that out here in this review.
Despite packing a 7,000mAh battery, the realme 15 Pro 5G is only 7.69mm thick and weighs 187 grams, so it feels much lighter than expected. The frame feels sturdy, and the curved edges make it easy to grip.
Turn it over and you’ll notice the redesigned camera island. It is no longer the centered circular watch-dial look we’ve seen before with the realme 14 series. Instead, the brand went with a rectangular-like module on the upper-left corner.
Inside, two 50MP lenses are stacked vertically, each housed within its own ring. It feels both balanced and fresh, while still keeping things clean at first glance. But, we’ll get back to the cameras after a moment.
The realme 15 Pro 5G has both IP68 and IP69 ratings for dust and water resistance, meaning it can survive immersion and even high-pressure water sprays, which adds confidence in durability.
For buttons and ports, you’re looking at the usual setup: the volume rocker and power button are on the right side, the SIM card tray, one half of the stereo speakers, and USB C port at the bottom while the top has the other speaker and an IR blaster.
Up front is a 6.8-inch OLED display that runs at up to 144Hz refresh rate, so you can expect that everything from scrolling to animations look smooth. Peak brightness goes all the way to 6,500 nits, which makes it easy to see outdoors even in direct sunlight.
With an OLED screen, you can be sure that the display looks great for watching videos or playing games. Colors are vibrant, HDR content is supported, and the bezels are slim.
The stereo speakers get decently loud, but they are not punchy. Highs and mids are clear enough, but there’s little bass, and in a lot of cases I found myself needing to push the volume to maximum.
For casual use, they do the job, but for if you want richer sound, you might opt for using your wireless headphones or earbuds.
You get your usual biometrics, having support for both face unlock and an in-display optical fingerprint sensor which unlock the device swiftly.
The realme 15 Pro 5G comes equipped with a triple 50MP setup. The 50MP main camera with OIS produces shots that are sharp and detailed, especially in good lighting. Highlights are well-controlled, avoiding blown-out skies or harsh bright spots, while shadows retain useful detail.
Colors lean more natural rather than punchy, which makes the images look closer to what you see in person. For everyday photography, this gives the photos a clean, balanced look rather than one that feels overly boosted by software.
The 50MP ultrawide lens is a decent addition, giving you more flexibility when capturing landscapes or architecture. Colors between the ultrawide and main lens are fairly consistent which means that switching between them does not result in big and noticeable shifts.
There is some softness toward the edges, which is common for ultrawide shooters at this level, but it keeps distortion under control well enough that wide-angle shots look natural.
On the front, the 50MP selfie camera with autofocus performs well, offering sharp images with good skin tone accuracy. The autofocus in particular makes a difference, as it ensures clarity whether you are holding the phone at arm’s length or adjusting slightly for group selfies. For video calls, it also means your face stays in focus even if you move around a little.
Low-light performance from the main camera is decent. While the sensor can hold up detail and reduce noise to a point, images may not match the dramatic results of higher-end flagships that use larger sensors and more advanced processing.
Still, for casual night shots or indoor photography, the 15 Pro keeps enough sharpness and color balance to be useful.
Inside, the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 paired with the Adreno 722 GPU powers the device. Our unit comes with 12GB of RAM with 256GB of storage. There is up to 14GB of RAM expansion, giving you a total of 26GB of RAM.
In benchmarks, the phone scored around 1 million in AnTuTu, while Geekbench gave it 1195 in single-core and 3415 in multi-core. Storage speeds with UFS 3.1 reached over 2000MB/s in read tests, making app loading and file transfers quick. On the graphics side, the phone managed 6,317 in 3DMark Wild Life, which places it firmly in upper midrange territory.
Meanwhile, in day-to-day use, performance is smooth. App switching is quick, browsing is responsive, and multitasking feels solid thanks to RAM options of up to 12GB.
For gaming, the Adreno 722 handles most titles well, though the experience depends on the game. For example, Umamusume, being a lighter title, runs flawlessly at high settings with consistent frame pacing. The bright OLED screen really helps the colorful art style pop, making it enjoyable even during long play sessions.
Persona 5: The Phantom X strikes a nice middle ground. The gameplay is smooth, and animations stay fluid even during fast-paced battles. Visuals look great on the OLED panel, and paired with the 144Hz refresh rate, it feels more responsive than you’d expect from a midrange device.
Wuthering Waves is a much heavier game, and here the limits of the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 start to show. On medium to high settings it remains playable, but after extended sessions, there are moments where frame rates dip, especially in areas with a lot of effects or dense environments. The phone’s cooling system helps keep temperatures in check, so it never becomes too hot to hold, but performance stability isn’t quite at flagship levels.
Overall, gaming performance is dependable across casual and moderately demanding titles, but if you are planning to push the latest heavy AAA-style mobile games at max settings, you will need to adjust expectations slightly. The realme 15 Pro 5G can handle them, but not at the absolute smoothest frame rates.
The phone runs on realme UI 6 based on Android 15. It feels smooth and responsive, with animations making full use of the 144Hz panel. Customization options are broad, covering themes, icons, and even fingerprint scanner animations, which is a fun detail.
Out of the box, there is some pre-installed bloatware. A few apps are bundled into folders, so they don’t crowd the home screen, and most can be uninstalled if you don’t need them. Once cleaned up, the system feels much lighter.
Overall, the UI is polished and modern, though vivo and OPPO’s skins still feel slightly cleaner in long-term use.
The 7,000mAh battery is one of the biggest selling points here for the realme 15 Pro 5G. Paired with the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4, it lasted me a day and a half to two days of normal use. On PCMark’s battery benchmark, it clocked in at around 16 hours and 34 minutes.
When it’s time to recharge, the 80W SUPERVOOC charger brings it back to full in under an hour. Bypass charging is also supported, which is handy for gaming sessions since it keeps heat lower and helps preserve the battery.
Connectivity is complete too, with 5G, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, GPS, and NFC all included.
The realme 15 Pro 5G has a display that’s great for watching videos, cameras that cover most situations well, a processor that keeps up with daily demands, and a battery that outlasts many competitors.
It has a suggested retail price of PHP 27,999 which gives you 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Meanwhile, the 12GB + 512GB variant is priced at PHP 30,999.
It is not the perfect mid-ranger out there and there are things like audio quality and software clutter could be improved, but the balance it offers makes it a very easy phone to recommend for most people in the midrange market who just need a phone that can last them quite a while.
What we liked:
* Decent performance from the processor
* Vibrant and bright screen
* Bigger battery capacity
What we did not like:
* Evident bloatware
* Lack of bass
* Noise still evident in night shots
realme 15 Pro specs:
6.8-inch 1.5K (2800 x 1280) OLED display, 453 ppi
144Hz refresh rate, 6,500 nits (peak)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 4
Adreno 722 GPU
8GB, 12GB RAM
128GB, 256GB, 512GB UFS 3.1 storage
50MP main camera (f/1.8, OIS)
50MP ultrawide (f/2.0)
LED flash
50MP front camera
Stereo speakers
Dual SIM
5G
Wi-Fi 6
Bluetooth 5.4
GPS
NFC
USB Type-C
realme UI 6 (Android 15)
Face unlock
Fingerprint sensor (in-display, optical)
7,000mAh battery
80W SUPERVOOC fast charging
IP68/IP69 rating
162.3 x 76.2 x 7.69mm (dimensions)
187 grams (weight)
Velvet Green, Silk Purple, Flowing Silver (colors)
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