realme P3 Ultra Review: The Unexpected Gaming Champion

It’s time for our in-depth realme P3 Ultra review. We previously shared a sneak peek of Realme’s first-ever P-series Ultra phone, but after spending more time with it, we’re ready to deliver our full verdict.

The unboxing experience remains familiar for Realme users. The realme P3 Ultra arrived in a media kit containing the signature yellow retail box, a protective case, documentation, a SIM ejector tool, a USB-C cable, and an 80W charger—everything you’d expect from a Realme flagship in this segment.

What makes the realme P3 Ultra particularly interesting is its positioning in the highly competitive sub-₹30,000 category. With rivals like the iQOO 10R, Nothing Phone 3(a) Pro, and the upcoming Motorola Edge 60 Fusion, Realme is stepping into a rapidly expanding battleground.

So, should you buy the realme P3 Ultra, or is it worth waiting for the competition? Is this the best gaming phone under ₹30,000? And how does it hold up in real-world usage? Let’s dive into the full review.

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Realme P3 Ultra Specs

• Display: 6.83-inch AMOLED, 120 Hz, 1500 nits peak, 2800 x 1272 (FHD+), 93.8% screen-to-body ratio, Gorilla Glass 7i  
• SoC: MediaTek Dimensity 8350 Ultra (8 cores, up to 3.35 GHz, Mali-G615, 4 nm)  
• RAM: 8/12 GB LPDDR5X (up to 14GB Dynamic RAM)  
• Storage: 128/256 GB  
• Main Camera: 50 MP Sony IMX896, 1/1.56 inch approximately, f/1.8, OIS, 24mm, 4K30/60  
• Ultra-wide Camera: 8 MP, f/2.2, FF, 16mm, 112° FOV, 1080p30
• Front Camera: 16 MP Sony, f/2.4, FF, 28mm approximately, 85° FOV, 1080p30/60  
• Speakers: Stereo speakers with OReality Audio  
• Battery and Charging: 6000 mAh (typ), 80W wired SUPERVOOC  
• IP Rating: IP69  
• Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4 (upgradable to 6.0), USB Type-C, NFC (International version)  
• Biometrics: Under-display optical fingerprint, 2D face unlock  
• Weight and dimensions:
  • Glowing Lunar White: 183g / 163.10 x 76.90 x 7.38 mm
  • Neptune Blue/Orion Red/Leather: 186g / 163.10 x 76.90 x 7.47 mm
• Build: Plastic back/Leatherback, plastic frame
• Software: realme UI 6.0 based on Android 15  

realme P3 Ultra Review: Design and Build

realme continues to innovate with its PhotoChromic technology, and the P3 Ultra is a prime example. Building on the realme 14 series’ temperature-reactive backs and the realme P3’s glow-in-the-dark finish, the P3 Ultra introduces a striking Lunar White variant.

This Lunar White design stands out, featuring a moon-inspired, glow-in-the-dark back panel. This effect is achieved through a combination of PhotoChromic materials and micro-sculpting techniques, activated by UV light. The Starlight Ink Process adds a shimmering, stellar aesthetic. Despite its luminous appearance, the back maintains a smooth, texture-free surface.

The realme P3 Ultra features flat, non-glossy frames, minimizing fingerprint smudges. The device’s right side houses a tactile volume rocker and an accented power button. The bottom includes a USB-C port, SIM tray, primary microphone, and speaker grille, while the top features an IR blaster, secondary mic, and speaker holes.

In terms of build, the P3 Ultra’s polycarbonate construction results in a slim 7.38mm profile and a lightweight 183 grams. Critically, it boasts IP69 ratings, offering exceptional water and dust resistance—a rarity in its category. The display is protected by Gorilla Glass 7i, enhancing durability against drops.

The front of the device is dominated by a quad-curved display with ultra-thin bezels: 1.60mm (top), 1.62mm (bottom), and 1.61mm (sides). A punch-hole camera resides at the top. An oleophobic coating and a pre-applied PET film minimize smudges and scratches.

Overall, the realme P3 Ultra offers a comfortable in-hand experience, thanks to its smooth edges and balanced weight distribution. The flat sides provide a secure grip without causing discomfort, reflecting a thoughtful design for daily use.

realme P3 Ultra Review: Display

The realme P3 Ultra’s display asserts its dominance in the mid-range segment, offering a substantial 6.83-inch quad-curved AMOLED panel. This surpasses competitors like the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro (6.77-inch flat), OnePlus Nord 4 (6.78-inch flat), and iQOO Neo 10R (6.78-inch flat), providing a more immersive viewing experience.

The 1.5K resolution (2800 x 1272 pixels) delivers sharp visuals, complemented by a 120Hz refresh rate and a 240Hz touch sampling rate. Peak brightness reaches 1200 nits in High Brightness Mode (HBM), ensuring adequate visibility even in challenging outdoor conditions. While the advertised 1500 nits Average Picture Level (APL) offers limited practical benefit, the display’s overall performance remains strong.

Color accuracy is a highlight, with 100% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage. Users can fine-tune their viewing experience with Vivid, Natural, and Pro color modes, along with granular temperature adjustments. Adaptive Tone dynamically adjusts color temperature based on ambient lighting, while AI Eye Comfort minimizes eye strain.

HDR10+ support enhances video playback on YouTube, though Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are currently not whitelisted. The adaptive refresh rate intelligently switches between 90Hz for standard apps and 120Hz for system UI and select applications, optimizing battery life. A dedicated High refresh rate mode enables 120Hz across most applications. The display’s 3,840Hz PWM dimming minimizes flicker, reducing eye fatigue.

Touch responsiveness is excellent, with a default 120Hz sampling rate. For gamers, the display boosts to a 240Hz touch sampling rate, with instantaneous peaks reaching 2500Hz. This ensures minimal latency during fast-paced gameplay. Overall, the realme P3 Ultra delivers a premium display experience at a competitive price point

Display Comparison

Feature	iQOO Neo 10R	Motorola Edge 50 Fusion	Samsung Galaxy M36 5G	Realme P3 Ultra
Display Type	Color AMOLED Screen (1B Colors)	Color pOLED (1B Colors)	Color Super AMOLED Screen (16M Colors)	Color AMOLED Screen (1B Colors)
Touch Sampling Rate	Yes	360 Hz	Yes	240 Hz
Resolution	6.76 inches, 1260 x 2800 pixels, 144 Hz	6.67 inches, 1080 x 2400 pixels, 144 Hz	6.74 inches, 1080 x 2340 pixels, 120 Hz	6.83 inches, 1272 x 2800 pixels, 120 Hz
Aspect Ratio	20:9	20.5:9	20:9	20:9
PPI	~453	~395	~382	~450
Screen-to-Body Ratio	~93.4%	~92%	~83.8%	~93.8%
Protection	OT-Star2 Plus Glass Protection	Coming Gorilla Glass 5	Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+	Corning Gorilla Glass 7i
DC Dimming	Yes, 3840Hz PWM Dimming	Yes,720Hz PWM Dimming	Not specified	Yes, 3480Hz PWM Dimming

realme P3 Ultra Review: Speakers, Mic and Haptic

The realme P3 Ultra features a dual ultra-linear speaker setup, with one speaker positioned at the bottom and another at the top of the display. These speakers deliver adequate volume for everyday use, with a tuning profile that is acceptable for its price range. The device incorporates dual microphones for enhanced call clarity. One microphone captures the user’s voice, while the second actively suppresses ambient noise, ensuring clear communication for the recipient.

Surprisingly, the P3 Ultra’s haptics exceed expectations. It utilizes a Z-axis linear motor, providing superior tactile feedback compared to the iQOO 10R, OnePlus Nord 4, and the forthcoming iQOO Z10 series.

realme P3 Ultra Review: Software

The realme P3 Ultra comes running on ColorOS 15 on Android 15, offering a smooth and responsive UI with fast animations and a clean layout. realme promises 2 years of OS updates and 3 years of security patches, which is at least one year less than what other competitors offer.

The most striking aspect of realme UI is its modern, upscale aesthetic. The icons are well-designed, the animations are fluid, and the overall layout is intuitive and easy to navigate. Visually, the software includes blur effects in the control center, adding a refined touch, but advanced textures are missing, and Flux themes are very limited compared to what OPPO offers on other devices. 

There’s also a significant amount of bloatware, including both first-party realme apps and third-party pre-installed applications, many of which cannot be uninstalled. While this doesn’t affect performance directly, it does take up storage and may require manual cleanup.

AI features play a big role in the software experience. AI Summary condenses long articles, Screen Translator allows quick language conversion, and AI Writer helps refine emails and notes. Circle to Search is also available, and Google Gemini is built-in.

Overall, the software is fluid and feature-rich, but bloatware and limited theme customization hold it back slightly. It’s a well-optimized UI loaded with AI features, but users who prefer a cleaner, more customizable experience might find these drawbacks noticeable.

Phone	Blotatware	Software Update Policy
Nothing Phone (3a) Pro	Minimal, aiming for a “clean” Android experience.	3 years of Android OS upgrades, 6 years of security updates.
realme 14 Pro	Yes, includes some realme first-party apps and some third-party apps.	3 major Android OS upgrades, and 4 years of security updates.
iQOO Neo 10R	Yes, includes iQOO’s own apps and some pre-installed third-party apps.	Promises 3 years of Android OS upgrades and 4 years of security updates
Moto Edge 50	Relatively clean Android experience, with some Motorola-specific apps.	2 years major, 3 years security
Samsung Galaxy A36	Yes, includes Samsung apps and several pre-installed third-party apps.	6 years of OS upgrades, and 6 years of security
Redmi Note 14	Yes, includes Xiaomi’s MIUI apps and a significant number of pre-installed apps.	3 years of Android OS upgrades, and 4 years of security updates.

realme P3 Ultra Review: Biometrics

The Realme P3 Ultra has an in-display optical fingerprint scanner, and honestly, it’s pretty solid. It is actually fast and accurate, with weird glitches. A bit low for my liking, but hey, you get used to it. And then there’s 2D face unlock. A quick glance, boom, it unlocks your phone. But let’s be real, it’s not as secure as the fingerprint sensor. I am personally not a big fan of face unlocks, so I stick to the fingerprint scanner.

realme P3 Ultra Review: Performance

The realme P3 Ultra delivers competitive performance in its segment, driven by the MediaTek Dimensity 8350 Ultra, a refined iteration of the standard 8350. This octa-core SoC, built on a 4nm process, boasts a tri-cluster architecture: one A715 core at 3.35GHz, three A715 cores at 3.2GHz, and four A510 cores at 2.2GHz.

A significant feature is the 4MB L3 cache, enhancing data access, system smoothness, and reducing bus traffic. Graphics are handled by an ARM Mali-G615 GPU clocked at 1.4GHz, complemented by an NPU delivering 25.3 TOPS for AI tasks. Memory configurations include 8GB or 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM, paired with 128GB or 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage.

Real-world performance is robust. After 20 days of daily use, the device exhibited no noticeable lag, even when managing over 30 simultaneous open applications. The P3 Ultra maintains responsiveness across various tasks, from browsing to demanding applications.

Synthetic Benchmarks

The realme P3 Ultra delivers impressive raw performance in synthetic benchmarks, powered by the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 and UFS 3.1 storage. Here’s how it stacks up:

Benchmark	Realme P3 Ultra	iQOO Neo 10R	Nothing Phone 3a Pro	POCO C7 Pro	OnePlus Nord 4
Geekbench 6
Single-core	1,277	1,871	1,160	1,583	1,182
Multi-core	4,689	4,678	3,253	59,222	3,786
AnTuTu	1,419,066	1,354,976	806,076	1,500,147	1,077,494
AnTuTu Storage Test
Sequential Read (MB/s)	2,081.7	3,021	N/A	N/A	N/A
Sequential Write (MB/s)	1,945.7	3,076	N/A	N/A	N/A
3DMark Wildlife Extreme	3,134	2,143	N/A	N/A	2,055
3DMark Stress Test
Best Loop	3,145	2,051	N/A	N/A	N/A
Lowest Loop	1,809	1,628	N/A	N/A	N/A
Stability	57.5%	79.4%	N/A	N/A	N/A
Temperature Rise	27°C to 46°C	37°C to 41°C	N/A	N/A	N/A
CPU Throttling (30min)	N/A	80%	N/A	N/A	N/A
CPU GIPS Average	N/A	336,126	N/A	N/A	N/A

During stress tests, the device’s temperature peaked at 42°C, with CPU throttling to 59% of maximum performance. For short bursts and everyday tasks, it’s fast and efficient. But under sustained heavy loads, expect respectable thermal efficiency without really throttling much, especially in demanding games like Genshin Impact or Wuthering Waves.

Gaming Performance 

When it comes to gaming, the realme P3 Ultra stands tall. It supports 90 FPS and maintains an impressive 88.9 FPS average in extended sessions—without major heating issues. Even after long gaming hours, the temperature stays below 39.8°C, which is a win.

To enhance the experience, GT Mode offers BGMI-specific features, including FPS stats, performance tuning, and bypass charging, which keeps battery heat in check while gaming. For BGMI players, this phone is a solid pick.

But what about Genshin Impact?

The MediaTek Dimensity 8350 SoC, delivers respectable performance. At the highest settings and 60 FPS mode, the game struggles to maintain 48-50 FPS, with noticeable frame drops during intense scenes. The phone didn’t heat like the iQOO Neo 10R.

Thermals vs. Competitors

In an hour-long stress test with AAA titles, the realme P3 Ultra’s 6,050mm² heat dissipation system (carbon fiber copper + VC soaking condensing copper plate) kept the temperature rise to 12.9°C—lower than the iQOO Neo 10R (13.7°C) and POCO X7 Pro (14.8°C).

realme P3 Ultra Review: Cameras

The realme P3 Ultra’s camera array is built around a 50MP Sony IMX896 primary sensor with OIS, promising sharp, stabilized images. An 8MP ultra-wide lens expands the field of view, while a 16MP front-facing camera caters to selfie enthusiasts. This setup aims for versatility, but its real-world performance hinges on realme’s image processing.

Main Camera 

The 50MP Sony IMX882 sensor (f/1.56, 2-axis OIS, PDAF) delivers detailed images with minimal over-sharpening. Colors exhibit a slight saturation, leaning towards a cooler tone. Compared to competitors like the iQOO 10R (distortion issues) and POCO X7 Pro (greenish tint), the realme P3 Ultra demonstrates superior color accuracy and dynamic range. The 2X crop mode performs adequately in daylight, though it lacks the detail of native 1X shots.

Low-light performance reveals limitations. While color accuracy remains commendable, the camera tends to overexpose, resulting in detail loss due to aggressive noise reduction and contrast issues. The realme P3 Ultra’s low-light performance is on par with the iQOO Neo 10R but outperforms the POCO X7 Pro.

Ultra-wide Camera 

The 8MP OmniVision ultra-wide sensor (1/4-inch, f/2.2, fixed focus) features two-axis electronic stabilization but exhibits noticeable color shifts compared to the main camera. Dynamic range is acceptable, but not as robust as the primary sensor. Low-light performance is poor, with significant noise and soft details.

Front Camera 

The 16MP Sony IMX480 sensor (1/3.09-inch, f/2.4, 23mm) delivers solid daylight selfies with natural skin tones, though HDR performance is inconsistent. Compared to the iQOO Neo 10R, the realme P3 Ultra provides superior selfie quality. Low-light selfies exhibit noticeable softening and noise but remain within acceptable limits for the price range. The 23mm focal length facilitates easy group selfies.

Portrait Mode

Portrait shots from the main camera offer decent edge detection and skin tones, albeit slightly bright. The 1X and 2X crop options provide framing flexibility, and a selection of filters allows for creative adjustments.

Video Recording

The realme P3 Ultra supports 4K60 video recording on the main camera and 1080p@60fps on the front camera. Electronic image stabilization (EIS) is available at 1080p@60fps. Standard EIS performance is adequate, but low-light footage exhibits noticeable jerkiness. Colors tend to be over-saturated. Selfie video

realme P3 Ultra Review: Battery Life and Charging

The realme P3 Ultra boasts a 6,000 mAh lithium-ion polymer battery, a significant capacity for its price segment, remarkably housed within a slim 7.33mm profile.

Battery life proves adequate for daily use. Under Wi-Fi connectivity, the device achieved approximately 8 hours of screen-on time (SOT). Switching to mobile data, while maintaining similar usage patterns, resulted in a decrease to 7 hours and 10 minutes of SOT.

Charging performance is a highlight, featuring 80W SuperVOOC charging. Additionally, the device supports PD and PPS fast charging standards. In real-world testing, the P3 Ultra charged from 0 to 100% in approximately 50 minutes. It’s fast charging ensures you don’t run out of a battery for long.

Realme P3 Ultra Battery & Fast Charging vs Competition

Smartphone	Battery Capacity	Fast Charging Speed	0-100% Charge Time (Approx.)
realme P3 Ultra	6,000mAh	80W	50 minutes
Vivo V50	6,000mAh	90W	50 minutes
Redmi Note 14 Pro+	6,200mAh	90W	65 minutes
iQOO Neo 10R	6,400mAh	80W	55 minutes
realme 14 Pro+	6,000mAh	80W	52 minutes
Nothing Phone (3a) Pro	5,000mAh	50W	70 minutes
Samsung Galaxy A36	5,000mAh	45W	90 minutes
Nothing Phone (3a) Pro	5,000mAh	50W	74 minutes