For those who find the standard version too mainstream
The Realme X2 Pro Master Edition is priced at Rs. 34,999 in India
Realme's current flagship offering is the X2 Pro, and with it, the company has also launched two special edition versions which it refers to collectively as the ‘Master Edition.' This is the second time that Realme has launched such a series for its phones in India, the first one being Master Edition of the Realme X (Review), which included ‘Onion' and ‘Garlic' finishes. The Master Edition of the Realme X2 Pro is inspired by architecture, and so the two special finishes are ‘Concrete' and ‘Red Brick'.
The Realme X2 Pro Master Edition only recently went on sale in India, for a slightly higher price of Rs. 34,999, compared to the standard edition with the same configuration which is priced at Rs. 33,999. We've got our hands on the Red Brick version, so let's see what makes it special.
The first thing you'll notice is that the retail package is a bit different. We have a darker coloured box with just the name of the phone embossed on it, instead of a white box with a photo of the phone. The inside of the box also has the same theme but the contents are pretty standard. You get a silicone case, a SIM eject tool, a quick-start guide, a USB Type-C cable, and the Super VOOC Flash Charge adapter.
The Realme X2 Pro Master Edition has been designed by renowned industrial designer Naoto Fukasawa, who was also responsible for the Onion and Garlic editions of the Realme X. The Red Brick version that we have features a wine-coloured frame with a similarly shaded textured glass back, to mimic the look and feel of a brick. Realme states that it has used a lacquered glass coating technique to achieve this finish.
The end result feels quite good to hold, as the slightly coarse texture offers good grip and doesn't attract fingerprints easily, unlike the standard edition of the phone. It's also a very unique shade of red, which helps this device stand out. According to Realme, the brand's logo and Fukasawa's signature near the rear camera module have been laser engraved into the glass.
On the software side, the Realme X2 Pro Master Edition only has a wallpaper that matches its exterior finish, but no further customisations. Other than looks, it's a regular X2 Pro in every sense. The Master Edition is only available in one configuration, with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The internal memory is of the UFS 3.0 type but cannot be expanded since there's no microSD card slot.
The rest of the specifications identical to those of the standard version of the Realme X2 Pro (Review). You get a large 6.5-inch display with small dewdrop notch and slim bezels all around. The Super AMOLED panel has a full-HD+ resolution and produces good colours and contrast, making videos very enjoyable to watch. It also supports a 90Hz refresh rate, so scrolling through menus feels fluid, and it supports the HDR10+ standard for better dynamic range in compatible videos. The in-display fingerprint sensor works very well and we found face recognition to be equally fast.
Performance is very snappy too, thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ SoC inside. We've seen this in many flagship phones this year, including the standard edition of the X2 Pro. The 12GB of RAM lets apps stay running in the background, so you can switch to previously used ones quickly.
Benchmark performance is solid too and we got similar numbers to the 8GB version of the X2 Pro that we previously reviewed. In AnTuTu, the X2 Pro Master Edition returned a score of 490,356 points, while in Geekbench, we got single-core and multi-core CPU scores of 644 and 2,612 respectively. Our unit of the X2 Pro Master Edition was running ColorOS 6.1 and had the November 2019 security patch.
We didn't test cameras in depth this time, since the hardware and software is exactly the same as with the standard edition. At the back, we have a 64-megapixel primary camera; a 13-megapixel telephoto camera with 5x hybrid zoom; an 8-megapixel wide-angle camera; and a 2-megapixel depth camera. Selfies are handled by a 16-megapixel sensor on the front. For a detailed breakdown of the camera performance, be sure to check out the full review of the Realme X2 Pro.
Realme is charging a slight premium for the Master Edition of the X2 Pro over the standard version, which could be worth springing for if you're looking for something different compared to the norm. With the frequent discounts we've been seeing, the base variant of the OnePlus 7T (Review) often costs the same as the Realme X2 Pro Master Edition. Both phones offer very similar features and specifications, but Realme's offering gets you more RAM and storage for the same price.
Which one would you pick? We'd love to know your thoughts in the comments section.
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