You would be forgiven for having overlooked Realme but the Chinese smartphone maker has been producing some of the best Android phones and best cheap phones for some time.
Today, the company has announced the Realme GT Neo 3 in China, the latest addition to its GT series, and it comes with a rather extraordinary feature: 50% charging in five minutes. Yes, five.
According to Realme, the feat is achieved by using its UltraDart 150W technology, a first. Using the 150W charger means the GT Neo 3 charges its 4,500mAh battery to 50% in just five minutes. If you opt for the 5,000mAh battery, the 80W charger can fill it up in 32 minutes.
If these figures are borne out in testing, then they leave the brand new flagship Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra in the dust in terms of charging speeds. According to Samsung itself, the S22 Ultra takes 20 minutes to charge to 50 per cent charge, meaning that the GT Neo 3 charges four times faster. It's a big achievement and one that hopefully Samsung and all other phone makers can copy.
All of this charging fire power needs special care and Realme says it is taking 38 extra precautions to avoid overheating, including a temperature monitor that keeps the device under 43°C. The company also says the battery will retail 80% of its capacity after 1,000 cycles.
More than just fast charging
And that's not all: the GT Neo 3 comes with the MediaTek Dimensity 8100, which is based on TSMC's 5nm process and comes with eight cores. There's a 6.7-inch AMOLED display, too, with a 120Hz refresh rate.
On the back, the GT Neo 3 comes with a triple camera system, including a 50MP sensor alongside an 8MP ultra-wide and 2MP macro sensor.
Realme hasn't given us any details on the European launch dates besides saying they are coming "very soon", so keep your eyes peeled on T3. In China, the 150W version starts at CNY 2,599 (around $410) with 258GB storage and 8GB RAM.
It looks like the competition for the best phones crown has just hotted up considerably.
