Realme Neo7 Turbo debuts as cutting-edge 144Hz Android flagship killer for less than $300

Realme has unleashed the Neo7 Turbo to challenge other new flagship-subverting Android smartphones such as the Xiaomi Civi 5 Pro and OnePlus Ace 5 Racing Edition with the latest Dimensity 9400e silicon from MediaTek. 

It has the largest display of the 1.5K AMOLED trio on paper at 6.8 inches in diagonal length, and also potentially the most responsive with a 144Hz refresh rate.

Realme has conferred its class-leading 6,500-nit peak brightness spec on its new "amazing performance" handset, although its global brightness is listed at 1,800 nits.

The Neo7 Turbo also has the largest battery of the 3 at 7,200mAh, and also charges the fastest at 100W. However, the spec has made the phone relatively thick at 8.6mm. Despite that, and as with its new Xiaomi and OnePlus competitors, there is no wireless charging here.

That is a shame, as the feature could have been particularly interesting to use with the Turbo's new Nothing-baiting rear panel. 

It nearly hides the fact that Realme has recycled the camera hump style of its Neo7-series siblings. In this case, it hides a 50MP main camera with OIS - as one might expect from the Ace 5 Racing Edition, albeit paired with a potentially superior 8MP ultrawide-angle shooter.

It is not likely to beat the Civi 5 Pro with its profoundly standard 16MP selfie camera, though.

The Neo7 Turbo falls between it and the Racing Edition in terms of price, starting at 1,700 yuan (~$237) with China's ongoing subsidies for a base model with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage.

A 12GB/512GB SKU goes for 2,125 yuan (~$295) - although Realme is selling one with a 16GB/256GB configuration for less at 1,955 yuan (~$272). 

The Neo7 Turbo's 16GB/512GB top-end variant is now priced at 2,295 yuan (~$319).

Realme has also announced that the GT7 Aston Martin Edition will have 24GB of RAM on the Chinese market today (May 29, 2025), although its price has not yet been revealed. For context, its 16GB/512GB European counterpart is now available to buy on Amazon for €987.98 (~$1,123).