MWC 2023: Hands-on with the fastest charging phone in the world, the Realme GT3

The fast charging wars are in full swing, and while some companies are content with their lightning ports and 33W chargers, others aim to push the boundaries of technology to the absolute limit. Behold the Realme GT3, the first commercially available phone that features 240W wired fast charging technology.

If all this sounds a bit familiar, that's because this device is a rebranded Realme GT Neo 5, launched in China a couple of weeks ago. Which doesn't take away the massive effort that's been put into the battery and charging tech of this phone.

The Realme GT3 uses the company's SuperVOOC charging tech, something that Realme has been developing and polishing over the past couple of years. The record-breaking 240W charging tech comes with a couple of "industry leading" badges under its belt.

Realme has designed a special 10C ultra-thin battery for this model, a huge cooling plate for that battery, a safety system with 13 sensors and 60 layers of protection to keep the battery from overheating, and, of course, a hefty 12A cable for the 240W Dual GaN charger to carry the juice to the phone.

Thanks to all the aforementioned innovations, Realme says that the GT3 can run through 1,600 charging cycles while retaining at least 80% of the battery capacity. For comparison, Apple lists the iPhone's batteries as being designed to retain up to 80% of their original capacity after 500 complete charge cycles.

Realme GT3 hands-on