When the Realme 12 Pro+ was released earlier this year, I was quite surprised. For less than 2000 yuan, it came equipped with an OV64B periscope telephoto lens, allowing budget-conscious consumers to experience the telephoto capabilities typically reserved for flagship devices.

Half a year later, the Realme 13 Pro+ has arrived. So, after half a year of development, what upgrades does this phone bring, and what is the experience like?

Design:

The Realme 13 Pro+ we have is the Monet Gold edition, featuring a flashy glass back cover that exudes a low-saturation golden glow while creating a sense of light and shadow movement.

In terms of hand feel, the back cover has a matte texture that doesn't easily attract fingerprints, which is highly commendable.

Although the camera design largely follows that of its predecessor, there are a few noticeable changes. Firstly, the flash has been integrated into the lens design, unlike the standalone position in the previous model. Secondly, a small section at the bottom of the camera module is dedicated to the “HYPERIMAGE+” branding, symbolizing the phone's powerful imaging capabilities.

The front of the phone still sports a 6.7-inch curved screen with a controlled curvature to prevent accidental touches. The screen boasts a resolution of 2412×1080, supports up to 120Hz refresh rate, has a peak brightness of 2000 nits, a manual maximum of 600 nits, and a sunlight mode brightness of 1200 nits. Additionally, it features 2160Hz PWM dimming and in-display fingerprint recognition.

Overall, the Realme 13 Pro+'s design aligns with my aesthetic preferences, and with a weight of approximately 190g and a thickness of 8.23mm, it's lightweight and slim.

Camera Performance:

The Realme 13 Pro+'s camera configuration is unparalleled at its price point. Its primary camera utilizes the Sony LYT-701 sensor, boasting 50MP, a 1/1.56-inch sensor size, f/1.8 aperture, and a 24mm focal length. It also supports OIS and 2x lossless optical zoom.

Indeed, while LYT-701 may sound like a new sensor, its specifications reveal that it's essentially the well-regarded IMX890.

In the telephoto department, the Realme 13 Pro+ is the first to introduce the LYT-600 as its periscope telephoto lens. LYT-600 is no stranger, often found in flagship phones as an ultra-wide-angle lens.

With a 1/1.95-inch sensor size, 50MP, a pixel size of 0.8μm, OIS, and a focal length of 73mm, it enables 3x optical zoom and 6x ISZ lossless zoom on mobile devices. Furthermore, this telephoto lens is equipped with glass lenses with a transmittance of up to 98%, significantly enhancing image quality by purifying incident light.

Expect more flagship imaging phones to adopt LYT-600 over OV64B as their periscope telephoto lens in the second half of this year, with the Realme 13 Pro+ leading the way.

For ultra-wide-angle shots, the Realme 13 Pro+ sports an 8MP lens with a 16mm focal length and f/2.2 aperture, identical to its predecessor.

Let's dive into the camera performance, starting with the telephoto capabilities.

Under good daylight conditions, photos captured at 3x optical zoom showcase impressive quality, evident in the sharp lines and well-balanced exposure. Zooming in on details, such as green leaves and red flowers, also yields impressive results.

In low-light conditions, the 3x zoom performance remains outstanding, as seen in the vibrant colors of streetlights and the night sky in this photo, creating an immersive atmosphere.

However, we noticed that the 3x optical zoom lens requires a specific shooting distance, around 50cm, for accurate focusing. Getting too close will prompt the phone to move back, as it may switch to the primary camera for cropped shots, resulting in lower image quality. This is worth noting.

Now, how does the Realme 13 Pro+ fare with 6x ISZ lossless zoom?

In well-lit scenarios, the 6x zoom captures impressive images with a consistent imaging style and color reproduction as the 3x zoom. Upon zooming in, however, slight softness in details becomes noticeable, lacking sharpness.

In low-light environments, the Realme 13 Pro+'s 6x zoom sometimes delivers visually pleasing shots, as seen in these examples of traffic lights, cars, and streetlights.

Yet, in some scenarios with less demanding lighting conditions, image quality can be mediocre. There's room for improvement in the 6x zoom's algorithm optimization.

The primary camera offers an excellent shooting experience, thanks to the extensive tuning experience with this sensor. Its performance in focusing, image quality, color reproduction, and challenging lighting conditions meets expectations.

Moreover, the primary camera's 2x cropped shots also impress, with minimal noise or detail degradation even when zoomed in.

Due to its modest hardware, the ultra-wide-angle camera's image quality is less impressive than the primary or telephoto lenses. However, it maintains color consistency with the primary camera, minimizing the sense of discontinuity when switching lenses. In contrast, the telephoto lens exhibits a slightly different color style.

The Realme 13 Pro+'s front camera boasts 32MP and offers two focal lengths, 25mm and 21mm, accommodating more scenes and people in selfies.

For video recording, both the rear primary and telephoto cameras support up to 4K/30fps or 1080P/60fps. However, the ultra-wide-angle and front cameras do not support 60fps, with the former topping out at 1080P/30fps and the latter at 4K/30fps.

Notably, the Realme 13 Pro+'s gallery supports ProXDR for high dynamic range display. However, we found that some photos cannot display in ProXDR in the current system version (RMX3920_14.1.0.404(CN01)), giving the impression of insufficient brightness when browsing photos in the gallery. We hope this bug will be promptly addressed after the Realme 13 Pro+'s launch.

On the software front, the Realme 13 Pro+ introduces several practical AI-based features. For instance, NEXT AI-powered AI Group Shot Enhancement ensures clearer facial details for people on the edges or in the back row of group photos. We're also familiar with AI Erase, convenient for removing unwanted elements from images.

Nevertheless, the most practical addition is the new AI Super Clarity feature, which leverages AI to further enhance image sharpness. This comes in handy when shooting with the telephoto lens and desiring even clearer visuals.

In fact, AI Super Clear does not add details to photos, but it can eliminate obvious noise and sharpen the image to a certain extent, making the photo appear clear at first glance. Comparing the visual experience before and after using the AI Super Clear function, you will surely fall in love with this feature.

Performance and Others:

In terms of processors, realme 13 Pro+ still uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 processor, which is based on Samsung's 4nm process technology. It consists of 4x 2.4GHz A78 cores and 4x A55 cores for the CPU, and the GPU is Adreno 710.

Since more costs are invested in the camera, the inclusion of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 in realme 13 Pro+ represents a certain degree of compromise. After all, at this price point, there is always a trade-off between camera performance and overall performance. When the camera delivers exceptional results, performance expectations must be adjusted accordingly.

However, thanks to the optimization of realme UI 5.0 and the support of 12GB of RAM, daily app usage feels smooth without any noticeable lag. For gaming, it can handle popular titles like Honor of Kings without issues.

With ultra-high frame rate, ultra-high resolution, and high-definition graphics enabled, along with the gaming assistant's Esports Mode and Extreme Frame Stabilization, the game ran at a stable 90 frames per second for two consecutive rounds totaling 25 minutes. There was only one instance of frame rate fluctuation during a large team fight, but it was not noticeably disruptive to the gameplay experience.

In terms of charging and battery life, realme 13 Pro+ has made significant improvements over its predecessor. The battery capacity has increased from 5000mAh to 5200mAh, while the charging power has been upgraded from 67W to 80W. In our tests, it took 47 minutes to charge the phone from 2% to 100%, with 32% charged in 10 minutes, 54% in 20 minutes, and 75% in 30 minutes.

Although the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 is not particularly powerful, it performs well in terms of power consumption and heat generation. After playing Honor of Kings at room temperature of 25℃, the maximum temperature recorded on the front screen was only 32.1℃, while the back panel reached a maximum of 31.4℃ near the edges. Additionally, during a 1.5-hour continuous dual-view recording at 1080P resolution using both the front and rear cameras, the phone did not overheat and continued recording without issue.

Thanks to its excellent thermal and power consumption performance, realme 13 Pro+ with its 5200mAh battery delivers impressive battery life, allowing for a full day of moderate use without any major issues.

Apart from these features, realme 13 Pro+ also demonstrates a high level of commitment in other areas. For instance, it has obtained IP65 dust and water resistance certification. The front panel is equipped with realme's self-developed Jingkai glass, enhancing its drop resistance and scratch resistance. Confident in the phone's build quality, realme offers a 2-year warranty to first-sale customers.

Conclusion:

While competitors in the same price range focus on performance, realme 13 Pro+ has carved out a new niche by offering exceptional camera performance. Compared to its predecessor, realme 13 Pro+ may not have made significant upgrades in terms of performance and camera capabilities, but its debut AI Super Clear function is highly practical. Additionally, upgrades have been made to its design, battery, charging, and screen glass, enhancing the overall user experience.

In summary, if you have a limited budget but desire a capable telephoto lens, realme 13 Pro+ is currently your best choice.