Realme unveils new budget-range smartphone with massive 8,000 mAh battery

Realme has expanded its 16 series portfolio with the launch of the all-new Realme 16T smartphone, joining the Realme 16, the Realme 16 Pro and the Realme 16 Pro+ in the brand’s roster. The fourth member in the Realme 16 series lineup brings an interesting set of features for the price. 

The smartphone measures 8.8 mm (0.34 inch) in thickness and weighs around 224 grams (0.49 lbs). What’s interesting is that Realme has managed to squeeze in a massive 8,000 mAh battery into the 16T smartphone that supports 45 W wired (Anker 45 W charger curr. at $25.99 on Amazon) and 15 W reverse wired charging. This means the smartphone can also be used as a power bank to charge other devices. Unfortunately, there’s no wireless charging support here.

Software-wise, it runs Realme UI 7.0 out of the box, but the brand hasn't revealed how many years of support it will receive. The 16T is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 chipset paired with up to 8 GB of RAM and up to 256 GB of internal storage, which is further expandable up to 2 TB via microSD card. 

Furthermore, the 6.8-inch LCD panel achieves a resolution of 1570 x 720 pixels, a frame rate of 144 Hz, and a peak brightness of 1,200 nits. For lenses, Realme has incorporated a 50 MP main camera with a Sony IMX852 sensor and a 2 MP monochrome unit. The company has also added some AI photography features to its smartphones, such as AI Portrait Glow and more. In addition to AI features, Realme also offers its LumaColor IMAGE tech for true-to-life skin tones in pictures. 

Upfront, you get a 16 MP shooter for capturing selfies and video chats. The smartphone lacks an in-display fingerprint sensor; instead, you get a side-mounted fingerprint sensor here. The rest of the highlights include a 5,300 mm² vapor chamber for cooling, IP66, IP68, IP69K, and IP60 Pro water resistance ratings, and MIL-STD-810H certification. 

Buyers can choose from aurora green, starlight black, and the India-exclusive starlight red colorways. As for price, the Realme 16T starts at INR 29,999 (~$313.29) for the base 6 GB + 128 GB model, while the 8 GB + 128 GB and the 8 GB + 256 GB models are priced at INR 31,999 (~$334.18) and INR 34,999 (~$365.51), respectively. It will be available for purchase on May 27 via Realme India’s official website and other authorized retailers.