Realme 16 Pro+ review: a compelling battery champion

I was keen to try the Realme 16 Pro+. Not because Realme is already an essential brand in France - it is not quite there yet - but because its spec sheet is genuinely difficult to overlook.

The Realme 16 Pro+ combines an XXL battery, a 200-megapixel camera sensor and a look created by renowned Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa, all for under €600. A flagship killer? The expression is overused, but the ambition is clearly there. After six weeks of everyday use, here is my honest assessment.

Best price for the Realme 16 Pro+

Base price: €599

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Boulanger	-8%	€549	View offer
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A smartphone designed to stand out - and it knows it

For this handset, Realme enlisted Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa, who had previously worked on the GT 2 Pro and GT Master Edition. The rear uses a bio-based silicone coating made from plant straw. It is a first for the smartphone industry, and its effect is obvious straight away. The finish is slim and slightly springy, with a feel reminiscent of natural leather without attempting to imitate it. In the Master Gold finish supplied for this test, it looks polished and almost premium without becoming showy.

This material has another welcome benefit: it is not slippery. After years of handling phones that turn into bars of soap at the slightest trace of moisture, that is a genuine pleasure. Better still, it does not pick up fingerprints at all. The camera island, named the “Metal Mirror Camera Deco”, catches the eye with its polished mirrored surface and square plate that slopes gently into the back panel. It is well executed and unlike any other current smartphone.

The display has a waterfall finish that softens its edges and makes the phone more comfortable to hold. At 203 g and 8.49 mm thick, the 16 Pro+ is neither the lightest nor the slimmest handset in its class. You can feel its size in the hand: this is a large phone intended for larger hands. Nevertheless, it remains pleasant in daily use and feels substantially more premium than its price would suggest.

The haptic motor is the one minor disappointment. Its keyboard vibration feedback is vague and poorly defined, more like what was found on €200 phones a few years ago. It is mildly frustrating, although it becomes easier to live with over time.

The 16 Pro+ has an IP69K certification. At this price point, resistance not only to immersion but also to high-pressure water jets is unusual - and very welcome.

A display built for bright sunshine

The 6.8-inch AMOLED panel delivers excellent image quality. Its high resolution, the deep contrast inherent to OLED technology and very narrow bezels all make for a convincing immersive experience. Colours are slightly boosted in the default mode, but this is easily corrected in the settings.

Panel brightness is particularly impressive, remaining readable even in direct sunlight. It reaches a level high enough that the user is never left struggling, even when the sun is behind them. For anyone who uses their smartphone at night or in dim surroundings, high-frequency dimming effectively reduces flicker - a worthwhile eye-comfort feature that is not especially common at this price.

Realme has selected an LTPS panel rather than LTPO. In practical terms, this means slightly higher power consumption in Always On mode, though not enough to undermine the battery benefits discussed later. The cost-saving decision fits the product’s positioning and, honestly, the difference is imperceptible in everyday use.

Solid performance and extraordinary battery life

In everyday use, the Realme 16 Pro+ is smooth and responsive. Apps launch quickly, multitasking presents no difficulties, and the neatly designed Realme UI 7.0 interface responds with the liveliness expected from a smartphone in this category. For mobile gaming enthusiasts, Realme has sensibly included an AI frame interpolation system that creates a greater impression of fluidity.

This helps make up for the GPU’s relative weakness. Demanding games such as Genshin Impact run convincingly smoothly, without visible slowdowns. Heat management remains under control even during extended sessions, while direct power delivery to the motherboard when the mains adapter is connected avoids battery-related overheating.

The Realme 16 Pro+ includes a 7,000 mAh battery using silicon-carbon technology. This chemistry is more modern than conventional lithium-ion technology and stores more energy in a smaller space. With moderate use - social media, emails, web browsing, a few photos and some streaming - I regularly exceeded two full days before reaching for a cable. Two days. That is the kind of result that genuinely changes habits, and it is a very good thing.

Even under heavier use - evening streaming, daytime photography and a few gaming sessions - the phone still had 30% battery remaining at the end of a busy day. It is difficult to do better at this price. The 80 W SuperVOOC fast charging works efficiently: expect roughly 25 minutes to go from 0 to 50%, and a little over an hour to reach 100%. That is an appreciable result given the battery capacity.

Unsurprisingly, no charger is supplied in the box, and a compatible plug will cost around €50 extra. Wireless charging is not included, which remains understandable at this price level. Realme says the battery will retain more than 80% of its capacity after six years of use. That cannot be verified at this stage, but the promise has been made.

Polished software, with AI throughout

Realme UI 7.0 runs on Android 16. Anyone who has previously used an Oppo phone will find the interface familiar. Realme’s software is very close to ColorOS, one of the most accomplished Android skins currently available. I find it highly customisable, smooth and, above all, logically organised. Realme has committed to five years of major Android updates and six years of security patches. That is welcome support for a mid-range smartphone.

AI is everywhere, and is sometimes genuinely relevant. “AI Edit Genie” - what a name - provides an impressive array of generative tools from the gallery: changing hairstyles, outfits or backgrounds, and adjusting the lighting on a portrait. Powered by Google’s Nano Banana model, it delivers striking results for straightforward edits from a basic prompt. Within seconds, an ordinary portrait can become a studio-style composition. It feels a little magical, and is useful for social media - or for dressing my editor-in-chief in different clothes.

Romain, our editor-in-chief, in his natural state (left), dressed for winter (centre) and for a wedding (right). The final two images were generated from the first by the Realme 16 Pro+ AI.

The AI gaming coach targets a particular audience: players of titles such as PUBG Mobile or Mobile Legends. It analyses how I play and gives me advice to improve my performance. In a very different vein, “AI Smart Loop” lets you send an item displayed on screen directly to a third-party app with a single gesture. Google Gemini is also included through the voice assistant and apps such as Gmail.

Photography: two strong cameras and one poor relation

The Realme 16 Pro+ rear camera system consists of three modules:

• Main camera: 200 MP (1/1.56-inch), f/1.8 lens with optical image stabilisation (OIS)
• Telephoto camera: 50 MP (1/2.75-inch), f/2.8 lens with optical image stabilisation (OIS), 3.5x optical zoom
• Ultra-wide camera: 8 MP (1/4-inch), f/2.2 lens.

The front camera uses a 50 MP (1/2.88-inch) sensor with an f/2.4 lens.

In bright conditions, the main camera takes genuinely convincing photographs. Detail is excellent, colours are accurate once the default settings - which tend to add a little too much saturation - have been adjusted, and dynamic range is handled carefully. The 3.5x telephoto camera is the star of the show: sharp and stable thanks to OIS, it performs extremely well. Portrait mode is very successful with both people and still-life subjects. Digital zoom remains usable up to 10x, and 20x is just about acceptable. From 30x onwards, the image loses too much detail to remain convincing.

As the light drops, the main and telephoto cameras continue to perform well. AI does a remarkable job in night mode, although it can sometimes slightly overexpose scenes to make them brighter than they really were. Aside from that, results are strong.

The ultra-wide camera, by contrast, is clearly the weak link. With only 8 megapixels versus the other sensors’ 200 and 50, the gap becomes visible as soon as lighting is less than ideal. It is reasonably capable in daylight, but its limitations show indoors and in the evening.

The AI Landscape function automatically corrects perspective while taking a photograph.

Among the features that pleasantly surprised me are “AI Landscape”, which straightens perspectives in architectural shots, and assisted scene composition, which suggests framing adjustments in real time. The latter is especially useful for less experienced photographers.

What I think of the Realme 16 Pro+

The Realme 16 Pro+ is a genuinely pleasant surprise. It is not flawless - the haptic motor is slightly disappointing and the ultra-wide camera trails behind - but it handles the essentials convincingly.

Battery life is undoubtedly its most notable strength. Going two days without charging is rare, and welcome. The display is attractive, the design is distinctive, and two of the three cameras deliver very strong results. Realme UI is among the best Android skins, AI is well integrated and often useful without becoming intrusive, while five years of software support is a serious selling point.

Available in France at €480 for the 8 GB/256 GB version and €550 for the 12 GB/512 GB version until 31 March (€530 and €600 afterwards), it goes up against strong competitors such as the Nothing Phone (3a) and Motorola Edge 60 Pro. In that context, its strengths hold up well - and battery life alone could tip the balance.

Best price for the Realme 16 Pro+

Base price: €599

Retailer	Discount	Price	Offer
eBay	-33%	€402	View offer
Amazon	-24%	€455	View offer
Boulanger	-8%	€549	View offer
Rakuten	-8%	€549	View offer
FNAC	-8%	€552	View offer
Darty	-8%	€552	View offer

View more offers

Realme 16 Pro+

From €530

9.1

Category	Score
Screen	9.0/10
Performance	8.0/10
Battery life	10.0/10
Photography	9.0/10
Value for money	9.5/10

What we like

• Battery life
• Daylight photo quality
• Design + build
• Relevant AI integration
• IP69K certification

What we like less

• Underwhelming haptic feedback
• Limited ultra-wide camera

Realme 16 Pro+