This upcoming Android phone will feature the world's first 150-degree phone camera

Realme GT
The original Realme GT (Image credit: Future)

The upcoming Realme GT 2 and GT 2 Pro weren't unveiled at today's launch from the company, but it did give us a glimpse at some of the features we can expect, including some camera upgrades.

Realme revealed that its upcoming phone series will feature the first smartphone with a 150-degree ultra-wide camera. It will also feature a fisheye mode that means you can play with the depth of field effect on the camera.

That's a higher field of view than we've seen on most other smartphone cameras. For example, the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra had a notable 128-degree field of view on its wide angle camera in 2021, so this is a big step up from that.

A fountain shot through the Realme GT 2 fisheye mode camera

An example of the fisheye mode camera on the Realme GT 2 series (Image credit: Realme)

We don't yet know any other details about the camera on the Realme GT 2 series, and the company has yet to confirm whether this new ultra-wide shooter will be made available on both devices.

Four other reveals

Realme also shared details of its connectivity upgrades that you can expect on this new series, which includes an ultra-wide-band HyperSmart Antenna Switching feature.

It features 12 wrap-around antennas so it can offer the same signal strength from all angles of the smartphone. The aim here is that it'll be able to hold onto a connection for longer, and hopefully offer you improved 5G speeds over other devices.

There's also a feature to help improve Wi-Fi connectivity, which the company claims has improved signal stability by 20%.

The phone also features improved NFC coverage that should make it easier to use contactless terminals and other NFC connected devices. The sensing area is 500% bigger on this phone than other handsets, and the sensing distance is 20% better.

Realme believes this will allow you to pay at contactless terminals faster than before, as it's easier to connect rather than finding a specific part of your smartphone that needs to be tapped.

Finally, Realme has also shared a bit of detail on the design of the upcoming phone. It is what the company calls "the world’s first smartphone to incorporate bio-based materials".

The rear of the phone uses a bio-polymer, but we've yet to see how that will look in practice. We expect to hear more about the design of the smartphone in the coming months.

Previously, Realme confirmed its new GT 2 Pro smartphone will be among the first few phones to use the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.

Today's launch event also ended with the company saying an official launch event for its next phone series is "coming soon". There was no further information on an exact launch date.


Analysis: We need more detail to be impressed

Realme GT

The original Realme GT (Image credit: Future)

The Realme GT 2 series is shaping up to be a piece of strong competition for the best smartphones of 2022, but there's little here for us to truly get excited about.

The camera is likely the most exciting element, but we want to know more details before we can believe this is going to be a game-changing experience.

An improved field of view is likely to improve the experience of the ultra-wide camera, but we don't yet know any other specs or features that will make this a competitor to the best camera phones.

Things sound positive from camp Realme, but we want to hear much more detail as soon as possible to be able to make any decisions on what the GT 2 series will be able to do.

James Peckham

James is the Editor-in-Chief at Android Police. Previously, he was Senior Phones Editor for TechRadar, and he has covered smartphones and the mobile space for the best part of a decade bringing you news on all the big announcements from top manufacturers making mobile phones and other portable gadgets. James is often testing out and reviewing the latest and greatest mobile phones, smartwatches, tablets, virtual reality headsets, fitness trackers and more. He once fell over.