It was only a matter of time before someone other than Fairphone delivered a smartphone on the subject of sustainability (which is of course good). Realme, the sister brand of Oppo and OnePlus, announced that its upcoming flagship GT2 Pro has an environmentally friendly bio-polymer material on the back – apparently a first in the cellular industry. Better still, Realme did once again worked with Muji and Info bar Series design icon Naoto Fukasawa, who refined the design of the GT 2 Pro with a structured paper feel on the body. They call this “Paper Tech Master Design”.
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This bio-polymer material, supplied by Saudi Arabia’s SABIC, is based on paper pulp and has received international sustainability and carbon certification (ISCC for short) as proof of its environmental friendliness. The packaging of the Realme GT 2 Pro also uses much less plastic than its predecessor – from a total plastic content of 21.7 percent to just 0.3 percent.
The phone itself has some surprises too. For one, it’s one of the first devices to be powered by Qualcomm’s newest device Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Chipset, after the Moto Edge X30. The GT 2 Pro is also the world’s first smartphone with a 150-degree ultra-wide camera (most are at around 120 degrees) that offers a unique fisheye camera mode for fun photography.
There are also some notable features on the radio page. In Realme’s “Antenna Array Matrix System” there is the “world’s first” ultra-broadband antenna switching technology that allows the phone to switch to the one of the 12 antennas that has the best signal strength. In addition, this system consists of a symmetrical WLAN antenna, which apparently increases the signal stability by up to 20 percent.
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But the most interesting feature here is perhaps the “360-degree NFC”, which is achieved by connecting the NFC module to both the top two cellular antennas and its own, creating an “NFC 3 antenna array” forms. This means that the upper part of the GT 2 Pro can read NFC on both sides, which should, for example, facilitate contactless payment and Bluetooth pairing.
For now, the Realme GT 2 Pro is only slated to launch in China on January 4, 2022 at 7:30 p.m. local time (6:30 a.m. ET), but a company spokesperson confirmed it will eventually go overseas. Given the brand’s track record, this device will likely come at a competitive price, but we’re just excited to personally test out Fukasawa’s latest mobile design – especially its supposedly paper-like texture. Stay tuned for more technical details, prices and our practical experience.
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