When the courier delivered the box containing the Realme GT 7 Pro, I was eager to open it. Not because it was a new phone (they come quite often), but because it was one of the first phones with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor inside—and the first phone I’d use with the chip.

Qualcomm has encouraged the Snapdragon 8 Elite as a considerable improvement over its previous chips, so I set about testing it. I can confirm, it’s hot stuff in every sense of the word.

First, benchmark tests

Everything started normally, but I didn’t know what was going to happen next. I used Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra in recent weekswhich has Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 inside, making it the perfect comparison device.

With both phones in hand, I installed the Geekbench 6 and 3DMark benchmarking apps. While benchmark scores aren’t always representative of overall performance and how a phone feels – and phones can also be tweaked by manufacturers to deliver high scores – they’re a simple way to illustrate performance differences . How he did the two processors compare?

Realme GT 7 Pro with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite deleted Galaxy S24 Ultra and its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, with a multi-core CPU score of 9425 compared to 7104. Running the GPU test, it was a similar hit, with the Snapdragon 8 Elite’s score of 19065 much higher than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3’s score of 15898 .There’s no doubt about it – the Snapdragon 8 Elite is a powerhouse.

I switched to the 3DMark tests, which focus on gaming and graphics performance, but can also provide insight into efficiency. As you might expect, the Snapdragon 8 Elite’s score was much higher than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3’s score on the standard Solar Bay test, but when we moved on to the extended 20-minute Solar Bay stress test, things took a turn for the worse unexpected.

Hardcore gaming tests

We ran the first series of benchmark tests, and three-quarters through the Solar Bay stress test, the Realme GT 7 Pro shut down the app, saying the phone had gotten too hot and that certain features weren’t available. Sure enough, it was frying when I picked it up, front and back. The Galaxy S24 Ultra completed the Solar Bay stress test without issue, despite running it right after the Geekbench 6 tests and the Solar Bay test, as well as iPhone 16 Pro Max.

I can’t remember the last time I tested a phone that overheated during a short series of benchmark tests, so that was a surprise. Realme claims the GT 7 Pro has an “Iceberg VC” vapor cooling system, which at 11,480 square mm is apparently the largest in its class, so it doesn’t look like it hasn’t made up for the increased performance. I let the phone cool down and ran the test again.

Once again, the phone overheated after about 14 minutes, the benchmark test failed, and the phone restricted functionality for a few moments. I picked up the phone several times during the test and found that even after 10 minutes, I would have found the Realme GT 7 Pro too hot to hold comfortably. Instead of trying the test again, I waited until the phone cooled down and played Asphalt Legends United.

After playing for 30 minutes, there was just a hint of increased heat and I had the screen at full brightness with the phone in its high-performance gaming mode. The game ran flawlessly and was incredibly fluid and fun to play, though it didn’t feel that different from any other flagship phone I’ve used this year. It’s not the most demanding game, though, and 3DMark’s stress tests more closely replicate long sessions on power-hungry games like Genshin Impact.

High speed connection

How about another unscientific speed and performance test of the Snapdragon 8 Elite? The Realme GT 7 Pro uses the Qualcomm FastConnect 7900 Wi-Fi modem, compared to the FastConnect 7800 paired with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and found inside the Galaxy S24 Ultra. The specs on paper appear to be identical, but they don’t tell the whole story.

I downloaded Asphalt Legends United from the Play Store on both the S24 Ultra and GT 7 Pro, both over the same Wi-Fi network, and timed the process. It’s a massive 3.27GB file and took three minutes and 40 seconds on the Realme GT 7 Pro. It was installed and ready to play just seconds later.

What’s interesting is that the Galaxy S24 Ultra was barely 60% into the download process by this point, and it took six minutes and 30 seconds in total. To make sure it wasn’t a one-off, I tried a few more app downloads and got the same results. For example, the 102 MB Crossy Road The game only took 6 seconds to download and install on the GT 7 Pro and 20 seconds on the S24 Ultra.

Both phones support Wi-Fi 7, but my router doesn’t, so they used a 5GHz connection. We ran an Ookla speed test to better understand the differences, and sure enough, the Realme GT 7 Pro achieved much faster download and upload speeds. In my simple test, the Realme GT 7 Pro’s Snapdragon 8 Elite and FastConnect 7900 Wi-Fi modem download apps much faster than the latest version of the chip and modem. More importantly, despite downloading several apps in a row and running several speed tests, there was no obvious increase in the heat of the device.

But the Realme GT 7 Pro itself?

I can’t tell you much about the Realme GT 7 Pro as a phone yet, but I can comment on the design and how it feels in my hand. It’s a substantial device, weighing nearly 223 grams and measuring 8.55mm thick. The flat metal sides make it feel quite thick in the hand. The oversized rear camera module with its sharp angles and edges only adds to the chunky look and feel.

The Realme GT 7 Pro in our photos is in its Mars Orange color, which has an unusual sand dune-like effect that is visible in certain lighting conditions. It is very cute and very attractive, reminding me of the beauty of Huawei Amber Sunrise color on P30 Pro. If that’s too bright for you, there’s also a Galaxy Green version that’s more muted.

Too hot to handle?

I am using Realme GT 7 Pro before the final release and I can only evaluate and tell you about the performance of Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite at this time. It’s also the first chip phone I’ve used, so I don’t have anything to compare it to other than older versions, meaning I can’t say if the overheating issues I’ve experienced are the processor’s fault, a phone, software, benchmarking app or inefficiencies in the new cooling system.

While I haven’t used the phone as a primary device yet, it hasn’t overheated at any point and has shown nothing but stellar performance. However, as I write these words, the Realme GT 7 Pro overheated again during a 3DMark stress test, this time with GT performance boost active to see if that helped and I won’t try again at this stage . .

Coming to a conclusion is impossible, but I’m looking forward to trying another phone with the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor to see if it really is a fiery beast – or if the Realme GT 7 Pro isn’t quite ready for the spiciest mobile. chip I’ve ever seen.