Something big is brewing in the mid-range gaming phone space. It feels like every other week, a new contender steps into the ring, flexing its raw power.
This time, it’s the Realme P3 Ultra— a beast with big shoes to fill after the Realme P3 Pro.
And guess what? It delivers. But I also love a good showdown, so I'm putting it up against another mid-range champ—the freshly launched iQOO Neo 10R.
Both are built for speed but take different approaches.
So let's break it all down to help you decide which one should you pick?
Let’s start with design, because Realme and iQOO have gone in completely opposite directions here. Both phones are mostly plastic, but Realme has absolutely nailed the premium feel with the P3 Ultra.
It looks and feels way more polished, while the iQOO Neo 10R… well, let’s just say it doesn’t quite hit the same level.
The Glowing Lunar White variant of the P3 Ultra is straight-up cool. It has this Lunar surface-inspired print made with luminous ink, meaning it actually glows in the dark if it’s been exposed to UV light.
Not exactly a must-have feature, but it’s definitely a fun flex.
Meanwhile, iQOO is keeping it simple. The Raging Blue variant has a sporty, in-your-face dual-tone finish, which some might love, but it can also be considered a bit boring
Moreover, the Neo 10R just doesn’t feel as solid in hand. Realme has clearly put more effort into making their phone look and feel more high-end.
The P3 Ultra also takes the win with its IP66+68+69 water and dust resistance, while the Neo 10R settles for IP65.
Now, IP65 is fine for a phone at this budget, but I’d rather have the extra peace of mind knowing my device can handle a bit more of the real world, especially with monsoons approaching soon.
Moving to the front of the phones, Realme went all fancy with a quad-curved screen that blends into the plastic frame, giving it a sleek, modern vibe.
iQOO, on the other hand, sticks to a flat display.
Both are quite comfy to hold, but I did notice the P3 Ultra’s edges digging into my fingers during long gaming sessions. No such issue with the Neo 10R, so that’s a win for comfort.
Both phones also pack optical in-display fingerprint scanners, positioned super ergonomically.
But the one on the Neo 10R is a bit finicky to set up. Just a minor annoyance, but worth noting.
Another key difference—screen protection. The P3 Ultra rocks Gorilla Glass 7i, which has been a trusted name in the budget and mid-range segment for a while.
Meanwhile, the Neo 10R uses Vivo’s SCHOTT Xensation Up protection. Vivo has used it on their flagships before, so we’ll take their word that it’s solid enough.
At the end of the day, the iQOO Neo 10R feels youthful and gamer-focused, especially in that bold blue shade. But if you want something that looks more premium and elegant, and is built better, the Realme P3 Ultra is the way to go.
When it comes to displays, the iQOO Neo 10R and Realme P3 Ultra are locked in an all-out brawl. Both pack 1.5K AMOLED screens, so you’re getting sharp, vibrant visuals no matter which one you pick.
The Neo 10R measures 6.78 inches, while the P3 Ultra is just a smidge taller at 6.83 inches.
As for the refresh rate, Realme sticks to 120Hz, which is buttery smooth. The Neo 10R technically goes up to 144Hz, but it only works in select games.
Everywhere else. it’s capped at 120Hz, just like the P3 Ultra.
So, unless you’re playing those few games that actually take advantage of it, you won’t notice a massive difference.
Touch response is where the P3 Ultra punches back. It boasts a 2,500Hz touch sampling rate, slightly edging out the Neo 10R’s 2,000Hz.
This might not sound like a big deal, but if you’re an esports junkie, that could make a difference in those high-stakes gaming sessions.
But put them side by side, and you’ll notice the Neo 10R handles HDR content slightly better, thanks to its higher peak brightness. Blacks are deeper, highlights are punchier, and overall contrast is just a bit more refined. That said, you really need to be nitpicking to tell the difference.
Both have some of the best screens you’ll find at this price—heck, they even go toe-to-toe with some of the best displays that some flagships have to offer. The Neo 10R, though, wins by a hair—mainly because of its insane brightness levels, which give it a slight HDR advantage.
Alright, let's talk cameras! Both the Realme P3 Ultra and iQOO Neo 10R bring a 50MP main sensor with OIS, backed up by an 8MP ultrawide. Up front, iQOO goes all out with a 32MP selfie shooter, while Realme sticks to 16MP.
Sounds like a balanced, fair fight, right? Well, not exactly.
The Neo 10R’s main sensor leans towards cooler tones, which may or may not be your thing. But it struggles with fine details.
The software tries to smooth things out, which helps with noise but can sometimes leave things looking a little too processed.
Ultrawide shots, on the other hand, fare much better, with solid colour consistency and surprisingly good detail for just an 8MP sensor.
The P3 Ultra, meanwhile, takes the lead with the main camera. Colours are more accurate, details are sharper, and it nails dynamic range better.
However, when it comes to ultrawide shots, it flips—the 8MP sensor lacks detail, even though the colour consistency is on point.
On the selfie front, iQOO’s 32MP camera does a fantastic job. Details are crisp, dynamic range is solid, and it just delivers a well-balanced shot.
Realme’s 16MP sensor also handles colours and dynamic range well, but it goes too hard on sharpening, making faces look a bit unnatural.
If you don’t like that over-processed look, you might not love it.
For video, both phones support 4K@60fps on the rear cameras, which is super rare in this price range. But things get interesting with the front cameras—Realme maxes out at 1080p@60fps, while iQOO offers 4K@30fps.
However, iQOO has a significant crop in 4K, which can be annoying.
Stabilisation is meh on both—there’s a bit of jitter, but Realme feels more palatable.
Both phones have their strengths and weaknesses, and neither is perfect. I'd say the The P3 Ultra has the slight edge here but in an ideal world, I’d probably just go for something else altogether!
Now, let's get in the meat of it! The iQOO Neo 10R runs on Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, a powerhouse of a chip that promises smooth, lag-free performance across the board.
Meanwhile, the Realme P3 Ultra comes with the MediaTek’s Dimensity 8350 Ultra.
For storage and RAM, the Realme P3 Ultra sticks to UFS 3.1 storage for both 128GB and 256GB models, while the iQOO Neo 10R plays it smart—UFS 3.1 for 128GB, but UFS 4.0 for 256GB, making it faster for app launches and gaming.
Both phones offer up to 12GB LPDDR5X RAM, keeping things smooth whether you're multitasking or deep in a gaming session.
On paper, the Neo 10R should absolutely demolish the P3 Ultra in most benchmarks. iQOO even claims it scores over 1.7 million on Antutu.
But here’s the catch—during our tests, the best we could get was 1.48 million, which is 13% lower than what iQOO claims.
Meanwhile, Realme says the P3 Ultra should hit 1.45 million, and it actually scored 1.41 million, only 3% lower than expected.
In real-life performance though, we get a completely different picture. When it comes to gaming, especially, the Neo 10R leaves the P3 Ultra in the dust.
In BGMI, we were consistently hitting 119-120 fps with the Neo 10, while the P3 Ultra hovered between 86-90 fps, even after Realme supposedly tuned the device for BGMI.
Plus, since the Neo 10R’s display goes up to 144Hz, there’s a chance that an update from Krafton or iQOO could push BGMI to 144 fps at some point. Fingers crossed!
Now, both phones heat up quite a bit in benchmarks, with the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 getting a tad bit warmer but this wasn't surprising as I noticed the same issue in other phones running the same chipset.
In actual real-world use, though, both devices manage intense gaming and 4K video recording with only a slight rise in temperature.
That’s thanks to their massive vapour chambers—the P3 Ultra comes with a 6,050mm² cooling system, while the Neo 10R is close behind with 6,043mm². Safe to say, neither phone has any serious thermal issues.
On the software side, the P3 Ultra runs on Realme UI 6, which, as expected, comes loaded with bloatware and those annoying Hot Apps and Hot Games folders.
Meanwhile, the Neo 10R is running Funtouch OS 15, which feels a lot cleaner and lighter than Realme UI, though it lacks those beautifully smooth animations.
Both UIs come with some nifty AI tricks, like Circle to Search, Live Cutout, AI Rewrite, AI Translation, Note Assistant, and Transcript.
For software updates, iQOO promises 3 years of major updates and 4 years of security patches, while Realme lags behind with 2 years of major updates and 3 years of security patches.
If we’re talking pure performance, software, and gaming, the iQOO Neo 10R is the clear winner. That’s not to say the Realme P3 Ultra is a bad choice—far from it. But when you stack them up side by side, the iQOO just has that extra edge.
Battery life is very similar in both the phones. The Realme P3 Ultra packs a massive 6,000mAh graphite cell despite its slim build.
Meanwhile, the iQOO Neo 10R goes even bigger with 6,400mAh and 80W fast charging.
Both of them come with an 80W charger, included in the box.
Even after numerous hardcore gaming sessions, endless benchmarking, and snapping hundreds of pics, both phones easily last a day and a half.
And if you somehow kill the battery, charging is lightning fast. Realme’s 80W charger gets you 0 to 100% in just 50 minutes, while a 5-minute juice up gives you two hours of gaming.
The Neo 10R isn’t far behind—its 80W charger takes about an hour to fully juice up, which is wild for a phone this big.
Both phones go all day, but if charging speed matters, Realme wins by a hair, simply because it has a smaller battery to deal with.
All in all, both the Realme P3 Ultra and iQOO Neo 10R are solid picks for the price, and offer killer specs without breaking the bank.
If I was picking a daily driver, I’d go with the P3 Ultra. The cameras are better, the display is nearly as good, and it’s built way better with superior ingress protection.
As an all-rounder, the P3 Ultra takes the win.
But if you’re all about gaming, binge-watching, or need a dedicated esports device, the Neo 10R is a no-brainer. It’s got the edge in performance, a display that’s a little bit better, and just feels made for gaming.
So yeah, every day use? The Realme P3 Ultra. For hardcore gaming? The iQOO Neo 10R.