I had come to the feeling that smartphones were ubiquitous, and in their ubiquity, they were less interesting. After all, and allow me to wax philosophical for a moment here: if everything is special, is anything really special?

It was perfect timing then that the realme 15 Pro 5G dropped into my lap just as I was going through these musings. I opened the realme 15 Pro 5G and out of the box and my first thought was, yeah okay it’s another very well-made phone. But in the time since I’ve been using it, this phone has constantly challenged me and changed my mind.

I’m not a fan of spec sheets, especially since we can drown ourselves in those numbers. I want to talk about how tech serves or how tech makes us feel or empowers us. And this phone gives me a sense of fun, of lightness, of playfulness.

It is a whimsical phone. And perhaps it’s just me being disillusioned and then this coming to me, but it got me feeling excited, feeling creative.

ward. With that snap of a wrist, the phone’s flashlight activated.

I know, it’s simple, unimportant, and superfluous. But also, isn’t that what some fun stuff is? Whimsical things are, on paper, often “not serious” and unnecessary. And yet, if it weren’t for whimsy and curiosity and pure fun, well, what’s the point of things? Then it’s just serious things being serious. And while there’s a place for seriousness, there also has to be a place for merely amusing things.

This phone isn’t just an amusement either; it has a very clear as inspiration for itself as a device that can inspire creators. One of the features that makes it feel different and creative is its form factor. Jimm told me it’s not just a curved screen but a dual curved body, which makes the phone feel sleek. It’s strikingly thin and light at 7.79 mm and 187 grams. Honestly, it’s difficult for me to imagine what these millimeters really mean, but suffice it to say that eyeballing it, the realme 15 Pro 5G looks like it’s half the thickness of the other phones lying around my desk. And in weight, I have eaten cracker sandwiches that were heavier. The AMOLED screen at 6.8” is vibrant and runs at 1,000 nits (typ) and a peak of 6,500 nits. Colors have great contrast. I used it to read comics, and the colors, especially when zoomed into panels, really leaped out. Watching video content was equally good. And overall the experience between the display and navigating the phone felt really fluid and satisfying. The curved display pushes out to the edges, and that’s going to be a taste/preference thing. But again, going for novelty and something different, I found the choice fun and interesting to see my chosen wallpapers bleeding across the edges.

Beyond just a beautiful screen to play around with and watch things, the realme 15 series is positioning itself as an inspiring tool for creators of various kinds. If you’re making social content or even just exploring your own artistic impulses, this puts a plethora of opportunities in your hands. Key for someone like me, who is always out and on the go, is that the battery life on this is massive, at 7,000mAh. What that really translates to is you can spend a whole day out without having to worry about charging or bringing a power bank. And you can shoot, edit, and do everything else you might need.In addition to the battery life, another plus for someone like me is that despite its slim frame, it promises durability with Corning Gorilla Glass 7i. It’s rated IP66, IP68, and IP69, making it all-around waterproof. Again, if you’re out and on the go, you’ll feel secure knowing this can withstand the elements.

Reinforcing its creator focus are the partnerships that realme has established with Hollyland for the Lark A1 mic. This device covers a great range, from entry-level to high-end, and it’s easy to pair and use, providing great audio that complements the high-definition video from the Sony 50MP camera. And if you’re going for a retro feel, it pairs up with a Fujifilm Mini Link3 Instax printer. That adds to the whimsy again, as you can take shots with the camera and print them out instantly.

As with most things these days, the realme comes with a suite of AI features. There are a lot of AI editing options, as well as an AI editing assistant, which will give you editing suggestions, and you can use text to guide it further. Perhaps most unique among the AI features is the AI Party Mode, which uses triple algorithms that, among other things, automatically set color tones to match a party vibe, and these can be matched with filters to enhance that vibe.

My last fun detail, the one I’ve been saving, is another piece of whimsy. Play music and put the phone face down. The light around one of the lenses begins pulsing, as if you’ve got your own little party there. This is just a really fun phone. And the last way it challenged me was when I found out how much it was. The early bird prices for the phone, running until September 26, are: realme 15 5G for ₱18,999 (from TikTok Shop), realme 15 Pro 5G (12+256GB) for ₱20,999 (Shopee), and the realme 15 Pro 5G (12+512GB) for ₱23,999 (Shopee).

It’s kind of unbelievable how accessible such a great phone experience like this can be.