From dual curves to creator features, the realme 15 Pro 5G brings the latest innovations to your hands

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?

- By CARL JAVIER

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.

Let there be light

At the launch event, I got to talk to Product Marketing Lead Jimmclaude Gayo about some of the small touches and features that I found delightful. He smiled and said, "Let me show you how this activates my Harry Potter mode." He brought out his realme 15 Pro 5G, held its back toward me, and brought it up and flicked it forward. 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.