Realme is a popular brand for budget smartphones, offering some great specs for an even better price. The company’s upcoming flagship, the Realme 9 Pro+, is gaining a brand new sensor that might be able to replace your fitness tracker.
Madhav Sheth, Vice President of Realme, tweeted a new promo video for the Realme 9 Pro+ showcasing a heart rate feature built-in to the smartphone.
In the video, we can see the phone tracking a heart rate through an app, and Sheth confirmed the phone had the sensor built-in.
The Realme 9 Pro+’s heart rate sensor will live in the device’s under-display fingerprint scanner. By confirming this, Realme also revealed the new smartphone is coming with an under-display fingerprint scanner.
Under-display fingerprint sensors work by shining an optical light through the screen. Most fitness trackers use optical scanners to measure heart rate, meaning the Realme 9 Pro+ has the right gear for the job.
Bear in mind that finger readings are less reliable than wrist readings, which are even less reliable than chest readings. This means the Realme 9 Pro+ will be useful for a quick indicator of your heart rate, but probably isn’t cut out to replace your fitness tracker or any other fancy health equipment.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a phone with a heart rate sensor, either. Both the Samsung Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note 9 had the health-centric tech packed in, too.
It’s interesting to see Realme include such a niche feature in a phone we expect to have a budget price tag, but the more features the better! Unfortunately for Realme, a heart rate sensor probably won’t bring customers over from more premium devices.
The Realme 9 Pro+’s heart rate sensor will join other impressive features such as a photochromic finish, and a 50MP camera sensor. The new flagship is launching on February 16.