Specs aren't the biggest surprise about Realme's next flagship phone

Realme's next flagship phone isn't just going for high specs, it's also going for sustainability. The Oppo sister brand announced the latest device in a series of tweets on Wednesday. The GT 2 Pro is set to debut in January and will sport one of Qualcomm's newest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile processors. That makes it one of only a few new devices that have been revealed for the new processor, alongside the Moto Edge X30 and the Xiaomi Mi 12 series.

Other notable specs for the upcoming Realme GT 2 Pro include 12 built-in antennas. The Antenna Array Matrix System, as Realme refers to the system, is the world's first ultra-wide-band antenna, according to Engadget. The system lets the phone switch between 12 different antennas, allowing it to find the antenna with the most wireless signal strength at any time. It will also feature a new Wi-Fi antenna system, which Realme claims should boost the stability of your Wi-Fi signal by 20%.

Outside of the specs, though, the Realme GT 2 Pro will also stand out from the competition thanks to its unique design.

The Realme GT 2 Pro will feel like paper

One of the most intriguing design decisions we've seen in a phone as of late, the new device will feature a texture inspired by paper according to a tweet from Koustabh Das, a senior communication specialist with RealmeIndia. The phone was co-designed by the Realme Design Studio and Naoto Fukusawa, a well-known Japanese industrial designer. In the past Fukusawa has worked with companies like MUJI, Herman Miller, Alessi, and is generally considered one of the world's most influential designers. Fukusawa also worked with Realme on the design for its GT Master Edition series devices.

To achieve the texture, Realme says that the phone was designed using a new bio-based polymer material. The material was reportedly supplied by Saudi Arabia's SABIC. Realme has also obtained an International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) to prove the device's friendliness to the environment. Furthermore, Realme's packaging for the phone will use .3% plastic in the packaging compared to the 21.7% it has used in the device's predecessors.

The Realme GT 2 Pro is set to release in China on January 4, 2022. However, a company spokesperson confirmed to Engadget that it will launch overseas in the future sometime. Realme has yet to share full specs like battery and screen size, but we expect to hear more after the January debut.