Realme C75: Realme has been shaking up the smartphone space with marque features that don’t break the bank.
The recently launched Realme C75 does just that, delivering an experience akin to high-end phones while making strategic cuts to keep the price manageable.
Design Philosophy
The C75 features a new design language and is slim at 8.3mm thick and weighs only 187g.Its rear has a textured finish for better grip and is also fingerprint resistant, a thoughtful detail that this sleeker phone offers over glossy finishes.
The power button, which doubles as a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, provides quick and secure authentication.
Even considering its budget price, the C75 doesn’t look and feel like a cheap phone.
The integrated case is kept very rigid so the front is protected with Gorilla Glass 3, which should afford the Shield Tablet reasonable protection from everyday mishaps.
Display Experience
The front is ruled by a 6.7-inch IPS LCD screen running at Full HD+ resolution (2400×1080). The 90Hz refresh rate does add some visible smoothness when swiping through social media feeds or simply making your way around the interface.
It gets up to 450 nits of peak brightness, which is fine for most environments but challenging to see in direct sunlight.
The color reproduction on the display is good and it offers 96% NTSC color gamut coverage for a pleasant media consumption experience. You get Widevine L1 certification that ensures HD support on Netflix, Amazon Prime among others.
Performance Capabilities
It is powered by the MediaTek Helio G99 SoC, to deliver an optimal and efficient performance for daily usage, along with 6GB LPDDR4X RAM.
Multitasking works well enough in the processor, and only in some high-end games at maximum settings do you begin to see frame drops.
The storage option is a 128GB UFS 2.2 solution, which should be a good balance of capacity and speed, and you can add to it with microSD cards.
Realme’s version of Virtual RAM provides the extra 6GB on demand, conveniently easing app retention and switching.
Camera System
At the front of the phone is a 16MP front camera which captures detailed photos with good dynamic range when used in lighting conditions.
Colors look natural, not too vivid or oversaturated, but you may notice a bit of artificial smoothing of some fine textures in processing.
An 8MP ultrawide lens offers a 120° field of view, great for landscapes and group shots, but you know the quality will drop considerably compared to the main sensor.
The 2MP macro lens is more of a spec-box entry than a genuinely practical addition.
Selfies shot by the 16MP front camera are good with accurate skin tones if the beauty filters are turned off.
Video recording maxes out at 4K/30fps from the primary camera with EIS which functions pretty well in 1080p.
Battery Performance
The hefty 5000mAh pack lasts a day easily with moderate to heavy usage. I get more than 7 hours of screen-on time and that is really good for a phablet.
You get a 33W SuperVOOC charger in the box that goes from 0 to 65 per cent in nearly 35 minutes.
Software Experience
Software Realme UI 5.0, based on Android 15, provides a clean, customisable interface with welcome additions and not too much bloatware.
The company says it’ll deliver two years of OS updates and three years of security patches, giving you longevity that’s often lacking at this price point.
Pros:
Great battery life with useful fast charging
All-around performance for all your everyday needs
Feels well-made for the price
Decent primary camera for social media posts
Smooth 90Hz screen makes a difference for everyday use
Software experience That’s all clean and bloat-free
Cons:
Underwhelming secondary cameras
No official water resistance rating available
Graphic-heavy game performance capped at graphically intensive titles.
Bottom-firing single speaker is on the quiet side
No NFC in some markets
Realme C75: Verdict
The Realme C75 is a great bit of selective feature prioritization for users money-conscious users. Some compromises are being made, but those are carefully selected to keep performance in the areas we impinge upon on a daily basis.
It offers enough reliability, performance and battery life to offer in an increasingly competitive space if you’re not looking to break the bank.