Realme C3 Review: The go-to phone for budget mobile gamers
Realme C3 manages to beat almost every phone in the segment in terms of performance. But does that mean you should buy it in a snap? Let's find out in our full review.
Realme recently added yet another entry-level smartphone to its portfolio, the Realme C3. The company has been coming up with great smartphones and aggressive pricing in the Realme C lineup. With the latest Realme C3, the company wants to change the way we look at the performance of entry-level smartphones.
Realme C3 is the first smartphone to be powered by the latest MediaTek Helio G70 processor. It is also the first Realme smartphone to run the new Realme UI right out-of-the-box. For a starting price of Rs. 6,999, should you consider the Realme C3? Find out in our review.
Realme C3 Review: Specifications
Realme C3 features a 6.5-inch HD+ display with 20:9 tall aspect ratio. The smartphone is powered by the entry-level yet powerful MediaTek Helio G70 processor. The dual-sim handset packs in up to 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. It runs Realme UI based on Google’s Android 10 operating system. All of this is backed by a 5,000mAh battery.
On the optics front, the Realme C3 gets a dual-camera setup at the back consisting of a 12-megapixel primary camera coupled with a 2-megapixel secondary lens. Upfront, there is a 5-megapixel selfie shooter.
Realme C3 Review: Design and Display
Realme C3, being a budget-oriented device, comes with a plastic body. In order to make it appealing, the company has added a 3D texture on the back, which gives an attractive design language, making the phone quite grippy. However, the texture can get irritating if you scratch your nails through it.
Realme C3 is available in Blazing Red and Frozen Blue colour variants and we received the latter for review. Both the variants are flashy and it would have been appreciated if the company gave a subtle colour option like Black as well.
At the back, the phone only features the dual-camera setup and the Realme branding. The front sports a waterdrop notch and a relatively larger chin in an otherwise mostly bezel-less smartphone. While the right edge is equipped with a power button, the right side gets the volume control and the SIM tray. The SIM tray can house two SIM cards and a microSD card.
As for the display, it is a 6.5-inch HD+ panel with a tall 20:9 aspect ratio and a waterdrop style notch. The brightness levels are decent and the panel is visible both indoors and outdoors without any issue. Realme chose not to cheap out here and added an auto-brightness sensor as well.
Realme C3 Review: Performance, Software and UI
When it comes to performance, Realme C3 is currently one of the best smartphones in the segment. The phone did not lag while switching between multiple apps and even handled graphic-intensive games. I played the two most popular yet resource-hungry games, PUBG: Mobile and Call of Duty: Mobile. Even with graphic settings set on high, the phone was able to push the frames without any hiccups. During my playtime, the phone did not suffer from any lag, which is both surprising as well as shocking considering the phone costs just a buck shy of Rs. 7,000.
Realme C3 was able to push such performance due to the MediaTek Helio G70 processor inside. Even in the benchmark numbers, the phone performed better than most budget phones out there.
In terms of the software, the Realme C3 is the first Realme smartphone to ship with RealmeUI out of the box. Based on Android 10, the RealmeUI brings a host of features along with great performance. While it is still based on Oppo’s ColorOS, it is now much cleaner and smoother.
Realme C3 Review: Camera
Realme C3 comes equipped with a dual-camera setup on the back consisting of a 12-megapixel primary camera coupled with a 2-megapixel secondary lens. In good lighting conditions, the Realme C3 managed to take some decent shots. However, the pictures did tend to get a bit grainy in low lighting conditions.
Upfront, the phone comes with a 5-megapixel selfie shooter. The pictures shot from the front camera did show off some great results with a good amount of details. But with AI left enabled, the camera did smooth out the faces.
Realme C3 Review: Battery
Realme C3 comes with a massive 5,000mAh battery. During my review period, I was easily able to get through a full working day with around 30 per cent juice left at the end of the day. My typical usage included scrolling through multiple social media apps including Twitter and Instagram, a couple of phone calls and a few minutes of gaming. As for the charging speeds, the phone does not come with fast charging support and takes more than two hours to fully charge back up.
Realme C3 Review: Verdict
Realme has managed to hit just the right spot with the Realme C3. The smartphone is aimed at almost every type of consumer. If you are on a tight budget of around Rs. 7,000, then you should get the Realme C3 for all your needs ranging from regular day-to-day use to heavy gaming. However, if you need a better set of cameras and can spare some more cash then you should look towards options like the Redmi Note 8 or the Realme 5.
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