Realme X3 Review: The Realme Device That Impresses

Realme has made its presence in some of the popular price segments in India; the budget one with a plethora of its devices and the mid-range one with some devices worth looking at. Continuing the ritual of releasing new smartphones every now and then, the company has launched the Realme X3 and the X3 SuperZoom, as part of its X series.

Both devices claim to be high on cameras and come with a generation-old processor (the newest Snapdragon 865+ isn’t available yet), huge battery, and more. I got the younger sibling to use and although it lacks the SuperZoom found on the elder sibling, the device’s other elements are worthy enough. Hence, read my review on the same to know how it did during my usage period.

Realme X3 Review: Design

One thing that the Realme X3 made me realise is that the company is pretty predictable. This is applicable to the smartphone design Realme has been following for a while now. Much like its previous devices and even the Realme X2, the X3 has the vertical quad rear cameras, followed by a big ‘Realme’ logo in the left side, the same two-tone colour options, and the punch-hole display, which has been doubled for this case. The repetitive nature of the design is disappointing and now (at least now) we would all want to see more apart from every possible blue colour and the reflective, effect-creating design.

Realme X3 Review

The smartphone comes in Arctic White and Glacier Blue colours, out of which I got the blue one and I am not amused.  Other than the usual, boring design, the device is lightweight and quite easy to use and handle. For aesthetics, the smartphone houses the power on/off button, which also doubles as a fingerprint scanner on the right side. The left side is also home to the volume rocker. The SIM tray, the USB Type-C port, and the speaker grille are present at the bottom end of the device while the top end has nothing.

Realme X3 Review

While Realme hasn’t paid much attention to the design of the Realme X3, it definitely has ensured the smartphone feels good in the hands, thanks to its soft texture. The device feels premium and the curved edges call for convenient usage.

Realme X3 Review

Overall, the device isn’t much of a surprise in terms of the design but its continues adding a premium touch the device in terms of the built quality and that is noteworthy.

Realme X3 Review

Realme X3 Review: Display

The smartphone has 6.6-inch Full HD+ LCD display with a screen-to-body ratio of 90.5%. It has dual punch holes in the top left corner that forms a small capsule-like design for lesser bezels. However, the main highlight of the device isn’t the now-common bezel-less display but the 120Hz refresh rate. The inclusion of a high refresh rate at this price point is a delight but the Poco X2 Pro already has it at below Rs. 20,000.

Realme X3 Review

The display has been smooth throughout my usage. The colours are vibrant, although slightly oversaturated, and the viewing experience has been quite decent. The viewing angles are pretty decent and the sunlight visibility was good as I was able to view the contents on the displays with ease even under the sun. However, the 120Hz display didn’t feel like one. If I compare it with the Samsung Galaxy S20+ that I have I used, the RealmeX3 was a really smooth performer. Nonetheless, it wasn’t bad at all and the scrolling was made easier with it.

Realme X3 Review: Cameras

The Realme X3 has a clear attraction in the form of its cameras. It gets the usual four cameras at the back (64MP main, 12MP telephoto lens, 8MP ultra-wide lens, 2MP macro lens) and two front cameras (16MP, 8MP). It supports various camera capabilities such as 20x hybrid zoom, Starry mode, Super Nightscape, HDR, AI, Beauty filters, Portrait mode, UIS, and 4K videos.

Realme X3 Review

Starting with the rear cameras, this time, Realme did not fail to impress me. The device was able to capture details and vivid colours of whatever I wanted to. While there was some oversaturation, it was negligible at least for the back cameras. The HDR mode was able to aptly highlight the dark areas of a particular scene and give out bright and detailed images. The ultra-wide mode captured a good amount of area and the 20x hybrid zoom worked quite well without compromising on the details. However, the ultra-wide mode resulted in colour-shifting and showed warmer tones as compared to the otherwise bright images.

The macro mode is another aspect of the camera department that did a good job. It took vivid and clear pictures but there weren’t a lot of details that were captured. The Nightscape mode is a delight this time. Although the images appear grainy, the night mode highlights subjects aptly in the dark and has been improved significantly since the Realme X2. Sadly, I didn't get a chance to try out the Starry mode. As for the videos, the video quality was quite decent. However, the absence of OIS appeared like a flaw. Among others, the portrait mode created a well-balanced bokeh effect. The selfies came out fine too; there were details and the ultra-wide camera captured good area, calling for great ‘groupfies.’ However, the images were processed and that is a problem that occurred in every Realme device I have used.

Realme X3 Review: Spec Sheet

Here are the Realme X3 specifications:

Realme X3 Review: Performance, Battery, OS

The Realme X3 gets its ability to work from the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ processor. It comes in two RAM and storage options: 6GB/128GB and 8GB/128GB and I got the high-end 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage variant. The smartphone works with a lot of ease when it comes to the basic and usual tasks a person performs on his or her smartphone. Video-streaming, browsing through the internet, listening to music, clicking image and playing light games -- all got done with all the smoothness.

All this was topped with the 120Hz display that made every day tasks a cakewalk. I am not into heavy games such as PUBG Mobile or Call of Duty Mobile, but popular titles such as Subway Surfers and Candy Crush Saga worked pretty well on the device and the graphics were decent too. Among others, the audio quality was decent. However, calling was just average, especially on speaker. The fingerprint scanner is placed on the side of the device and ensured ease of access, coupled with the ease of unlocking the device in less than a second.

The smartphone gets its fuel from a 4,200mAh battery that supports 30W Dart Charge. This is another highlight of the device as the 4,200mAh battery sufficed my daily usage and lasted me more than a day. The 120Hz display did have some effects on the battery but it wasn’t too noteworthy. As for the UI, Realme’s experience has become better with the Realme UI and precisely, the usage has become quite easy. But, the Realme UI brings along bloatware and these are surely the unnecessary apps that come pre-installed.

Realme X3 Review: Verdict

The Realme X3, starting at Rs. 24,999, is a welcome product from Realme. With a significant improvement in the cameras, pretty good battery, and presence of a 120Hz display, the smartphone now holds an identity undefeatable as of now. The smartphone does lack the X3 SuperZoom’s 60x zoom but you won’t miss it for sure, given that you get other things to go through. The design is a bit of a turn-off and you might not feel excited about it. Nonetheless, it is a device worth your money if you have a budget of Rs. 25,000.

Latest technology reviews, news and more