Here’s how the Realme C3 performs in real life. (Express Photo: Karanveer Singh Arora)
Realme has introduced its entry-level smartphone, the Realme C3 in India. The C lineup is the most affordable out of all Realme phones, and the company claims to have made total sales of 10 million for the earlier Realme C1 and Realme C2 smartphones.
This is the first smartphone to be powered by the new MediaTek Helio G70 processor. Other key features include a 20:9 tall aspect ratio, up to 4GB of RAM, dual rear cameras and more. But does all of this make it the best smartphone to get under Rs 8,000? Find out in our review below.
Realme C3 Price: Rs 6,999 (3GB RAM/32GB storage variant, Rs 7,999 (4GB RAM/64GB storage variant)
Realme C3 specifications: 6.5-inch HD+ display | MediaTek Helio G70 processor | 3GB/4GB RAM | 32GB/64GB internal storage | 12MP + 2MP dual-camera setup on the back | 5MP front camera | 5,000mAh battery |
Realme C3 Review: Design and Display
Realme C3 is made out of plastic, but it does have some heft to it and the texture on its back makes this quite grippy. But I’m not a fan of the 3D pattern at the back, which just makes the device look cheap. The company offers customers two colour options for the same: Blazing Red and Frozen Blue. Both the colours seem too flashy and I preferred to put a case on it.
Realme C3 sports a 6.5-inch HD+ display with a tall 20:9 aspect ratio. (Express Photo: Karanveer Singh Arora)
Realme has opted to provide customers with a microUSB port on this one. This makes the phone feel much older. For comparison, the Redmi 8 and Redmi 8A have both been upgraded to the newer Type-C port. The phone still has a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is expected on budget phones.
It sports a 6.5-inch HD+ display with a tall 20:9 aspect ratio. This according to me is the best aspect ratio in which you can view content, whether it be on Netflix, YouTube or anywhere else. The display on this one performs well indoors. However, when it is too bright outside, you might find yourself providing the device with a bit of shade if you are reading small text. Other than this the display is quite colourful and sharp, when compared to other devices in this price bracket.
Realme C3 Review: Performance
Performance is an area where the Realme C3 took me by surprise. While using the device for making calls, WhatsApp, watching videos, browsing the web and taking a few photos, it performs quite well and shows no sign of stuttering or lagging. I had 24 tabs opened inside of Chrome with 7 apps running in the background. However, out of these, I found that the device had killed 14 tabs and four apps.
Playing for over two hours straight did strain the phone a bit too much making the device warm to the touch, but it was manageable. (Express Photo: Karanveer Singh Arora)
I tried playing three games on it, PUBG: Mobile, Call of Duty: Mobile and Asphalt 9. All games were set to high graphics performance modes, which is a bit much for any budget phone. I was taken aback when I started the games and found all of them perfectly working with no major lags or stutters. Sometimes I could find areas that the device was still rendering, but the overall gaming performance was better than what I expected for a device priced in this segment. This phone might just be the perfect poster boy for the new MediaTek Helio G70 processor.
Playing for over two hours straight did strain the phone a bit too much making the device warm to the touch, but it was manageable.
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Realme C3 Review: Software
Realme has moved away somewhat from Oppo’s ColorOS skin for Android and developed an in-house skin that resembles stock Android in some ways. The new UI is much more mature looking, the menu and the panels cleaner and organised.
Realme C3 Review: Battery
The device was able to get fully charged with the in-box charger within three hours from zero to 100. (Express Photo: Karanveer Singh Arora)
The Realme C3 is backed by a 5,000mAh battery, which can easily give you a day’s worth of usage with light gaming, browsing the web, making a few calls, scrolling through social media and taking a few photos. During my time with the device, I was able to easily get a day and a half with the battery. The device was able to get fully charged with the in-box charger within three hours from zero to 100.
Realme C3 Review: Cameras
Realme C3 sports a dual camera setup on the back consisting of a 12MP primary sensor paired with a 2MP secondary sensor. It comes with a number of photography modes like HDR, Nightscape, Slo-mo, Portrait mode and more.
Realme C3 sports a dual camera setup on the back consisting of a 12MP primary sensor paired with a 2MP secondary sensor. (Express Photo: Karanveer Singh Arora)
Considering the price point, in good lighting conditions, the shots had fair levels of sharpness and were quite vivid. The background AI blur was also okay and the edge detection was on point. With this device, you can take good photos that can be uploaded to social media without the need for much editing.
The zoom shots in 2x and 4x modes were not as sharp and had blurry results. Macro shots were also impressive, considering that the device does not feature a separate macro sensor. However, the details are missing in these shots when you pinch to zoom.
In good lighting conditions, the shots had fair levels of sharpness and were quite vivid. (Express Photo: Karanveer Singh Arora)
With this device, you can take good photos that can be uploaded to social media without the need for much editing. (Express Photo: Karanveer Singh Arora)
The background AI blur was also okay and the edge detection was on point. (Express Photo: Karanveer Singh Arora)
Macro shots were also impressive, considering that the device does not feature a separate macro sensor. (Express Photo: Karanveer Singh Arora)
The zoom shots in 2x and 4x modes were not as sharp and had blurry results. (Express Photo: Karanveer Singh Arora)
Low light photography is where the device struggles a lot, as the shots come out without any details, and a lot of noise and seem as if they are extremely dark. (Express Photo: Karanveer Singh Arora)
Turning on nightscape does help a bit by introducing artificial light, however, the images are still not up to the mark. (Express Photo: Karanveer Singh Arora)
Images taken from the front camera do not consist of any details and have patches in them. (Express Photo: Karanveer Singh Arora)
Low light photography is where the device struggles a lot, as the shots come out without any details, and a lot of noise and seem as if they are extremely dark. Turning on nightscape does help a bit by introducing artificial light, however, the images are still not up to the mark. Considering the price of this device, this was expected.
On the front, it features a 5MP sensor for taking images. Images taken from the front camera do not consist of any details and have patches in them. The AI does also make you a few shades lighter.
Realme C3 Review: Verdict
The Realme C3 is a good budget smartphone that you will love if you are upgrading from a similarly priced phone that is over a year old or if this is your first smartphone. However, if your budget is more flexible, you can consider other options in the market, such as Redmi Note 8 or even the Realme 5 series, which fare better on camera parameters.
Realme C3 is a good budget smartphone that you will love if you are upgrading from a similarly priced phone that is over a year old. (Express Photo: Karanveer Singh Arora)
Realme has done good work with this, but they still have a long way to go before the C-lineup becomes the dominant series in this price bracket.