Is Realme X7 Max 5G a good buy for Rs 26,999? Review in 5 points

Realme X7 Max 5G is here. It is a brand-new phone from Realme and brings a horde of features that fit perfectly with the price tag it bears. The phone uses the Dimensity 1200 processor, which is the top-most chipset in MediaTek's line. The Realme X7 Max 5G is also the first Dimensity 1200-powered phone in India and the third phone in the X7 series, which arrived in India earlier this year with the launch of X7 and X7 Pro phones.

I reviewed the new Realme X7 Max 5G on Monday, after having used it for some days. I found the phone is a bang for the buck because it gets everything right. The phone is snappy, has a good display, clicks mostly beautiful and impressive photos, and lasts for about a day. All of that is available for a starting price of Rs 26,999, which I think makes the Realme X7 Max 5G a sweet deal. The Realme X7 Max 5G goes up against the likes of the OnePlus Nord and Google Pixel 4a, and there are certain discernible differences between all three phones, which is why everything will depend on what you need on your next phone. Is it 5G? Is it clean software? Or, is it a best-in-class camera? You decide. And this summary of my Realme X7 Max 5G review in only 5 points will help you do that.

Point 1: Realme has gone for a blend of matte and gloss for the design on the X7 Max 5G, and that I believe is good. The finish you see as a result is premium on the phone, even though the price is not as much. See, Realme's new phone is not trying to be a mid-range phone here, and it wants you to buy that so that you can buy the phone itself later. The design is something that is very subjective but it is crucial and people weigh in on the design as much as they would do for cameras or displays. Realme is not going to disappoint.

Point 2: I have personally found displays on Realme phones quite on par with what industry standards for a particular price segment are. For instance, the Realme X7 Max 5G brings you a 120Hz Super AMOLED display for under Rs 30,000, and that is a good thing. The display measures 6.43-inches in size, and it has minimal bezels all around. You see vivid colours on the display by default, and you will most definitely like them.

But in case you are not a fan of highly saturated colours, you can go to settings to tone them down to either "gentle" or "power saving" modes, the latter of which completely washes down colour saturation. There is support for HDR on YouTube but Netflix, for some reason, does not conspicuously support HDR. Also, the 120Hz works magic when playing games.

Point 3: This was the first time I was using the new MediaTek Dimensity 1200 processor. The Realme X7 Max 5G works really fast, because of which multitasking feels easy. I did not see any stutters or lags in the performance, including some complicated tasks such as using Google Maps navigation and watching YouTube videos in split-mode. The games such as Call of Duty Mobile and Genshin Impact run smoothly, all thanks to the high refresh rate, fast processing speeds, and VC cooling technology, all working in tandem with each other.

Point 4: If you want to buy the Realme X7 Max 5G specifically for photography, you should instead go for something like Google Pixel 4a. But that does not mean the cameras on this phone are bad. I liked the 64-megapixel primary camera that can retain natural colours and most details of the shot. Daylight photos are mostly impressive and highly detailed. The night mode also works fine, but it could have been a bit better. The 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera and the 2-megapixel macro camera on the phone just do the job. The 16-megapixel in-display front camera clicks good selfies but there is too much smoothing happening, which you can lower to a good extent by turning off the AI Beauty feature.

Point 5: The Realme X7 Max 5G comes with a 4500mAh battery inside. It is good enough for a day's work but you need to keep in mind there are a few things such as the 120Hz display that will consume a lot of battery. And that is the reason why you need to be conservative in using the battery on the phone. But you do not have to worry much because the 50W fast charging technology can top up the battery in under 1 hour, or just 50 minutes precisely.

Realme X7 Max 5G review verdict

Realme's new X7 Max 5G tries to fit into the mid-range where some really good phones such as the OnePlus Nord and Google Pixel 4a have earned their name. And that it can do only by undercutting the two phones. You have a good display with a 120Hz refresh rate and HDR, a good processor that should be enough for most people, fairly decent cameras, and a one-day-lasting battery. For Rs 26,999, I do not think the Realme X7 Max 5G leaves anything to complain about.