Realme C55 Assessment: Fashion Over Substance?

Realme’s C55 bought the world’s consideration when it was first launched in Indonesia for being the primary Android smartphone with a copy of Apple’s Dynamic Island characteristic. Realme has branded this software program characteristic as “Mini Capsule”. Now, the corporate introduced this price range smartphone to India, however it’s already clear that Mini Capsule is just not essentially the most attention-grabbing factor about it – in actual fact it was barely talked about in the course of the launch occasion. What is going to get this telephone loads of consideration in India is its pricing and its design.

Realme’s C-series units have been positioned as entry-level choices for years. Whereas it’s spectacular to see a C-series system with a unique-looking design, it’s a must to needless to say all of it comes at a value. The value of the Realme C55 begins within the price range phase as a substitute of the same old entry-level sub-Rs. 10,000 pricing. This telephone is supposed to exchange the Realme C33 (2023) and can also be an improve to the C35 as effectively, that are entry-level units powered by Unisoc SoCs.

I used to be fast to level out how this system is lacking 5G and the way the Mini Capsule felt half-baked at greatest in my first impressions of this telephone. A few month later, not a lot has modified regardless of just a few software program updates, however I’ve found a number of further shortcomings. These are primarily to do with the consumer interface, but additionally battery life. Is the Realme C55 nonetheless a straightforward advice in a sea of price range smartphones? Learn on to search out out!

Realme C55 worth in India

The Realme C55 is offered in three variants. There’s the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage variant priced at Rs 10,999; the 6GB RAM and 64GB storage variant is offered for Rs. 11,999; and the variant with 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage sells at a reasonably aggressive Rs. 13,999 in India. Certainly, it is good to have choices, and it is good to see Realme offering a lot selection for a C-series system. The Realme C55 can also be the primary C-series mannequin to pack 8GB of RAM. The system is offered in two finishes – Sunshower or Wet Night time. I acquired the 8GB RAM variant within the Sunshower end for evaluate.

Realme C55 design

Realme did try to offer its C-series a contemporary, trendy look when it introduced its C35 final yr. Whereas that telephone was a step up from the reasonably primary entry-level units beforehand out there within the C-series, its design was actually the one benefit of it, as I found in my evaluate.

The Realme C55’s rear panel and body are made from polycarbonate

 

On the subject of design, Realme has taken issues a bit additional with the C55. It seems slim and trendy with its straight traces, chiselled physique, and flat sides. There is a flat show on the entrance, and in contrast to the C35, it is of the hole-punch selection so it retains up with the remainder of the telephone’s trendy look. Whereas the bezels on the left, high and proper are skinny, the one on the backside is a bit thick.

Flip the telephone over and it does get exhausting to inform that it is a price range smartphone for 2 causes. First, there is a dual-tone end on the again, with a finely striped matte texture throughout most of it, and a elegant part across the protruding cameras. This does look refreshing for a price range smartphone. Secondly, this matte end can also be fairly good at resisting fingerprints. The rear panel and body are made from polycarbonate making them much less prone to crack when dropped than glass. Realme makes use of Panda glass for the show. It’s susceptible to smudges however these had been straightforward to wipe off.

The Realme C55’s energy button sits almost flush alongside the body’s flat sides

 

The telephone weighs 189g which is a bit on the heavier facet, however feels fairly slim at 7.89mm. There isn’t any IP score and no stereo audio system, however you do get a 3.5mm headphone jack and a Sort-C USB port on the backside. The fingerprint reader is embedded into the facility button, which I did discover a bit tough to press as a result of it sits almost flush with the flat facet of the body.

Realme C55 specs and software program

The Realme C55 has a MediaTek Helio G88 SoC, which implies that it lacks 5G connectivity. Realme claims that the telephone makes use of LPDDR4X RAM and EMMC 5.1 storage. The SIM tray has two slots for 2 nano-SIMs and a devoted slot for as much as a 1TB microSD card, which is sweet to have.

Connectivity requirements embody 4G LTE, dual-band Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 5.2, together with the same old array of sensors and world positioning programs. The telephone has a 5,000mAh battery and comes with a 33W wired charger within the field.

The Realme C55 runs Realme UI 4.0, which relies on Android 13. It comes loaded with a ton of Realme and third-party apps. This implies having two ‘Messages’ apps for SMSes, two file managers, two note-taking apps, and the record goes on. This might get fairly complicated for brand new customers, and it is also annoying since you can’t uninstall most of those redundant apps. Many of the preinstalled third-party ones can be uninstalled, which you are able to do to reclaim some cupboard space. It was additionally annoying to see advertisements and promotional notifications from the Recreation Middle and App Market apps daily.

Realme C55 efficiency

The 6.72-inch full-HD+ IPS LCD show has a 90Hz most display screen refresh fee. It switches between 60Hz and 90Hz relying on the applying getting used and the content material being considered. The show is vibrant and is shiny sufficient to view content material open air on a sunny afternoon, and has good viewing angles as effectively. As for streaming, it was good to search out Widevine L1 certification, which allowed for full-HD high quality playback.

The Realme C55’s IPS LCD panel is shiny sufficient when considered open air

 

The utilization expertise failed to fulfill my primary expectations. Realme UI 4.0 didn’t appear effectively optimised to this {hardware}, which I observed when utilizing the telephone’s interface generally, minimising apps, swiping by means of video-heavy feeds in apps like Instagram, and different frequent use circumstances. There was a basic stuttering and noticeable lag all through, and it all the time felt just like the {hardware} was making an attempt to maintain up with my interactions. I examined the 8GB RAM variant, so I can solely think about how dangerous the expertise can be on the 4GB RAM variant. I additionally skilled some stuttering when streaming video, however this bought resolved with the most recent software program replace, which confirmed up only a few days previous to publishing this evaluate.

As for Mini Capsule, not a lot has modified since I attempted it out a month in the past. Most individuals will not even discover that this characteristic exists, as it is simple to overlook the animated notification prompts that broaden across the hole-punch digital camera. Certainly, that is one thing that Samsung does higher with its pop-up notifications, which additionally seem in a capsule form and are way more helpful as they relay various kinds of notifications, in contrast to the small handful of prompts that Realme’s Mini Capsule shows.

Realme UI exhibits plenty of spammy notifications

 

By way of benchmarks, the Realme C55 performs as anticipated provided that it has a MediaTek Helio G88 SoC inside. The telephone’s scores weren’t spectacular by any means. Even the iQoo Z6 Lite managed higher scores with its Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 SoC. The Realme C55 managed 2,57,736 factors in AnTuTu together with 422 and 1,411 factors in Geekbench’s single and multi-core exams. By way of graphics, efficiency was not good both, which explains the stuttering and lag within the UI. The telephone managed 39fps in GFXBench’s T-Rex take a look at, 14fps in Manhattan 3.1, and eight.5fps in Automotive Chase.

Gaming efficiency was a bit beneath common. Name of Responsibility: Cell was playable at Medium graphics high quality and Excessive framerate, however would lag after about quarter-hour of gameplay, which can also be when the telephone begian to warmth up. Asphalt 9 Legends turned out to be a bit too heavy even on the lowest graphics setting (Efficiency), with plenty of lag and stuttering. Certainly, this smartphone is healthier suited to easier informal video games. Its single speaker will get fairly loud, however sound can also be distorted at increased volumes.

Realme UI comes with loads of of third-party apps preinstalled

 

My every day utilization with the Realme C55 consisted of an hour of gaming, an hour or two of video streaming (on Wi-Fi), and going by means of varied social media apps together with two e-mail accounts syncing always. Regardless of going a bit straightforward, I used to be stunned that the telephone solely managed a day on a single cost. Certainly, this might be right down to the low-end processor, however I anticipated the 5,000mAh battery to final for greater than a day, which is regular for many price range smartphones at this time. Our normal HD video loop battery take a look at solely ran for 14 hours, 43 minutes, which falls on the decrease facet in comparison with most different smartphones at this worth level. Alternatively, the 33W charger managed to cost this telephone from useless to full in 1 hour, 10 minutes, which is kind of good.

Realme C55 cameras

The Realme C55 has two rear-facing cameras: a 64-megapixel main digital camera and a 2-megapixel depth sensor which is used for gathering depth knowledge when utilizing Portrait mode. Selfies are dealt with by an 8-megapixel entrance digital camera. The digital camera app interface is simple to make use of with all vital controls out there across the viewfinder. Realme claims that the 64-megapixel sensor comes from the older GT Grasp Version so I used to be a bit excited to see its efficiency in such a low-cost telephone. Nevertheless, you do need to needless to say digital camera efficiency additionally relies on the processor, and the GT Grasp Version had a superior mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G SoC.

The Realme C55 has two rear-facing cameras, of which just one is accessible by the consumer

 

Daylight picture high quality was nonetheless surprisingly spectacular. Pictures confirmed respectable dynamic vary and good element. Colors tended to be a bit oversaturated and there was additionally a slight bluish tint in pictures, however at this worth level it is exhausting to complain. Shut-ups got here out sharp and clear, with low noise and good element. Nevertheless, I did discover that the digital camera was gradual to focus indoors even throughout daytime, so I typically had to faucet to focus when capturing objects.

Realme C55 daylight digital camera samples. Prime to backside: Auto mode, shut up, portrait selfie (faucet to see full dimension)

 

Selfies appeared a bit sharpened in daylight, however with respectable element and dynamic vary. Edge detection in Portrait mode whereas utilizing the selfie digital camera was common for this phase. In low mild, selfies got here out a bit comfortable and noisy irrespective of which mode I selected. Edge detection was not correct both.

The digital camera’s low-light efficiency in Auto mode wasn’t nice. It had hassle focusing in dimly lit scenes, and the ensuing pictures ended up a bit comfortable and missing intimately. The devoted Night time mode vastly improved picture high quality, bringing in much more element together with sharpness, and added some definition to textures. The outcomes had been spectacular for this phase, however it takes 4-5 seconds to seize a picture, so for those who do not maintain the telephone regular, picture high quality can deteriorate drastically.

Realme C55 low-light digital camera samples. Prime: Auto mode, Backside: Night time mode (faucet to see full dimension)

 

Video high quality is restricted to 1080p at 60fps. Recorded footage had respectable element however was low on dynamic vary, and there have been some clipped highlights. Movies lack stabilisation utterly, so they arrive out fairly shaky. In low mild, recording at 1080p 30fps resulted in higher high quality with respectable dynamic vary, however video was nonetheless fairly low on element and had noise. Clips had been fairly shaky and focusing was an issue.

Verdict

In 2023, a number of smartphone manufacturers have began providing 5G fashions on the decrease finish of the price range phase. There’s the Infinix Scorching 20 5G (Assessment), priced beginning at Rs. 11,499, and the Poco M4 5G at Rs. 11,999, to call just a few. Then there are smartphones such because the iQoo Z6 Lite 5G, which prices Rs. 13,999 onwards and presents higher software program efficiency and good digital camera efficiency together with 5G connectivity.

Realme thinks it has discovered a candy spot with an attention-grabbing design (for a price range smartphone) and a good digital camera which shoots good daylight pictures. Nevertheless, battery life is not as much as expectations for a price range smartphone, and the software program is loaded to the brim with bloat. My unit lagged and stuttered all through the evaluate interval, regardless of having 8GB of RAM. This makes the Realme C55 actually exhausting to suggest. Contemplate it provided that you want a superb digital camera or are prepared to disregard its shortcomings due to its distinctive design.

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