Realme C55 reviewGreat budget smartphone with a premium look

By Divyanshi SharmaRealme has a special gift for all the budget smartphone users looking for a device that looks, as well as feels, premium. The company has just launched the Realme C55 and it stands out due to its impressive design. Realme has also introduced a new feature, the ‘mini capsule’, which springs into action when you plug the phone for charging. A closer look at the mini capsule will remind you of Apple’s much talked about dynamic island feature.

When I got my hands on the device, I was super curious to test out the mini capsule feature as well as the 64-megapixel camera that Realme has brought to this price segment. So, with all the buzz surrounding it, is the Realme C55 worth your money? Let’s find that out in this detailed review.

Realme C55Design and display

The design of the Realme C55 is quite impressive and the phone feels like a premium smartphone. A quick glance at it will make it hard to believe for people that this is a budget phone that costs under Rs 12,000. Starting off with its back panel, the phone has a beautiful gradient that neither feels overdone nor is too subtle to notice. The review unit that I got was the Sunshower colour version. There is also a Rainy Night colour option. Now, I am not usually a fan of golden-coloured, or even tinted, phones and prefer darker colours. However, the Realme C55 was a pleasant surprise and refreshing to look at. The back panel reflects gorgeous hues ranging from golden to blue and sometimes, even green.

At the left side is the Realme branding, subtle, and not at all overdone. Directly proportionate to it is the elegant camera module that distinguishes itself with a glossier appearance. A 64-megapixel primary camera, 2-megapixel depth lens, and LED flash rest comfortably in the module. The words ‘64 MP AI Camera’ are written in a stylish font within the camera module. While the back panel is fingerprint-resistant, dust gathers on the glossy camera pretty quickly. Hence, I would suggest users to keep cleaning the camera module regularly. On the right edge of the phone is the power button with the fingerprint sensor, as well as the volume buttons. The left edge houses the SIM tray. The bottom edge is home to a 3mm jack, Type-C charging port and speakers that can be boosted to sound level 200. But more on that later. The phone weighs around 189 gram and is the slimmest Realme phone ever with 7.89mm thickness. As a result, it feels quite light and is comfortable to carry around. However, it can be a challenge to use with one hand at times due to its large size.

This is one solid phone that can either be used with the protective cover that comes with the box, or even without it as you get a pretty good grip by holding it in your hand. I preferred using the phone without a protective back cover as it looks just gorgeous that way.

In the front, the Realme C55 features a stunning 6.72-inch display with a punch-hole notch and slim bezels that ensure a large display area. The screen, however, is quite prone to smudges and scratches which is why I would recommend users to get a screen guard as soon as they get their hands on the phone.

Coming to the display part, the phone features a 1080×2400 screen resolution display and is the first C-series model with a 90Hz refresh rate. The display also has 680 nits of brightness and is comfortable to use outdoors, even during peak sunlight hours. Be it streaming videos, playing games, or using the phone in general, the colours are quite vivid and ensure a decent experience. I enjoyed consuming a lot of Netflix content on the Realme C55. The large display area and vibrant colours made streaming a pleasant experience. Also, the phone didn’t heat up at all while watching movies and web series.

In my opinion, the two features that will pull people towards this phone are Apple’s dynamic island notch in the form of mini capsule and 200-volume boost speakers that were also in the recently-launched Oppo Reno 8T 5G. I was also quite excited about the mini capsule and was expecting it to display notifications and other information. However, it springs into action for a limited number of times, like when the phone is charging. Beyond that, I didn’t see the mini capsule come into play much. As for the speakers, you can boost their sound up to 200 levels, a feature that results in a more immersive experience and also enhances the gaming experience on the phone.

At last, the fingerprint sensor atop the power button and face ID features also work without any hindrances. As far as the connectivity is concerned, the phone supports 4G and comes with the usual WiFi and Bluetooth.

Realme C55Battery and performance

Another strong point of the phone is its battery. Powered by a 5000mAh battery, the phone lasts easily for over a day and a half with medium usage. During this time, I streamed videos, played a couple of mobile games, and surfed through social media along with attending the occasional calls and replying to text messages. However, after playing a game like Subway Surfer for half an hour, the battery dipped to 89 per cent from 97 per cent.

Hence, the battery will last comfortably for over 36 hours if your usage is medium. However, if you indulge in heavier tasks such as gaming, the phone’s battery might need a recharge in less than 24 hours, which is usual for phones at this price point.

Coming to the recharging bit, Realme claims that the phone can be charged 50 per cent in under 29 minutes. In alignment with the company’s claims, when I used the phone, it took around 28 minutes for it to reach the 50 per cent mark and slightly over an hour to be fully charged.

The phone runs on MediaTek Helio G88 chipset, and results in a smooth user experience. I kept around 15 apps running in the background and had no problem in switching between them. I even switched between multiple games without any hassles. Thus, multitasking is possible on this phone.

I also played Candy Crush and the good old Hill Climb 2 on the phone and the experience was quite smooth. However, after half hour of gameplay, the phone felt slightly warm, which was expected. Given the price segment, I didn’t run heavier games like Genshin Impact and Call of Duty on the phone.

Keeping the price segment in mind, the performance of the phone is quite impressive and in the two weeks that I used the device, there were no instances where I felt a lag. The apps opened up in the blink of an eye and I couldn’t really see any major concerns in terms of performance in the limited time that I had with the device.

Realme C55Camera

You don’t really expect a ground-breaking performance from a budget smartphone’s camera. However, with its 64-megapixel primary rear camera and an 8-megapixel selfie camera, the Realme C55 surpassed my expectations.

The pictures captured by the primary camera in broad sunlight were a delight to look at. When I switched to the 64 MP mode, at a casual glance, there were hardly any differences between the pictures captured while using the standard photo mode. However, when I zoomed in on the images, the 64-megapixel camera captures slightly better details. The Bokeh Flare Portrait mode and the AI Colour Portrait mode are available as well while using the primary camera. While the two modes click decent pictures, at times, the edges of the object in focus tend to get messed up. This is not a very noticeable flaw in the photos but when looked at carefully, it can be observed. You also get other picture modes like Time-Lapse, Panorama and Slo-Mo. There is also the Pro Mode, which enables you to adjust the ISO, auto focus and other settings manually.

Coming to the selfie camera, the 8-megapixel lens does a satisfactory job and captures some great shots. For people who like to beautify their images, there is an in-built option to change skin’s smoothness, eye size and so on. I personally am not a fan of beautifying pictures while clicking them but for those who are, this can give certain brownie points.

The phone also clicks high quality pictures when indoors in proper lighting and the low-light photography also produces decent results. In situations where the surroundings are absolutely dark, the quality of the images dips. Considering the price segment of the phone, it is permissible.

Realme C55 reviewShould you buy?

With its premium look, attractive features and overall smooth performance, the Realme C55 is a good buy for anyone looking for a budget smartphone under Rs 12,000. However, I do wish that the phone’s mini capsule offered more and that the phone was better at capturing night shots. Nevertheless, Realme C55 looks like the company’s attempt to bring the best of all worlds to the budget smartphone audience. The base variant of the phone, with 4GB RAM and 64 GB storage, costs Rs 10,999 and will be worth your money.