IT’S called the Stylish Champion for a good reason.
And as of this writing you need to wait for to get one because stocks have run out–a testament to the appeal of a beautiful device with an affordable price.
There is a lot to say about the realme C55’s (aka RMX3710) classy and sharp lines as well as how it is put together, sturdily, with just the right amount of features. And for its price, the oft used and abused ‘value-for-money’ proposition, for the C55 it is the norm.
First, the feel is really hefty and premium and not plasticky or light. The wonderful dual-tone finish on the back panel gives a glossy and sheen when light hits it. The nacelle that houses the camera looks sturdy and clean but the cameras are large and googly, like the eyes of my dad’s cat, which I feel is really appealing and nice.
Next, the matte surfaces all around provide a tactile feel to the already premium hold and adds to grip. I do like the flat edges and curved corners, which is snug and though it does not feel light and cheap it is actually only 189 grams, making it easy to hold for long periods without fatigue. realme says it’s the thinnest phone in its C-series range now.
Priced at P8,999.00 for the 6GB+128GB and P10,999.00 for the 8GB+256GB variant the realme C55 falls under a mid-range the ‘budget-friendly’ segment. There is so much that price gives–a 6.72-inch FHD+ display with a 90Hz screen refresh, the 64MP + 2MP dual rear cameras, and an 8MP selfie camera.
The review unit I tested was the 8GB variant so that there was more that could be done on the gaming side, which I was told by my colleagues in the community, the 6GB version could also deliver fairly well, but not for an extended time.
realme is tough
The last time I held a realme smartphone for a review was the realme C3 aka the RMX2020, which performed well beyond its price range. That phone, suffered major damage after it fell from my unzipped pants pocket while riding to Nagcarlan. I didn’t find out about it until 4 hours later and found it using FindMyDevice in a somewhat dry ditch somewhere between barangays Buenavista and Manaol.
I went over to the realme service center in Calamba and had the screen replace for P2,000 (with labor). Now I could have thrown it away given that the C3 was prices at around P6K when it was launched, but the heck, isn’t recovery and repurposing more environmentally sane?
So when I recovered the phone, I have since used it instead not only as a back up phone but also as the main hotspot because I packed it with a GOMO SIM whicih is also as relentless.
The incident for me cemented the toughness of realme–I had the screen replaced the realme service center in Calamba, Laguna and it has been operating, now as my second phone for over nearly 3 years now. The battery still works well enough and despite all the bashing with the plastic casing, it stood up very well for me.
Maximized where it counts
Tech nuts will probably complain of the vintage MediaTek Helio G88 chipset. But I wouldn’t. It’s not like technology updates happens every month. The Helio isn’t vintage at all based on the lifecycle of chips, it was was first introduced in 2021 and is a standard for many other brands.
Maximizing that SoC is what is important. This can be done from a hardware or a UI perspective and I do feel that realme’s UI does this well. With Android 13 OS running in the back and the and realme’s UI 4.0 interface moving on top, it handles almost all the tasks given to it, and passed on the online performance tests with ease. It doesn’t heat up under pressure and comes with storage that is expandable up to 1TB using a microSD card. One can also part of the phone’s internal storage to build up to 8GB of virtual RAM.
Since the Android skin has a lot of bloatware and ads, shutting those down actually saves more power. There are several new features such as auto-pixelate, (is great for image privacy and security) dynamic widgets, flexible windows, and the mini capsule, which I believe is in beta. Using it allows a host of features to run to keep phone performance at optimal levels. Find the trigger in the realme Lab in the settings tab. It is good for charging notifications or battery information, it also shows data usage and steps taken in a day. There is a little pull that appears when the notifications come in, but it is more of an info feature.
Smooth UI
The smooth operation of the UI also comes with an added bonus–a publicly open forum where one can comment and deliver experiences about the phone and UI and this goes directly to realme, unfiltered. I used that forum twice to express one situation when using ‘Sniper’ I had notice significant lag and stuttering, which was easily solved by a restart. It won’t perform with gamer expectations but will deliver where it should.
The 5,000 mAh battery isn’t big news but it isn’t insignificant either. Unboxing reveals the SUPERVOOC fast charging technology via USB type-C to a 33W SUPERVOOC charger. The large battery capacity makes it normal to expect at least 10 to 12 hours of battery life. Using the PC Mark battery test running Work 3.0, the reading is 11 hours and 45 minutes on a complete idle and 10 hours, 40 minutes with a limited number of apps running. Keeping standard social media apps running though reduces power down to 10 hours and 25 minutes. Still really good performance.
The 6.72-inch IPS LCD display has a 90Hz refresh rate, and a peak brightness of 680 nits at 180Hz touch sampling rate. Most of the colors and details are correct, viewing angles may suffer somewhat, but that is a good thing for privacy purposes. With 680 nits brightness outdoor viewing is optimized, but compromised under the noon sun. Touch response ranks high and animations are quick and fluid. The front camera hole also becomes the center of a information capsule, inspired by an iPhone interface.
Optics expertise
Rating the dual rear 64MP main and a 2MP depth cameras with the 8MP front cam is easy. One word: impressive. In good lighting the 64MP image engine delivers with sharp and detailed shots in vibrant colors, and hues shown by the crisp highlights around the shadows. The front camera, operates in the same way, with decent selfies and natural-looking skin tones. Though it may struggle a bit in the lowest of light conditions, the sensor captures images with acceptable accuracy and understandably with a little lag. But don’t that deter you. Higher price phone cams deliver the same performance but it is nothing to fret. Within certain bounds the camera performs like it should.
Priced just right and complete with the features that matter, the realme C55 is more than powerful, inspired and confident with fast charging, multi-camera modes, and the experimental mini capsule on the display is a potential gamechanger which I believe will close the deal on this smartphone. –with Raymond B. Tribdino
