realme C3 Review

It’s only been over a year and some months since Realme took the local smartphone scene by storm with its lineup of stellar handsets packed with a bevy features that don’t cost an arm and a leg. This could very well be Realme’s ethos – value for your money. This holds especially true with the company’s C series of smartphones that has already managed to establish a strong foothold on the budget range. What we have here today is the Realme C3, now brighter and flashier.

It’s only been over a year and some months since realme took the local smartphone scene by storm with its lineup of stellar handsets packed with a bevy features that don’t cost an arm and a leg. This could very well be realme’s ethos – value for your money. This holds especially true with the company’s C series of smartphones that has already managed to establish a strong foothold on the budget range. What we have here today is the realme C3, now brighter and flashier.

realme C3 Technical Specifications:

Display: 6.52-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen display HD+ 1600 by 720 resolution, 89.8% screen ratio, 20:9 aspect ratio

Chipset: MediaTek Helio G70

RAM: 3GB/3GB

Storage: 32GB expandable up to 256GB

Primary Camera:  12MP f/1.8 main + 2MP portrait + 2MP macro

Front Camera: 5MP f/2.4 AI

OS:Android 10, ColorOS

Battery: 5,000mAh non-removable

Price: Php5,990

PACKAGING

We appreciate how realme is keeping its signature bright yellow packaging for the C series with the C3. And with that said, it’s the same inclusions right here. The realme C3 in the flesh, coupled with paperwork, a microUSB cable, a SIM ejector PIN and a 2A wall charger. Once again, there’s no headset here. As we stated before, this could be to cut costs and reach their intended price point. For some, this wouldn’t matter since aftermarket headsets are the preference and already handy. But for those who are starting out, the essentials are, well, essential. 

DESIGN 

If the realme C2 is subtle and dark with its Diamond Blue and Diamond Black color variants, the C3 is quite the opposite. It’s available in Blazing Red and Frozen Blue, both flashy in their own right.

Now, on to the specifics. Do take note this is a 6.5-inch smartphone, which on paper may seem unwieldy. However, its 89.8% screen-to-body definitely makes up for its screen size that you'll find it easy to handle. There's the secondary camera notch above that doesn't seem as obtrusive as other versions of it, which is quite nice.

Also, compared to the realme C2, the C3 now features a fingerprint scanner at the back, and there's even a triple camera setup above it. The volume rocker is on the left side together with the SIM/microSD tray, and the power button is on the opposite side.

At the bottom, you'll see the headphone jack, microUSB port, and speaker grille. And that's about it.

DISPLAY

The realme C3 is equipped with quite a massive 6.5-inch screen, while managing to keep it with a sweet 89.8% screen-to-body ratio. That's mostly screen on the front, and it's nice to look at. The aspect ratio on the other hand is 20:9, giving you a wider space to work with horizontal.

We're working with an LCD display here with HD+ resolution (1600 x 720). Now, on paper that may seem like a bit of a stretch on a 6.5-inch panel, but it is quite feasible to say the least. Colors are bright and details are clear, although brightness levels could be better.

PERFORMANCE

The realme C3 is the very first handset in the Philippines that has a Helio G70 Processor, and we're going to put that to the test. More about the specifics, what we have with us is the 3GB/32GB variant, which is the only one available locally anyway. Check out the benchmark results below.

 SOFTWARE

The realme C3 runs Android 10.0 with realme's ColorOS on top of it. It's a flavorful user experience overall with the usual functions accessible via the notification shade.

realme also did add a fingerprint sensor, which is quite accurate and fast to boot. If you prefer Face Unlocks though, realme kept it as well.

We can also see realme targeting gamers and content creators with the built in Screen Recording app that you can access from the UI.

CAMERA

Triple the cameras, triple the fun. The realme C3 is fitted with a 12MP AI Triple Rear Camera that lets you get creative with your shots. It also has a couple of modes to choose from including Ultra Macro, Time-lapse, Slo-mo, Expert Mode and Panorama.

So, anyway, what can you expect from the triple camera setup? Well, value, to put things into perspective. Under favorable lighting conditions, the realme C3 takes detailed shots with accurate colors. If you want to make the colors "pop out" for more punch, you can use Chroma Boost that saturates the color to give it more tone and adjusts the sharpness and contrast mildly to bring out the details. Check out the Flickr slideshow below for our sample shots.

BATTERY LIFE

There's a massive 5,000mAh battery juicing up the realme C3, and we'd dare say it can take you to places. Just do take note that this is somewhat subjective as use cases are different for everyone. In our case of light social media and gaming, we got for three days with some juice remaining. Let PCMark's Work 2.0 battery life test show you how long it can go.

CONCLUSION

Fashioned with a stylish design and armed with a beautiful specs sheet, the realme C3 will surely turn heads. The company’s C series has always been one to mind those seeking for a smartphone that’s well within the budget-smartphone range, and we’re looking forward how realme will once again stifle the competition with the C3. It even comes with a free realme Buds 2 worth Php690 (for the first 1,000 purchasers) and you can even get a 10 percent discount through a voucher code. Its price tag at Php5,990 is just so hard to ignore, and if you factor in what realme bundles in the package, that spells great value easy.