We go hands-on with Realme’s new budget phone
If you’ve been waiting for Realme’s next budget offering, the C2, to arrive in the Philippines, you won’t be waiting long. The company earlier announced a June arrival date for their new budget star. While the phone doesn’t have a local price as of yet, if Realme plays their cards right the new phone is poised to become one of the best phones to get under 5K.
We managed to snag a review unit earlier today, so join us as we dive into the new Realme C2.
Packaging and contents:
Realme’s packaging for their products are almost always clad in the company’s trademark yellow coloration, making it stand out in store shelves. The phone’s model number is proudly displayed on the front, along with the company’s name.
There isn’t a lot of stuff inside the Realme C2 – you get the phone, USB cable, charger along with documentation and a pre-applied screen protector. You don’t get a silicone case with the box, but since the phone uses a hard plastic back that’s not really that much of an issue.
Best mix of looks, internals and price currently
The Realme C2 has a lot in common with the company’s more expensive smartphones on the outside. While the phone’s exterior is made up of hard polycarbonate, Realme has seen fit to put a diamond-like, geometric design to make the budget phone visually interesting.
That diamond design is textured too, and combined with the matte finish, makes holding on to the phone easier with one hand.
Realme had to cut a few features on the Realme C2 to make it as affordable as it is, and that, unfortunately, included the fingerprint scanner that’s ubiquitous on the brand’s other phones.
Going around the plastic frame of the device, you’ll see the power button on the right side with the volume rocker on the left. The left side also holds the dual SIM tray and microSD expansion slot, so you get expandable storage and space for two SIMs at the same time.
The bottom of the phone plays host to the 3.5mm jack, microUSB port, and speaker grille.
For the price, the Realme C2 has a large and generous 6.1-inch HD+ LTPS IPS display with a notch which has Gorilla Glass protection.
Inside the phone beats MediaTek’s Helio P22 octa-core processor, along with a choice of either 2GB or 3GB of RAM, and 16GB and 32GB of internal storage.
The Helio P22 chipset often makes appearances in other, more expensive smartphones that are usually double the C2’s price, so we’re impressed that the brand managed to put one into this particular phone at its price point.
The dual cameras on the Realme C2 are equally impressive: 13-megapixel f/2.2 main shooter with a 2-megapixel f/2.4 depth camera. Realme’s Chroma Boost image enhancement feature is present on the Realme C2, as well as 80FPS slow-motion capture (at 480P) and PDAF.
The front camera is a 5-megapixel f/2.2 shooter, which is good enough for the price. The front camera also facilitates the use of the facial unlock feature.
Keeping the lights on is a massive 4000mAh battery, though you’re not getting fast charging with the Realme C2. Android 9 Pie is paired with the company’s ColorOS 6 UI which is the case for most Realme phones today.
While Realme hasn’t officially priced the C2 in the Philippines, it’s more than likely that it won’t cost more than Php 5K when it officially arrives in June. The Realme C2 is priced at RS 5999 or Php 4.5K in India for the base 2GB/16GB variant, while the 3GB/32GB variant is priced at RS 7999, or around Php 6K.
