One could say that smartphones of today are like peas in a pod. Apart from a few bells and whistles, they are all also roughly the same: compact, mobile entertainment devices that allow you to communicate, connect, and then some. While flagship smartphones are great, there are options that won’t drill a hole in your wallet. Realme, a relatively new player in the country, aims to be the go-to choice for capable yet affordable smartphones. Here’s what we think of its new offering, the Realme 3.
Design: 5/5
From the get-go, you wouldn’t be able to tell that the Realme 3 is an entry-level device. It has a gradient back that commands attention, and a 6.2-inch HD+ display that’s nice to look at. Rounded edges make the phone easy to hold, while its slim build makes one-hand use possible.
The Realme 3 has buttons, ports, and slots spread conveniently along its sides and a fingerprint scanner nicely positioned at the back. While there are various components that make the Realme3 stand out, its dual rear camera system is hard to miss. Propped to the upper left of the fingerprint scanner are the 13 MP main rear camera accented with copper rim and a secondary 2 MP depth sensor. Its 13 MP selfie camera, meanwhile, finds itself in the display’s dewdrop notch.
Hardware: 4.5/5
As outstanding as its appearance is, where the Realme 3 truly shines is its hardware. Bent on making everyone know they are here to stay, the brand has equipped the device with features beyond what is expected of a budget phone.
In charge of driving the device is a 12nm MediaTek Helio P60 processor with a 2.0 GHz clock speed. This allows the Realme 3 to operate at blazing–fast speeds without putting much strain on its 4230 mAh battery. Working alongside the processor is either 3- or 4 GBs of RAM. The unit loaned to us utilized 4 GB RAM and 64 GB onboard storage.
In use, this combination did wonders particularly when tasked with games. To put it to the test, I installed Ragnarok Eternal Love and would leave my character farming for hours on end. I had no problem with it performance-wise. While it didn’t stutter even when climbing the demanding Endless Tower, it does heat up pretty quickly despite its 12 nm design. Though, it only gets too hot to touch when I charge and play concurrently.
User Experience: 4.5/5
The Realme 3 is further enhanced with AI capabilities, and this is evident in almost every operational aspect of the device. It would flash a message telling you that charging has been halted when the device gets too hot, it routinely shows how much memory an app is consuming, and other convenient little tricks you don’t notice, but does wonders for the phone. These little things also allow the device to perform at its best.
Two features that make the Realme 3 truly exceptional are Nightscape and Chromaboost. These features, which can be activated through the phone’s native camera app, allow you to capture beautiful night scenes and images with vivid colors without needing to tweak settings—just choose the mode and shoot. On Nightscape mode, the camera gets deeper blacks and night lights are defined. Chromaboost, on the other hand, injects images with just the right saturation and contrast to appear more vibrant. These are especially great given the device’s entry-level status.
While its cameras and processing power were nothing but amazing, the sound of its speakers produced was tinny. Plugging in good headphones or pairing it with Bluetooth speakers would resolve this issue, though.
Value: 4.5/5
At PHP 6,995 for the 3 GB + 32 GB variant, and 3 GB RAM and 64 GB storage 4 GB RAM and 64GB storage configurations coming in at PHP 7,990 and PHP 9,990, respectively, the Realme 3 is a capable smartphone that is worth considering. It has a dual-camera system and accompanying Nightscape and Chromaboost modes to up your photography game, a generous screen real estate to satisfy your entertainment needs, and powerful processing that would allow you to get your game on.
Specifications:
- Color: Dynamic Black, Radiant Blue
- Display: 6.2 inches, HD+ 1520×720 with Corning Glass
- Battery: 4230 mAh
- Rear camera: 13 MP + 2 MP, PDAF Fast Focusing, f/1.8 Aperture, 5P Lens
- AI front camera: 13 MP, 1.12μm Pixels, AI Beautification, HDR, AI Facial Unlock
- Video: 720p / 1080p, 30fps, Slo-Mo (90fps/720p)
- Processor: MediaTek Helio P60 (Global Edition), 12 nm production process, 2.0Ghz
- Storage: 3 GB + 32 GB, 3 GB +64 GB, or 4 GB + 64 GB
- Storage expandable up to 256 GB
- Connectivity: SIM Card Type: Dual nano-sim cards/microSD Expansion/Triple
- Slots/Dual 4G LTE
- Wireless: Supports 2.4G Wi-Fi, Supports Bluetooth 4.2
- OS: ColorOS 6.0 based on Android P
- Blue Diamond and Grey cases – which are priced at PHP 499 and PHP 399, respectively
What’s Hot:
- Affordable
- Nightscape mode
What’s Not:
- Device gets hot quickly
Bottomline:
The realme 3 is a real scene-stealer.
Also published in GADGETS MAGAZINE May 2019 Issue
Reviewed by Mia Carisse Barrientos