Realme’s C55 acquired the world’s consideration when it was first launched in Indonesia for being the primary Android smartphone with a copy of Apple’s Dynamic Island characteristic. Realme has branded this software program characteristic as “Mini Capsule”. Now, the corporate introduced this funds smartphone to India, however it’s already clear that Mini Capsule just isn’t essentially the most attention-grabbing factor about it – in actual fact it was barely talked about through the launch occasion. What will get this telephone plenty of consideration in India is its pricing and its design.
Realme’s C-series gadgets have been positioned as entry-level choices for years. While it’s spectacular to see a C-series machine with a unique-looking design, you need to remember that all of it comes at a price. The worth of the Realme C55 begins within the funds phase as a substitute of the same old entry-level sub-Rs. 10,000 pricing. This telephone is supposed to switch the Realme C33 (2023) and can be an improve to the C35 as effectively, that are entry-level gadgets powered by Unisoc SoCs.
I used to be fast to level out how this machine is lacking 5G and the way the Mini Capsule felt half-baked at finest in my first impressions of this telephone. About a month later, not a lot has modified regardless of just a few software program updates, however I’ve found a number of extra shortcomings. These are primarily to do with the person interface, but additionally battery life. Is the Realme C55 nonetheless a straightforward advice in a sea of funds smartphones? Read on to seek out out!
Realme C55 worth in India
The Realme C55 is out there in three variants. There’s the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage variant priced at Rs 10,999; the 6GB RAM and 64GB storage variant is out there for Rs. 11,999; and the variant with 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage sells at a fairly aggressive Rs. 13,999 in India. Indeed, it is good to have choices, and it is good to see Realme offering a lot selection for a C-series machine. The Realme C55 can be the primary C-series mannequin to pack 8GB of RAM. The machine is out there in two finishes – Sunshower or Rainy Night. I obtained the 8GB RAM variant within the Sunshower end for evaluation.
Realme C55 design
Realme did try to provide its C-series a recent, trendy look when it introduced its C35 final yr. While that telephone was a step up from the fairly primary entry-level gadgets beforehand accessible within the C-series, its design was actually the one benefit of it, as I found in my evaluation.
The Realme C55’s rear panel and body are manufactured from polycarbonate
When it involves design, Realme has taken issues a bit additional with the C55. It seems slim and fashionable with its straight traces, chiselled physique, and flat sides. There’s a flat show on the entrance, and in contrast to the C35, it is of the hole-punch selection so it retains up with the remainder of the telephone’s fashionable look. While the bezels on the left, high and proper are skinny, the one on the backside is a bit thick.
Flip the telephone over and it does get onerous to inform that this can be a funds smartphone for 2 causes. First, there is a dual-tone end on the again, with a finely striped matte texture throughout most of it, and a sophisticated part across the protruding cameras. This does look refreshing for a funds smartphone. Secondly, this matte end can be fairly good at resisting fingerprints. The rear panel and body are manufactured from polycarbonate making them much less prone to crack when dropped than glass. Realme makes use of Panda glass for the show. It is liable to smudges however these have been simple to wipe off.
The Realme C55’s energy button sits almost flush alongside the body’s flat sides
The telephone weighs 189g which is a bit on the heavier facet, however feels fairly slim at 7.89mm. There’s no IP ranking and no stereo audio system, however you do get a 3.5mm headphone jack and a Type-C USB port on the backside. The fingerprint reader is embedded into the ability button, which I did discover a bit troublesome to press as a result of it sits almost flush with the flat facet of the body.
Realme C55 specs and software program
The Realme C55 has a MediaTek Helio G88 SoC, which implies that it lacks 5G connectivity. Realme claims that the telephone makes use of LPDDR4X RAM and EMMC 5.1 storage. The SIM tray has two slots for 2 nano-SIMs and a devoted slot for as much as a 1TB microSD card, which is sweet to have.
Connectivity requirements embrace 4G LTE, dual-band Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 5.2, together with the same old array of sensors and world positioning techniques. The telephone has a 5,000mAh battery and comes with a 33W wired charger within the field.
The Realme C55 runs Realme UI 4.0, which relies on Android 13. It comes loaded with a ton of Realme and third-party apps. This means having two ‘Messages’ apps for SMSes, two file managers, two note-taking apps, and the record goes on. This may get fairly complicated for brand spanking new customers, and it is also annoying since you can’t uninstall most of those redundant apps. Most of the preinstalled third-party ones can be uninstalled, which you are able to do to reclaim some cupboard space. It was additionally annoying to see advertisements and promotional notifications from the Game Center and App Market apps day by day.
Realme C55 efficiency
The 6.72-inch full-HD+ IPS LCD show has a 90Hz most display screen refresh price. It switches between 60Hz and 90Hz relying on the appliance getting used and the content material being seen. The show is vibrant and is shiny sufficient to view content material outdoor on a sunny afternoon, and has good viewing angles as effectively. As for streaming, it was good to seek out Widevine L1 certification, which allowed for full-HD high quality playback.
The Realme C55’s IPS LCD panel is shiny sufficient when seen outdoor
The utilization expertise failed to fulfill my primary expectations. Realme UI 4.0 didn’t appear effectively optimised to this {hardware}, which I seen when utilizing the telephone’s interface typically, minimising apps, swiping by video-heavy feeds in apps like Instagram, and different widespread use instances. There was a common stuttering and noticeable lag all through, and it at all times felt just like the {hardware} was attempting to maintain up with my interactions. I examined the 8GB RAM variant, so I can solely think about how dangerous the expertise can be on the 4GB RAM variant. I additionally skilled some stuttering when streaming video, however this acquired resolved with the newest software program replace, which confirmed up just some days previous to publishing this evaluation.
As for Mini Capsule, not a lot has modified since I attempted it out a month in the past. Most individuals will not even discover that this characteristic exists, as it is easy to overlook the animated notification prompts that broaden across the hole-punch digital camera. Indeed, that is one thing that Samsung does higher with its pop-up notifications, which additionally seem in a capsule form and are way more helpful as they relay various kinds of notifications, in contrast to the small handful of prompts that Realme’s Mini Capsule shows.
Realme UI exhibits plenty of spammy notifications
In phrases of benchmarks, the Realme C55 performs as anticipated on condition that it has a MediaTek Helio G88 SoC inside. The telephone’s scores weren’t spectacular by any means. Even the iQoo Z6 Lite managed higher scores with its Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 SoC. The Realme C55 managed 2,57,736 factors in AnTuTu together with 422 and 1,411 factors in Geekbench’s single and multi-core exams. In phrases of graphics, efficiency was not good both, which explains the stuttering and lag within the UI. The telephone managed 39fps in GFXBench’s T-Rex check, 14fps in Manhattan 3.1, and eight.5fps in Car Chase.
Gaming efficiency was a bit beneath common. Call of Duty: Mobile was playable at Medium graphics high quality and High framerate, however would lag after about quarter-hour of gameplay, which can be when the telephone begian to warmth up. Asphalt 9 Legends turned out to be a bit too heavy even on the lowest graphics setting (Performance), with plenty of lag and stuttering. Indeed, this smartphone is healthier suited to less complicated informal video games. Its single speaker will get fairly loud, however sound can be distorted at larger volumes.
Realme UI comes with plenty of of third-party apps preinstalled
My each day utilization with the Realme C55 consisted of an hour of gaming, an hour or two of video streaming (on Wi-Fi), and going by numerous social media apps together with two e-mail accounts syncing consistently. Despite going a bit simple, I used to be stunned that the telephone solely managed a day on a single cost. Indeed, this could possibly be right down to the low-end processor, however I anticipated the 5,000mAh battery to final for greater than a day, which is regular for many funds smartphones at the moment. Our normal HD video loop battery check solely ran for 14 hours, 43 minutes, which falls on the decrease facet in comparison with most different smartphones at this worth level. On the opposite hand, the 33W charger managed to cost this telephone from useless to full in 1 hour, 10 minutes, which is sort of good.
Realme C55 cameras
The Realme C55 has two rear-facing cameras: a 64-megapixel main digital camera and a 2-megapixel depth sensor which is used for gathering depth information when utilizing Portrait mode. Selfies are dealt with by an 8-megapixel entrance digital camera. The digital camera app interface is simple to make use of with all essential controls accessible across the viewfinder. Realme claims that the 64-megapixel sensor comes from the older GT Master Edition so I used to be a bit excited to see its efficiency in such a low-cost telephone. However, you do must remember that digital camera efficiency additionally will depend on the processor, and the GT Master Edition had a superior mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G SoC.
The Realme C55 has two rear-facing cameras, of which just one is accessible by the person
Daylight picture high quality was nonetheless surprisingly spectacular. Photos confirmed first rate dynamic vary and good element. Colours tended to be a bit oversaturated and there was additionally a slight bluish tint in photographs, however at this worth level it is onerous to complain. Close-ups got here out sharp and clear, with low noise and good element. However, I did discover that the digital camera was sluggish to focus indoors even throughout daytime, so I typically had to faucet to focus when taking pictures objects.
Realme C55 daylight digital camera samples. Top to backside: Auto mode, shut up, portrait selfie (faucet to see full dimension)
Selfies appeared a bit sharpened in daylight, however with first rate element and dynamic vary. Edge detection in Portrait mode whereas utilizing the selfie digital camera was common for this phase. In low gentle, selfies got here out a bit gentle and noisy regardless of which mode I selected. Edge detection was not correct both.
The digital camera’s low-light efficiency in Auto mode wasn’t nice. It had bother focusing in dimly lit scenes, and the ensuing photographs ended up a bit gentle and missing intimately. The devoted Night mode vastly improved picture high quality, bringing in much more element together with sharpness, and added some definition to textures. The outcomes have been spectacular for this phase, however it takes 4-5 seconds to seize a picture, so for those who do not maintain the telephone regular, picture high quality can deteriorate drastically.
Realme C55 low-light digital camera samples. Top: Auto mode, Bottom: Night mode (faucet to see full dimension)
Video high quality is proscribed to 1080p at 60fps. Recorded footage had first rate element however was low on dynamic vary, and there have been some clipped highlights. Videos lack stabilisation fully, so they arrive out fairly shaky. In low gentle, recording at 1080p 30fps resulted in higher high quality with first rate dynamic vary, however video was nonetheless fairly low on element and had noise. Clips have been fairly shaky and focusing was an issue.
Verdict
In 2023, a number of smartphone manufacturers have began providing 5G fashions on the decrease finish of the funds phase. There’s the Infinix Hot 20 5G (Review), priced beginning at Rs. 11,499, and the Poco M4 5G at Rs. 11,999, to call just a few. Then there are smartphones such because the iQoo Z6 Lite 5G, which prices Rs. 13,999 onwards and affords higher software program efficiency and good digital camera efficiency together with 5G connectivity.
Realme thinks it has discovered a candy spot with an attention-grabbing design (for a funds smartphone) and a good digital camera which shoots good daylight photographs. However, battery life is not as much as expectations for a funds smartphone, and the software program is loaded to the brim with bloat. My unit lagged and stuttered all through the evaluation interval, regardless of having 8GB of RAM. This makes the Realme C55 actually onerous to suggest. Consider it provided that you want digital camera or are keen to disregard its shortcomings due to its distinctive design.
