Realme 6

Realme 6 is by far the most affordable smartphone with refresh rate of 90Hz you can buy at the time of writing this article. Another plus is the quad-camera setup on its rear.

Users can also consider the Realme 6 Pro for better photography and Realme 6i, which is cheaper.

Realme 6 was released in March 2020.

Screen

90Hz has long been limited to high-end devices so it comes as a surprise we can see this refresh rate so soon on a budget-friendly smartphone.

If you are not familiar with the term, 90Hz is 50% higher than the usual 60Hz, which results in a more fluid and responsive experience, especially when you scroll.

Users can choose which refresh rate they want, 60Hz or 90Hz, or let the phone decides based on what app you are using.

Apart from the refresh rate, the screen offers other benefits too. It measures 6.5 inches and has a resolution of Full HD+.

While it is not OLED, the panel is by no mean bad. Sharpness, color, and brightness are balanced, with the refresh rate is the wow factor.

Chipset

You might think with this price point, users cannot expect much with Realme 6’s performance, but it is actually the opposite. Mediatek Helio G90T chipset works perfectly fine, even with high-end games. In fact, in benchmark tests, this chipset can rival the Snapdragon 720G powering the Pro variant. It even performs better in Geekbench 4.

The highlight about Mediatek Helio G90T is the Mali G76 GPU, allowing users to play games like Asphalt 9 and PUBG at high settings.

However, the catch here is the poor thermal management of the Mediatek processor. Since it keeps all the cores working to power gameplay, expect a fast battery drain when you play. On the bright side, the chipset maintain the frame rates and stability all along.

RAM

Compared to the Realme 6i, which is cheaper, it is weird the base variant of Realme 6 is 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage.

While 4GB of RAM is enough to run several games nowadays, it is advisable you go for 8GB, the recommended sweet spot for most mobile gamers.

This much RAM makes sure that you have no risk of poor gaming experience and also the assurance that your phone is future-proof.

Battery

Realme 6 feels a bit too large but you can rest assure that it is due to the sizeable 4300mAh battery that can power the phone for quite some time.

In Geekbench 4 test, the battery lasts for seven hours and 15 minutes. However, usage in real life is good.

It is hard providing an exact number on how long the battery can hold up until it needs another charge because that depends on your personal usage and if you leave the 90Hz screen on all the time.

With light use and 90Hz refresh rate on, you can expect two days. Throwing some PUBG matches to it and that number will decrease fast.

Another highlight is the 30W ‘Flash Charge’ charging with compatible charger in the box, which can power up the device from 0% to 68% in just half an hour. This speed makes the lack of wireless charging seems like nothing much.

Camera

When double and triple-camera becomes common on budget smartphones, Realme 6’s quad-camera setup seems to be a selling point. The number of cameras is higher than those of many other, more expensive devices.

So here are what you will get, a 64MP/ f/1.8 main camera, an 8MP/ f/2.3 ultra-wide snapper, a 2MP/ f/2.4 macro camera, and a 2MP/ f/2.4 portrait lens. On the other side, there is a 16MP selfie camera.

Users will mostly use the main camera so we will start with it first. While you can choose the 64MP for full resolution, the default setting is 12MP using pixel-binning technology.

Please bear in mind that the 64MP sounds nice on paper but it is useful in only a handful of situations and there are some drawbacks you need to be aware of. First, grains are to be expected and for each picture captured in this resolution, you will have to spend 20MB to store it. So only turn it on if you need to crop or zoom in later.

The 16MP mode is not so bad, with lots of details, accurate colors, and little noise.

The Chroma Boost can make subjects pop but many users prefer the normal shots. Low light performance is nothing to write home about but the night mode can make up for that so no complaint here. In fact, Realme 6 is capable of some of the best low light shots you can have with a budget phone.

The portrait pictures taken with the primary and secondary 2MP lens look great and according to Realme, this combination can improve contrast.

The ultrawide angle snapper is also decent with vibrant colors and contrast. While the image quality is far from being the best but since Realme 6 is a budget-friendly phone, you cannot exactly expect more than that.

Among the four cameras, the one with the worse quality is the macro. With only 2MP, users will see few details. It is not so useful either, you have to hold the phone standing at a distance, which is quite tricky in many situations. So sometimes you are better off using the main camera.

On the other side, you have a 16MP camera and HDR, beauty enhancement and night mode for selfie. Selfies are good, considering the price of the handset but most of the time, you have mixed results.

Realme 6 is capable of shooting 4K/30 FPS and 1080p/60FPS. While the colors are accurate, there are not many details in the videos. At 1080p/30FPS, you have only electronic stabilization and the phone has no optical image stabilization.

If you want a decent camera phone, you had better go for the Realme 6 Pro, which has a secondary ultrawide selfie camera and a telephoto snapper on the rear.