Realme C3 is the newest smartphone in the Realme C series and direct successor to the Realme C2. The handset made its first debut in India back in February for a starting price of Rs. 8,999. In the price point, the biggest competitors of this phone are the Redmi 8A and Redmi 8A Dual. In this review, we will go into more details on key aspects of the Realme C3 like display, performance, camera, and battery life.

Display

The appearance of the Realme C3 is almost identical to that of the new Realme 5i that Realme launched in India in early January. On the front, Realme is still loyal to the water drop screen design that has been featured on most of the popular products last year. The 6.5-inch screen features HD+ (720 x 1600 pixels) resolution, 20: 9 aspect ratio, IPS LCD panel completely equivalent to Vsmart Joy 3. Realme's screen edges and "chin" are a bit thinner than against the opponent.

The screen quality is good in the price range with good brightness as it is enough to see clearly outdoor if it’s not too sunny. The display also has nice colors and a wide viewing angle. The biggest issue is the HD+ resolution. It would be much better to have FHD+ resolution, but we can’t ask more on a budget smartphone like the Realme C3.

Performance

The Realme C3 is notable for being one of the first smartphones in the world to come with a MediaTek Helio G70 processor. Similar to the Helio G90T, the Helio G70 is also a gaming-focused chipset, featuring two Cortex-A75 2GHz cores and six Cortex-A55 1.7GHz cores as well as a Mali G52 GPU. The base option of the phone only has 3GB of RAM, which might be sufficient to get a decent gaming performance. It might be better for you to pay an extra Rs. 1,000 to 4GB of RAM if you want to play some games on the phone like PUBG Mobile or Free Fire. However, if you are looking for a smartphone for basic needs like watching movies and videos or surfing webs, 3GB RAM is still acceptable.

Performance tests show that Helio G70 is on par with Snapdragon 675 and Snapdragon 712, meaning it is good for mid-tier-graphics games like PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty: Mobile. So, in terms of performance, the Realme C3 is not too bad if you are looking for a smartphone to play mobile games like PUBG Mobile. However, you should not expect a perfect gaming experience on this phone as, after all, it is only a budget phone. 

As for software, the Realme C3 is pre-installed with the latest version of Android, which is Android 10, along with Realme UI running on top. The most outstanding feature of Android 10 is that the navigation gestures are much smoother. You can swipe quickly at the bottom edge of the screen to switch between apps, similar to iOS. Dark mode has finally appeared on Realme smartphones and it is an advantage of Realme smartphone over OPPO or other budget phones.

When switching to Dark Mode, not only the system settings or quick settings are covered with a "black shirt", but even apps such as calling, messaging, and photo viewing are also covered by a dark interface, which is best suited to use at night.

The device has slots for two SIM cards and one dedicated slot for a microSD card. Therefore, users do not have to sacrifice the memory card slot for the second SIM card like some other phones. 

Camera

Realme C3 equipped with three rear cameras, including a 12MP camera with an f / 1.8 aperture, 28mm focal length, 1 / 2.8 "sensor, 1.25-micron pixels, PDAF focus. The primary camera is paired with a 2MP sensor, featuring f / 2.4 aperture for portrait shots and a 2MP macro camera for taking close-up photos. On the front, its selfie camera has 5MP resolution, an f / 2.4 aperture, and a 27mm focal length. 

Macro mode is hidden in the camera menu, so regular users may not be aware of the existence of this camera mode. It is worth noting that on the camera interface, Realme even offers 2X and 4X zoom even though it is not equipped with a telephoto camera.

The 12MP main camera of Realme C3 shows average image quality, slightly bright colors and sharpness. Moreover, details of the photo are boosted a bit too much, making the image look less natural.

Photos taken with a 2MP macro camera are still just a fun feature. With 2MP resolution, the camera is only capable of taking low-detailed photos with unnatural colors. Even with the 12MP main camera with 2X or 4X zoom, you can still create much better macro photos.

Battery

With a high capacity battery of 5000 mAh, Realme C3 can be used comfortably for 2 days with high usage. In our standard battery test, the handset lasted more than 26 hours of continuous movie watching, 13 hours of continuous web surfing, and 7 hours of continuous gaming.

The most unfortunate point of Realme C3 is that even though it is equipped with a large battery but there is no fast charging support. The included charger only has a capacity of 10W, meaning it takes nearly 3 hours to fully charge the phone. 

Besides, Realme C3 only has a micro USB port, which is quite outdated. In comparison, the Redmi 8A Dual is upgraded to USB-C port and 18W fast charging technology.