Realme C3: The Good, The Bad, And The X Factor
Realme has been one of the strongest contenders in the budget smartphone segment since its inception. The Chinese brand had launched several feature-packed devices under Rs. 10,000. Its ‘C’ series is one of the most popular affordable lineups which have now been extended. The Realme C3 is the company’s first budget smartphone in 2020 which is launched with modern-day features.
The handset has debuted as a successor to the Realme C2 and is the first handset by the company that ships with Realme UI out-of-the-box. It carries some of the traits from its precursor such as the waterdrop notch display, dual-rear cameras, and a big battery. It is announced at Rs. 6,999 and Rs. 7,999 for 3GB RAM+ 32GB storage and 4GB RAM+ 64GB storage configuration respectively. But, what makes the device stands out from the crowd; let’s find out:
Tall Aesthetics; Not A Fingerprint Magnet The Realme C3 looks taller than its predecessor and skips the conventional diamond-cut pattern as the Realme C2. The company has opted for a blend of gradient-matte texture. This gives it a different feel and makes it less slippery. It basically is a sunrise-like design that Realme had first experimented with the Realme 5i. Thankfully, even with gradient design, the handset doesn’t pick up fingerprints.
So, you won’t have to worry about flaunting the handset with it getting dirty. You can also skip a case, if you don’t want to make it feel bulkier. The dual-camera setup is placed vertically on the top left and has a bulging design. The keys and ports are also placed tactically. You get the power key on the left, while the volume rockers along with the SIM card tray on the left. At the bottom, it features a 3.5mm headphone jack, a microUSB port, and the speaker grille.
The Realme C3 packs a 6.53-inch LCD display which offers an 89.9 percent screen-to-body-ratio, an HD+ resolution, and a tall 20: aspect ratio. It has a waterdrop notch similar to its predecessor positioned at the center-top which the company is calling as ‘Minidrop’. The display appears punchy and delivers well in terms of color output and brightness levels. We are yet to test the sunlight legibility. You can tweak the color temperatures, toggle dark and Eye Care mode on/off from the settings. The tall form factor and 720P resolution should allow for decent media playback feedback.
One of the most positive aspects of the Realme C3 is the latest software version. The handset is launched with Android 10 OS and is the first device by the company to offer the Realme UI out-of-the-box. The UI is similar to the Color OS, with minimal changes in the UI. It does have some bloatware. The presence of a dedicated microSD card is another welcome feature on the Realme C3. It hasn’t been long since smartphone manufacturers have started phasing out the dedicated microSD card and replacing it with a hybrid SIM slot. This restricts a user from using two SIM cards and a microSD card simultaneously. But, that’s not the case with the Realme C3.