In this guide

  • Review
  • Details
    • Pricing & Availability
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realme C3 review

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realme C3
3.5
★★★★★
Finder score
  • Battery Score 4.5
  • Camera Score 3
  • Design Score 3
  • Performance Score 3

Summary

Quick verdict: It cuts a few budget corners, but there's a decent amount to like about realme's affordable C3 phone.

  • Huge battery
  • Large display
  • Still has a headphone jack
  • Low-resolution display
  • MediaTek processor is predictably slow
  • Camera is ordinary

In this guide

  • Review
  • Details
    • Pricing & Availability

Details

Pricing & Availability

Launch price (RRP) $0
Launch date 2020-07
realme C3

Since launching in the Australian marketplace last year, BKK Electronics brand realme has taken a position of chasing budget buyers aggressively with colourful phones that match up specifications that generally overshoot expectations.

Its latest handset, the realme C3, uses a curious mix of some parts that are exceptional for its price bracket, along with others that are a touch behind the curve or that simply don't work quite as well as you might think. It's still a very good value phone within its price point, however.


Design

Design

  • 6.52-inch display
  • Only 720p quality
  • Headphone jack
realme C3

Camera

Camera

  • Triple lens array isn't as exciting as it seems
  • Very slow software shutter response
realme C3

Performance

Performance

  • MediaTek Helio G70 isn't fast
  • realmeOS can be kludgy
  • NFC on board, but not tested
realme C3

Battery life

Battery life

  • 5,000mAh battery is great at this price
realme C3

Verdict

Verdict

  • Great battery life and a fair price
realme C3

Should you buy it?

If you just ran a specification sheet comparison of the realme C3 versus other similarly priced handsets, it might seem like an absolute knockout of a phone.

It's not quite that, with a few rough edges that do take some of the shine off. Still, it's another very good phone in the realme stable, and a sign of how good even affordable phones are getting. If you have patience for its slightly slow performance and camera, it's a very good prospect.


Pricing and availability

Koganrealme C3

Alternatives

The realme C3 replaces the older realme C2 but that's a phone that would only be worth considering if you could find end-of-life stock at a significant discount.

Within the realme family, you could consider the realme 5, which only costs $30 more, comes with the same 5,000mAh battery and a quad-camera array.

In the wider phone space, you could go for a more pure Android experience with the Nokia 2.3 or you could find a similar large battery in the Motorola Moto G7 Power.


Specifications

Display

Display Size
6.5 inches
Resolution
1600 x 720px

Camera

Rear camera megapixels
12MP + 2MP + 2MP
Rear camera aperture size
f/1.8
Video recording
1080p
Front camera megapixels
5MP
Front camera aperture size
f/2.4

Physical Dimensions

Dimensions
164.4mm x 75mm x 8.95mm
Weight
195g

Connectivity

NFC
No
Wi-Fi
802.11 b/g/n
Network category speed
N/A

Power, storage and battery

Processor
Helio G70
RAM
3GB
Operating system
iOS 8
Internal storage
64GB
External storage support
Up to 256GB
Battery capacity
5,000mAh

Device features

Headphone jack
Yes
Fingerprint sensor
Yes
Water resistance rating
IP52

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