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Rediff.com  » Getahead » First look: Why the Realme 5 series seems exciting!

First look: Why the Realme 5 series seems exciting!

By ASHISH NARSALE
August 21, 2019 14:18 IST
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Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com looks at the latest phone in the market.

Realme 5 series

IMAGE: The Realme 5 Pro. Photograph: Kind courtesty Realme

Chinese phone manufacturers are capturing the mobile market by offering premium feature phones at budget prices.

Realme, an Oppo sub-brand, is one of them.

It just launched the Realme 5 Pro and Realme 5, which makes it 13 phones from the brand in a span of 15 months.

The Realme 5 series are packed with top notch features; the aim, clearly, is to disrupt the hold manufacturers like Xiaomi, Samsung, Vivo and others have over the budget phone market.

So, what do the latest phones from Realme have to offer?

IMAGE: Realme 5 Pro Photograph: Kind courtesy realme.com

Realme 5 Pro

Camera

The most enticing feature is the rear quad camera setup, the first in the Rs 13,999 price range.

The first is the 8 MP, an f/2.2 aperture camera with 119 degree ultra wide lens.

The second is the primary 48 MP, an f/1.8 aperture camera with a wide lens, supported by Phase Detection Auto Focus. It is powered by the popular Sony IMX 586 sensor, which is also used by the flagship OnePlus 7 series phones.

The third is the 2 MP, an f/2.4 aperture, depth sensing camera for portraits.

The fourth is the dedicated macro lens 2 MP, an aperture f/2.4 camera which allows you to take macro shots from as close as 4 cm.

The interesting part is that the camera can also shoot slow motion videos with a 720p@960fps resolution.  Videos are supported by gyro + Electronic Image Stabilizer.

The front camera is a 16MP camera with a Sony IMX 471 Sensor.

 

IMAGE: The Realme 5 Pro's quad camera setup. Photograph: Kind courtesy realme.com

Hardware

The phone runs on the latest Qualcomm's Snapdragon 712 SoC with Artificial Intelligence Engine.

The Realme 5 Pro will be available in three RAM+ROM variants -- 4GB+64GB, 6GB+64GB and 8GB+128GB.

Its storage includes a dedicated micro SD card slot, which allows you to expand the memory up to 256GB.

Battery

The Realme 5 Pro has a 4035 mAh, non-removable Li-Po battery, supported by fast charging VOOC 3.0 technology.

A bundled 20W charger can charge the phone to 50 per cent in approximately 30 minutes.

Realme 5

The Realme 5 is the lite version of Pro, with respect to price and features.

It has the quad camera setup in the rear but you get a 12 MP camera instead of 48 MP one.

Realme 5 is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 665 SoC with Artificial Intelligence Engine.

The USP of Realme 5 is the 5000 mAh battery and it comes bundled with 10W charger.

Comparing the two 

SpecificationRealme 5 ProRealme 5
Body Plastic Plastic
Resolution FHD+ (2340 x 1080) HD (1600 x 720)
Weight 184 g 198 g
Display Size 6.3" 6.5"
Chipset (SOC) Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 AIE Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 AIE
RAM/ROM/Expandable 4GB/64GB/up to 256GB dedicated
6GB/64GB/up to 256GB dedicated
8GB/128GB/up to 256GB dedicated
3GB/32GB/up to 256GB dedicated
4GB/64GB/up to 256GB dedicated
4GB/128GB/up to 256GB dedicated
Selfie Camera 16 MP, f/2.0 13 MP, f/2.0
Rear Camera 8MP ultra wide camera f/2.25 + 48MP wide-angle PDAF f/1.79 + 2MP portrait camera f/2.4 + 2MP macro camera f/2.4 8MP ultra wide camera f/2.25 + 12MP wide-angle PDAF f/1.8 + 2MP portrait camera f/2.4 + 2MP macro camera f/2.4
Battery 4035 mAh 5000 mAh
USB Type-C Micro-USB
Operating System Android Pie 9 overlaid with ColorOS 6 Android Pie 9 overlaid with ColorOS 6
Price 4GB+64GB, Rs 13,999
6GB+64GB, Rs 14,999
8GB+128GB, Rs 16,999
3GB+32GB, Rs 9,999
4GB+64GB, Rs 10,999
4GB+128GB, Rs 11,999
Colours Sparkling blue and Crystal green Crystal blue and Crystal purple

 

Verdict

With excellent features and starting prices of Rs 13,999 for the Realme 5 Pro and Rs 9,999 for Realme 5, the Realme 5 series seems -- on paper -- a real market disrupter.

 

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ASHISH NARSALE / Rediff.com