realme C2 Review

realme has been on the offensive since last year, bringing in their offerings with topnotch hardware sheet presented in quite the appealing price points for the masses. Talk about value, amirite? This is where we believe realme truly shines, and that brings us to this nifty realme C2 – an entry-level smartphone that looks to have the chops of premium without all that damage in your bank account.

realme has been on the offensive since last year, bringing in their offerings with topnotch hardware sheet presented in quite the appealing price points for the masses. Talk about value, amirite? This is where we believe realme truly shines, and that brings us to this nifty realme C2 – an entry-level smartphone that looks to have the chops of premium without all that damage in your bank account.

realme C2 Technical Specifications:

Display: 6.1-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen display HD+ 1560 by 720 resolution, 89.35% screen ratio, 19.5:9 aspect ratio

Chipset: MediaTek Helio P22

CPU: Octa-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53

GPU: PowerVR GE8320

RAM: 2GB/3GB

Storage: 16GB/32GB expandable up to 256GB

Primary Camera:  13MP+2MP PDAF Fast Focusing, F/2.2 Aperture, 5P Lens

Front Camera: 5 MP, 1.12μm Pixels

OS: ColorOS 6.0 based on Android 9.0

Battery: 4,000mAh non-removable

Price: Starts at Php4,995

PACKAGING

The realme c2 comes in a bright yellow box, flashy and compact. Inside it are the realme C2, some paperwork, a SIM ejector pin, microUSB cable, and a 1A power adapter. No free cases, sadly.

realme also doesn’t include the usual headset here. This is actually reasonable since more often than not you’re already rocking a better pair of cans and the like. Plus, you’ll likely leave it in the box to dust. That, and they’re generally bad anyway.

DESIGN

As an entry-level device, the realme C2 might initially spark some thoughts of menial and basic. But yeah, no. That’s not the case here. It’s actually subject to some premium engineering when it comes to its aesthetic sense with its shiny, textured tessellation design. Still plastic, though.

At the front is a 6.1-inch display with a teardrop notch at the top for the front facing camera. The volume rocker is on the left side, while the power button is on the left. At the bottom is the microUSB port, headphone jack, and speaker grille.

At the back again is the pair of cameras and flash. The realme logo is placed further down south. No fingerprint scanner here, unfortunately. It’s sorely missed. But at this price point, there’s not really much you can expect.

Moving forward, you’ll be working with a three card tray here. there’s one for microSD card, and one each for SIM cards.

PERFORMANCE

Under the realme C2’s hood, there’s a MediaTek MT6762 P22 chipset with a 2.0GHz octa-core Cortex-A53 CPU and PowerVR GE8320. For storage, you’re working with either the 2GB/16GB or the 3GB/32GB variant (we’re using the latter here). It runs Android 9.0 Pie. Here are the usual benchmarks:

Performance is quite snappy. The UI is butter smooth, but gaming performance has a couple of hiccups and occasional lags from time to time on graphic intensive titles such as PUBG and Honkai Impact 3. Nothing gamebreaking, fortunately.  We're working with an entry-level chipset, so there's really not much to expect.

SOFTWARE

Running Android 9.0 with realme’s ColorOS v6.0 on top of it, the realme C2 attempts to deliver a flavorful user experience for everyone. The notification shade has the usual shortcuts and functions for quick accessibility, which you can also customize to your preference.

Lacking a fingerprint scanner, the realme C2 uses a face scanner which does its job pretty well. Unlocking your phone is a two-step process with the help of gesture motion and the face scanner. It’s quite accurate on our tests, with it unlocking the device for the registered face. realme does note that your phone may be unlocked by someone with a similar appearance or objects shaped like you.

Moving forward, there’s quick access shortcut that you can customize. You can also use this to quickly record your gameplay videos and whatnot, or feel free to add some to the panel for your frequently used apps. Moreover, there’s the Game Space that optimizes the phone’s performance and keeps out notifications, reject calls, play AFK, take screenshots, or record your games.

CAMERA 

The realme C2 is equipped with a 13MP+2MP dual primary camera with PDAF fast focusing in F2.2 aperture. By default, the colors come off as a bit saturated, making the colors pop out more. Chroma Boost does that further, while also applying some more sharpness to the images. See the images below:

BATTERY LIFE

You’re working with a 4,000mAh battery on the realme C2. That’s quite a lot for today’s standards, and even more so for phones in this price range. Anyway, we got 9 hours and 43 minutes on PCMark’s Work 2.0 Battery Life. For real world performance on a light to moderate usage scenario, we managed to get past the two-day mark. That’s a mix of standby, phone calls, social media, and games such as Pokemon Masters and PUBG.

CONCLUSION

The realme C2 has the chops to be one of the best entry-level smartphones this season. It has the chops to carry itself against the competition with its capable hardware sheet and a bevy of features, not to mention its kickass design. You just can’t go wrong with it if you’re looking for a smartphone that can do without breaking the bank.