Compare realme mobile phones

With a focus on affordability, realme has a wide array of smartphones for everyone from the bargain hunter to those wanting a more premium experience.

Posted Sep 4, 2020

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Key facts about realme mobile phones

realme is owned by BKK Electronics, so it's part of the same family that brings you Oppo, Vivo and OnePlus devices.
While it started life as an affordable phone company targeting younger users, it now has a range of other devices such as smart wearables and headphones.

Name	Display	Display	Rear camera	Battery size	More info	More info
Realme 5 Pro	6.3 inches 1080 x 2340	Display 6.3 inches 1080 x 2340 Rear camera 48MP + 8MP + 2MP Battery size 4,035 mAh	48MP + 8MP + 2MP + 2MP	4,035 mAh	Where to buy View details	Where to buy View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Realme XT	6.4 inches 1080 x 2340	Display 6.4 inches 1080 x 2340 Rear camera 64MP + 8MP Battery size 4,000 mAh	64MP + 8MP	4,000 mAh	Where to buy View details	Where to buy View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Realme C2	6.1 inches 720 x 1560	Display 6.1 inches 720 x 1560 Rear camera 13MP + 2MP Battery size 4,000 mAh	13MP + 2MP	4,000 mAh	Where to buy View details	Where to buy View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Realme 5	6.5 inches 720 x 1600	Display 6.5 inches 720 x 1600 Rear camera 12MP + 8MP + 2MP Battery size 5,000 mAh	12MP + 8MP + 2MP + 2MP	5,000 mAh	Where to buy View details	Where to buy View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
realme C3	6.5 inches 1600 x 720	Display 6.5 inches 1600 x 720 Rear camera 12MP + 2MP + 2MP Battery size 5,000 mAh	12MP + 2MP + 2MP	5,000 mAh	Where to buy View details	Where to buy View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Realme X3 SuperZoom	6.6 inches 2400x1080	Display 6.6 inches 2400x1080 Rear camera 64MP + 8MP + 8MP Battery size 4,200 mAh	64MP + 8MP + 8MP + 2MP	4,200 mAh	Where to buy View details	Where to buy View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Realme 6	6.5 inches 2400 x 1080	Display 6.5 inches 2400 x 1080 Rear camera 64MP + 8MP + 2MP Battery size 4,300 mAh	64MP + 8MP + 2MP	4,300 mAh	Where to buy View details	Where to buy View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...

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What to consider when choosing a realme phone

Chinese brand realme is a relatively new entrant to the Australian smartphone space, having only launched its first smartphone models in late 2019. Its focus at launch was on a small range of highly affordable handsets, but since that time it has branched out with models available at higher price points, although it doesn't really play in the "premium" phone space just yet in terms of pricing.

That means you really do need to understand what you're getting (or not getting) when you buy a realme phone. Here's what to consider:

Most, but not all, of realme's phones support external storage via microSD card, although its more premium offerings such as the realme X3 SuperZoom are fixed storage models. As with all phone models, the included quantity of storage on board includes space taken up by the Android operating system, as well as realme's UI and its pre-installed applications, so for a phone with a stated 64GB memory capacity, you won't quite have 64GB to play with.
If you are looking to expand the storage on a realme phone that supports it, you should also be aware that typically they only support lower to mid-capacity cards, typically up to no more than 256GB of additional storage.
Realme makes a point of delivering phones with slightly larger displays than you might expect at their price points, which is well in line with most consumer desires these days. As an example the entry-level realme C3 ships with a 6.52-inch display. To date, realme's phones have tended to use LCD displays to keep costs under control, meaning you don't quite get the colour richness of an OLED display on its phones. That being said, the realme UI tends to work with quite vibrant colours, so in day-to-day use you might not notice the difference that much, especially for its lower-cost handsets.
When realme launched in Australia, it did so with a strong focus on affordability and the youth market, offering a wide range of devices at the budget and mid-range price points. That's a strategy it hasn't really changed over time, with models selling for between $200 and $700 outright. That puts it squarely in competition with the likes of HMD Global/Nokia, stablemate Oppo, Alcatel, Motorola and Huawei.
The security area is one where realme doesn't particularly stand out from the Android crowd in any noticeable way. There's a mix of physical and in-display fingerprint reader options depending on the phone you choose for biometric authentication, as well as a significantly less secure "Facelock" facility that uses image recognition for unlocking your phone.
One consideration in the wider security space is that realme's use of its own UI means that it often lags behind the pace when it comes to providing Android security updates for its phones. It's still a fairly young brand in Australia, but it's also not that clear how or if it will offer full Android OS upgrades for its handsets over time.
Like stablemate Oppo, realme makes a big point of hyping up the camera quality of its affordable smartphone range. It's not just empty hype, either, especially for its mid-range phones that provide multiple lenses and generally very good still image quality relative to their price points. That's a very common factor for many mid-range cameras and there's more of a focus with realme on automated AI-led experiences rather than pro-quality controls. Again that's a pretty good match for its target market.
While realme does have a 5G-capable handset on its books – the Realme X50 Pro – there has been no announced plans for its general retail availability in Australia, although you could import one if you're particularly keen. For its actually released models, it's largely a 4G story; Australia doesn't have any 2G any more anyway, but most of realme's offerings are full dual-SIM capable if you do want to mix and match work and personal SIMs, or have coverage across multiple network types.
If you're interested in learning more about the real performance of a given phone category speed, read our complete guide to network category speeds.
We've got some good news and some bad news here. If you prefer wireless charging, then realme really isn't for you, with no phones that provide any kind of Qi or PMA wireless charging currently being sold in Australia.
However, because it's part of that wider BKK electronics family, it does have access to the same fast VOOC-branded charging that Oppo's phones use. These can pump up your phone's battery in astonishingly short time, although your phone can run a little hot when it's being charged that way. The one caveat here is that you only get that VOOC charging when using the supplied charger and cable; if you're borrowing somebody else's physically compatible charger from another brand (outside Oppo) then it will charge at a slower rate.
Battery capacity is an area where realme largely follows the trend rather than setting it, with capacities typically between 4,000mAh and 5,000mAh across its range of smartphones. They're all using sealed batteries, but that's also very much expected for most smartphones. When comparing like for like, some of realme's phones do offer more battery capacity than competing brands.
Actual battery life on realme phones has only ever been average in our tests, with little in the way of standout performance or true multi-day battery life with ease.
Most of realme's range of phones tend to perform well within their class, and that's a consideration that has more weight than it used to. In the mid-range, we're seeing more and more phones, including those made by realme, that provide more than enough grunt for most smartphone users. That has put pressure on entry-level phones – and again realme has models in this price bracket – to also pick up their game.
The one potential drag factor here in performance terms is the realme UI, built on the same framework as Oppo's ColorOS that sits on top of Android 10. It wants a fair quantity of app permissions which some may find alarming, and naturally enough uses a little processing power for some flashy effects or alternative animation styles.

Looking for a realme phone on a plan?

To date, all of realme's phones have been sold on an outright basis, rather than on contract, which is very much fitting given their general budget status. Some models of phone have been offered by telcos, but strictly for the prepaid market, rather than on a contract basis.

That does afford you a lot of flexibility when choosing a plan to match to a given realme phone, because once you've purchased your device, you could pair it up to a higher-cost contract plan if you wanted lots of data, or a more affordable prepaid option if you wanted true flexibility to switch plans or carriers at a moment's notice.

Thank you for your feedback!

Alex Kidman

Alex Kidman was the tech and telco editor at Finder and is now a freelance technology writer. He's been a technology writer with experience spanning more than 20 years, writing and editing at Gizmodo, CNET, PC Magazine, Kotaku and many more. Alex has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New England and a serious passion for retro gaming.

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Compare realme mobile phones

With a focus on affordability, realme has a wide array of smartphones for everyone from the bargain hunter to those wanting a more premium experience.

Smartphones

Best Phones

Mobile Phone Brands

Guides

Key facts about realme mobile phones

Compare up to 4 providers

What to consider when choosing a realme phone

Looking for a realme phone on a plan?

Alex Kidman

Read more on this topic

Compare realme mobile phones

With a focus on affordability, realme has a wide array of smartphones for everyone from the bargain hunter to those wanting a more premium experience.

Smartphones

Best Phones

Mobile Phone Brands

Guides

Get exclusive tech offers and guides

Key facts about realme mobile phones

Compare up to 4 providers

What to consider when choosing a realme phone

Internal storage

Screen size

Price

Headphone jack

Security options

Camera quality

Network speed and support

Wireless charging/quick charging

Battery life

Waterproof design

Performance

Looking for a realme phone on a plan?

Alex Kidman

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