Realme C1 2019

Looking to break the robust market of Xiaomi, Realme arrives with the power-packed and good looking Realme C1. Priced at Rs. 7,499, Realme C1 is all set to disrupt the budget market with a killer display and a sizable battery to power it up.

As an affordable phone, Realme C1 slays the budget market with its premium display, powerful processor and above-average camera. It has properly combined both features and performance, delivering an almost perfect phone at the price range.

Realme C1 2019 comes in a plastic body which is comfortable to hold and quite grippy due to the thickness of the phone. The matte finish of the frame helps in keeping fingerprint smudges away, but the laminated display and the back turn out to be fingerprint magnets. Realme C1 2019 does not come with a fingerprint sensor which is a serious shortcoming since most phones at this price range have that feature. However, you have face unlock, which works fast and accurately during sufficient light conditions. In low-light, it might be slower, but it still works. The display uses Corning Gorilla Glass to keep away scratches, but even then, the package comes with an adhesive screen guard for extra protection.

The Realme C1 2019 has a 6.2-inch HD+ (720×1520) display which is one of the biggest that you get in an entry-level phone. However, the screen-to-body ratio lowers a bit due to the notch and the chin. Despite those additions, you still have a lot of screen space to meddle with which can be rounded off to 88.8% – matching Realme’s claims. The display is bright, and the colours appear deep and saturated. It has good sunlight legibility, but it could have been better. The viewing angles are average at best. There is a lack of sharpness which is noticeable when you are watching videos on this phone. The quality is quite similar to the pricier Realme 2, which makes this addition a premium one.

Realme C1 2019 is equipped with Snapdragon 450 which is twinned with a 2GB of RAM. It has eight custom Kryo 260 CPU cores clocked at a speed of 1.8GHz. The graphics processing is handled with the help of an Adreno 509 GPU. Benchmark scores saw that it performed quite well compared to similar smartphones, including Redmi A2’s MediaTek Helio A22. However, while it evens out in competition, it cannot be referred to as the speediest phone in the market. The RAM is quite less, and the system itself uses 1GB, and the background apps take up 500MB leaving your very little room for other activities. Multitasking is manageable but loading times are quite slow. While moderate games can run well, heavy games like PUBG will experience slowdowns, even at the lowest settings. In games, touch response is also iffy.

The Realme C1 2019 has a 13MP primary camera paired with a 2MP depth sensor. The secondary camera is used for portrait mode so that it could ascertain the depth of the scene. The edge detection is accurate, and the images produced to retain the right amount of colours. Daylight images preserve plenty of details, though there is a bit of chromatic aberration that could be observed. Auto HDR can be used though it does not produce the best results.

Low-light photos are better compared to the phones of a similar price range since it handles noise well, but focusing speed takes a serious hit. Under artificial lights, macros are still usable, but landscapes shot can appear soft.

The front 5MP selfie camera captures a lot of colours in a favourable light, producing detailed images. Night-time selfie shots suffer and capture a lot of visual noise.

Video recording can go up to 1080p but the output is not the sharpest, and it lacks electronic stabilization.

Realme C1 2019 has a non-removable massive 4,230mAh battery. It can last for more than a day with moderate use. A 720p video set on loop found that the phone lasted for a total of 20 hours and 23 minutes, which is staggering. However, the massive battery does not come with fast charging, which is a drawback. With a 10W adapter, it is possible to get it from 0 to 100% within two and a half or three hours. Overnight charging would be a better option. On the whole, Redmi C1’s battery life is its biggest strength.

Realme C1 2019 is a value-for-money phone. It looks good and performs well – a combo not usually found at this price range. It has a relatively powerful processor, a mammoth battery and capable cameras. The only flaw is the poor RAM which slows down the phone and makes multitasking difficult. However, at the price range, Realme C1 2019 is a capable phone and won’t disappoint you. Its flagship rival, Redmi 6A, is worthy of consideration as well.