realme C55 review: Gateway to the iPhone 14 Pro experience

P8,999 (8+256GB)

The realme C55 is one of the latest offerings from the Chinese smartphone brand that aims to deliver a smooth and immersive experience on a budget. It boasts a 6.72-inch FHD+ display with a 90Hz refresh rate, a 64MP dual rear camera, and a 5000mAh battery with 33W fast charging.

Perspective rear – realme C55

But what makes it stand out from the crowd is its unique feature called the Mini Capsule, which mimics the Dynamic Island of the iPhone 14. Is this a gimmick or a game-changer? Let’s find out in this review.

iPhone dynamic island vs realme mini capsule: Did Apple start a new trend?

 

Design and Display

Notch – realme C55

The realme C55 has a sleek and slim design with a plastic body that comes in two colors: Sun Shower and Rainy Night. The back panel has a glossy finish that reflects light in different patterns, giving it a premium look. The phone feels comfortable to hold and has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner for easy unlocking.

The display is the main highlight of the realme C55. It has a 6.72-inch IPS LCD screen with a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels and a pixel density of 392 ppi. The screen has thin bezels and a small punch-hole notch for the selfie camera. The display supports a 90Hz refresh rate, which makes scrolling and gaming smoother and more responsive. The display also has a peak brightness of 680 nits, which makes it readable under direct sunlight.

Mini Capsule Battery Notification – realme C55

But the most interesting feature of the display is the Mini Capsule, which is inspired by the Dynamic Island of the iPhone 14. The Capsule is a small circle that appears around the notch and shows additional information such as battery level, step count, or data usage. The Mini Capsule can be customized and animated according to your preference.

However, unlike the iPhone’s Dynamic Island, which can show notifications and app icons, the Mini Capsule is limited to only three use cases and does not add much value to the user experience. In fact, some users may find it annoying or distracting as it draws attention to the notch.

Performance and battery

Bottom – realme C55

The realme C55 is powered by the MediaTek Helio G88 chipset, which is an octa-core processor with two Cortex-A75 cores clocked at 2.0GHz and six Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 1.8GHz. The chipset also has a Mali-G52 MC2 GPU for graphics performance. The phone comes with up to 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of internal storage, which can be expanded via a microSD card slot.

The realme C55 can handle most daily tasks and casual games without any lag or stutter. However, it may struggle with more demanding games or apps that require high graphics settings or multitasking. The phone runs on Android 13 with realme UI 4.0 on top, which offers a clean and customizable interface with various features such as dark mode, game space, smart sidebar, and more.

Dual SIM and MicroSD expansion tray – realme C55

The realme C55 has a massive 5000mAh battery that can easily last for a day or more with moderate usage. The phone also supports 33W fast charging, which can charge the battery from zero to 50% in just 29 minutes. However, the phone does not support wireless charging or reverse charging.

Camera

64MP main camera – realme C55

The realme C55 has a dual rear camera setup that consists of a 64MP main camera and a 2MP depth sensor. The main camera can capture detailed and sharp photos in good lighting conditions, with accurate colors and contrast. The camera also supports various modes such as night mode, HDR, panorama, portrait mode, starry mode, chroma boost, bokeh flare portrait, and AI color portrait. The depth sensor helps create a natural bokeh effect for portrait shots.

The front-facing camera is an 8MP shooter that can take decent selfies in daylight, but may suffer from noise and softness in low-light situations. The selfie camera also supports HDR, panorama, portrait mode, and AI scene recognition.

realme C55 camera samples: Photography

The realme C55 can record videos up to 1080p at 60fps with the rear camera and up to 1080p at 30fps with the front camera. The video quality is decent but not exceptional, as it lacks stabilization and dynamic range.

realme C55 camera samples: Video (selfie)

realme C55 camera samples: Video (main)

Conclusion: Affordable iPhone experience

Perspective rear – realme C55

The realme C55 is an affordable smartphone that offers a smooth display, a long-lasting battery, and a decent camera performance. However, it also has some drawbacks such as mediocre performance, limited Capsule functionality, and average video quality.

If you are looking for a budget phone with a dynamic display feature similar to the iPhone 14’s Dynamic Island, you may want to check out the realme C55. However, if you are looking for a more powerful and versatile phone, you may want to look elsewhere instead.

System information – realme C55

realme C55 specs

  • Display: 6.72-inch FHD+ IPS LCD with 90Hz refresh rate and 680 nits peak brightness
  • SIM: Dual SIM (nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
  • OS: Android 13; realme UI 4.0
  • Chipset (SoC): MediaTek Helio G88, 12nm
  • CPU: Octa-core (2×2.0 GHz Cortex-A75 & 6×1.8 GHz Cortex-A55)
  • GPU: Mali-G52 MC2
  • Memory (RAM) + storage: Up to 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of internal storage (expandable)
  • Expansion: microSDXC (dedicated slot)
  • Main camera (rear): 64MP (wide) + 2MP (depth)
  • Selfie camera (front): 8MP
  • Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band; Bluetooth 5.2; GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS; NFC; USB Type-C
  • I/O: USB Type-C; 3.5mm audio jack; fingerprint scanner (side-mounted)
  • Features: Capsule display feature
  • Battery: 5000mAh with 33W fast charging
  • Colors: Sun Shower, Rainy Night,
  • Price (Philippines): P8,999 (8+256 GB) / P7,699 (6+128 GB)

realme C55 review video

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