Realme 10 Review: A $229 Phone That’s Just Fine - Forbes

Realme is 1 of the astir prolific smartphone makers around. It was conscionable 4 years agone erstwhile I reviewed the Realme 2, and present present we are with the Realme 10. Like its predecessors, this caller telephone is intended to entreaty to the introduction level marketplace successful India and Southeast Asia, with an accent connected sleek looks and camera show that punches supra its terms range.

While determination is simply a precise baffling omission that I volition get to precise soon, the Realme 10’s starting retail terms of astir $229 makes it hard to nitpick. Virtually immoderate telephone cheaper than this won’t look arsenic bully oregon person arsenic awesome a main camera.

Design

The Realme 10 is simply a comparatively tiny Android phone, with a 6.4-inch OLED display, a value of 179g and coming successful astatine 7.9mm thick.

I’m a instrumentality of the wide shape, which takes a connected a flatter profile, straying from the accustomed dual curved sides of Android devices. It’s a plan akin to the iPhone’s blocky vibe, but overmuch much comfy to clasp due to the fact that it’s lighter, thinner, and the country wherever the edges conscionable are somewhat curved. The backmost sheet is plasticky with this glittery coating that isn’t my cupful of tea, but it does bespeak airy successful antithetic ways depending connected angle. The beforehand broadside is protected by Gorilla Glass 5.

There are a fewer things that support this surface from being a flagship sheet — the refresh complaint is conscionable 90Hz, and the chin bezel is noticeably thicker. Still, the surface displays vibrant colors and get agleam enough.

Cameras

The Realme 10 features a 50-megapixel main camera that is precise bully for its terms range. It’s accelerated to focus, captures images with above-average dynamic range, and close colors.

However, the secondary camera connected the backmost is simply a useless 2-megapixel black-and-white sensor. This is simply a abstraction usually reserved an ultra-wide camera, which this telephone doesn’t connection 1 astatine all. Not having an ultra-wide camera successful 2022 feels restricting, peculiarly since erstwhile Realme phones successful this bid did successful information springiness america an ultra-wide.

Due to the pixel-dense main sensor, you tin propulsion disconnected a coagulated 2x to 3x zoom astatine integer harvest and the representation looks respectable without overmuch nonaccomplishment of details. You tin zoom up to 10x but images statesman to look soft.

Internals

There’s a MediaTek Helio G99 spot wrong and 8GB of RAM, some of these are good components for this terms range, and performs well, but intelligibly a tier oregon 2 beneath phones supra $500.

However there’s a 5,000 mAh artillery which past successful crook is fantabulous and tin powerfulness this happening each day, easily. The included 33W charging ceramic tops up the telephone astatine a tenable rate, taking astir 28 minutes to apical up the phone.

Software

The telephone runs connected Android 12 with Realme’s Android tegument connected top. The bundle mentation is simply a procreation down the Android 13 seen successful Pixel phones, but compared to different 3rd enactment Android phones, I accidental it’s not acold off. Animations are creaseless and fluid, the UI is customizable, and everything that needs to work, works well. No existent gripes, but it’s a spot of a bland bundle tegument too.

Conclusion

Ultimately, arsenic I trial the Realme 10 I support going backmost to its $229 retail price, which volition apt beryllium adjacent little successful immoderate Asian countries similar India and Malaysia, arsenic good arsenic see imaginable freebies similar wireless earbuds with orders. At this terms range, it’s truly hard to responsibility a mini machine with a bully screen, good cameras, and large artillery life. All my different gripes, similar the integrative backmost and deficiency of ultra-wide cameras, tin beryllium forgiven, I guess.

But astatine the extremity of day, I indispensable ask: wherefore merchandise truthful galore phones if determination aren’t meaningful upgrades to beryllium made? The Realme 10 is bully successful a vacuum, but truthful was the Realme 9 oregon Realme 8, and those phones didn’t travel retired excessively agelong ago.

We cognize Realme is susceptible of creating breathtaking devices, similar its Master Edition units, oregon the Realme X I tested a fewer years ago. There’s adjacent rumors of a Realme 10 Ultra that volition bring immoderate eye-grabbing features. As it stands, the Realme 10 is simply a spot bland. But bland tin inactive beryllium good.