Realme C100i Review: specs and features, camera quality test, gaming benchmark, user opinions and photos

Realme C100i - Attack of the Controversial Clones

The Chinese company Realme, while undoubtedly an industry leader, still makes many unusual decisions. This year, questions have frequently arisen regarding low-end smartphones. For example, the manufacturer first released the rather odd P4 Lite 4G, and then decided to develop a virtually identical device, the subject of today's review. It has a different design and a slightly more affordable price tag, but it's unlikely these changes will turn it into a future hit.

The new model's appearance is not bad, but it's not free of flaws. The plastic case is inexpensive, the design of the 5-megapixel front camera is outdated, and the screen bezels are wide, especially the bottom one. Positive aspects of the exterior include a modern camera module, a side fingerprint scanner, and attractive color options for the all-in-one display. The 6.8-inch IPS panel evokes mixed feelings. However, the 1570x720 resolution is clearly insufficient for good image clarity. Small fonts appear soft or washed out. Brightness has been increased to 900 nits, so images remain partially visible in direct sunlight. Color reproduction is somewhat dull, but smoothness is excellent at a 120Hz refresh rate.

The specifications include a UNISOC Tiger T615 processor and a Mali G57MC1 graphics card. They don't offer exceptional performance (230,000-250,000 points in AnTuTu), but even this combination doesn't fully realize its potential due to the modest 4GB of RAM. Resource-intensive games will either lag significantly or crash to the desktop. Even the Android 16 interface is frustrating with occasional freezes. However, the focus is clearly on battery life. The energy-efficient chipset, coupled with a 7000mAh battery, provides nearly 15 hours of screen time. Fast charging is essentially nonexistent, as its output is limited to 15W. The storage is limited to 64GB/128GB, but there's a microSD card slot.

Photography is poor. It takes a certain amount of skill to create a high-quality, artistic shot even in daylight using the main 8-megapixel camera module and the secondary 0.3-megapixel portrait sensor. Noise, blur, and a drop in detail will plague such shots. At least these modules can capture documents. There's no stereo sound, but there is a headphone jack. NFC contactless payments are also available, though not in all regional versions. Overall, this is a long-lasting device that still has numerous shortcomings. I can't recommend it.