Last year, we included Realme 5 as one of the best budget phones to get. And today, it still is. It has quad cameras and a large 5000mAh battery that can easily last up to two days. Now that Realme 5i is out in the wild, here are the differences that you should know.
Realme 5
Advantages of Realme 5i
Advantages of Realme 5
For the most part, Realme 5i will feel like it’s Realme 5. The size and weight are nearly the same, however, it’s the finish on the back that identifies the two. The latter device has that hallmark finish on the back that started with Realme 3. As for the former device, it goes back to the classic gradient hue that has an elegant look to it.
Not much has changed in the display area. For what it’s worth, the new budget phone is ever-so-slightly bigger being at 6.52″ vs 6.50″. It’s still the same IPS LCD with 720p+ resolution. So, don’t expect drastic changes.
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Realme decided to stick with Snapdragon 665. It’s a reliable chipset that focuses on battery efficiency above all. The same amount of RAM is also expected, up to 4GB. However, we’re not entirely sure if there’s going to be a 128GB version of Realme 5i.
Realme 5i | Realme 5
For the cameras, both are using quad cameras. However, Realme 5 has the advantage, at least on paper, when it comes to the selfie camera. It has a 13MP f2.0 which means it can take more detailed shots than the 8MP f2.0 of Realme 5i.
The same south-firing speaker and audio jack remain.
You still get 5000mAh battery and 10W standard charging via micro USB.
Realme 5 is retailing for P6,990(3GB/32GB), P7,990(3GB/64GB), and P9,990(4GB/128GB). With a design change and a selfie camera downgrade, we expect Realme 5i to launch somewhere around those numbers. We’re not entirely sure why the company decided to release the device instead of going for a slight refresh that they could’ve easily named Realme 5s.
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| Specs | Realme 5i | Realme 5 |
| Display | 6.5-inch HD+ IPS LCD, Corning Gorilla Glass 3+ | 6.5-inch HD+ IPS LCD, Corning Gorilla Glass 3+ |
| Dimensions | 164.4 x 75 x 9.3 mm, 195g | 164.4 x 75.6 x 9.3 mm, 198g |
| Chipset | Qualcomm SDM665 Snapdragon 665 (11 nm) | Qualcomm SDM665 Snapdragon 665 (11 nm) |
| GPU | Adreno 610 | Adreno 610 |
| Memory | 3GB, 4GB with dedicated microSD up to 256GB | 32GB 3GB RAM, 64GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 4GB RAM + dedicated microSD slot of up to 256GB |
| Main Camera | 12 MP, f/1.8, (wide), PDAF 8 MP, f/2.2, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/4″, 1.12µm 2 MP, f/2.4, 1/5″, 1.75µm (dedicated macro camera) 2 MP, f/2.4, 1/5″, 1.75µm, depth sensor (dedicated macro camera) |
12 MP, f/1.8, (wide), PDAF 8 MP, f/2.2, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/4″, 1.12µm 2 MP, f/2.4, 1/5″, 1.75µm (dedicated macro camera) 2 MP, f/2.4, 1/5″, 1.75µm, depth sensor |
| Front Camera | 8 MP, f/2.0 | 13 MP, f/2.0, 26mm (wide) |
| Connectivity | face unlock, side-mounted fingerprint scanner | face unlock, side-mounted fingerprint scanner |
| Security | 4G LTE Wi-Fi ac, BT 5.0 A2DP, LE, GPS, MicroUSB, audio jack | 4G LTE Wi-Fi ac, BT 5.0 A2DP, LE, GPS, MicroUSB, audio jack |
| Battery | Non-removable Li-Ion 5000mAh battery (10W charging) | Non-removable Li-Ion 5000mAh battery (10W charging) |
| OS | Android 9.0 (Pie), planned upgrade to Android 10.0; ColorOS 6 | Android 9.0 (Pie), planned upgrade to Android 10.0; ColorOS 6 |
| Prices | VTD 3,690,000 or ~P8K | P6,990(3GB/32GB), P7,990(3GB/64GB), and P9,990(4GB/128GB) |
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bulbulito_bayagbag says:
Me thinks they are putting this out since they have a lot of sd 665 in stock.