After six months, Realme has finally released the successor to the popular Realme 6. Dubbed as Realme 7, does it carry enough upgrades to overcome the great offerings of its predecessor? Or should you wait for Realme 8 next year that might come with more practical upgrades?
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Table of Contents
Realme 6 and Realme 7 Similarities and Differences
| Advantages of Realme 6 | Advantages of Realme 7 | Similarities |
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Which is the better buy between the Realme 6 and Realme 7?
Design and Display
When it comes to the form factor, Realme 7 is now thicker and heavier than Realme 6. Perhaps, this is due to the bigger components it houses inside. But make no mistake, it’s still the same all-polycarbonate build with the pinhole cutout on the top-left corner. The camera module, however, is a bit wider. But, the most notable change here is the design on the back. From the hyperspeed art of Realme 6, Realme 7 now features a two-tone finish in a non-symmetrical pattern. The majority of the back comes in the metallic-like finish, with the rest in satin of some sort. Based on the images, the new design appears to be not as appealing as when Realme 6 launched. With that in mind, we leave this one for you to decide.
Even with the heftier form factor, you can see no chance in display size — both clocking in at 6.5″ diagonal. The same IPS LCD is here, alongside 1080p resolution with 480 nits of typical brightness. Of course, 90Hz is making a comeback as well. During my time with Realme 6, the only issue that I had was the dim display. Though the company is still advertising Realme 7 with the same nit level, I’m hoping this wouldn’t be the case once we have our hands-on with it. Nevertheless, there’s no upgrade nor downgrade here, so we’re giving it a tie.
Performance
Helio G90T vs G95 – The G90T on the Reame 6 is about to turn one year old this November. But before that, MediaTek released the G95 that debuted on the Realme 7. It appears to be that it’s not a direct successor of the G90T. In fact, MediaTek didn’t even compare the two in its press release. Instead, the new chipset is an addition to the growing lineup of the Helio G Series. According to the company, however, the G95 boost clock peaks over 2GHz, with the GPU boosting up to 900MHz. In synthetic benchmarks, it results in a 5% boost in Antutu CPU and up to 8% in Manhattan 3.0 GPU. Additionally, the HyperEngine Gaming Technology optimizes gameplay by improving resource management, networking, and even touch response.
Though the SoCs don’t provide huge gains in raw performance, the base model of Realme 7 now comes with 6GB RAM, up to 8GB, as opposed to the 4GB of Realme 6. The storage options, however, are still the same — 64GB and 128GB.
Albeit negligible, Realme 7 still has the advantage in numbers, making it the winner in this round.
READ: Top 5 Features of MediaTek Helio G95
Cameras
| Realme 6 | Realme 7 | |
|---|---|---|
| Main Cameras | 64 MP, f/1.9, (wide), 1/1.73″, 0.8µm, PDAF
13 MP, f/2.2, 119˚ (ultrawide), 1.0µm 2 MP, f/2.4, (macro) 2 MP, f/2.4, (depth) up to 4K@30fps video with EIS |
64 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.73″, 0.8µm, PDAF
8 MP, f/2.3, 119˚, 16mm (ultrawide), 1/4.0″, 1.12µm 2 MP, f/2.4, (macro) 2 MP, f/2.4, (depth) up to 4K@30fps video with EIS |
| Selfie Cameras | 20 MP, f/2.2, (wide), 1/3.4″, 0.8µm
up to 1080p@30fps video |
32 MP, f/2.5, 24mm (wide), 1/2.8″, 0.8µm
up to 1080p@120fps video |
As seen from the spec sheets, there’s no difference in cameras. We’re practically looking at the same quad-camera setup. Well, not entirely. The sensors may be the same in numbers, but Realme 7 is actually using the 64MP Sony IMX682, not the 64MP Samsung GW1. In other words, you can expect better detail quality, color renditions, and processing across all cameras.
We can’t say what selfie sensor Realme 6 is using, but Realme 7 got listed with a 16MP Sony IMX471. However, we can’t tell yet if it’s a new one or not. In other words, we’ll have to test it out for ourselves, so better stay tuned for that.
On paper, both are on par with each other. But given the good quality of Sony sensors, we’re giving the Realme 7 the benefit of the doubt. Thus, making it the winner in this round.
Audio
It appears that there are no major changes in audio quality. We’re just glad to see the headphone jack is still here.
Battery
The biggest upgrade when switching from Realme 6 to Realme 7 is the battery capacity. From 4300mAh to 5000mAH, the 90Hz panel won’t kill the battery life as much this time. You can still recharge with the 30W fast -charging brick, but Realme’s advertised charging time is now 65mins to full, as opposed to the 55mins. Nevertheless, we love seeing bigger batteries in phones.
Verdict
Realme 7 is not available in the Philippines yet, hence the converted prices from Indian rupees that don’t include import tax and fees. However, Realme 6 is still retailing in the country.
- Realme 6 – 4GB/64GB – Php10,990
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- 8GB/128GB – Php13,990
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- Realme 7 – 6GB/128GB– Rs. 19,999(~Php13,200)
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- 8GB/128GB – Rs. 21,999(~Php14,500)
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From the looks of it, Realme 7 is going to be a bit expensive when it replaces Realme 6. While we expect the company to come out with aggressive pricing again, do you think it’s worth the upgrade?
READ: POCO X3 NFC vs Realme 7 Pro Specs Comparison – All About Decisions
| Specs | Realme 6 | Realme 7 |
| Display | 6.5-inch FHD+ IPS LCD, Corning Gorilla Glass 3, up to 480nits, 90Hz, 120Hz touch rate | 6.5″ IPS LCD FHD+, 90Hz, pinhole cutout |
| Design | polycarbonate body, splash-resistant | all-polycarbonate body |
| Dimensions and Weight | 162.1 x 74.8 x 8.9 mm, 191g | 162.3×74.8×9.4mm, 196.5 g |
| CPU/Chipset | Octa-core (2×2.05 GHz Cortex-A76 & 6×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55) / Mediatek MT6785 Helio G90T (12 nm) |
Dual 2.05GHz A76 + Hexa 2GHz A55 CPUs / MediaTek Helio G95 (12nm) |
| GPU | Mali-G76 MC4 | Mali-G76 3EEMC4 |
| RAM | 4GB/8GB | 6GB/8GB |
| Storage | 64GB/128GB with a dedicated MicroSD up to 256GB | 128GB UFS 2.1 expandable via microSD slot |
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| Connectivity & Ports | 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.0, WiFi ac, GPS, USB-C, audio jack | 4G/LTE, Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C, audio jack |
| Security | side-mounted fingerprint scanner, face unlock | face unlock, side-mounted fingerprint scanner |
| Battery | 4300mAh with 30W(5V/6A) fast charging (100% in 55 minutes) | 5000mAh(30W – 100% in 65mins) |
| Audio | mono, south-firing speaker | south-firing speaker with Dolby Atmos |
| OS | Android 10.0; Realme UI 1.0 | Android 10, Realme UI |
| Colors | Comet Blue, Comet White | Mist White and Mist Blue |
| Price | P11,990(4GB/128GB) and P13,990 (8GB/128GB) | Rs. 14999(~Php9,900) and Rs. 16999(~Php11,200) before import taxes and fees |
| Release Date | March 13, 2020 (India), May 27, 2020 (Philippines) | September 10, 2020 (India), September 2020? (Philippines) |
Not surprising, an upgrade from a phone released 6 months ago will not have that much. Even the pro version ahs very little incremental upgrades, it also lost the 90hz refresh rate lol. Just wait for the 8th next year.