Entry-level smartphones have a unique trend or style that makes them pop out in the market. Having a considerable selling point keeps their device afloat against other competitors. Realme’s new addition to the entry-level market is the Realme C53 which is according to realme the fastest-charging budget smartphone. Aside from that it also carries some specs that give it a massive boost against other smartphones on the same price tag.
Pros
- 5000mAh Battery with 33W Fast Charging Support
- Affordable
- Dedicated biometric sensor
- Expandable storage with an external memory card
Cons
- Does not support 5G network
- Uses an old Bluetooth version
- Low-Resolution Display
Design and Build
The realme C53’s build has a curve-edged design just like old previous generation Apple products. It has a textured-looking finish but up close it is a smooth glossy one. It offers two different color variants, the Mighty Black and the variant that we have which is the Champion Gold. It is similar to the Rainy Night variant of the Realme C55 which has the same light particles that resemble raindrops on its back.
The device has rounded corners with a slim and lightweight build. As for the features around its frame, on the right it has the volume rockers and the fingerprint scanner integrated into its power button, on the left is the sim tray with a dual nano sim slot and a dedicated slot for microSD. As for the bottom, It has the speaker grille, 3.5mm headphone jack, microphone, and USB Type-C charging port.
Display
Since this is an entry-level device the usual standard for displays is usually an HD+ and we rarely encounter FHD+ display around this category. Now, the realme C53 boasts a 6.74-inch HD+ IPS LCD display which is paired with a 90Hz refresh rate. Around the display, it has a fairly small bezel with a slightly thick chin. It also has a dew drop notch that holds its selfie camera. As for display quality, colors are sharp and crisp. Viewing angles are also decent which is great if we are going to binge-watch shows on Netflix and YouTube.
As for display settings, it has a dark theme and a scheduled switch just like the realme C55. It also has a night light and adjustments on its color temperature and color modes. There is also a Video display enhancement that enhances display quality and adds more vivid colors for apps like YouTube, Meet, and others. As I mentioned earlier, it has a 90Hz display. However, the 90Hz refresh rate is embedded in the adaptive feature which is quite a bummer. We won’t have the option to use the 90Hz as our base refresh rate. Lastly, one of the selling points of this device is its mini capsule display, but you won’t have the option to keep it stay up instead, it will only pops out when you are charging your device.
Camera
Now, when it comes to the cameras of the realme C53, it carries a dual camera setup with a 50MP main shooter with an aperture of f1.8 and a 0.8MP unspecified sensor.
Now when it comes to camera quality, the 50MP main shooter delivers outstanding images considering the price. The colors are sharp and detailed, highlights are balanced however blacks are deep. Color distribution changes when taking photos indoors, especially if there are some unwanted lights in the frame of the shot.
Shooting photos at night with a decent amount of light source delivers impressive results. It has good color distribution and impressive details in each shot. However, if the subject in a frame or the view you are taking a picture of comes with tons of lights, the results tend to have flares.
Night mode is also available on its camera settings, but it doesn’t do much since it just raises the exposure of the shot.
As for video recording, it can shoot up to 1080P@30 FPS without any stabilization feature. So make sure to keep your hands steady when taking videos. The quality of the captured videos offers good colors with decent details and exposure.
Software and Performance
Let’s talk about its software and what powers this device. Running on the Realme C53 is Android 13 slapped with realme UI T Edition. If you are a fan of realme devices, realme UI is one of the clean-looking UI’s out there despite the bloatware that it offers out of the box. Again as I mentioned earlier, it has a 90hz refresh rate however, it is not visible in the settings. However, when it is set to adaptive display, navigating the screen across settings and other applications is smooth and fluent. Using the device as a daily driver will surely satisfy you and accommodate all your needs. As for my experience, I haven’t encountered any problems whatsoever after a week of using the device as my go-to smartphone. It can handle most of the tasks that I do on a daily basis, like social media surfing, binge-watching shows and even doing multi-tasks-related stuff. Another thing that makes this device stand out in the budget market is that it offers 6GB of RAM with a whopping 128GB storage, which we rarely see in this category. Often times budget smartphones offer 4GB RAM with the option to expand with a base storage of 64GB. Here are the Benchmark scores;
Battery and Charging
As for battery and charging, the realme C53 is backed by a 5000mAh of battery. As for my experience, It manages to perform the whole day with a spare battery for the next day. With light to medium usage, the device can last the whole day. However, if you are planning to use it with a heavy load, then expect to run out of juice before the sun sets. However, juicing up the device won’t be much of a problem and it won’t take us too long since this entry-level smartphone has support for 33W fast charging. Juicing up the device from 0 to 100 percent took us about 1 hour and 38 minutes which is fairly decent for an entry-level device.
Verdict
The Realme C53 is priced at Php. 7,999 and it delivers an outstanding experience for an entry-level device. An impressive camera quality, long battery life, and fast charging, plus the premium looks. There are some minor issues though like we should have the option to switch from standard, adaptive to a 90Hz refresh rate instead of it being embedded in the adaptive feature. A different Android skin and a higher display resolution. But all in all, the realme C53 is a good and competitive budget-friendly smartphone that is of great buy for those on a tight budget and who needs a smartphone on a daily basis.
