PhoneSentral Tech in Simplicity
Main highlights
Prior to this review, realme C61 had been well promoted for having a few main highlights. However, if I must choose, its two year (or 730 days) 1-to-1 warranty would be its main highlight.
This warranty not only gives the buyer of this smartphone confidence and peace of mind, but also shows how confident realme is with the realme C61, a phone they say is very durable and tough, being both water and drop resistant.
Aside from that, the phone also comes with a 4-year battery health guarantee which means the battery would still be in optimal state within 4 years.
Design & body
Specs: 167.26mm x 76.67mm x 7.84mm, 188g, side mounted fingerprint.
I would like to start this realme C61 review with the size of the phone.
In terms of size, the phone is the thinnest in its segment by being only 7.84mm thin. This in turn makes it favourable when held, enabling the use the thumb to the maximum on the screen.
Behind, the real back panel is exquisite as it features intricate and a visually captivating design. This design, although looking rather plain from a far, should not be covered by a cover because the fine designs really pop out under light and with close inspections.
There is nothing on the top chin of the phone, with the left side having the SIM tray, and the right side featuring the volume button and fingerprint scanner, which also doubles as the main popwer button. The power button is well placed.
It seems realme is making the dynamic button staple in its newer models because the power button also doubles as the phone’s dynamic button which I can customize for quicker interactions with the phone. Among the interaction possible is sound modes, camera, torch, opening apps, and changing the phone to different modes.
The lower end bottom has a 3.5mm audio jack, a USB-C port and a single downfiring speakers.
The side is flat, almost like the iPhone 12, enabling it to stand by itself on flat ground.
More details on what I think about the realme C61 can be read in my first impression video below.
Screen & Display
Specs: 6.745 inch HD+ screen with 90.3% screen-to-body ratio. 1600×720 resolution, 90Hz peak refresh rate, 560nits maximum brightness
When it comes to the screen, I don’t have much complaints. It does what it should and the 90Hz peak refresh rate makes game playing on the phone enjoyable.
Yes, this phone can be used to play games like COD, EAFC Mobile and Mobile Legend.
The graphics are good (not as good as what you get on premium phones) as well and they come with Dual Light Sensor for intelligent dimming which allows me to see the screen clearly despite the change in surrounding lights.
In the dark, the phone can also go to 1nit brightness to ensure its not glaring when there is a need to use the phone. This works perfect in cinemas or settings where I still want to use the phone, but do not want it to be too obvious or intrusive to others.
Under the ray of the sun, the brightness can reach 560 nits which is adequate to see the screen under bright surroundings.
Interestingly, realme also decided to expand the mini capsule to this smartphone.
The mini capsule is an interactive notification hub I wished was expanded to all smartphones because it’s not only fun to have, but allows me to see what songs are currently on play just at a glance at the punch hole area.
Audio System
Specs: One speakers and One-mic Noise Cancellation
There is only one speaker for the realme C61, but it is loud and clear although if you are sensitive to bass, there is a slight lack of it.
Calls however benefit from AI Noise Reduction which makes my voice sound clearer from the other end.
Processor, RAM & Storage
Specs: 18 (8+12)GB RAM, 256B storage space, UNISOC T612 chipset
realme’s Dynamic RAM Expansion or DRE allows this phone to have 18GB of RAM, which is of course subject to space availability from the 256GB storage space.
With ample storage space and DRE, app opening is noticebly faster than usual and running multiple apps at a time is also possible without much issue or lag.
To ensure storage wouldn’t be an issue, I also slotted in a memory card to the phone. The phone can handle up to 2TB of storage.
The realme C61 also comes with an octa-core chipset, and it seems the combination of the DRE and processor enables most task, including demanding ones like gaming and video processing, possible.
Software
Specs: realme UI (Based on Android 14)
The realme C61 comes with realme UI which has a lot of AI related technology.
As said above, the realme UI has a 48-month (two years) fluency certification which to me gives me some confidence I won’t experience lags like what hits most Android based smartphones after a year of use.
Additionally, there’s two main AI Boost Engines which help smooth the phone in its operations; namely the Smooth Boost and Game Boost.
Smooth Boost improves usability of the phone for normal daily task, while Game Boost helps improve gaming.
I’m not sure when Smooth Boost and Game Boost are activated, but I can tell you that the phone, despite being an entry level phone, does not seem laggy or slow at any point.
In fact, when playing COD, I was surprised by the speed the game loads, as well as how responsive it is when I’m running around shooting the ‘enemies’.
Aside from that, there’s also a unique AI features known as Air Gestures which allows me to do pre-set task such as mute calls, answer calls, and interact with a supported app without touching the phone.
The feature uses the front camera to recognize hand gestures and images, which then activates certain pre-set task in the phone.
Additionally, I could also change the settings for the Dynamic Button to allow me to activate different modes in the phone, as well as activate selected apps for faster and easier access.
Also available in the realme C61 is a dedicated Riding Mode.
The Riding Mode and Dynamic Button was made available in the earlier released realme C65 and it’s good to see it also making its way to the realme C61 this time around.
Camera
Specs: 5MP front camera, 50MP main rear camera
The realme C61 comes with a 50MP AI camera. It only has two main zooms, which is the 1x and 3x, missing out on the 0.5 ultrawide camera. The front is a 5MP camera.
It comes with time-lapse and slo-mo capabilities, and has special night and potrait photography.
Photography
The main camera can zoom up to 10x, but this is optically done, and images turn out blurry, even at best effort.
I do miss the super wide 0.5x focus which is not available in this phone, limiting the range of capture I can take.
In day light however, the photos I captured can be seen below with colours looking similar to reality.
The 50MP mode allows more detail in each photo taken, but if you are viewing the photo on screen, there isn’t much difference. The real difference can be seen when the photo is enlarged as more detail is captured in the photo as seen below.
Indoors, if there is adequate lighting, photos are also presentable.
At night, still photos featuring neon lights turn up nicely as seen below.
The night mode also helped capture photos quite well as seen below.
Selfies with the realme C61 camera are nice and certainly the main highlight for the camera. Aside from being able to change the Aperture from F0.95 to F16, the photos were more realistic with that nice blur effect at the background.
Below is a selfie using the back camera.
And the portrait below was taken using the front camera.
Food photos also came out nicely as seen below.
There’s also two new filters added in the realme C61 camera app, said to be usually available on high-end phones only.
One of the two is cinematic, and I tried it to get the photo below.
Not bad huh?
Overall, considering the price tag of the phone, I am happy with the quality of photos the smartphone produces.
Videography
The realme C61 does not have any stabilasation so video taking when moving will be shaky.
Since I can’t exactly explain my realme C61 videography capabilities review in writing, I opted to record a video instead. My videography test and review about the phone’s video taking capabilities in numerous situations is seen in the video below.
Battery performance
Specs: 5000mAh battery with 15W SUPERVOOC Charge
The realme C61 comes with an impressive 5000mAh battery. Without the any ultra battery saver mode turned on, and with minimal use (just a few minutes daily), the battery was still at 55% after five days.
With normal use however, the battery drain was faster (expected), able to last two full days, a feat which is still impressive. When playing COD, the phone hits 50% battery drain after 4 hours of use.
On top of that, realme says the phone at can still be on an 8 hours standby if it is down to 1% of battery. I never got to 1% and I’m not able to text the 8 hours standby due to circumstances. That said, I gues I’d just have to take realme’s word about this feature.
To charge the phone back, the realme smartphone comes with a 15W Type-C SuperVOOC charger.
Durability
Specs: IP54 Water & Dust resistance
As mentioned before I started the realme C61 review, one of the main highlights of this phone is its durability.
Here, the phone comes with an IP54 rating which means it is water and dust proof.
I soaked the phone through running water and it functions as normal even after such test.
In addition to that, there’s also Rainwater Smart Touch included to this phone which means I could use the phone even if the screen is wet.
Also, realme says that the phone has been subjected to 320 test to test its components to the limit. These test involves the power button, volume button, USB Port, Fingerprint sensors, and headset port. It also includes a long term temperature test.
I can’t do all those test, but I can do a drop test, which shows how the phone would fare when accidentally dropped from the pocket (less than 1 meter).
Both the water test, Rainwater Smart Touch and drop test is compiled a short video below.
realme C61 review verdict & availability
In my opinion, if you are looking for an adequate smartphone which can do general task, while being long lasting, the realme C61 is for you.
The phone takes decent photos, and most importantly is reliable through tough situations and places where recharging your device would be difficult. Professions which fall into this would be contractors, as well as sports people who tend to have little time to charge their phones, and then to be on the move.
The phone would also be a good present for children and young teens as it is not too expensive, but very realiable for important task like multitasking and video watching.
That said, the RM499 realme C61 is a reliable entry level smartphone and from this review, I personally believe that one should consider it if you are looking for a smartphone that wouldn’t burn a hole in your pocket, but at the same time perform as required when you need it.
