PhoneSentral Tech in Simplicity
This is my first realme smartphone review, and it’s for the latest realme C Series for 2024, the realme C67.
If you aren’t familiar with the realme C Series, well, smartphones in these series are known as ‘Essential Plus’ smartphones, providing quality products without burning a hole in the pocket.
Main highlights
That said, I feel there is three major things or highlight in this particular C Series, namely the introduction of 360 degree NFC, a 108MP rear camera, and and IP54 rated smartphone.
NFC means using the phone to tap for electronic payments in particular is possible with the C67, while the IP54 means I can be less worried when ever I get caught in the rain or had the smartphone accidentally drop in water.
The 108MP rear camera on the other hand allows me to take detailed photos without splurging on a flagship smartphone.
Design & body
Specs: 164.6mm x 75.9mm x 7.59mm, 185g, side mounted fingerprint.
Anyway, when it comes to the design, the flat edges of the C67 make the phone easy to photograph as it can stand on its own on flat surfaces. Despite its flat edges, it is comfortable to hold and the rear doesn’t attract fingerprints and smudges.
The smartphone feels light and it doesn’t feel bulky when carried around, with the volume button, as well as the side fingerprint scanner perfectly placed on the sides. The reaction of the scanner is also very prompt.
The Sony Oasis Design on the rear looks elegant especially under light, with the camera bump somewhat looking ‘well placed’ at the back thanks to the sparkling lens ring. The topography of the lines give the rear dynamic character at different light, making it look stunnig when reflecting light.
While I do like the fact that C67 does offer a 3.5mm audio jack, I would have preferred it to be on the top chin as this would mean the phone can easily rest ‘standing’ without problems when I am using wired earphones.
I gave a rather elaborate explantion on the physical side in my first impression write-up and you can read it in the link below.
Screen & Display
Specs: 6.72 inch FHD+ screen with 91.4% screen-to-body ratio. 1080×2400 resolution, 90Hz peak refresh rate, 180Hz touch sampling rate, 950nits maximum brightness
With such a huge screen-to-body ratio; 91.4 per cent, it is not surprising to feel the ‘grand size’ of the screen.
Watching movies and videos were pleasing with the screen size bringing satisfaction to every video.
When playing games, the 90Hz refresh rate allows me to enjoy better feed of the game I am playing, while the 180Hz touch sampling rate allows fast reaction to every situation especially games like COD and FC24.
In addition, the screen pattern can also be unlocked with wet hands, a huge plus point for those who will use this phone when it drizzles or rains.
On a downside, the adaptive brighness does take some time to adjust to the change of lighting, so if there is a sudden change in brightness in the phones environment, it will take a second or two for it to adapt.
However, if you don’t want to go through just that few seconds, changing the settings to be the peak 950nits, or extra brightness will see the screen look as good even outdoors.
When watching videos or listening to music vertically, the Mini Capsule appears. This Mini Capsule 2.0 shows an animated rythm bar which can further display the song title upon a tap.
Audio System
Specs: Dual stereo speakers
Despite being an essential plus smartphone, the C67 has a dual stereo speaker which offers impressive sound. This means playing games and watching movie has an added enjoyment as the sound is good.
The smartphone is also able to record clear audio when video taking is done.
Processor, RAM & Storage
Specs: 16 (8+8)GB RAM, 256B storage space, Snapdragon 685 6nm chipset
The interesting thing here is that the realme C67 uses the Snapdragon 685 6nm chipset, which is the most powerful Snapdragon 685 chipset within the smartphone’s segment.
This particular processor improves Kyro CPU by 15 per cent, and improved Adreno CPU by 10 per cent, generally improving multitasking and graphic hungry applications like when gaming.
I was also made to understand the processor also promotes longer battery life, allowing the impressive battery life the C67 boast.
The 8GB RAM can be boosted to 16GB via the DRE (Dynamic RAM Expansion ) Technology, and the 256GB of storage space can be expanded to 2TB with a microSD memory card.
In terms of experience, loading time for games such as Call of Duty and FC24 is good, and gameplay in general is smooth and enjoyable.
The additional 2TB external storage space is also welcomed as it allows photos and files to be stored and backed-up securely without needing to connect the smartphone to a computer.
Software
Specs: realme UI
The realme UI runs the whole show in the C67. The software basically does what it needs to do with little to no fuss.
Camera
Specs: 8MP front camera, 108MP main rear camera with Samsung S5KHM6 1/1.67″ sensor and EIS, 6P lens and 2MP B&W lens
I think the biggest edge the realme C67 has over its rivals is the availability of the EIS in the rear camera. This is very obvious when I did the video test.
The 108MP also comes with 3X In-sensor Zoom Camera, allowing sharper and more detail rich photos if compared to their competitors.
Photography
There’s a few things that I notice when testing the smartphone’s photography capabilities.
One, would be the detail I was able to capture. The 108MP camera definately helps include more detail in images I took, and this can be reflected in the photo below. A general photo captured using the photos function is seen below.
But using th new Street Photography filter brings more style and possibilities to street photography and photography as a whole. This filter not only seems to allow me to capture images in a faster manner, but also makes them really pop out.
In addition to that, it is also equipped with DIS(Dynamic Image Snapshot) technology.
This technology allows me to take sharp photos of moving objects with better success and less effort. This can be seen through the photo of the flower below which was blowing and shaking in the wind.
In fact, I think this is perhaps the easiest time I could capture a moving object in photo so clearly, with just my first shot.
Indoors with little lighting, photos also turned out equally like the real scene as you can see in the coffee shop photo below.
At night, a photo of a nearby street turned out nice and sharp as seen below.
Neon lights are of course captured quite nicely at night as well. If you are taking photos of building and scenery which are not immediately ‘disturbed’ by lights, the images turn out as seen below.
When the weather and lighting is good, selfies using potrait mode, turn out as seen below.
Food photos were also impressive, showing enough colour, and bokeh effect, to make it really striking and poster like as you can see below.
Overall, I am happy with the quality presented by the C67’s camera, which I think is punching above it’s pricetag.
Videography
Videography with the front camera of the C67 is quite shaky despite the clear and sharp video.
The rear camera however tells a different story with the video benefitting from Electronic Image Stabilisation (EIS). My videography test can be seen in the video below.
Battery performance
Specs: 5000mAh battery with 33W SUPERVOOC Charge
The 5000mAh battery is impressive. A single charge could last for four days if the smartphone is hardly used, with about 50 percent more left for another few more days.
realme says the battery can last for 38 days on standby, but having a smartphone last for four days on minimal use is already really something to shout about.
On my typical daily use of the smartphone, I could get over two days of use before I had to look for the charger.
If I did use up all the power, the C67 could be easily charged to 50 percent of power within 25 minutes with the 33W SUPERVOOC charger.
Durability
Specs: IP54 Water & Dust resistance
As mentioned above, the C67 comes with IP54 rating which means it is water and dust resistant at level 4.
This means the smartphone is resistant to water splashes, removing any scares when you happen to get caught in the rain or accidentally dropped the phone in wet areas.
realme C67 review verdict & availability
You should get the C67 if you are looking for a smartphone which allows you to use your phone as a payment device (via NFC).
The C67 would also fit you well if you want a phone that doesn’t need constant charging, and is able to withstand water splashes or sudden drops in water areas.
It is also for you if you want to take day time videos or vlogs, or close up shots using the rear camera, but at the same time do not want to spend too much money on a flagship smartphone.
I mean at RM799 to RM899, this is an impressive bargain smartphone worth consideration espcially if you are on a very tight budget, but want to have any of the three functions above.
