The Realme 5 available via the Realme website for €169/£142
Realme is the sub-brand of Oppo and over the last 12 months, both brands have really rocketed in the UK Market. The latest phone we are reviewing is the Realme 5 which is one down from the Realme 5 pro that we have previously reviewed and very much enjoyed. The Realme 5 costs €169 via the realme website which puts it into a budget phone sector. The phone comes in two colours crystal blue or purple and comes in 128 GB and is the most affordable in the range.
If you put the realme 5 next to the 5 Pro they are very similar the main difference is is the realme 5 is slightly bigger at 6.5 inches compared to the 5 pro that is 6.3 inches. Apart from that, the main features of both phones are the same. Such as the camera, and fingerprint location.
Design-wise the Realme 5 has a polycarbonate body and both colours have a glossy back but it does feel like a budget handset. The body of the phone is durable and can take a bump or two. The phone also comes with other features that the 5 Pro also has its splash resistant and the 3.5 headphone jack all things you expect on a budget handset.
On the back of the phone, you also have the vertical camera module on the top-left corner of the phone that also has a LED flash on the side. Also on the back of the phone is the fingerprint sensor and at the bottom right you have the realme logo at the bottom.
Moving to the sides on the right side you just have the power button and on the left side, you have the volume controls and sim card slot.
At the bottom of the phone, you have the 3.5mm headphone jack, speaker grill which is just above the micro USB port which is used for charging. I would have hoped for USB-C but that is just a small issue.
The screen is a 6.3-inch display with an HD+ resolution and this gives you a 20:9 aspect ratio. You also get the gorilla glass 3+ to prevent drops and damage.
Under the bonnet, this phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 which is one of the lower-spec phones in the Realme range but it’s not as powerful as the Snapdragon 712 in the 5 pro. However, for using this phone for everyday use you will find the Realme 5 performs very well. However, when my son used the phone who is a big gamer this phone just could not cut the mustard on a graphic level if you want something at a more intense level you might have to look elsewhere.
You will also find you have different storage options such as 3GB or 4G RAM with the following storage options:
You can also increase the storage with a microSD card if you are a user who needs a lot of storage. Moving to the operating system this phone uses ColorOS 6.0.1 and this is a very Android-like operating system but it does feel a bit slower compared to other rivals. You will notice instead of the swipe-down access to the notification bar that been replaced with the search panel which can take a slight bit longer to load than you might expect.
Moving onto the camera on the phone you get a standard 12MP wide-angle lens and 8MP ultra-wide camera as well as a 2MP macro and 2MP depth sensor this allows for some versatility when taking shots but the senors are not a deal-breaker as they don’t overly improve the images.
Daytime- Image – No Zoom
Daytime image – 10x Zoom
As you can see the image was taken during the day and if you compared this to other high range phones you would find it hard to tell the difference. You will see the 10x Zoom really does in bring out the detail in the shot above.
Night Shot- No Zoom
Night shots are where this phone simply struggles to take a decent image and you can tell it’s a budget phone. Now if you’re just using this phone and are not looking to take really professional image and just want a decent quality picture you will be happy with this phone. If you are looking for a more enhanced quality image I would consider the Realme 5 Pro instead.
The Realme 5 is packed with a 5,000mAh battery which is even bigger than the Land Rover Explore that come in at 3000mAh that we reviewed recently. The Realme offers 49 hours of call time or 12 hours of entertainment via Youtube or music being played. When tested we were very happy and this phone lasted just shy of 2 full days but we did use Spotify for music in periods.
The Price of the Realme 5 cost €169 which is currently at the time of writing this review £142. However, you can get the Realme 5 Pro for €199/ £167 and for such a small investment you get a better screen resolution, camera and chipset performance and faster charging you would have to question why you would buy the Realme 5?
If you only have a small budget for a phone you will not feel short-changed if you buy the Realme5 which currently costs £142 and that gives you all you need for a phone. Some people might find the ColorOS a bit problematic at first but you will get used to it.
Battery wise this phone will take your worries away about your phone running out of juice with a 4000Mah battery that as long as you don’t overuse this phone it will give you 2 days use. This phone is a good budget range phone but for an extra £20 you can get the Realme 5 Pro and in my view, I would snap that up instead.
Overall rating: 4.2 Stars
