So finally I got to play for Realme 5i for more than a week and have been using it as a daily driver using my Smart 5G Ready Prepaid Sim but of course there is still no 5G signal in the country as of the moment, just 5G ready.
The 5i was the first phone from the Realme company which hyped up 2020 and we believe this is just the start of the year, we still have 11 month more of suspense waiting ahead of us. This phone is probably one of my favorite design from the company, of course taking a break from the usual glossy shinny back cover.
Realme 5i Specs Sheet
6.5-inch HD+ (1600 x 720) IPS Mini-drop Notch
Qualcomm Snapdragon 665AIE Octa-core SoC
Adreno 610
Android 9
3GB/64GB
MicroSD up to 256GB of Expansion
12MP main camera, 8MP ultra-wide camera, 2MP bokeh, 2MP macro lens
8MP front camera
Dual Nano SIM
4G VoLTE (Not 5G to those who will pop this question)
Bluetooth 5.0
A-GPS, GLONASS
3.5mm audio jack
Micro USB Charging Port
Fingerprint scanner
5,000mAh battery
165.4mm x 75.6mm x 9.3mm – 198 grams weight
Colors: Aqua Blue, Forest Green
Display
The Realme 5i sports a 6.5 inch IPS LCD Display which is capable of HD+ rendering at 720p. This is expected from a phone at its price range and hey the mini drop notch ain’t that irritating at all. The bezel at the sides is not that big, pretty ample for good gaming and video watching experience. I can say the bezel at the bottom of the screen is pretty much acceptable for this phone. I tries watching some 1080p movies on this phone, didn’t notice any lags on the screen while rendering since it take on higher resolution video without putting a strain on your eyes.
Design
The Realme 5i for me was an eye candy, wasn’t really expecting the typical glossy back will turn into a matte one for this series.
Audio
We tried every headset we have at home, checking the sound out using a headphones. Trying mobile legends using the loudpeaker, hitting the gym using the Realme Buds Air, this phone rendered awesome audio. The louspeaker is vibrant but I think the Realme XT has outperformed it in terms of the downward firing sounds in terms of game play.
Processor
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 665AIE is probably one of the better midrange SoC avaiable at the moment, it can took in any punishment I gave it, especially multitasking and gaming was not really a problem of this one.
Antutu Benchmarks
While many of us don’t believe in benchmarks, well I just want to show you the score it has garnered, its 166k points and it is pretty much fair, sometime for this price point, you get a phone at a way lower score. Benchmarks are here to tell you how fast your phone can perform, but its always the performance that counts.
Color
The Realme 5i will come in 2 colors, Blue and Green! Are you #teamateneo or #teamlasalle, show me your colors!
Connectivity
Here is one of the less tackled in any blog/vlog, the connectivity. Now let me break it down a bit and tell you the experience I had. With Globe LTE SIM both post paid and prepaid I have no problem at all. Using Smart Postpaid LTE and prepaid 5G sim there was also no problem on connection, mobile data usage was also a breeze (speeds varies on area). Sun and PLDT sim cards are also no problem as well. Checking free wifi connectivity to public place, well I have no issues with SM Free wifi, no need to mention my own router at home, it was definitely ok! Bluetooth connectivity to the Redmi Buds Air was also a breeze, and lastly transferring contacts and images from another phone took a little while but it still got the job done.
- GSM (850/900/1800/1900)
- WCDMA (B1/5/8)
- FDD-LTE (Bands 1/3/5/7/8/20/28)
- TD-LTE (Bands 38/40/41 2535-2655MHz)
Camera
This is always my favorite section of any smartphone review, the snaps and selfies section as I may call it. The Realme 5i as we know has a quad camera, well most phones nowadays has quad camera, but at this rock bottom price? Well think again, I can tell you that this camera setup is quite hard to achieve given its price point.
- AI Quad Camera with Ultra Wide-angle Macro Lens, 12MP main camera, f/1.8 aperture, 5P lens, PDAF, 10x digital zoom
- 8MP wide-angle camera, 119° angle, f/2.25 aperture, 5P lens, Support super nightscape
- 2MP portrait camera, Six portrait styles
- 2MP macro camera, 4cm shooting distance
- 8MP front camera, f/2.0 aperture, 5P lens, AI beauty, AI HDR
Now most cameras nowadays don’t really battle for supremacy on outdoor good lighting shots, the real battle lies on good selfies and great low light / night shots. Check out these samples I took using the Realme 5i both the rear camera and the front camera.
Outdoor Shots
Indoor / Low Light Shots
Food Shot
Macro Shots
Selfie
Battery and Performance
The battery is monstrous at 5000mAh, which is quite the same as the Realme 5. With big battery, comes big….. expectations, so using the PC Mark Battery stress test, we were able to weed out almost 17 hours of fun, I mean screen on time for this phone. Quite impressive!
On the charging side, I tried using a 27W charger on this phone together with the stock cable, I started charging at 15%, well it took me 2.5 hours just to complete filling up the 5000mAh tank. Which I think is a bit slow.
Verdict
Ok here is my judgement on this phone, the Realme 5i retails at 6,990 Pesos starting Feb 1, 2020, now if you ask me if this is value for money, Id definitely say yes to you. Its so refreshing to see a new back design from Realme, shying away from the mainstream glossy patterned finished back case. The camera performance definitely is outstanding, well except for macro shots which is a little below my expectations. Selfie camera is very much acceptable especially when you turn on AI, it almost turned me into a celebrity level looks. Do drop by to any Realme kiosk and store starting February 1 2020 to grab your new Realme 5i!
You might also like
More from Technology
ADATA Legend 850 Lite Review – Good Storage Upgrade on a Budget!
In this article, we're going to take a good look at the ADATA LEGEND 850 LITE. This is a PCIE …
Oppo Enco Air 3 True Wireless Earphones Review: One All Rounder TWS Around
Oppo's range of true wireless earphones is quite possibly among the most impressive in the budget and mid-range price segments. …
Best Time to Upgrade Your RAM and STORAGE with ADATA and XPG
Many of us are still stuck using the old type of mechanical hard drive, slow, fragile and heavy. Thats the …
