Realme’s C55 got the world’s attention when it was first launched in Indonesia for being the first Android smartphone with a copy of Apple’s Dynamic Island feature. Realme has branded this software feature as “Mini Capsule”. Now, the company brought this budget smartphone to India, but it’s already clear that Mini Capsule is not the most interesting thing about it – in fact it was barely talked about during the launch event. What will get this phone a lot of attention in India is its pricing and its design.
Realme’s C-series devices have been positioned as entry-level offerings for years. While it is impressive to see a C-series device with a unique-looking design, you have to keep in mind that it all comes at a cost. The price of the Realme C55 starts in the budget segment instead of the usual entry-level sub-Rs. 10,000 pricing. This phone is meant to replace the
Realme C55 daylight camera samples. Top to bottom: Auto mode, close up, portrait selfie (tap to see full size)
Selfies appeared a bit sharpened in daylight, but with decent detail and dynamic range. Edge detection in Portrait mode while using the selfie camera was average for this segment. In low light, selfies came out a bit soft and noisy no matter which mode I chose. Edge detection was not accurate either.
The camera’s low-light performance in Auto mode wasn’t great. It had trouble focusing in dimly lit scenes, and the resulting photos ended up a bit soft and lacking in detail. The dedicated Night mode vastly improved image quality, bringing in a lot more detail along with sharpness, and added some definition to textures. The results were impressive for this segment, but it takes 4-5 seconds to capture an image, so if you don’t hold the phone steady, image quality can deteriorate drastically.
Realme C55 low-light camera samples. Top: Auto mode, Bottom: Night mode (tap to see full size)
Video quality is limited to 1080p at 60fps. Recorded footage had decent detail but was low on dynamic range, and there were some clipped highlights. Videos lack stabilisation completely, so they come out quite shaky. In low light, recording at 1080p 30fps resulted in better quality with decent dynamic range, but video was still quite low on detail and had noise. Clips were quite shaky and focusing was a problem.
Verdict
In 2023, several smartphone brands have started offering 5G models at the lower end of the budget segment. There’s the Infinix Hot 20 5G (Review), priced starting at Rs. 11,499, and the Poco M4 5G at Rs. 11,999, to name a few. Then there are smartphones such as the iQoo Z6 Lite 5G, which costs Rs. 13,999 onwards and offers better software performance and good camera performance along with 5G connectivity.
Realme thinks it has found a sweet spot with an interesting design (for a budget smartphone) and a decent camera which shoots good daylight photos. However, battery life isn’t up to expectations for a budget smartphone, and the software is loaded to the brim with bloat. My unit lagged and stuttered throughout the review period, despite having 8GB of RAM. This makes the Realme C55 really hard to recommend. Consider it only if you need a good camera or are willing to ignore its shortcomings because of its unique design.
