Realme 3i, Realme X hands-on review

Realme had a big event today, unveiling the Realme 3i - a mix of Realme 3 performance and Realme C2 design and bringing the Realme X to its first market outside China - India. We were at the launch in New Delhi and we had the chance to spend some quality time with the new handsets.

Let's rewind for a second. The Realme 3 was released back in March with Helio P70 chipset for the Indian market and Helio P60 for the global audience. The difference between the two chipsets is minimal at best so the 3i, which comes with the P60 shouldn't feel like a downgrade at all. It will stand out a bit more though, as it comes with the same diamond-cut back as the Realme C2.

Realme 3i specs

Body: Polycarbonate back, Gorilla Glass 3 front;
Screen: 6.2-inch, 19:9, HD+, IPS LCD
Rear Camera: Primary 13MP, f/2.2 lens; Secondary 2MP depth sensor; LED flash; 1080@30fps video recording, digitally stabilized 1080p@30fps
Front Camera: 13MP, f/2.0; 1080p@30fps video recording
Chipset: MediaTek Helio P60, octa-core CPU (4xA73 @2.0GHz + 4xA53 @2.0GHz), Mali-G72 MP3 GPU
Memory: 3/32 GB or 4/64 GB, dedicated microSD slot for up to 256GB expansion
OS: Android 9 Pie; ColorOS 6.0 on top
Battery: 4,230mAh, 10W charging
Connectivity: Dual SIM (4G), Bluetooth 4.2, GPS/GLONASS, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, FM radio, microUSB 2.0
Colors: Diamond Black, Diamond Red, Diamond Blue
Misc: Rear-mounted always-on fingerprint scanner

The Realme X brought along two special versions - the Spider-Man Editon and the Master Edition dedicated to Garlic, and Onion. The last one is actually two limited colors, inspired by the French cuisine - we kindly remind you they are not for eating.

Realme X specs

Body: Plastic back and frame, Gorilla Glass 5 front; 161.3x76.1x8.6mm, 191g
Screen: 6.53-inch, 19.5:9 aspect, 1080x2340px resolution, 394ppi, OLED.
Rear Camera: Primary 48MP, f/1.7 lens; secondary 5MP depth sensor; LED flash; 4K@30fps video recording.
Front Camera: 16MP, f/2.0; 1080p@30fps video recording.
Chipset: Snapdragon 710, octa-core CPU (2x2.2 GHz 360 Gold & 6x1.7 GHz Kryo 360 Silver), Adreno 616.
Memory: 4/6/8GB of RAM, 64/128GB of storage, no microSD slot.
OS: Android 9 Pie; ColorOS 6.0 on top.
Battery: 3,765mAh, 20W VOOC 3.0 charging.
Connectivity: Dual SIM (4G), Bluetooth 5.0, GPS/GLONASS, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, FM radio, USB-C, 3.5mm jack.
Colors: Steam White, Punk Blue, Onion, Garlic White
Misc: Under-display optical fingerprint scanner.

Now let's get to know the devices one by one.

Realme 3i hands-on

When the Realme 3 arrived in India with Helio P70, it was priced at INR8,999 ($130). Now, to provide Android Pie experience with a big battery for a slightly lower price, the company decided to launch Realme 3i. The quad cluster of Cortex-A73 cores is 2 GHz (instead of 2.1 GHz), but that is hardly noticeable. A company executive told us the Realme 3 is out of stock, so this phone is your best option in this price range.

A more notable difference is on the outside. The gradient paint job has been replaced by a diamond-cut texture akin to the Realme C2. Our unit in Diamond Black felt pretty nice to the touch and with very decent grip levels.

Realme 3i from all sides

The fingerprint scanner sits on the back and it is lightning-fast. It is as comfortable as we remember it from the Realme 3 (remember, they share the same footprint) and once you unlock the phone, you are immediately immersed into the ColorOS 6 experience. The camera brings some AI features that are hit or miss - the 13 MP works on its own, while the 2 MP jumps in to help only for portrait shots with defocused backgrounds.

Priced at INR7,999 for the 3/32 GB variant, the Realme 3i finds itself in a good position to become a market success. We did love the Realme 3 back when we reviewed it and we suggest you check that out to know more about the software and performance of the 3i as well - after all the differences are all cosmetic.

Realme X Spider-Man Edition hands-on

We already have a full review of the Realme X when it arrived in May, but now we get to check a couple of new variants. First, let's start with the Spider-Man Edition - it comes in a fancy box carrying the Spider-Man logo. The phone is white in color, but has a neat rubberized case with the logo of the Marvel movie Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Realme X Spider-Man: Far From Home Edition

There is also a difference on the inside - the Realme X has a topical theme with the Spiderman logo sitting at the home screen and some of the icons have become red. Fans of the classic Spider-Man might be disappointed by the lack of blue color - you can spot some hues on the home screen and that's it - Marvel decided to go with Red and Black in Far From Home.

Spider-Man: Far From Home theme on the Realme 3i

Realme X Master Edition hands-on

The Garlic White and Onion devices are pieces of beauty on their own. The design of the back panel imitates the multi-layer vegetables, with the Garlic variant being more prominent. Unlike the glossy back on the regular Realme X, these two have nice matte finishes. They come with 8GB/128 GB, matching the more premium version of the regular Realme X.

Realme X Onion and Realme X Garlic White

The Garlic White and Onion phones will be available in August for the same INR20,000 price, while the Spider-Man edition will cost you INR20,999, which means you'll essentially be paying INR1,000 for the fancier case and the theme.

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