Realme 5i is almost similar to realme 5, with the only meaningful difference of the selfie camera that is a downgrade in 5i. In my opinion, a mere 5MP difference shouldn’t’ make a huge difference for both models. Yes, the price could be a factor for the users tight on budget. I don’t expect Realme 5i to perform any differently than the base mode; nevertheless, let’s check out how it performed in our tests.
Realme 5i specs
- Display: 6.52 inches
- OS: Android 9.0, ColorOS 6
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 665
- RAM/ROM: 4GB/64GB
- Camera (rear): 12MP + 8MP + 2MP + 2MP
- Camera (front): 8MP
- Battery: 5000 mAh
Design and Display
Just like the realme C3’s bold outlook that was also launched recently, the 5i also features a new sunrise design pattern that targets the youth with its Aqua Blue and Forest Green colors. The rays design originating from a corner of the phone on the rear side is equally striking as the diamond cut rear of realme 5. But, it is the matte finish back cover this time that acts as a resistive to the smudges.
The quad-camera setup, aligned vertically, protrudes similar to the realme 5 that can cause wobbling on a flat surface. Since there is a silicon cover out of the box and there is no need owing to the pattern and the matte finish, so you might need to live with that wobbling effect. Just like the old ways, the primary 12MP lens is surrounded by a yellow circle – realme does it, apparently, to stand out among the crowd. Just within reach of the index finger, a fingerprint scanner resides a few millimeters away.
On the other side, the 6.52 inches IPS LCD features a mini drop display that gives 269 ppi. The bezels look minimum except for a very prominent chin. Realme hasn’t mentioned the version, but it is a Gorilla Glass display of HD Plus resolution, which is reasonably bright at 60%. The viewing experience is good both indoors and outdoors; however, watching a movie like Captain Marvel with lots of dark scenes in the daylight could sometimes be challenging. The color reproduction is decent for a 720px screen, which looks good in this price segment.
The size of the screen, however, is the primary asset that gives an immersive viewing experience for games and movies. There are no fancy display options inside the setting area other than altering the color temperature, which has a minimal impact on the display quality.
Realme 5i comes with a phone wide dark mode that not only helps to put a healthy impact on the battery life but also makes the display a bit crispier and easy on the eyes. It’s a personal choice, though, and may not uniformly work for all third-party apps.
Performance and Battery
The phone isn’t different in hardware that we found in the base version. There is a Qualcomm 665 Snapdragon chipset under the hood coupled with Adreno 610 for graphic handling. Depending upon the market, you may find a 3GB/32GB and 4GB/64GB memory versions that can be further upgraded up to 256GB through a MicroSD Card.
It scored 163563 on AnTuTu that falls closer to Nokia 7.2’s 165600 but behind Redmi Note 8 that scored 177451.
Playing games like Call of Duty and PUBG isn’t a problem for 5i, but you shouldn’t rule out a bit of lag and intermittent frame drop here and there, which is a part of the experience with low-end phones.
Realme 5i boasts a massive 5000 mAh battery and an out-of-the-box 10W charger that takes almost 3 hours to fill it from 0 to 100%. It also supports reverse charging serving as the power bank in times of need, but the process is painfully slow that can only help you if there are no alternatives around.
The device is good with battery timing. I was always left with 30 to 40% of the battery at the end of the day, but it mainly depends upon the usage pattern. However, for a more clear picture for everyone, we drained the battery in 17 hours during the video looping test (wifi/data off, brightness 50%, volume 100%).
Check out our ranking of the best mobile phones with the longest battery life
The four hours social media test on 4G data took away 43% of the battery that is similar to C3’s 5000 mAh battery. The following graph gives a clear picture of the test.
Camera
Realme 5i boasts a quad-camera setup on the rear side that is again similar to the base version, but it is the front camera that has been downgraded this time from 13MP to 8MP. Lenses on the rear side include a 12MP main sensor, 8MP ultrawide, 2MP depth sensor, and a 2MP macro lens, which is seemingly a trend today for entry-level and mid-range phones.
The default camera app is a usual sequence of different modes tied at the bottom area featuring what every other ColorOS based phone does; Video, Photo, and Portrait. A hamburger menu at the extreme left of the menu bar provides access to additional modes like NightScape, Ultra Macro, Expert, etc.
Day Images
You don’t need a fancy phone to get good daylight pictures today. Even entry-level phones like realme 5i can perform adequately. Its standard 12MP lens has the capability to catch and maintain the original colors of the scene. It does not overdo the color, contrast, and exposure value. Everything looks rightly balanced in typical daylight scenarios.
Look at the following image where you can see almost every pattern on the building, ground, trees, and sky that existed originally.
The HDR mode, which is a tap away, adds more black to the scene than we wished. It enhances the details in most of the places, but some areas inside the frame get hidden owing to excessive blacks. However, images appear a bit more catchy overall on the small screens.
Similarly, you can use the chroma boost to amplify the colors. 5i keeps the enhancement on the warmer side, and you get to feel a yellowish layer on top of the original image.
The 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens can expand as wide as 119 degrees for bringing in more area, but when compared to the main lens, a mere 4MP cut in the lens power adds more noise in the images which is not annoying in the middle area, but as you move away, the grains are more noticeable, and the details look a little washed out. We noticed a bluish tilt in colors when compared with the images of the same scene from the main lens, but it is nothing major to complain about.
The overall image quality from the ultra-wide-angle lens is reasonably fair, considering the price point of this phone.
Zooming in realme 5i can go up to 10x, there are however soft keys for 2x and 5x but don’t expect too much as they are merely AI treated and the cropped versions are lesser in quality than what you can get out of a manual crop on a 12MP standard mode image. 5x and then 10x are simply the no-go areas. Take a look at the cropped image from the 12MP lens and the one from the 2x zoom.
Night Images
At night, Realme 5i behaves what you can expect from a good performing entry-level phone. Like the day shots, well-lit subjects with 12MP main-lens are captured with a fair amount of detail, although grains are easy to see. Unlike Samsung’s Galaxy A30s and Galaxy A51, we didn’t notice lens glare issues ruining the images.
However, with NightScape – that’s what realme calls the night mode – 5i boosts up the image quality and colors by more than 50%, especially, the lights that start looking more accurately registered as compared to the standard mode. We recommend practicing NightScape more frequently for some fantastic shots.
It’s better not to use the ultrawide lens at night in the default way, or else you won’t find anything on the screen except for grainy scenes that are extremely lower in detail. In short, the ultrawide lens is no way helpful for outdoor photography where you have to depend on the surrounding lights, and the same goes for the zoom shots. But, Realme has provided the NightScape for the ultrawide angle as well that is capable of doing a little justice with decently lit scenes.
Portrait, Macro & Selfies
Although Realme 5i has a dedicated portrait mode, it is really good with the close-up shots when taken with standard mode. It blurs the background very nicely and keeps the colors punchy. Portrait mode does a similar job for all kinds of subjects, but it doesn’t always match the quality of standard mode’s closeup shots.
The phone also boasts a 2MP macro lens that can shoot the tiniest objects from just 4cm away. It needs a bit of practice even in the good light that, too, does not get rid of unwanted noise in the image. We were able to take some better shots, but it was a challenge on its own.
As stated, the front lens has been downgraded in this device from 13MP to 8MP, which shouldn’t be a major hiccup for selfie lovers. We were able to click some really lovely selfies both day and night. The standard mode, although, keeps the face in focus, but the backgrounds are overly exposed under the sunlight. HDR is helpful in such a situation. However, we noticed a little inaccurate, subject mapping with the portrait mode that looks like a common weakness among entry-level phones.
Videos
Realme 5i can record up to 4k resolution videos from the rear camera. The front lens, however, can record 720 and 1080 videos. The phone supports EIS that provides a decent stabilization on 720 and 1080 video. You can also shoot videos in ultra-wide mode. Have a look at the sample video below.
Verdict
Realme 5i falls in a price segment that is stuffed with lots of choices. A brighter screen of 6.5 inches, a bigger battery that lasts for hours even days, and a quad-camera setup that can take some clean shots are some of the attractive features. Being an entry-level device, you may find small issues here and there, but that doesn’t undermine the overall performance.
Although there are tons of other options like Moto E6 Plus, Infinix S4, and Oppo A5s, Realme 5i has this strength that can impress many.
Alternative
When it comes to performance and camera results, you will find Redmi Note 8 to be a much better option as compared to the Realme 5i but you will have to spend a little more money for the purchase.
Great review ,,, thanks for update PhoneYear ❤️