Realme 10 review

Introduction

The Realme 10 series has officially kicked off, and the Realme 10 headliner is already in our office. It's a low-tier mid-ranger with a lot of bang for its buck, one that comes amid multiple global crises, such as covid, supply chain issues and inflation.

Realme has aimed to launch the Realme 10 at the same price as the Realme 9, and it did! The new phone has similar specs, is advertised for its improved performance and photography features, and just like every other Realme before, the 10 also impresses with an eye-catchy design.

The Realme 10 uses the same 6.4-inch AMOLED screen as the Realme 9, it has 1080p resolution, 90Hz refresh rate and 360Hz touch response rate. The display is protected by Gorilla Glass 5.

The new model is based on the Helio G99 chipset by MediaTek, which should offer much better performance over the Snapdragon 680 within the Realme 9, especially when it comes to games. The phone has 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage, and a microSD slot.

There is a dual camera on the back of the Realme 10 with a 50MP primary and a 2MP depth auxiliary. While this is somewhat of a downgrade since the Realme 9's triple camera, the maker promises improved photo quality and new features.

The Realme 10 is powered by a 5,000mAh battery, and it supports 33W fast wired charging. That's the same battery capacity and charging power as on the Realme 9, but the new chipset may have a different impact on the battery life, and we are surely going to test that.

The Realme 10 comes with Android 12 and realme UI 3.0. There are going to be at least two major updates for this smartphone, potentially more depending on some developments in the future.

Let's go through the complete specs sheet now.

Realme 10 specs at a glance:

• Body: 159.9x73.3x8mm, 179g; Gorilla Glass 5 front, plastic frame, plastic back.
• Display: 6.40" Super AMOLED, 90Hz, 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 411ppi.
• Chipset: MediaTek MT8781 Helio G99 (6nm): Octa-core (2x2.2 GHz Cortex-A76 & 6x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55); Mali-G57 MC2.
• Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM; UFS 2.2; microSDXC (dedicated).
• OS/Software: Android 12, Realme UI 3.0.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, 27mm, PDAF; Depth: 2MP.
• Front camera: 16 MP, f/2.5, 25mm (wide).
• Video capture: Rear camera: 1080p@30fps; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
• Battery: 5000mAh; 33W fast wired charging.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); 3.5mm jack, NFC.

The Realme 10 is not splash-resistant, unlike other competitors, though we understand a lot of cost-cutting decisions had to be made so this phone can launch at the same price as its predecessor.

The Realme 10 has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner instead of an under-display one, but both are equally useful, and we won't hold that against it. We would have wished for stereo speakers, but it seems there wasn't anything left in the budget for such.

The Realme 10 is the most basic phone of the series so far and the most affordable, of course. There are better Realme phones for those wanting more, surely, but we sort of feel the Realme 10 strikes the right balance between price and features and will be liked by those looking for an affordable yet powerful phone.

So, without further ado, here is the Realme 10 unboxed.

Unboxing the Realme 10

The Realme 10 comes in one of these signature yellow boxes Realme phones are known for. It contains the phone, a 33W charger, and a USB-A-to-C cable.

You will also find a transparent silicone case in the paper compartment.

Like most affordable phones, the Realme 10 also has a pre-applied screen protector. It's rather cheap in quality and a massive fingerprint magnet, so we peeled that off quickly. Still, it is good against scratches right out of the box, so we appreciate it.