Realme 7 review

Wrap-up

The €179 Realme 7 is an excellent budget offer - it has a 90Hz display, snappy hardware, some good cameras on the back, and impresses with its massive battery and fast charging. But does it have a place under the sun?

The Realme 7 lineup finds itself in a really tight spot. The 7 Pro may have a couple of notable differences compared to the 6 Pro, but the Realme 7 is merely a Realme 6 with a larger battery.

Alternatives

Yes, the Realme 7 is a great smartphone. But in Western markets, we would still recommend getting the Realme 6 for its better camera, similar battery life, and the extra splash-resistance.

If you are in Asia, however, where there is no camera downgrade, the Realme 7 would actually make an excellent replacement to the Realme 6.

Alternatively, the Realme 6 Pro costs about €80 over the Realme 7, and that gets you an extra 12MP telephoto at the back and an extra 8MP ultrawide selfie snapper at the front.

Continuing the topic of alternatives, the 64GB version of the Poco X3 NFC costs €230. This phone makes quite a lot of sense. It has a 120Hz HDR10 display of much better quality, a faster Snapdragon 732G chip, an even larger battery, and an overall better photo quality delivered by higher-resolution cameras.

Another option, the Redmi Note 9 Pro, costs the same as the Realme 7, and even though it offers only a 60Hz display, you will get a dual-glass body, a 64MP primary camera with better quality, and a 5MP macro snapper with autofocus that we liked a lot.

Realme 6 • Realme 6 Pro • Xiaomi Poco X3 NFC • Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro

The verdict

At the very end of this Realme 7 review, we feel conflicted. With the primary camera's downgrade on Western markets, there doesn't really seem to be a clear cut place for Realme 7 in Realme's portfolio.

On the other markets, where the Realme 7 and Realme 6 share the same cameras, getting the Realme 7 is a no-brainer as it's only 10 euros more expensive. It makes all the sense even if it's just for the larger battery.

So our recommendation would go to the 64MP Realme 7 if it's available where you reside.

For all other places, it's the other way around. We're sorry 48MP Realme 7, but for 20 euros more, but we'd rather get the Realme 6 .

Pros

• Large 90Hz display, small notch, excellent contrast
• Outstanding battery life, fast charging
• Snappy chipset, great for gaming
• Main camera offers good photo and video quality
• 3.5mm jack, NFC, standalone microSD slot

Cons

• Not splash-resistant, whereas Realme 6 was
• Primary camera was downgraded from the Realme 6 on Western markets
• Ultrawide video capturing is not so hot