Realme 6i Review, Specifications, Price and Competitors

Analysis and opinion about Realme 6i: design, screen, performance, battery, camera, multimedia, sound, competitors and price.

Realme is a fairly young brand of Chinese origin since it was established as an independent design on May 4, 2018. Its history dates back to 2010 when it debuted as a sub-brand of OPPO, a manufacturer belonging to the same conglomerate BBK.

Currently, the brand markets 12 smartphones, almost all of them affordable, although it has recently entered the high-end market with the Realme X50 Pro 5G.

The Realme 6i has a 6.5 ″ IPS LCD screen with Full HD + resolution, MediaTek Helio G80 processor, 4 GB of RAM, 128 GB of storage, 48MP rear camera (main) + 8MP (ultra wide angle) + 2MP (Macro) + 2MP (Depth), 16MP front camera and 5,000 mAh battery.

Realme 6i Review

Realme 6i is a smartphone with an affordable price and that shows in many aspects, starting with its construction, entirely made of white or green plastic depending on the variant we choose. However, Realme wanted to add a touch of originality to the rear cover with vertical stripes that reflect light as if they were laser beams.

The front of the Realme 6i is occupied by a fairly large 6.5 “screen with a notch – like a drop of water on top.

While the upper frame is quite narrow, the lower frame is quite thicker, so the front design is not symmetrical. Its use of the front is 82%, a correct value for this price range.

The display glass is protected by Gorilla Glass 3 which, without being the latest or toughest version, should provide protection against scratches.

The Realme 6i is a device of considerable size, as its thickness reaches 9 mm. and its weight is 199 grams. In practice, it doesn’t feel as thick as the back is curved on both sides.

This phone has a 6.5 ″ LCD panel with HD + resolution, which implies a pixel density of 270 dpi. This pixel density is rather sparse, although you will have to get very close to the screen to distinguish individual pixels.

The color fidelity of the Realme 6i screen can clearly be improved, and the colors show a bluish cast that cannot be completely corrected with the color temperature setting. Nor are the viewing angles too wide.

The maximum brightness of the screen is quite high, reaching 485 nits according to my own measurements.

Realme has included the ambient screen, which turns on the screen when a notification arrives, as well as the double-tap on the screen to turn it on momentarily and to turn it off. Another cool feature of the display is the eye care mode that filters out blue light.

One aspect that doesn’t convince me much is the haptic vibration motor, which sounds and feels too loud when you type on the screen. Other smartphones offer a more subtle and, in my opinion, more pleasant haptic feedback.

Realme has incorporated a fingerprint reader on the back that allows you to unlock the phone just by resting your finger on it. The fingerprint reader is quite quick to identify the fingerprint, although it is important to rest a good part of the finger in the reading area. It is also possible to use 2D facial recognition, as well as to activate both to be able to use them interchangeably.

Realme 6i has a 12nm MediaTek Helio G80 processor, which has two high-performance cores and six efficiency cores. This chip will be accompanied by 4 GB of RAM, as well as 128 GB of storage.

In the tests, the smartphone has obtained correct scores in all the tests, although it is obviously far from the performance offered by more expensive smartphones. On a day-to-day basis, the interface moves smoothly and the apps move smoothly, although from time to time there is a halt, especially when browsing web pages with lots of images and animated ads with Chrome.

The latest games are not a big problem for this smartphone either. I have been able to measure rates around 30 or 60 FPS in games like Asphalt 9, Dead Effect 2, or Call of Duty, although we will have to set the graphic quality mode at low or medium levels.

Realme 6i allows you to expand the storage using a micro-SD card without having to give up the second SIM card, which is an important point of favor.

Regarding connectivity, it supports WiFi 802.11 b / g / n at 2.4 GHz but is not compatible with the 5 GHz band. This can be problematic in areas with high population density since, in my house, this translates into time website loading and app downloading much higher than usual.

It also supports Bluetooth 5.0, 4G / LTE, FM radio, and NFC.

The smartphone has a 5,000 mAh battery that offers excellent autonomy, above many other smartphones that I have tested, so you will have no problem reaching the end of the day with fairly intense use of the phone.

Realme has included fast charging at 18W, although it is not as fast as what we find in high-end smartphones since it takes just over 2 hours to fully charge. As a curiosity, it is possible to use the phone as a power bank and charge other smartphones.

In the multimedia aspect, it incorporates a single speaker on the bottom of the phone, next to the USB-C connector, making it easy to cover it with your hand when holding the phone horizontally. The sound is heard with enough power although a greater richness of tones is missing.

Realme has decided to keep the 3.5mm jack, so you won’t have to resort to Bluetooth headphones or a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter.

At the software level, it comes with Android 10 and, on top, the Realme v1.0 customization layer, which is the same layer as OPPO’s ColorOS 7.0.

This layer adds a large number of functionalities that complement Android such as granular permissions for apps, cloning of applications for multi-account, gestures on the screen off, smart sidebar, application lock, safe keyboard, smart driving, hide apps on the desktop, games space and a safe to protect files.

Unfortunately, Realme has not included the Widevine L1 library, so it is not possible to enjoy Netflix content at a resolution higher than SD (960 x 540 pixels).

In the photographic section, the Realme 6i has a quad rear camera consisting of a 48MP f / 1.8 main camera without OIS, an 8MP f / 2.3 ultra-wide-angle camera, an 8MP f / 2.4 macro camera and a camera of 2MP depth.

By default, the 48MP main camera uses pixel binning to capture photos at 12MP, although it offers a super high-resolution mode that takes advantage of the full 48MP resolution to get photos that should be much sharper, in practice, they are not.

In good light conditions, the images taken by the main camera give correct results, although outdoors the result sometimes looks a bit artificial, as if the colors and the edges of the shapes were over-processed. When light is scarce, quality suffers as this camera does not have optical stabilization.

The ultra-wide-angle camera is ideal for taking pictures of landscapes or monuments, as it offers a totally different perspective. The downside is that, in low light conditions, quality suffers from the absence of optical stabilization and a more limited aperture.

As for the macro camera, it allows you to take photos at 4 cm and it can be useful on some occasions, although it is not an addition that I consider very useful in day to day life.

And finally, the depth camera allows you to take portraits with a bokeh effect, achieving a fairly good separation between the subject in the foreground and the background.

The Realme 6i can record 720p / 1080p video at 30 fps with good image quality, although it feels somewhat shaky due to the lack of stabilization. Video can be recorded with both the main camera and the ultra-wide camera.

The front camera has a resolution of 16MP, so it is capable of capturing selfies with great clarity and a wide dynamic range (no burnt backgrounds) thanks to the use of HDR. This camera also allows you to capture photos in Portrait mode with good results, although the HDR functionality is lost.

Is the Realme 6i worth buying? If you are looking for a smartphone with an affordable price but that offers adequate performance for games, a competent camera in good light, a layer of software with many features and great autonomy, the Realme 6i is a good option. Now, you must take into account its limitations so as not to be surprised.

==

Realme 6i Full Specifications

All images and specifications credits for “Realme 6i“.

The Best and Worst about Realme 6i

The best:

The Worst:

Realme 6i Price and Competitors

The Realme 6i is for sale at a price of $ 176 on the company’s official website, and at a slightly lower price on other sites such as Amazon.

If you are looking for a smartphone in this price range, there are some interesting options.

The Realme 6 ( $ 199 ) has a 6.5 ″ LCD screen at 90 Hz, MediaTek Helio G90T processor, 4/6/8 GB of RAM, 64/128 GB of storage, wide-angle rear camera (64MP) + ultra-wide-angle (8MP) + macro (2MP) + depth (2MP), 16MP front camera and 4,300 mAh battery.

The Redmi 8T ( $ 160 ) has a 6.3 ″ LCD screen, Snapdragon 665 processor, 3/4 GB of RAM, 32/64/128 GB of storage, wide-angle rear camera (48MP) + ultra-wide angle (8MP) + macro (2MP) + depth (2MP), 13MP front camera and 4,000 mAh battery