Introduction
Realme, one of the recent competitors in the smartphone industry, has quickly become a choice for smartphone users. The Chinese manufacturer has successfully managed to capture the mid-budget smartphone sector. For the past couple of years, the Realme C series has been one of the most cost-worthy devices out there for budget centric consumers. The latest entrant in the Realme C series, the Realme C11 smartphone was launched on 30th June 2020. The latest Realme C11 is equipped with a 6.5-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 720×1600 pixels at an aspect ratio of 20:9. The phone is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Helio G35 processor. The Realme C11 runs Android 10 and is powered by a 5000mAh non-removable battery. Realme C11 comes with just 32GB of inbuilt storage that can be expanded via micro SD card with a dedicated slot, accompanied by 2GB of RAM.
Here we have broken up the Realme C11 into several aspects to discuss how the phone fares well in terms of design, display, performance, software, and others.
Prices in India, Variants, Availability
The latest addition to the Realme franchise, Realme C11 is currently priced starting from Rs.7,499, as of 29th July 2020.
There is only one variant of the Realme C11, with 32 GB internal storage with 2GB RAM. Colour options on the Realme C11 include Mint Green and Pepper Grey variants.
The latest entry-level smartphone can be purchased on the official Realme website, Amazon, Flipkart or Reliance Digital.
Box Contents
We are first greeted by the accessory packet which holds your user manual and sim ejector tool. Next, we have the unit itself, the 10-watt charging brick with Realme signature accents, and a matching micro USB cable for charging. The smartphone boasts of a large 6.5-inch display with a thickness of 9.1 millimetres and comes in at a weight of 196 grams which feels very comfortable to hold in the hand.
Specs at a glance
Here is the list of what the Realme C11 has to offer:
- Display: 6.5-inch, 1600 x 720 HD+
- CPU: MediaTek Helio G35
- RAM & ROM: 2GB+32GB
- Software: realme UI based on Android 10
- Rear cameras: 13MP + 2MP
- Selfie camera: 5MP AI Selfie
- Battery: 5000 mAh, 10W charging
- Weight: 196g
- Dimensions:164.40 mm x 75.90 mm x 9.10 mm
Design and Build
At the front, Realme C11 has a mini drop notch design, as opposed to the punctual camera layout, which a lot of entry-level phones are starting to adopt. The lack of a notification light might disappoint a few users. Another thing that might bother you is the lack of Corning Gorilla Glass protection, but we do get a pre-installed screen protector which is better than nothing.
The back end of the Realme C11 is fitted with a polycarbonate rear panel that features a textured finish which helps maintain the grip of the phone as well as to avoid unnecessary fingerprints. On the left sits the dual Nano SIM card slot, along with a dedicated micro SD card slot for expandable storage which is highly appreciable and needed when you just have a 32GB storage on-board; while on the right is the power button and volume rocker. The top is nice and clean while at the bottom houses a rather dated micro USB port for charging, the primary mic, loudspeaker, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Display
Realme C11 display consists a 6.5 inch IPS panel running at a resolution of 1560 x 720 which equates to 270 ppi. Colors are natural and vibrant even without OSIE vision effect, mostly seen in the more expensive Realme phones. Viewing angles are decent and show good contrast, especially when streaming content online. At maximum brightness, the Realme C11 is very much usable in harsh lighting situations like when you’re using it outdoors and for a phone with a 720p display, the output is still quite sharp from a normal standpoint but some pixelation can be observed when viewed from close to the screen. It’s still quite a reasonable looking display especially if the screen resolution is not a deal-breaking factor.
Performance
At the core of Realme C11 is a MediaTek Helio G35 chipset with the PowerVR GE8320 GPU along with 2GB of RAM and 32 GB of EMMC 5.1 storage. Out of the total storage of 32GB, 12.8 GB is taken up by system files, with only 19.2 GB of usable space but can be increased up to 256GB of expandable storage by inserting a micro SD card. When it comes to multitasking, just 2GB RAM slows it down when multiple tasks are happening in the background at a time, but if you’re not the type to juggle through different apps it should work just fine.
Also Read: Which Processor is Best for Gaming?
Talk about gaming, the MediaTek Helio G35 Processor has already been proven to be able to handle some gaming, but don’t expect anything more like high graphics settings and super smooth gameplay, as there will be times you’ll encounter some stuttering but they are acceptable for a phone of this calibre and budget. By default, both Call of Duty mobile and PUBG mobile run quite smoothly on the lowest graphics quality on medium frame rate settings, while the games that demand high graphics like Mobile Legends and Temple Run 2 do not run effortlessly on this device. You might get stuck and want to discard the device for gaming. In terms of performance, the Realme C11 is sufficient for most basic tasks like social media and other light apps.
Software
The software department of Realme C11 is built on Realme UI based on Android 10. Realme UI is a delight to use thanks to its fluidity, security and useful features like Realme Share. Pre-installed applications include the standard Google suite, as well as Realme’s native applications including Realme Link and Gamespace. The home page from factory default is appreciably clean with not a lot of bloatware upon initial startup. But you will definitely see a lot of third-party apps which you can easily delete on bootup.
Cameras
In terms of camera, the Realme C 11 on the rear packs a 13-megapixel primary camera with an f/2.2 aperture and a second 2-megapixel camera with an f/2.4 aperture. The rear camera setup uses autofocus. On the front, a 5 MP camera is used for selfies, with an f/2.4 aperture.
Unfortunately, there is no option to change the quality of photos in the settings, but video recording makes it easy to change the resolution from either 720p to 1080p. Shots taken with the rear camera aren’t bad, especially with HDR turned on. The cameras can be used to capture decent looking images with a nice pop of colour. Portrait mode using the main shooter also works well but could use a little bit more work when it comes to subject background separation. With all beauty enhancements turned off, selfies are average but would sometimes come out blurred if shots are taken too quickly with a lot of movement. The selfie camera in portrait mode works much better though with more sharpness, better contrast and of course that nice bokeh effect that everybody loves.
Realme C11 performs best from the close to mid-range distances with an ample amount of lighting as noise becomes quite apparent when trying to shoot something from afar or when in dark environments. Nightscape and pro mode as available as well, so night shots are still achievable to some extent. The C 11 has a native image output of 4160×3120 pixels with no setting to change this in the default camera app. There is a choice of shooting at either 720p or 1080p at 30fps when it comes to video recording, quality of which is enough for casual use. Since this doesn’t have any form of stabilization, a pair of steady hands would be required to get those desired smooth shots.
Battery
The Realme C11 comes equipped with a 5000 mAh battery, with support for 10 Watt charging. The huge battery capacity combined with the lower resolution screen and power-efficient chipset easily provide a 2-day battery life. Charging however is slow given the limited 10-watt power delivery. Completely charging the device up from 0 % takes about 3 hours to reach full battery. The C 11 has been tested to last a total of 25 hours and 31 minutes of playback, making this device a good companion for continuous multimedia consumption.
Audio, Connectivity, Biometrics
Audio-wise the Realme C11 utilizes a single downward-firing speaker which performed decently as per expected. There is not much bass which is can be overlooked, considering this is an entry-level phone but in terms of loudness and clarity the Realme C11 definitely passes with flying colours for entry-level smartphone standards.
The absence of a fingerprint sensor on the Realme C11 might be an inconvenience for some. Face unlock is supported by the Realme C 11, with a quick reflex time.
The connectivity options on the Realme C11 include Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, GPS, Bluetooth version 5.00, USB OTG, Micro-USB, 3G, and 4G. The phone sensors include accelerometer, ambient light sensor, and proximity sensor.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Reverse charging
- Dual SIM + Memory card slot
- 20:9 aspect ratio
- Modern design
Cons
- Slow charging speed
- Underwhelming processor
- Dull colours on the display
- No other RAM and storage variant
For a phone that’s well designed, has great battery life and boasts a very capable entry-level processor, the Realme C11 is a good choice for those who want a well-balanced device that has decent gaming performance for a bargain price, and as a satisfactory camera setup. However, there are some compromises on the design and features of the product to meet the budget of an entry-level smartphone. Realme C11 could have been made much better by opting for a double-sided USB Type-C port, instead of the single micro USB charging port currently used. A fingerprint sensor has also been omitted, an unusual exemption considering the fact that it is a common feature almost all smartphones in the current market. Another negligible omission is the notification lights panel, which might be inconvenient to some. Despite its shortcomings, the Realme C11 seems to be a decent entry-level smartphone with a promising performance. Eventually, it is a choice to be made by the buyer, which features to be prioritized over others.
