realme C55, the one to beat under 300 euros? | Review

realme C55

Although the proposals in the smartphone market are constantly growing in number, one of the questions that is cyclically easy to find among users' requests is precisely that linked to which is the best device to buy at a given price. The novelties therefore, although in greater quantities than in the past, fail in the eyes of users to differentiate themselves sufficiently to become recognizable and preferable compared to the others, especially in the cheaper ranges.

That's why on the occasion of the complete review of realme C55, coincidentally a new contender in the crowded mid-range, I wanted to identify with a typical user, asking myself the most classic questions of those who are looking for a new smartphone with a cost of less than 300 euros.



-->

Don't worry though, for those of you who love technical data sheets and slightly more in-depth data, I will leave a paragraph dedicated to the data dedicated to the most enthusiasts, with some considerations in detail.

What is REALLY important?

Having to identify myself with the typical average user, I immediately asked myself what were the most important aspects for this category of users.

--> The summary of the questions is contained in the list just below, which I will analyze in detail by telling you about the strengths and weaknesses of this new realme C55 smartphone in relation to each of the aspects taken into consideration.

What do I get for the price Memories, performance and display Photographic compartment Autonomy

What do I get for the price

Even before going into detail about the hardware potential of a product, the user looking for a new smartphone with a lower price at 300 euros, he evaluates what he gets at 360° from his spending. All starting from the unboxing experience.

Accustomed as we are to companies that make the sales packages increasingly sparse and empty, in my opinion the user in the medium range finds even more than in other price ranges the presence of a good range of accessories is fundamental.

realme C55 therefore presents itself to the public with great attention to this issue, giving the user a sales kit that will not oblige any user to pay extra. Starting from the presence not only of the data/power transfer cable, passing through the wall power adapter, completing everything not only with a film already applied to the display but also with the presence of a protective cover.

-->



Knowing therefore to take home once you leave the shop not only the smartphone but also everything you need to be able to fully use the device is an aspect that this realme C55 fully satisfies. certainly proving superior to many current competitors on the market

Memory performance and display

Unlike those who are looking for a high-end device, the demands of users who have a reduced budget they certainly have a different center of gravity. This new perspective sees the general experience as centric with respect to the exaggeration of each individual hardware component, with the end result of less attention to certain issues in favor of others.

So here is also the absence of latest technologies regarding speed and fluidity can be weighed (or even not considered) due to the presence of other characteristics. First of all, at least in my experience and my knowledge of this target user, is the use of large memories. According to this reasoning, therefore, here is how an internal memory of 128GB (or even 256GB as proposed by this realme c55) can become prevalent compared to a display with a 120Hz refresh rate rather than benchmark data and higher speeds.





Remaining on the subject of display, realme C55 is presented on the market, then going to cover what is another of the typical requests of users in this price range, represented by a good ratio between dimensions and usability of content.

With a 6.72″ display, featuring bright and vivid colors, realme C55 not only winks at the eye with an almost bezel-less front design but is satisfying in every context of use, thanks also and above all to a datum of brightness of the panel capable of restoring full visibility in any context of lighting and inclination.

Rather than analyzing the processors and RAM data, users who one s smartphones within 300 euros expect an experience capable of keeping up with their requests, without exaggerated waiting times. Being non-demanding users, the various applications installed are usually the usual ones and vary from social ones to those of light productivity/entertainment, without ever entering too exaggerated specific niches.





Remaining in this usage scenario, realme C55 proves to be not only a skilled and powerful companion but also a reliable and stable one, thanks to the adoption of a recent generation professor combined with virtual memory for multitasking.

Photographic sector

Certainly the photographic sector of this smartphone is nothing short of showy and centric in the general design. But will the photos and videos captured by the optics be the same too?

As often happens in this price range, the camera sector is still where the producers implement the greatest cuts in order to contain the list price. The realme C55 does not escape this rule and sees a great absence at the rear (the wide-angle lens) weighed by a main lens more than capable of meeting the needs of users in this price range.



It is not a camera-phone (nor the best smartphone for taking photos with a price of around 300 euros) and the absence of a second useful lens (here, in fact, next to the main one we find a second 2MP camera to say the least unusable) you feel, useless to go around it. In good light conditions, however, the photos taken will be in line with expectations, with colors that are well reproduced and a quality of details in line with the 64MP available. The shots that the selfie camera is able to take, set in a central cutout of the display, are also standard.

Less good are the videos, which do not offer the 4K option and which at 1080p 60 frames prove to be not all height of expectations.

Autonomy

After the analysis of a sector that convinces but not entirely, the happy notes return. In fact, although this smartphone is not the king of autonomy, we are faced with a duration capable of not dissatisfying the average user, guaranteeing what I think is the standard for this user target, or the possibility of double use day medium bland without having to charge the battery.





The realme C55 then offers not only excellent durability but also an all-round satisfying charging experience, thanks to the 33W fast charge capable of making the charging times of the installed battery unit not so long. Excellent compromise in my opinion in this price range, where higher charging speeds would be useless and underappreciated in my opinion, potentially increasing the price without real benefit for the average buyer.

Considerations general

After analyzing the product trying to use the eye of the mid-range user, I now want to share some extra considerations and data, before leaving you to the benchmarks and conclusions.

The realme C55 is presents with a design capable of combining the large size of the display in the best possible way, without weighing too much on the overall balance. All thanks to the use of plastic materials for both the frame and the rear, capable of containing weight and general volumes. The sensation is not "cheap", with a rear treatment in the black color almost in a wood-like effect, with vertical veins on the entire body. Despite the reduced thickness (under 9mm), we find a complete set of buttons and ports, including a side power button (also equipped with fingerprint recognition) and also a 3.5mm jack for headphones that many will appreciate .





The presence of the 3.5mm headphone jack provides us with the assistance to talk a little about multimedia rendering as regards content reproduction . Said of a good panel capable of reproducing vivid and well-contrasted colors, as regards audio and vibration we are faced with mixed sensations. Well in fact for the presence of the "ultra boom" technology capable of reproducing audio up to a volume of "200%", the lack of stereophonics is less good. As for the experience linked to the vibration feedback, nothing in particular to report, with a performance not like a low cost device but not even close to the more expensive smartphones.



On the software side we find Android 13 (the presence of the latest version of the green robot is very good in a market where at these prices many manufacturers still try to save money by not offering good software support) with realmeUI customization. Nothing particular to report, with no news worthy of note compared to many other devices of the group branded Oppo or Oneplus recently placed on the market. The only hint of one of the first real attempts (for now failed in the absence of real utility) by an Android manufacturer to imitate the Dynamic Island seen on the recent iPhone 14 Pro. I'll leave the comments box to you, limiting myself to confirming for now (and perhaps forever on the Android side) the uselessness of this function, used practically only to notify the successful reloading phase.





Finally, two further notes noteworthy techniques. The first represented by the SIM slot which allows not only the insertion of two physical cards but also a third slot for the microSD (up to 1TB), a detail that will surely make many users happy who are still used to use this support. The second is represented by full support for NFC technology, with mobile payments from smartphones therefore enabled without any problem, not a given at these prices.

Technical data sheet and benchmarks

realme C55 Dimensions 165.65*75.98*7.89mm

189,5g

Processor MediaTek Helio G88 Chipset (4G)

Display 6,72″

Resolution: 1080×2400 pixels

Refresh rate 90Hz – Touch sampling rate: 180Hz

Screen-to-body ratio: 91.4%

Maximum brightness: 680nit

Memories 6/8GB RAM LPDDR4X + 128/256GB ROM UFS 3.1

Support up to 1TB microSD

Cameras Main camera: 64MP; f/1.79; 1/2″ sensor Secondary camera: 2MP B&W; f/2.4 Front camera: 8MP; f/2.0 5000mAh battery

33W charging

Android 13 OS

realme UI 4.0



Geekbench 5 Geekbench 6

3DMark

PCMark Work 3.0 Single-Core Multi-Core Single-Core Multi-Core Wild Life Extreme Wild Life Extreme Stress Test Wild Life Wild Life Stress Test Performance realme C55 375 1322 425 1408 188 (1.10 fps) 191 – 188 (98.4%) 742 (4.40 fps) 752 – 736 (97.9%) 8985 Honor Magic5 Lite – – 893 2086 359 (2.20 fps) 363 – 360
(99.2%) 1207 (7.20 fps) 1214 – 1208 (99.5%) 10254 Motorola moto g53 5G

559 1636 – – 289 (1.70 fps) 294 – 290

(98.6%) 985 (5.90 fps) 987 – 983 (99.6%) 9759

Final considerations

With the aim of presenting itself on the market as a valid option for mid-range users, in my opinion realme C55 manages to convince thanks to a more than excellent general usability and few real gaps. Perhaps the greatest of all, even in this particular cost range, is that of a photographic multimedia sector which could be too limiting and below expectations.

The excellent display, the presence of fast memories and capacious and an absolutely promoted autonomy, are perhaps its peculiar characteristics, exploited to the fullest by mature and reliable software. Perhaps in the end this is the key, in a mid-range market that still sees little general attention to the software theme, realme has understood how to position itself on the market by providing the right attention to this theme, which has become increasingly a priority over the years, so much in the high-end as well as in the lower ones. So even without the best hardware available, here's how realme C55, especially with the various promos that will see it as the protagonist, could become one of the best options under 300 euros.