Here is my Realme 6i unboxing and hands on review. Read more here.
Realme 6i got real upgrades from previous installment
On May 13, 2020, Realme Philippines is about to unleash its new gaming and
photography-centric and budget-friendly smartphone called the Realme 6i in the
local market, a follow up to the Realme 5i that was released just a couple of
months back. Normally, Realme would release first the main variants of the new
series before unloading the more affordable and slightly watered-down " i "
models similar to what they did with the 3i and 5i releases in the past.
However, and maybe due to the current situation, the brand is releasing first
the 6i variant before the main stars of the series which are the Realme 6 and
the Realme 6 Pro. So when these non-i models will be coming to the
Philippines? We don't know, but what we do know is that they will definitively
arrive locally.
It is important to take note though that the 6i does not offer incremental
upgrades from the 5i as there are a lot to be excited about with this one
compared to its predecessor. What's even more good is that, the brand has
teased that the phone will keep its sub-Php10k price tag. How much would that
be? We will know for sure on May 13 during the official livestream
announcement event on their Facebook page.
Realme 6i key highlights
One of the main highlights of the Realme 6i is its processor. This is the
first smartphone, not just in the Philippines, but also in the world
equipped with the brand new MediaTek Helio G80 processor promising powerful
performance in the budget segment. Similar to the 5i, it still has four
cameras on the back. But its primary shooter now offers 48MP camera
accompanied with the usual ultrawide, macro, and portrait shooters. The
phone comes with the brand new Realme UI based on Android 10 OS right out of
the box, 18W Quick Charge, USB Type-C and of course the massive and long
lasting 5000mAh battery.
What's in the box
The Realme 6i comes in a yellow box with the official name and branding
printed on the front face. On the back, you will find the key specs of the
smartphone as well as its RAM+storage configuration and color variant. So
don't forget to check the back to make sure you are getting what you are
paying for. Inside the box, of course, is the Realme 6i unit itself. The one
I got is in White Milk which I really like. The other color option is Green
Tea. With the unit, are the usual stuff found in a regular retail packaging,
specifically with Realme, there's the user guide and warranty card
documentation, a free soft jelly case, the USB Type-C charging cable, and
the 18W Quick Charge charger brick. Screen protector is already installed on
the phone. Still there is no earphones in the box. They are sold
separately.
Here's the Realme 6i
So this is the brand new and upcoming Realme 6i in a beautiful and sweet
White Milk colorway. Like its predecessor, the 6i sports new and unique
design. In the Realme 5i and Realme C3, we saw the Sunrise design inspired
by the power and hope that the first rays of the sun bring us, according to
Realme. In the Realme 6i, we are also being treated to a new and unique
design on the back panel. Unlike in the previous iterations, this time
around this design does not have an official name. However, it is being
fashioned by an industrial design master named Naoto Fukasawa. The same man
who's behind the looks of the Realme X series, flagship line-up.
The back panel is made of plastic material, but it's solidly built. It's got
matte finish on the surface too, so no worries when it comes to fingerprints
and smudges flooding all over the panel. The device is quite big, a little
bit thicker and heavier, thanks to its humongous 5000mAh battery pack, which
is not bad at all. In fact, I really like smartphones with big batteries.
Perfect for long hours and outdoor use. The sides on the back are curved,
thank goodness, and that adds better grip to the phone and makes it feel
thinner in the hand. Combined that with the matte finish of the back cover,
it's good for one hand use.
At the lower left corner is the realme branding, the traditional and always
fast fingerprint reader is at the upper center of this side of the phone.
And then of course the quad rear cameras stacked on each another vertically
on the upper left with the LED flash next to it.
It's nice to see that we are now finally starting to have USB Type-C on a
budget smartphone such as this. It's not just about the looks, yes it does add
more premium look and feel to the device, but it also has to do with
convenience and performance. And then of course there is still the triple-card
slot for two 4G LTE nano SIM cards and a microSD card up to 256GB in size.
According to the press release that I received, the Realme 6i comes in three
RAM+storage sizes - 3GB+64GB, 4GB+64GB, and 4GB+128GB. I don't know yet if all
three configurations will be released in the Philippines, but whether it's
64GB or 128GB, it is always good to know that we can still add more storage
via microSD card without the need to sacrifice a SIM card.
Display and software
The Realme 6i sports a 6.5-inch HD+ IPS LCD display with mini-drop notch that
holds the 16MP selfie camera. It is a 20:9 aspect ratio display with 89.9%
screen-to-body ratio screen. If there's one thing that I like the least about
this smartphone, it would be the notch. Not really a fan of waterdrop-like
notch on display, I like punch-hole cutout better and that's why I'm so
excited for the 6 and 6 Pro. But what's good thing about the notch on the
Realme 6i, is that it's smaller than typical ones on the market.
The phone has 1600 x 720p resolution panel. While Full HD 1080p display is
much desirable, the HD+ display quality on the Realme 6i actually looks better
and sharper than typical devices out there with the same resolution. Realme
did a good job in optimizing the Realme UI software in rendering images,
texts, and colors on the screen, plus the animation is fluid and fast. Overall
experience is really good, so far. Ever since I experienced the Realme UI with
the C3 and knowing some of its cool features (read them here), it has become one of my most favorite smartphone UIs. Dark More is just a
delight to have. It works well with third-party apps.
To activate Dark Mode, you can simply swipe down the home screen to access
quick settings. And from there look for the Dark Mode, tap it to activate and
reactivate it. You can even schedule when this will remain activated or turned
off via Settings. As for the Realme UI itself, it looks very much like a stock
Android version. It's very clean and does not come pre-installed with
unnecessary apps or bloatware. I suggest that once you have your own Realme 6i
or any Realme UI-powered smartphones, explore the UI as it has a lot of
customization, features, and functionalities that both cool and useful.
Camera, battery, and fast charge
When we hear the description "budget smartphone" it is very rare that we see
high midrange specs like 48MP quad camera, 5000mAh battery with fast charge
technology, and USB Type-C go along with it. With the Realme 6i, in addition
to its powerful Helio G80 processor and huge RAM and storage options, things
have now changed.
On the back, there are a total of four cameras all equipped with AI system for
much better photo and video quality. The 48MP camera is equipped with f/1.8
aperture and 6P lens. It deploys Quad Bayer's 4-in-1 intelligent pixel binning
mechanism that combines four adjacent pixels into a large pixel resulting to
an enhanced resolution and quality of images. Its secondary 8MP shooter offers
ultrawide lens with 119-degree field of view allowing users to take include
more subjects in the frame. The third and fourth cameras both have 2MP
resolution and are equipped with macro and portrait lenses.
Camera features and modes include Night, Photo, Video, Portrait, 48M (allows
users to take photos in full 48MP without the pixel binning tech), Time-Lapse,
Ultra Macro, Slo-Mo, Panorama, and Expert. As for video recording, it can
record in 720p and 1080p at 30fps.
Sample photos
Below are some of the photos I took using the Realme 6i. Check them out.
Initial thoughts
So far I have been using the Realme 6i for a few hours now. My experience and
final thoughts on the device are still pretty limited at the moment. But
talking about initial impressions, I would say that the Realme 6i being priced
for less than Php10,000, is going to be a nice deal for people who are looking
for a powerful , beautiful inside and out smartphone for a price tag that
won't break their bank. Overall performance so far has been great, the phone
is fast in executing tasks, no lags have been experienced yet, and the Realme
UI is just so much nicer compared to previous Realme models with
ColorOS.
I think it's got great camera for its price as well. I just hope the lockdown
to relax a little bit so I can go outside and take some outdoor photos using
this phone. Once it does, I will share more photos and more of my experiences
and impressions of the Realme 6i in my full review which I plan to post in a
couple of weeks.
Realme 6i specs:
- 6.5-inch HD+ IPS LCD display with mini-drop notch
- 1600 x 720 resolution
- 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass
- 2.0GHz octa-core MediaTek Helio G80 processor
- 3GB / 4GB RAM
- 64GB / 128GB internal storage
- Supports microSD card 256GB
- 48MP + 8MP + 2MP + 2MP quad rear cameras with AI, ultrawide, macro, and portrait sensors
- 16MP front camera
- Android 10 with Realme UI 1.0
- WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS
- Dual SIM ( with dedicated slot for microSD card)
- 4G LTE
- Fingerprint scanner
- USB Type-C
- Green Tea, White Milk
- 18W Quick Charge
- 5000mAh battery
The Realme 6i's official SRP together with the availability details will be
unveiled this coming Wednesday through the official livestream launch event
on Realme's Facebook page. The brand is inviting everyone to tune in and
they will get a chance to win their every own brand new Realme 6i
smartphone. I am pretty sure there will be pre-order promo bundles as well
just like in the past, so if you are someone who is interested in getting
one of these for yourself, you better watch the livestream which is to start
at 7PM so you will know how to get those freebies the pre-order will come
with.
