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What to consider when choosing a realme phone

Chinese brand realme is a relatively new entrant to the Australian smartphone space, having only launched its first smartphone models in late 2019. Its focus at launch was on a small range of highly affordable handsets, but since that time it has branched out with models available at higher price points, although it doesn't really play in the "premium" phone space just yet in terms of pricing.

That means you really do need to understand what you're getting (or not getting) when you buy a realme phone. Here's what to consider:

• Internal storage

  Most, but not all, of realme's phones support external storage via microSD card, although its more premium offerings such as the realme X3 SuperZoom are fixed storage models. As with all phone models, the included quantity of storage on board includes space taken up by the Android operating system, as well as realme's UI and its pre-installed applications, so for a phone with a stated 64GB memory capacity, you won't quite have 64GB to play with.

  If you are looking to expand the storage on a realme phone that supports it, you should also be aware that typically they only support lower to mid-capacity cards, typically up to no more than 256GB of additional storage.

• Screen size

  Realme makes a point of delivering phones with slightly larger displays than you might expect at their price points, which is well in line with most consumer desires these days. As an example the entry-level realme C3 ships with a 6.52-inch display. To date, realme's phones have tended to use LCD displays to keep costs under control, meaning you don't quite get the colour richness of an OLED display on its phones. That being said, the realme UI tends to work with quite vibrant colours, so in day-to-day use you might not notice the difference that much, especially for its lower-cost handsets.

• Price

  When realme launched in Australia, it did so with a strong focus on affordability and the youth market, offering a wide range of devices at the budget and mid-range price points. That's a strategy it hasn't really changed over time, putting it in competition with the likes of HMD Global/Nokia, stablemate Oppo, Alcatel, Motorola and Huawei.

• Headphone jack

  Many of realme's cheaper phones do feature a 3.5mm headphone jack as standard, but it's not present across the entire range. Its take on a "flagship" at the time of writing, the realme X3 SuperZoom follows the premium trend of dropping a headphone jack, although it has full Bluetooth support for wireless headphones if that's your style.

• Security options

  The security area is one where realme doesn't particularly stand out from the Android crowd in any noticeable way. There's a mix of physical and in-display fingerprint reader options depending on the phone you choose for biometric authentication, as well as a significantly less secure "Facelock" facility that uses image recognition for unlocking your phone.

  One consideration in the wider security space is that realme's use of its own UI means that it often lags behind the pace when it comes to providing Android security updates for its phones. It's still a fairly young brand in Australia, but it's also not that clear how or if it will offer full Android OS upgrades for its handsets over time.

• Camera quality

  Like stablemate Oppo, realme makes a big point of hyping up the camera quality of its affordable smartphone range. It's not just empty hype, either, especially for its mid-range phones that provide multiple lenses and generally very good still image quality relative to their price points. That's a very common factor for many mid-range cameras and there's more of a focus with realme on automated AI-led experiences rather than pro-quality controls. Again that's a pretty good match for its target market.

• Network speed and support

  While realme does have a 5G-capable handset on its books – the Realme X50 Pro – there has been no announced plans for its general retail availability in Australia, although you could import one if you're particularly keen. For its actually released models, it's largely a 4G story; Australia doesn't have any 2G any more anyway, but most of realme's offerings are full dual-SIM capable if you do want to mix and match work and personal SIMs, or have coverage across multiple network types.

  If you're interested in learning more about the real performance of a given phone category speed, read our complete guide to network category speeds.

• Wireless charging/quick charging

  We've got some good news and some bad news here. If you prefer wireless charging, then realme really isn't for you, with no phones that provide any kind of Qi or PMA wireless charging currently being sold in Australia.

  However, because it's part of that wider BKK electronics family, it does have access to the same fast VOOC-branded charging that Oppo's phones use. These can pump up your phone's battery in astonishingly short time, although your phone can run a little hot when it's being charged that way. The one caveat here is that you only get that VOOC charging when using the supplied charger and cable; if you're borrowing somebody else's physically compatible charger from another brand (outside of Oppo) then it will charge at a slower rate.

• Battery life

  Battery capacity is an area where realme largely follows the trend rather than setting it, with capacities typically between 4,000mAh and 5,000mAh across its range of smartphones. They're all using sealed batteries, but that's also very much expected for most smartphones. When comparing like for like, some of realme's phones do offer more battery capacity than competing brands.

  Actual battery life on realme phones has only ever been average in our tests, with little in the way of standout performance or true multi-day battery life with ease.

• Waterproof design

  As you might expect from a more affordable phone range, there's no sign of IP-rated water resistance for any of realme's phones just yet. A small splash of water, such as a raindrop or two shouldn't pose a huge problem for realme phones, but avoid dropping them in an immersive way in water, because it almost certainly won't end well.

• Performance

  Most of realme's range of phones tend to perform well within their class, and that's a consideration that has more weight than it used to. In the mid-range, we're seeing more and more phones, including those made by realme, that provide more than enough grunt for most smartphone users. That has put pressure on entry-level phones – and again realme has models in this price bracket – to also pick up their game.

  The one potential drag factor here in performance terms is the realme UI, built on the same framework as Oppo's ColorOS that sits on top of Android 10. It wants a fair quantity of app permissions which some may find alarming, and naturally enough uses a little processing power for some flashy effects or alternative animation styles.

Looking for a realme phone on a plan?

realme's phones are typically sold on an outright basis, rather than on contract, which is very much fitting given their general budget status.

That does afford you a lot of flexibility when choosing a plan to match to a given realme phone, because once you've purchased your device, you could pair it up to a higher-cost contract plan if you wanted lots of data, or a more affordable prepaid option if you wanted true flexibility to switch plans or carriers at a moment's notice.

Check out the table below to compare postpaid SIM-only plans:

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