The budget and lower mid-range price segments have become very competitive in the Indian smartphone market this year. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro was the first to offer incredible value, and it was followed by the Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1. Then, the Realme 1 was launched on May 15 as the first smartphone of Realme, then an online-only subbrand of OPPO. The MediaTek Helio P60-powered Realme 1 undercut all of its competitors in terms of pricing, as its starting 3GB RAM/32GB storage variant was sold for ₹8,990 ($128).
Since then, Realme smartphones have become increasingly popular. In July, OPPO’s Vice President resigned from the company to form Realme as an independent brand. The Realme 1 sold 400,000 units in 40 days. In August, it was succeeded by the Realme 2. The Realme 2 was disappointing in a few key respects as it actually had downgraded specifications in some areas such as the SoC and display resolution. At the Realme 2’s launch event, however, Realme teased the launch of the Realme 2 Pro in September. With sales of Realme phones now having crossed one million units, the stage was set for the arrival of the Realme 2 Pro, which has now been made official. The company also announced the Realme C1, which is a budget phone that is placed below the Realme 2 in Realme’s portfolio.
The Realme 2 Pro is a higher-end phone than the Realme 2, as it’s powered by the capable Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 SoC. It also has a waterdrop notch and dual cameras. As expected, it’s also priced higher, with the starting variant costing ₹13,990 ($193). The full specifications of the phone are noted below:
Realme 2 Pro – Specifications at a glance
| Specifications | Realme 2 Pro |
|---|---|
| Dimensions and weight | 156.7 x 74.0 x 8.5mm, 174g |
| Software | ColorOS 5.2 on top of Android 8.1 Oreo |
| SoC | Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (4x Arm Cortex-A73 cores @ 2.0GHz + 4x Arm Cortex-A53 cores @ 1.8GHz); Adreno 512 GPU |
| RAM and storage | 4GB/6GB/8GB of RAM with 64GB/128GB of storage; dedicated microSD card slot |
| Battery | 3,500mAh; 5V/2A charging |
| Display | 6.3-inch Full HD+ (2340×1080) IPS LCD with 19:9 aspect ratio, 408 PPI, Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 5.0, Dual 4G VoLTE |
| Ports | microUSB port, dual nano SIM slots, 3.5mm headphone jack |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, ambient light sensor, back-mounted fingerprint sensor, proximity sensor, gyroscope |
| Bands | Indian variant:
GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz |
| Rear camera | 16MP primary camera with Sony IMX398 sensor, 1.12μm pixels, f/1.7 aperture, dual pixel autofocus, 6P lens 2MP depth sensing camera with f/2.4 aperture Video recording up to 4K at 30fps |
| Front-facing camera | 16MP with f/2.0 aperture, 85-degree wide-angle lens |
The Realme 2 Pro drops the “diamond-cut” pattern which was featured in the Realme 1 and the Realme 2 Pro. It has a plastic frame and a multi-layer polycarbonate back. The phone adopts the waterdrop notch, which is being termed as the “dewdrop notch” by Realme. It has a back-mounted fingerprint sensor, and the dual rear cameras are placed horizontally at the top left on the back.
The Realme 2 Pro, therefore, is the first phone in the lower mid-range price segment to adopt the waterdrop notch, which has so far been relegated to upper mid-range and flagship phones.
Performance
Whereas the Realme 2 downgraded its SoC from the Realme 1 by going with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 instead of the MediaTek Helio P60, the Realme 2 Pro switches to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 SoC. The Snapdragon 660 is faster than the Helio P60, and until August, it was found only in mid-range phones. The Xiaomi Mi A2 brought it below the ₹20,000 price point, and now the Realme 2 brings it below the ₹15,000 price point as well.
The SoC is the foundation of a great smartphone, so it can be expected that the Realme 2 will be the fastest phone in its price segment. In terms of GPU performance, there is no contest as the Snapdragon 660’s Adreno 512 GPU is significantly better than the Adreno 509 of the Snapdragon 636 and the Mali-G72MP3 GPU of the Helio P60.
The Realme 2 Pro’s RAM and storage configurations also don’t leave anything to be desired. The phone is being offered in three RAM and storage configurations: 4GB/64GB, 6GB/64GB, and 8GB/128GB. The top-end 8GB RAM/128GB storage variant (!) makes the Realme 2 Pro the cheapest phone in the market to have 8GB of RAM, which is great to see. (The 6GB and 8GB RAM variants, therefore, have more RAM than the upcoming Google Pixel 3.) The phone also has a dedicated microSD card slot (triple slot) that allows users to use two SIMs and a microSD card at the same time, which is another plus point.
Display
The Realme 2 Pro has a 6.3-inch Full HD+ (2340×1080) IPS LCD with 403 PPI and a “dewdrop notch.” Realme hasn’t given details about the brightness rating. The panel is protected by Gorilla Glass 3, same as the Xiaomi Poco F1. The notch contains the light / proximity sensor, front camera, and the earpiece.
Camera
The Realme 2 Pro has a 16MP primary camera with Sony IMX398 sensor, f/1.7 aperture, and dual pixel autofocus. The IMX398 sensor was used in the OnePlus 5 and the OnePlus 5T, for example. The secondary camera is a 2MP depth sensor that has a f/2.4 aperture. On the front, the phone has a 16MP camera with f/2.0 aperture and AI Face Unlock.
Realme 2 Pro – Pricing and availability
The Realme 2 Pro’s starting 4GB RAM/64GB storage variant will be available for ₹13,990 ($193) in India, while the 6GB RAM/64GB storage variant will cost ₹15,990 ($220). The top-end 8GB RAM/128GB storage variant will be available for ₹17,990 ($248). The phone will be exclusively available via Flipkart in Black Sea, Blue Ocean, and Ice Lake colors. The first sale will be held on October 11 at 12AM IST. Launch offers include “up to 1.1TB additional data with benefits worth ₹4,450” from Jio.
As expected, the Realme 2 Pro undercuts all of its competitors in terms of pricing. It uses the same Snapdragon 660 SoC as the Xiaomi Mi A2, but it manages to be cheaper by ₹3,000, which is not an insignificant amount. Compared to the Redmi Note 5 Pro, the Realme 2 Pro is better on paper in several respects, and it doesn’t look as if even the Redmi Note 6 Pro will be able to match the Realme 2 Pro in terms of performance.
Realme C1 – Specifications at a glance
| Specifications | Realme C1 |
|---|---|
| Dimensions and weight | 156.2 x 75.6 x 8.2 mm, 168g |
| Software | ColorOS 5.1 on top of Android 8.1 Oreo |
| SoC | Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 (8x Arm Cortex-A53 cores @ 1.8GHz); Adreno 506 GPU |
| RAM and storage | 2GB of RAM with 16GB of storage; dedicated microSD card slot |
| Battery | 4,230mAh; 5V/2A charging |
| Display | 6.2-inch HD+ (1520×720) IPS LCD with 19:9 aspect ratio |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, Dual 4G VoLTE |
| Ports | microUSB port, dual nano SIM slots, 3.5mm headphone jack |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, ambient light sensor, back-mounted fingerprint sensor, proximity sensor |
| Bands | GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz HSPA: 850/900/2100MHz FDD-LTE: Bands 1/3/5/8 TDD-LTE: Bands 38/40/41 |
| Rear camera | 13MP primary camera with f/2.2 aperture 2MP depth sensing camera with f/2.4 aperture Video recording up to 1080p at 30fps |
| Front-facing camera | 5MP with AI Face Unlock |
The Realme C1 intends to compete with phones such as the Xiaomi Redmi 6 and the Xiaomi Redmi 6A. It has unibody plastic construction. The phone does not have a fingerprint sensor like the Realme 1.
The display seems to be the same as the Realme 2. The presence of the notch means that this is the cheapest phone in India to have a big notched 19:9 display. In terms of RAM and storage configuration, the Realme C1 is equivalent with the Redmi 6A and falls below the Redmi 6. However, it has a larger battery capacity than both Redmi phones, and its SoC competes with the Redmi 6’s MediaTek Helio P22.
Realme C1 – Pricing and availability
The Realme C1’s “introductory price” has been set at ₹6,999 ($97). The phone will go on sale starting October 11 at 12PM IST. In terms of pricing, it slots between the Redmi 6A and the Redmi 6. It’s ₹2,000 cheaper than the Realme 2. The lower price tag has been achieved by removing the fingerprint sensor and downgrading the RAM and storage configuration.
What are your thoughts regarding the Realme 2 Pro and the Realme C1? Can the Realme 2 Pro become the new benchmark in the lower mid-range price segment? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: Flipkart
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