Review of Realme C11 - a smartphone for 8 thousand rubles, which will last 2 days without recharging

Once smartphones were a luxury for most of our fellow citizens, but those days are long gone. Now the market is full of affordable models, and every year there are more of them. Among the inexpensive new products, Realme C11 stands out: a smartphone with a huge frameless screen and a 5000 mAh battery is sold for only 8 thousand rubles. We are talking about a new player in the ultra-budget segment.

Specifications
Design and ergonomics
Screen
Software and performance
Sound and vibration
Camera
Autonomy
Outcomes

Specifications

Platform	Android 10, Realme UI firmware
Display	6.5 inches, 1 600 × 720 pixels, IPS, 60 Hz, 270 PPI
Chipset	Mediatek Helio G35, PowerVR GE8320 video accelerator
Memory	RAM - 2 GB, ROM - 32 GB
Cameras	Primary: 13 MP, f / 2, 2, PDAF; depth sensor - 2 Mp. Front: 5 MP, f / 2, 4
Connection	2 × nanoSIM, Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g / n, GPS, GLONASS, Bluetooth 5.0, GSM / GPRS / EDGE / LTE
Battery	5000 mAh, charging - 10 W
Dimensions (edit)	164.4 × 75.9 × 9.1mm
The weight	196 g

Design and ergonomics

The housing of the Realme C11 is made of plastic. The simplicity of the gray case back has been diluted with a wave-like texture and a vertical logo stripe. There is also a mint-green option for those who like to stand out.

The design is monolithic - it will not be easy to disassemble the smartphone. Corners and edges are rounded for convenience. The display has small bezels, so the dimensions are moderate. The 196g weight does not weigh on a pocket.

88.7% of the front panel is occupied by the screen. The front camera is located in the waterdrop notch at the top. From biometric authentication, face unlocking is supported, but there is no fingerprint scanner. Also, the smartphone did not receive an NFC-module, which makes it impossible to pay for purchases through Google Pay.

The volume and power buttons are located on the right side, and on the left there is a hybrid slot for SIM cards and microSD. The bottom end is reserved for microUSB, a multimedia speaker and 3.5 mm audio jack.

Screen

This is a 6.5-inch IPS display. The resolution is 1600 × 720 pixels, which in terms of the diagonal gives a pixel density of 270 PPI. The clarity of the picture is satisfactory.

Color reproduction is pleasant to the eye and does not require additional calibration. In the settings, you can tweak the color temperature to suit your tastes, as well as enable the UV filter and dark mode. However, the display has problems with black: due to the backlight, it is too dim. This is especially noticeable when viewed from an angle. The margin of brightness also leaves much to be desired, only the anti-reflective coating helps.

The matrix is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. A film with an oleophobic coating is glued on top.

Software and performance

The gadget runs Android 10 with Realme UI 1.0 shell. The launcher is very similar to that found in OPPO smartphones: the same neat appearance and compliance with the Google design code, due to which the shell is combined with system applications and services.

The novelty is based on the MediaTek Helio G35 chipset with eight ARM Cortex ‑ A53 cores, made using a 12 ‑ nanometer process technology. Among them, four operate at 2.3 GHz, and four more - at 1.8 GHz.

The amount of RAM is 2 GB, and the permanent memory is 32 GB. The PowerVR GE8320 video accelerator is responsible for the graphics. Obviously, such hardware is not designed for heavy games. Worlds of Tanks: Blitz at the minimum settings comes with frequent freezes caused by a drop in the frame rate.

Another problem with competitive games is the slow performance over Wi-Fi. The smartphone does not support 5GHz networks, which increases latency. In simple tasks like surfing the web, there are no problems.

Sound and vibration

The only multimedia speaker is located at the bottom and easily overlaps with the palm when you grip horizontally. The sound is completely devoid of bass and volume, and at maximum decibels it begins to cut the ear with gross distortions. In general, the Realme C11 is not very loud: you can easily miss a call in a noisy environment.

The smartphone has a 3.5mm audio jack, although headphones were not included. The audio codec built into the SoC is responsible for decoding and amplifying the signal, the quality leaves much to be desired. The best option would be to use wireless headphones, especially since the new product supports Bluetooth 5.0.

The vibration motor is typical for cheap models: the response is weak and indistinct. It can be overlooked when the smartphone is in your pocket.

Camera

Realme did not chase the number of cameras, equipping the C11 with just two modules. The standard 13 megapixel lens has five lenses with an aperture of f / 2, 2, complemented by a 2 megapixel camera to blur the background. The resolution of the front module is 5 megapixels.

In good light, the smartphone produces good shots. Color reproduction is close to natural, HDR allows you to preserve details in the dark and light areas of the images. At night, the camera overshoots the ISO, which causes a lot of noise in photos. Oddly enough, the appropriate regime only makes things worse. An optional portrait camera handles background blur.

Auto mode

Portrait mode

Auto mode

Night mode

Auto mode

Night mode

Auto mode

Night mode

Auto mode

Night mode

Selfie

Video recording is possible in 1,080p resolution with a frame rate of 30 FPS, there is no image stabilization. There is also a lack of dynamic range, with backlit details in the shadows difficult to see.

Autonomy

Battery life is the Realme C11's trump card. The combination of a 5,000 mAh battery and energy efficient hardware provides up to two days of autonomy in a typical usage scenario (calls, web surfing, some YouTube and photography). With games, the operating time decreases, but even so, the novelty easily survives until late at night. Recharging from the supplied 10-watt adapter takes a little less than three hours.

Outcomes

Do not expect miracles from a smartphone for 8 thousand rubles. Realme C11 is not suitable for online gamers and music lovers with high-quality wired headphones. The smartphone also lacks a fingerprint scanner and the ability to pay for purchases via NFC. However, this does not negate the fact that for a modest amount the user gets a large screen, a pleasant system interface and impressive autonomy.