realme continues to bolster its affordable C-Series with the launch of the realme C35, bringing to the table a fresh new design and seemingly capable internals, including a 50MP main rear camera, and a beefy 5,000mAh battery. Aimed at delivering the premium experience without burning a big hole in your wallet, its sub-PhP10k price tag makes it an even more attractive buy. But with its top-end variant inching closer to mid-range territory, it raises the question as to whether this phone is worth it, or should you just save up for the more premium devices.
What’s in the Box
Specifications
| Component | Specs |
|---|---|
| Chipset | Unisoc T616 |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Storage | 64/128GB |
| Display | 6.6-inch FHD+ IPS LCD |
| Battery | 5,000mAh 18W fast charging |
| Rear Camera | 50MP main camera 2MP macro shooter 0.3MP depth sensor |
| Front Camera | 8MP |
| Color/s | Glowing Black, Glowing green |
Design and Build Quality
It’s good to see a fresh new take on design once in a while, and the realme C35 is a good example. Instead of the usual curved or rounded sides, the phone is surrounded by a matte band with rounded corners and flat sides, slightly interrupted by a small groove for the power button, which also acts as a fingerprint scanner. Not a fan of it, but I guess that’s the current trend.
The glossy back panel blends well with the rest of the phone, though it’s not the best at repelling fingerprints and smudges. In contrast, most will likely use a case, so that’s becomes less of an issue.
As with most other recent realme devices, you also get a USB-C port at the bottom, along with the speaker grille, microphone, and headphone jack.
The 6.6-inch display has a resolution of 2408 x 1080 or FHD+, and has a peak brightness of 600 nits. You only get 60Hz refresh rate, which is still okay since it means you won’t drain the battery as fast, but is not really ideal when you consider that the top specced 4GB + 128GB variant is priced at PhP9,499.
Performance
For its more budget-oriented devices, realme seems to be shying away from Qualcomm and MediaTek processors. The realme C35, in fact, uses a 12nm UNISOC T616 processor which in terms of numbers, is on par with the Snapdragon 662 and 660, but then again, benchmarks don’t always tell the entire story, and then there’s the optimization bit.
Without measuring actual FPS, I can crank up the settings to High Refresh Rate and High Graphics in Mobile Legends, and for Genshin Impact, I probably wouldn’t go past the lowest setting. Surprisingly, there was no major lag or stutter there, and the gameplay was actually smoother than I expected.
Regardless, this would tell you that this phone isn’t for heavy gaming.
Camera
One of the realme C35’s key selling points is its 50MP main rear camera, which works alongside a macro and depth sensor. I’m not sure why they keep putting on a macro unit instead of an ultra-wide, I just think that the latter is really more useful. Maybe there’s high demand for it?
The front camera uses an 8MP Sony IMX355 sensor, which, in theory should translate to better selfie shots. For video, the rear camera maxes out at 1080p/30fps recording, while the front goes up to 720p/30fps.
Software
The realme C35 runs on realme UI R Edition on top of Android 11. This specific version of realme’s Android skin is specifically designed for budget smartphones, and has a look that’s closer to stock. You’ll still find a number of pre-installed apps. Some can be useful for everyday tasks, and some, you might not need at all.
Battery
Without doing the benchmark, it’s likely that the standard refresh rate and simplified UI will allow the 5,000mAh battery to last for at least a whole day of light to moderate use. The phone also supports 18W fast-charging, which means you don’t have to spend so much time in beside a socket or with a power bank connected.
Initial Verdict
While it does offer a fresh new design, which I love, by the way, I can’t help but feel like they could’ve done a bit more with the realme C35, considering its price, especially in the performance department. But then again, perhaps that’s the point, this isn’t for those who are looking for all that horsepower, but rather, for someone who mostly does lighter tasks.
realme C35 will be available for a discounted price today (May 18, 2022) from 3PM to 8PM via realme PH’s TikTok store:
- 4 + 64GB for PHP 6,888 (from 8,499)
- 4 + 128GB for PHP 7,888 (from 9,499)
These discounted prices will also come with a FREE realme Motion Activated Night Light worth PHP 590 with every purchase.
Emman has been writing technical and feature articles since 2010. Prior to this, he became one of the instructors at Asia Pacific College in 2008, and eventually landed a job as Business Analyst and Technical Writer at Integrated Open Source Solutions for almost 3 years.
