Smartphone class B
Realme C53 is one of the cheapest smartphones in Poland, but it looks like it costs at least 2,000. Its design (the camera island) is a copy of the iPhone 14 Pro Max. Also, the shape of the housing itself resembles the latest Apple smartphones. The iridescent back cover is already Realme’s original design. The phone is a cheaper version of the Realme C55, which will become famous for being the first Android with a copy of Apple’s magic island. Realme Island is also available in C53. The C5 5 was reportedly a hit in some European countries, and the C53 may repeat its success. For now, at the start of European sales, it is Euro 200. Here are our first impressions from almost the lowest price range after a few days of using this smartphone.
Design and looks
The design of the C53 is not easy to judge because, on the one hand, it is a very nice and refined phone, but on the other hand, we know that Realme copied it from the iPhone. A similar design can also be found in the recently tested Tecno Spark 10 Pro model. It’s a plague, but customers like this treatment. The distinguishing feature of the cheap Realme is the iridescent back, which shimmers depending on the angle we see. Realme defines this solution as golden silk, i.e. golden silk. The housing is rigid; the smartphone is large. There is a headphone jack at the bottom of the housing and, unfortunately, only one speaker. The frame around the screen is quite wide, and the widest is, as usual, at the very bottom. The screen-to-body ratio is only 85.5 percent. The fingerprint reader is placed in the best place, i.e., the power button. The Realme smartphone looks much more expensive than it is, although it is made of plastic (back and frame).
What do we think about the display?
The display on the C53 is huge – it’s almost 7 inches (6.74). It is an IPS LCD panel with a small resolution of 1600×720 pixels. Its brightness is not captivating because it is only 650 nits (at peak). Fortunately, the screen supports a 90 Hz refresh rate (auto mode). To save energy, they can be reduced to 60 Hz. The screen has a small cutout at the top for one camera (drop style), but when you plug in the charger, the famous mini capsule, a copy of Apple’s magic island, appears in this place. It appeared with us only after downloading the software update – after taking the phone out of the box, it was not there yet. This screen will certainly not disappoint us in this price range phone, although it is not AMOLED from the Samsung S23.
Specification and operating system – score 6
The C53 has quite a difference in specification compared to the C55. The Unisoc Tiger T612 (12 nm) platform works in the C53. In C55, it is Mediatek Helio G88. Our test copy had 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of memory. RAM can be dynamically increased up to 6 GB. In AnTuTu, realm C53 exceeded 250,000. Points. This is a result close to C55. So you can’t say it’s a speed demon. You can see the difference between the C53 and faster smartphones in everyday use, but a less tech-savvy person will probably not notice it. You can also play less demanding games smoothly with the C53. The phone does not support 5G, supports memory cards, and has NFC.
As for the operating system, we have the latest Android 13 with the Realme UI T Edition overlay. There is a regular Realme UI 4.0 edition in C55. The overlay is polished, very nice, and works smoothly. Its only drawback is that a set of Amazon, LinkedIn, TikTok, etc. applications are immediately installed in the phone’s memory. Realme also tries to promote other applications by force. We always criticize such actions; some European manufacturers have already withdrawn from them.
Camera and its performance
The Realme C53 design of its camera island refers directly to what I see on my iPhone. There are three large windows. After a while, it turns out that one is an LED. Almost nothing is known about the second camera – it may be a camera supporting portrait mode. The manufacturer admits only to the main camera. It has a matrix of 50 MP, which is 2 mega more than the iPhone. The brightness of the lens is F1.8. A bit of a surprise is that this camera takes pretty cool photos during the day, in a dark garage, and at night in a special mode. Examples of photos can be found below. It is worse with video because the C53 does not have any stabilization, so to get a good effect, you would have to record from a gimbal or a tripod. The maximum recording quality is FULL HD at 30 fps.
Sample pictures:
How long does the battery last?
The Realme C53, despite not having very high specifications, has a battery that complies with the latest market standard, i.e., a 5000 mAh cell. The charging power is not record-breaking, but 33W is still more than most Korean phones. A charger is in the box, which is also a big plus. The charger (the sales set itself) looks very good and could easily be part of a set twice as expensive. The phone will work for two days with normal use, and the thrifty will beat records without a charger.
Conclusion
The Realme C53 tries to cheat us a bit, but it does it nicely. It has a very successful design, although copied from a more expensive flagship. It has a refined overlay with the latest Android. Its processor is not a speed demon, but it will certainly meet the expectations of most thrifty customers. The C53 has a powerful island of cameras that offers us one camera, but it is surprisingly very successful. The plus is also due to the large battery and relatively fast 33W charging. The smartphone market around PLN 800 is not light, but the C53 can be recommended with a pure heart.
