Realme 5i Review – Budget all-rounder

For PHP 6,990, this phone is equipped with the following: 6.5-inch big display, Snapdragon 665 octa-core processor with Adreno 610 GPU, 12MP quad-camera setup, and a massive 5,000mAh battery capacity. 

Now, let’s see if this device is great as it sounds on paper. Here’s our full review, read on!

The realme 5 and 5i sports almost the same design, with the dewdrop notch design on the front, and thicker chin. 

Realme 5i features a large 6.5-inch 2.5D curved IPS display with HD+ resolution that amounts to 269 ppi.

Thin bezels are surrounding this display, except for the chin. On the top, there’s a tiny notch housing the front camera. Still, it has a good screen-to-body ratio of 89 percent, maximized enough in viewing images or videos.

Since this only has an HD resolution, take note that it won’t have the same level of sharpness as with those with FHD. 

You can see that small details like texts are not that crisp.

However, the color reproduction of the screen seems precise with a saturation that is quite satisfying. It leads toward warmer tones, but this can be altered through the “Display & Brightness” in the phone’s display settings.

A pleasant viewing experience on a budget!

Speaking of brightness, the screen emits enough light which makes it viewable even during outdoors or direct sunlight. I find the viewing angle respectable too.

For reading the dark, I appreciate that it has the Night Shield option which cuts down the blue light, allowing you to rest your eyes during night time.

As expected, it is responsive enough and has 10 points of touch for convenient typing and swiping.

In terms of audio quality, the downward-firing speaker gave an average performance. When the volume is set to the highest, you can notice the distortion but considered minimal. The mids and lows have flaws, but the performance is still decent for a budget device.

I like the fact that this sports a 3.5mm headphone jack since I have an option to use my wired earphones whenever I want. Moreover, it gives a loud output even I set the volume only around 60 to 70 percent.

For calls, there was no problem encountered, the earpiece is also loud and clear. During testing, the person I called was able to hear my voice properly.

The device also did a good job in audio recordings, as there is little noise indoor. For outdoor recordings, wind noise is apparent but that is acceptable.

Cameras

Four cameras on its rear

Realme 5i has a total of five cameras, four in its back while one for the selfie. The quad-camera setup consists of the following:  a 12MP main, 8MP ultrawide, 2MP macro and 2MP depth sensor.

This may have the cheapest to have a quad-camera set-up. With that in mind, realme 5i may not excel in terms of image quality, but it gave an admirable performance for the price.

Realme 5i’s camera UI

Its primary camera, a 12MP shooter was able to capture decent pictures with colors that look accurate.

Additionally, it is packed with different camera modes that can be useful depending on what kind of photo you want to attain.

First is the primary camera for detailed images. Second is the ultra-wide 

suitable for taking pictures of landscapes, skylines, or groups of people. The third is the macro lens for close-up images and the fourth is the depth sensor for

artistic bokeh shots using the Portrait mode.

A flexible shooter for less!

It also has the Nightscape mode for up to 7s handheld long exposure shots. It’s a realme 5i’s camera feature that creates a big difference in dim or poorly-lit surroundings. This works on both the main and ultra-wide lenses.

Realme also equipped this device with an expert mode so the user can experiment by setting the ISO, shutter speed, white balance, focus, and EV manually.

If you’re in a rush to take a good photo to post on social media, there’s an option to activate the Chroma Boost. It optimizes the shots utilizing an AI, making the colors more vivid than they are actually are.

Here’s what we think about how this entry-level smartphone performed as tested in different scenarios.

Rear Camera Samples

As quite expected from newly-released phones, the 5i has a quick shutter and saving speed. Focus speed is not the fastest, but that’s quite understandable.

Normal daylight shot

For daylight shots, the outputs are pretty great in terms of detail and colors. In addition to that, the dynamic range is also excellent so you can clearly see the contrast between the infrastructures and the blue color of the sky. 

Exposure is not that bright, but with a tap on the Chroma Boost, you’ll get a slightly brighter image with punchier colors.

Daylight shot with Chroma Boost

The Chroma Boost works most of the time, but there are situations where it’ll make the image look unnatural and even cartoonish.

Normal shot using the primary camera

Testing the ultra-wide lens, the device was still able to retain clarity with just a bit of distortion and softness in detail.

The ultra-wide lens in action