Realme 7 (5G) Review – What’s New?

25/01/2021

Following the success of the Realme 7, the brand released a 5G version of the value-for-money smartphone. But it offers much more than just an extra 5G modem.

The Realme 7 5G ships with the more powerful Dimensity 800U processor along with a smoother 120Hz display. However, these extra features also bump up the price to £279 for the base 6GB/128GB model.

So, is the Realme 7 5G still a good deal at this price point? Well, that’s exactly what we’ll be looking at in this Realme 7 5G review.

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Related: Realme 7 Pro Review

But first, here is a quick overview of this phone with its pros and cons, so you get an idea of what to expect.

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Pros

120Hz FHD+ Display
MediaTek Dimensity 800U CPU
5000mAh Battery
30W Fast Charging
5G+5G Dual SIM Dual Standby

Cons

Plastic Construction

Design, Display & Build Quality

At first glance, the Realme 7 5G does look exactly similar to the regular Realme 7 with its polycarbonate casing and “split mirror” finish. However, on closer inspection, you’ll find that the 5G model is slightly thinner at 9.1mm and lighter at 195g.

Albeit a very subtle change, I did find Realme 7 5G a bit more compact and offering a more comfortable grip.

Coming to the display, the Realme 7 5G boasts the same 6.5” FHD+ IPS LCD panel, but the refresh rate is bumped to 120Hz from 90Hz. This results in a much smoother and more responsive user experience.

Screen Tech Specs: 6.5″, 120Hz refresh rate, ~405PPI, 1080 x 2400 resolution, 90.5% screen-to-body ratio, 480 nits brightness, 20:9 aspect ratio, Corning Gorilla Glass 3.

Camera Review

The Realme 7 5G carries over the same quad-camera array with the 48MP Samsung S5KGM1 Sensor as the primary shooter, coupled with the 8MP ultrawide angle lens, a 2MP black & white lens, and a 2MP macro lens.

As such, you’ll get similar image quality as on the regular Realme 7.

Images turn out great under ample lighting but suffer from noticeable noise in low light conditions.

The 16MP Sony Sensor on the front also does an excellent job when it comes to clicking selfies. The edge detection is on point, which lends itself to creating convincing Bokeh effects.

Video

This phone is capable of capturing 4K @30fps or 1080p@60fps from both the front and rear cameras. You’ll also get gyro-EIS support to help you shoot stable footage.

Rear Camera:

Primary 48MP Samsung S5KGM1 Sensor
8MP Ultrawide Angle Lens
2MP Macro Lens
2MP Black&White Lens

Front Camera:

16MP Sony IMX471 Exmor RS

Performance

The Realme 7 5G ditches the MediaTek Helio G95 in favour of the MediaTek Dimensity 800U. Not only does it put 5G connectivity on the table, but it also revamps the overall performance of this phone.

For the sake of comparison, it’s far superior to the Snapdragon 720G on the Realme 7 Pro and even outperforms the Mi 10T Lite’s Snapdragon 750G 5G.

Performance Specs:
CPU: MediaTek Dimensity 800U CPU with Mali-G57 GPU
RAM:6GB/8GB
Storage: 128GB UFS2.1

Antutu Score:

Total Score: 329822

Geekbench Score:

Single-Core Score: 517
Multi-Core Score: 1641

Battery Life

The Realme 7 5G carries over the same 5000mAh battery we see on the regular non-5G variant paired with the blazing-fast 30W Dart Charger. However, thanks to the battery efficient Dimensity 800U chipset, you’ll get comparatively longer battery life on this phone.

On moderate usage, I was able to end up with 12-hours of screen-on-time stretched over 1.5 days. This includes some social media browsing, streaming YouTube and Netflix, and about a couple of hours playing PUBG.

So, if your day-to-day activities involve less resource-intensive workloads, then you can expect a proper 2-days battery backup from this smartphone.

Battery Specs:

5000 mAh Battery
~12 Hours of Screen-on-Time
30W Dart Charging
0-100% charge in 65mins

Connectivity

The Dimensity 800U gives you 5G+5G DSDS (Dual SIM Dual Standby) support, which outclasses the 5G+4G connectivity option on the Mi 10T Lite. The Realme 7 5G also covers all the UK 5G bandwidths, so you won’t have any issues regarding network coverage.

Other notable improvements you get over the regular Realme 7 is Bluetooth 5.1 support and the Galileo GPS system on top of the regular GPS tech.

UK Network Support: Full 4G + 5G
US Network Support: Partial 5G + Partial 4G
WiFi: Dual-Band WiFi 5 (ac)
Headphone Port: Yes
SIM Support: 5G Nano + 5G Nano
GPS Module: GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo
Sensors: Proximity Sensor, Ambient Light Sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer
Bluetooth: v5.1
USB: Type-C

Realme 7 5G – The Verdict

The Realme 7 5G comes with better specs compared to the regular Realme 7. But does that make it a better deal considering its price point? Well, to answer that, let’s take a look at the competition.

The 6GB/128GB model of the Realme 7 5G costs £279 going neck and neck with the £249 Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite 5G.

Now, for that extra money, you’re getting the Dimensity 800U SoC on the Realme 7 5G, which offers better CPU and GPU performance, including proper 5G+5G dual SIM support.

But on the flip side, the Mi 10T Lite gives you a larger display, a better 64MP camera, and a premium glass-sandwich build.

As such, if you’re an avid mobile-gamer and need that extra boost in performance, then get the Realme 7 5G. Otherwise, the Mi 10T Lite 5G offers a better deal at £249.