Realme released its first model – the Realme 1, back in 2018 exclusively to the Indian market. Shortly after, their smartphone sales skyrocketed, and Realme is now the world’s fastest-growing smartphone company.
So what’s the secret behind the company’s success? Let’s find out as we take an indepth look at one of their best-sellers, the Realme 7, in this full review.
Related: Realme 7 Pro featuring AMOLED Display (Full Review)
Following in Xiaomi’s footsteps, they plan to dominate the smartphone marketplace. How? by undercutting the competition while still offering innovative features even in their budget phones.
And the same story follows with the Realme 7 (amazon) with its 90Hz display, durability certification and 30w super-fast charging which is unheard of at this low-price.
Talking of price, the base 4GB/64GB model will set you back £169. And for this, you’re getting the first phone to feature the powerful Helio G95 processor coupled with a behemoth 5000mAh battery.
And if you’re thinking… “I’ve never heard of Realme before, can I trust them?”… you’re a wise consumer indeed. To put your mind at ease though, Realme are offering a 3-year U.K. warranty on the Realme 7.
And while the spec-sheet alone is enough to give me the tech-tingles, let’s dive right in and see if this phone is Tech-must-buy? or Tech-to-avoid?
Available Now
Pros:
- 90Hz Bright (480nit) Display
- Powerful Game-ready Helio G95
- Massive 5000mAh Battery
- Super-fast 30W Dart Charging
- Certified Ruggedness
- 3-Year Warranty
Cons:
- 9.4mm thickness
- No Wireless Charging
- Older Gorilla Glass 3
Display
The Realme 7 is rocking an immersive 6.5″ Full-HD IPS LCD screen that ditches the notch for the modern holepunch selfie-camera design.
The bezels are fairly thin and with a crisper than your air-fried chips PPI of 405 (Pixels Per Inch), the screen really pops making it a joy to use.
Lastly, coming to the brightness, the screen is rated for 480 nits. It gets really bright, giving you no trouble with outdoor visibility. And if you’re like me, scrolling through your social before bed, you’ll be happy to know you can lower the brightness to a very faint glow.
I do have one minor gripe to mention though, and it’s the colour accuracy on the Realme 7. When viewed from an angle, there’s a slightly bluish tint. It isn’t much and certainly won’t ruin the overall experience, but I wouldn’t be worth my salt if I didn’t point it out.
So what’s all this 90Hz High Refresh Rate Mean?
The Realme 7 features a 90Hz refresh rate compared to the traditional 60Hz. This means that images on the screen will render 90 times per second compared to 60.
This benefits you by offering smoother animations and transition effects, 50% smoother to be exact. You’ll find that scrolling web pages and social feels smoother and more responsive. It’s something you get used to very quickly and it’s not until you return to an older (60Hz) device the difference becomes obvious again.
Gaming on the other hand though, can greatly benefit from the faster display and give you a competitive edge when split second reactions count.
Screen Tech Specs: 6.5” IPS LCD, 90Hz refresh rate, 1080 x 2400 resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, ~405PPI, 480 nits, Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Design & Build Quality
Coming to the design & build quality and I must admit that the Realme 7 isn’t the slimmest at 9.4mm and 196.5 grams.
We can’t blame this bulkiness on premium glass materials either, as it uses a polycarbonate build. So what’s the cause?
It’s the massive 5000mAh battery of course. A trade-off I think most people are happy to make: you lose a little slimness for that extra 20% of battery life. On the plus side, the curved edges help with the ergonomics making this phone easy to hold.
Now, it’s worth pointing out that despite its plastic construction, the Realme 7 looks exceptionally premium.
The back panel uses an impressive glastic “Split Mirror Finish”. And it’s not until you hold the device that you realise it’s plastic and even then the soft matte coating gives it a nice in-hand feel.
In terms of durability, the Realme 7 is one of the first (the other one being Realme 7 Pro) to be TUV Rheinland Smartphone Reliability Verified. It means that the device has passed a series of 23 major and 72 minor durability tests to make sure this phone will stand the test of time. Which explains Realme’s confidence in giving this phone a 3-year warranty.
Colours Available: Mist Blue & Mist White
Camera Review
Here in the UK, the Realme 7 boasts a quad-camera setup with the 48MP main lens as the highlight. This is backed up by an 8MP wide-angle lens, and two more 2MP cameras for macro shots and depth sensing.
Now let’s face it – no one will use these 2MP appendages which are just there to increase the camera count and help with marketing. So instead, let’s take a look at the two main snappers.
Under ample lighting, the 48MP primary camera takes good pictures, perfect for social media uploads. The 8MP wide-angle lens is handy for taking those group shots, but the images are far less detailed in comparison.
Coming to the selfie camera, you have a 16MP Sony IMX471. It has excellent edge detection and adds convincing background blur for those stellar selfies.
Video
In the video department, the Realme 7 can record 1080p videos at both 30fps and 60fps. However, for 4K video recording, you’re capped at 30fps. Still, the fact that it has 4K is a welcome bonus!
You also get EIS (Electronic Image Stabilisation) support with the rear camera, even when shooting at 4K @ 30fps.
Rear Camera:
- 48 MP Primary Camera
- 8 MP Ultrawide Lens with 119° field-of-view
- 2 MP Macro Shooter
- 2 MP Depth Sensor
Front Camera:
- 16 MP Sony IMX471 Exmor RS
Performance
The Realme 7 is the first smartphone to ship with the MediaTek Helio G95. It’s a powerful gaming-centric chipset that comes with the Mali-G76 GPU and promises to run all your favourite mobile games smoothly.
Furthermore, the G95 is a relatively new chip, and not all games are optimised to utilise its full potential yet. And since it can handle all your gaming needs easily, it can most certainly handle all your other mobile apps.
Coming to the RAM and Storage, the Realme 7 is available in three different models offering 4GB/64GB, or 6GB/64GB, and finally 8GB/128GB options.
If you ask me, the 6GB/64GB model makes the most sense. Especially considering there’s a dedicated memory expansion port.
Realme UI
Like Samsung’s One UI and Xiaomi’s MIUI, Realme devices have their own skin on top of Android called the Realme UI.
And with the Realme 7, you get the Realme UI 1 based on Android 10. The device is also set to receive the latest update to Realme UI 2.0 based on Android 11. Here’s a quick look at the Realme UI features that you’ll be getting with the 7.
Performance Specs:
- CPU: MediaTek Helio G95 CPU with Mali-G76 GPU
- Antutu: 297878 (Beast!)
- Geekbench: 514 Single-Core Score | 1640 Multi-Core Score
- RAM: 4GB / 6GB / 8GB
- Storage: 64GB / 128GB
- OS: Android 10 powered Realme UI
Battery Life
You might be wondering whether that 90Hz display is going to be a battery drain…
It turns out, the 5000mAh battery can more than handle it. Even with the high refresh rate enabled, I still get a screen-on-time of around 9 to 10 hours.
I tried playing PUBG non-stop (for research purposes😉😋) and after 4-hours of intense gaming, the device finally signalled the “low-battery” warning. Whereas, when it comes to streaming Netflix, the Realme 7 lasted well past 10 hours.
With medium usage, you’ll end up with 30%-40% charge left in the tank at the end of the day. Impressive!
And, thanks to the 30W Dart Charging you can get from 0% to 50% in 25 mins.
Battery Specs:
- 5000mAh Battery
- ~10 Hours of Screen-on-Time
- 30W Dart Charging
- 50% charge in just 26 mins | 100% charge in 75 mins
Connectivity
On the connectivity front, the Realme 7 gives you a true dual-sim solution: two 4G nano SIM + a dedicated MicroSD expansion.
In terms of call quality and cellular reception, the device supports almost all the 4G bandwidths here in the UK and will work on any network.
Next, coming to wireless connectivity, you’ve support for dual-band WiFi (2.4G | 5G) to connect to the internet while Bluetooth 5.0 is provided for connecting with your wireless peripherals, including smart bands and headphones.
However, if you like the audio quality from wired headsets, Realme also offers the priceless 3.5mm Headphone Jack – something even premium $1000 smartphones can’t seem to deliver.
And finally, as is the standard these days, you also get a USB Type-C for data transfers and charging.
On the sensor side of things, the Realme 7 packs in all the necessary gizmos expected from a modern smartphone. You get a Proximity Sensor, Ambient Light Sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer, and even NFC support for wireless digital payments.
Face ID & Fingerprint Unlock
For biometrics and security, the Realme 7 gives you a super-snappy fingerprint reader mounted on the power button. It’s much more affordable than an in-display scanner and offers more convenience over the rear-mounted readers since you don’t have to pick up the phone to unlock it.
With a gentle tap on the side, you can unlock your phone as it lies flat on your desk. Ah, technology! 🙃😌
Coming to the Face Unlock, the Realme UI adds a software layer over the selfie camera for face detection. It can check to see if your eyes are open, and won’t unlock the smartphone if they’re closed. As such, you don’t need to worry about anyone accessing your phone by scanning your sleeping face.
UK Network Support: Full UK 4G Support
US Network Support: Poor US 4G Support with Partial US 3G Support
NFC: Yes
WiFi: Dual-band WiFi 5
Headphone Jack: 3.5mm
SIM Support: Dual 4G Nano SIM (Dual Standby)
GPS Module: GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, Beidou
Bluetooth: Bluetooth 5.0
USB: Type-C
Realme 7 – The Verdict
Finally, it’s time to give our verdict. Is the Realme 7 a worthy upgrade?
Yes, if you’re looking for an affordable smartphone with top-tier gaming-ready performance, excellent connectivity (NFC, FastCharge, AC WiFi) a good main camera and crazy good battery life for less than £200. You’ll want to add the Realme 7 to your shortlist.
It’s a hard phone to ignore thanks to that 3-year warranty on offer!
Available Now
Realme 7 – Full Tech Specs
| Smartphone | Realme 7 |
| Screen Size | 6.5” |
| Pixel Density | ~405PPI |
| Screen Resolution | 1080 x 2400 |
| Screen To Body Ratio | ~83.4% |
| Screen technology | IPS LCD, 90Hz |
| Thickness | 9.4mm |
| Weight | 196.5g |
| Material | Polycarbonate back and frame |
| Colours Available | Mist Blue, Mist White |
| Storage | 64GB/128GB UFS 2.1 |
| Processor (CPU) | Mediatek Helio G95 |
| Graphics (GPU) | Mali-G76 |
| RAM | 4GB/6GB/8GB |
| Android Version | Android 10 Powered Realme UI |
| IP Rating (Water, dust) | NA |
| Micro-SD Card Tray | Expandable up to 256GB |
| Notification LED | NA |
| Fingerprint Sensor | Side-mounted |
| Infrared | NA |
| USB Type | USB Type-C |
| 4G Bands | FDD_1/3/5/7/8/20/28
TDD_38/40/41 |
| 3G Bands | WCDMA_1/2/4/5/8 |
| 2G Bands | GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz |
| SIM Support | Dual 4G Nano Sim (Dual Standby) |
| WiFi | Dual-band WiFi 6 |
| GPS Tech | GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, Beidou |
| Bluetooth Version | Bluetooth 5.0 |
| NFC | Yes |
| Sensors | Proximity Sensor, Ambient Light Sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer |
| Battery Size | 5000mAh |
| Fast Charging | 30W Fast Charging |
Realme 7 Review – Good Enough? Let’s find out.