Most of the specifications of Realme 3i are same as that of Realme 3. But the main difference between the two phones is the processor and design. Will Realme 3i be able to find a special place for itself in the crowd of budget smartphones? Let’s find out…
realme 3i design
The dimensions and weight of the Realme 3i match the Realme 3 perfectly. The weight of 175 grams is not too much and it is easy to grip in the hands. The new handset comes with a diamond pattern and matte finish on the back. The diamond pattern is similar to the Realme C2. We have reviewed the Diamond Black finish unit of the Realme 3i. It feels more like royal blue than black. The phone is also available in Diamond Blue and Diamond Red colours.
There is a 6.2-inch HD+ (720x 1520 pixels) panel on the front panel. It has Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. The bezels are very thin. But the border at the bottom is a bit wide. The phone has a dewdrop notch, which makes it look modern. The brightness of the display is good. The colors are punchy and the viewing angles are also quite good. There is no problem with low resolution. But when compared to displays with higher resolution, the lack of sharpness is clearly visible in Realme 3i.
The power and volume buttons in Realme 3i give a good response. Their position is also good. There are three slots on the left side. There is space for two nano SIMs and one microSD card. There is also support for dual VoLTE. There is a speaker, micro-USB port and 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom.
The diamond pattern finish provides good grip. Fingerprints are not easily visible. The fingerprint sensor is easily accessible and works well. It also has face recognition and works as fast as other Realme smartphones.
The retail box contains the Realme 3i along with a silicone cover, a 10W power adapter, a Micro-USB cable, a SIM ejector tool, and some important documents.
Realme 3i Specifications and Software
The Realme 3i is powered by the MediaTek Helio P60 processor, while the Realme 3 comes with the Helio P70 processor. This isn’t a huge cut, as the Helio P60 is a capable octa-core chipset. At the time of launch, Realme launched two variants of the phone. The Realme 3i comes with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage at Rs 7,999, while the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage variant costs Rs 9,999. We have reviewed the more powerful variant.
Talking about other specifications, the Realme 3i comes with single-band Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, USB-OTG, FM radio, and other common sensors.
Like Realme X, Realme 3i is also equipped with the latest software. It has ColorOS 6 based on Android 9 Pie. It has the security patch of June 2019. However, there is no change in the features of ColorOS.
Now the app drawer is already enabled. But you can switch to a single layered UI if you want. Many apps are pre-installed in the phone. All these third party apps can be uninstalled. You will get shortcuts like Smart Sidebar.
Google’s Digital Wellbeing feature is still missing. Apart from this, Realme hasn’t given access to Android 9’s battery graph yet.
Realme 3i performance and battery life
We used the 4GB RAM variant of Realme 3i for several days. Apps loaded easily. There was no problem in accessing the menu. The phone did not heat up either. The phone does get hot during gaming. But not so much that it causes trouble.
Realme 3i cannot be considered weak even in gaming. You will have to play powerful games like PUBG Mobile on lower settings. But there is no effect on the gameplay. We were able to win a 40-minute PUBG Mobile round on this phone. But during this time there was no complaint about battery consumption and heating of the phone. ColorOS has a feature called Game Space which automatically locks the screen brightness and transfers the system resources to the game.
We faced only one problem while gaming. The position of the loudspeaker is such that it gets blocked easily. The same happens while watching videos. The speaker of Realme 3i produces loud sound. But the audio quality is very average. If you use a wired headset, you can control the volume through Realme Power Sound customization.
Now let’s talk about the camera. Here too there is not much difference from Realme 3. Realme 3i has a 13-megapixel primary camera with F/1.8 aperture and it is equipped with phase detection autofocus. Along with this there is a 2-megapixel sensor which works to estimate the depth for portraits.
Landscape shot taken with Realme 3i in ChromaBoost mode. Tap to see full-sized image.
This photo was taken in Portrait mode on Realme 3i. Tap to see full-sized image
Tap to see full-size Realme 3i camera samples
The camera focuses quickly due to PDAF. But for this there should be enough light on the subject. Landscape shots come with decent detail. But the details of small leaves or distant trees are not captured. We also faced chromatic aberration when taking photos in contrasting lighting.
Close-up shots were generally decent. But some macro shots were quite flat. The 2-megapixel secondary sensor does a good job of estimating depth. But on a few occasions, the phone did not define edges well while taking human portraits.
Shot with ChromaBoost on Realme 3i. Tap to see full-sized image
This photo was taken in Nightscape mode on Realme 3i. Tap to see full-sized image
The phone also has creative modes like Chroma Boost and Nightscape. We would recommend not using Chroma Boost when shooting trees as the green tone gets overly exaggerated. However, landscape shots can benefit from a boost in colour.
Nightscape works. But not so much on Realme X. Probably this is due to the sensor. Night scenes seem brighter. But there are complaints of grain and chroma noise. With Nightscape enabled, the camera lags in focusing in close-up shots and the lack of detail in landscapes is clearly visible.
Tap to see full-size Realme 3i camera samples
Photo taken in Portrait mode on Realme 3i. Tap to see full-sized image
The 13MP selfie camera isn’t too bad. If you’re patient and the lighting is adequate, you’ll be able to take decent shots. There’s a portrait mode here too. But the blur effect is too aggressive and looks artificial. You can’t even control it.
With Realme 3i, you will be able to record videos at 1080p. But there is no stabilization. There is no video stabilization even at 720p, which is disappointing. Image quality is very average. But the focusing speed is not bad. At least in adequate light.
The phone has a 4,230mAh battery. It lasted 16 hours and 59 minutes in our HD video loop test, which is considered good. We were easily able to use the phone for about a day and a half.
There is no support for fast charging. With the charger provided in the retail box, it gets charged 48 percent in 1 hour. It takes about 2 hours for 100 percent charge.
Our verdict
Realme 3i has been launched in the market because Realme C2 ,Review) And realme 3 ,Review) can be bridged. Its starting variant of Rs 7,999 is a good option. Because it is Rs 1,000 cheaper than Redmi 7. Apart from this, there is no reason to buy the top-variant of Realme C2, because its price is equal to Realme 3i.
It is not easy to recommend the 4GB variant of Realme 3i. Even though its price is around Rs 1,000 less than Realme 3, it competes with other phones. Redmi Note 7S ,Review, Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 And Realme U1 ,Review) handsets. All these handsets come with higher resolution displays, better cameras and more powerful processors.
If your budget is limited and you can compromise with the average camera, then you can consider buying the 3GB RAM variant of Realme 3i.