realme C53 Review; A Real Looker Charging Champion for Less

INTRODUCTION:

realme is at it again – releasing budget-friendly smartphones without compromising quality in all aspects. The brand just recently rolled out in the country another name under its well-patronized C-Series, the realme C53, which has a number of surprises under its sleeves. For a smartphone priced way less than P10,000, this newcomer is feature-packed both inside and outside. Is the realme C53 the smartphone to beat in the entry-level department? Read on and find out.

realme C53 Review; A Real Looker Charging Champion for Less

DESIGN and BUILD:

Looking for a smartphone that's a real looker? Then the realme C53 should definitely be your choice! The realme C53 comes in beautiful colors of Champion Gold for those who want to stand out with a shiny device in their hands; and in Mighty Black for those who are more into a minimalistic vibe.

realme C53 in Mighty Black

While other brands tend to minimize the aesthetics effort for budget devices, realme doesn't. The realme C53 underwent a golden silk coating process to give the smartphone a shiny golden texture effect, which is evident on its rear part. Perhaps what's the most attractive about the realme C53 is its camera module which looks like the cameras of the Pro models of the iPhone. But we'll talk more about this later on in this review.

What we also liked about the realme C53 is its slim build – even thinner than its other siblings, the realme C33 (8.33mm) and the realme C31 (8.4mm). The realme C53 is at 7.49 mm only, making it the brand's thinnest smartphone yet. And this translates to an easier user experience as the realme C53 definitely feels light in the hands.

realme C53 Volume Controls and Power Button/Fingerprint Sensor

The realme C53 has a unibody design with flat edges and round corners. On its right cheek are the volume controls and the side-mounted fingerprint sensor that doubles as the power key. Situated at the smartphone's bottom part are its USB-C port, microphone, and single speaker grille.

Loudspeaker, USB Type-C, Microphone, and 3.5mm Audio Jack

There's also a 3.5mm headphone jack which is almost an obsolete feature among smartphones from different tiers at this point. But this is a good addition for the realme C53 as it gives users another way to listen to music besides through Bluetooth earphones. However, the realme C53 package doesn't come with a free pair of earphones, so this has to be purchased separately.

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DISPLAY:

The gorgeous back panel of the realme C53 is mirrored on its impressive display. The smartphone flaunts a 6.74-inch screen in 720p resolution. A good thing about the realme C53's screen is its 90Hz refresh rate, which gives you a smooth scrolling experience.

6.74-inch 90Hz HD+ Display

The colors on the realme C53 display are vivid enough. With a peak brightness of up to 560nits, the realme C53 remains visible even when used under direct sunlight and outdoors.

Notched-Display with Mini Capsule Feature

By default, the realme C53 has a somewhat outdated raindrop notch. But as we mentioned, this smartphone comes with surprises. One of which is what realme calls the "Mini Capsule," a feature first introduced through the realme C55. Simply put, it's like the Dynamic Island of the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. When activated, you can view the realme C53's information like battery status, data usage, and step stats on the top part. This feature is almost unnecessary, but it's a welcomed addition that lets budget-conscious consumers experience the essence of an in-display notification panel. It's interesting to think how realme's Mini Capsule feature will improve in the future.

If there's one thing to point out that the realme C53 could veer away, it's the thick bezels. These give away the smartphone as a budget device, especially its prominent chin. However, this doesn't really affect the overall smartphone experience that the realme C53 provides.

PERFORMANCE:

Another indicator that the realme C53 falls under the entry-level category is its chipset. This smartphone runs on a Unisoc Tiger T612 chipset. But the good thing is that realme made sure that the realme C53 comes with ample memory and storage. With this smartphone, you'll get up to 12GB of Dynamic RAM (6GB built-in + 6GB Dynamic RAM). The added RAM gives the realme C53 a room to breathe when running apps simultaneously and during gaming. Plus, the realme C53 carries 128GB of storage, expandable up to 2TB via microSD.

Speaking of which, this smartphone has a triple-slot SIM card tray allowing you to use two nano SIM cards at once without sacrificing expanding storage via a microSD card.

The realme C53 works smoothly when it comes to multitasking and switching between different apps for social media, multimedia, and productivity. As expected, though, the realme C53 slightly struggles when used for graphics-intensive games. To avoid this, you can opt to tweak the gaming settings to the low and mid levels.

Benchmark results of the realme C53 are as follows:

Antutu - 252,991
Geekbench Single-Core - 418
Geekbench Multi-Core - 1,471
Geekbench Compute - 451
PC Mark Work Performance 3.0 - 8,164
PC Mark Work Storage 2.0 - 12,841
3D Mark Wild Life - 425
3D Mark Wild Life Stress Test - 431
3D Mark Wild Life Extreme - 110
3D Mark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test - 123
3D Mark Sling Shot - 1,499
3D Mark Sling Shot Extreme - 995

Outside the box, the realme C53 operates on the realme UI T Edition based on Android 13 with a plethora of features for convenience and seamless use.

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CAMERA:

One might have mistaken the realme C53 as any of the iPhone's Pro lineup because of how its rear part looks with the placement of its two cameras and LED flash. But more than this resemblance, what's remarkable about the cameras of the realme C53 is their performance.

50MP Dual Rear Cameras

On paper, the realme C53 has a 50-megapixel primary camera with artificial intelligence and a 0.8-megapixel black-and-white depth sensor. On the other side, the realme C53 has an 8-megapixel AI camera.

8MP Front Camera

Photography modes for the rear cameras of the realme C53 include the 50MP mode, video, night mode, panoramic view, expert, timelapse, portrait mode, HDR, AI scene recognition, filter, and slow motion. With the realme C53, you can take videos at 1080p/30fps, 720p/30fps, or 480p/30fps.

Given its price tag, the camera quality of the realme C53 is decent. It captures images with good color vividness and detail sharpness when taken under well-lit scenarios. And as expected, the smartphone struggles in night mode shooting.

Pool

Pool, Night

Pool, Night Mode

Buildings

Boracay Station 2

Crispy Oyster Sisig

Selfie

Portrait Selfie

Selfie, Night

Portrait Selfie, Night

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BATTERY:

Another aspect that the realme C53 won't surely let you down is how it can last a whole day of usage with a little bit of juice to spare on a single charge. This is because of the smartphone's 5000mAh battery with SuperVOOC. With a 33W fast-charging support, the realme C53 refuels from 0 percent to 100 percent in just over an hour.

FINAL WORDS:

You can enjoy all these features of the realme C35 for only P7,999, and that in itself isn't bad. With the realme C35, the brand proves again its efforts in giving the best it can offer, even for the budget segment.

realme C53

The realme C35 is available via the official online and offline channels of realme.

How much is the realme C53 price in the Philippines?

The realme C53 price Philippines is Php7,999.
Get yours now via Shopee at https://bit.ly/realmephofficialstore or Lazada at https://bit.ly/realmeofficialstoreph.

When will be the realme C53 available in the Philippines?

The realme C53 is now available in the Philippines since June 22, 2023.

realme C53 Specs Philippines:

Dual SIM, dual standby, supports 4G/LTE connectivity
6.74-inch FHD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels) IPS LCD, 90Hz refresh rate
Dimensions: 167.3mm x 76.7mm x 7.5mm
Weight: 182 grams
realme UI T Android 13
Octa-core (2x1.8GHz Cortex-A75 + 6x1.8GHz Cortex-A55) CPU, ARM Mali-G57 MP1 GPU, Unisoc Tiger T612 12nm chipset
6GB RAM
128GB internal storage, expandable up to 2TB via MicroSD, uses a dedicated slot
50MP PDAF f/2.0 main + 0.8MP depth dual rears camera, 1080p video recording at 30fps
8MP f/2.0 front camera, 720p video recording at 30fps
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n/ac, dual-band
Bluetooth v5.0
MicroUSB 2.0 with OTG function
GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, Galileo
Multimedia Player
3.5mm audio jack
Sensors: fingerprint (side-mounted), light, proximity, accelerometer, gyroscope
Battery: 5,000mAh non-removable lithium-ion polymer, 33W SUPERVOOC fast charging
Colors: Champion Gold, Mighty Black
realme C53 Price Philippines: Php7,999

realme C53 Review; A Real Looker Charging Champion for Less