Realme Philippines hit another pot of gold with the realme 6 series. The first two online sales of the realme 6i were both sold out, and the first outing of the realme 6 and realme 6 Pro was also out of stock in just a matter of 10 minutes.
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| Realme 6 Review; Punching Above Its Weight |
We have reviewed the realme 6i and realme 6 Pro earlier this month, and it is time for the realme 6 to be put on test. Does it have the same value for money features as its two siblings? Let's all find out in this review.
PHYSICAL:
All the realme 6 series devices have different physical attributes. For reference, the realme 6i measures 164.4mm x 75.4mm x 9mm and weighs 199 grams, the realme 6 Pro measures 163.8mm x 75.8mm x 8.9mm and weighs 202 grams, while the realme 6 measures 162.1mm x 74.8mm x 8.9mm and weighs 191 grams. These numbers simply mean that the non-pro variant is the smallest and the lightest of the three.
In addition, all three phones also have different designs. The realme 6i has the Classic Design by Naoto Fukasawa, the realme 6 Pro has the lightning-inspired back panel design, and the realme 6 design is inspired by the comet in the dark night sky. That said, consumers can easily distinguish, which is which by the way their back covers look, even if all of them have the quad-camera setup.
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| Comet-Inspired Design |
But, there's more than meets the eye. The realme 6 is a union of the 6i and 6 Pro in so many ways. Both the 6 and 6i have a 6.5-inch display, which is slightly smaller than the 6 Pro. However, the 6 has the same resolution with the 6 Pro - 2400 x 1080 pixels, which is better than the 6i's 1600 x 720 pixels. In addition, the 6 and the 6i have Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection, while the 6 Pro has Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on its front and back. Moreover, the 6 and the 6 Pro have the same Ultra Smooth FullScreen Display with a 90Hz refresh rate, albeit the 6 has a smaller screen cutout because it has one front camera, while the 6 Pro has two.
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| 6.5-inch 90Hz Ultra Smooth Display |
Speaking of the display, the 90Hz refresh rate offers immersive viewing experience as it gives 50% fps than the usual 60Hz screen. Viewing angles are also great, while the brightness level is sufficient enough for outdoor use.
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| Side-Mounted Fingerprint Sensor Doubles As Power Button |
Going through the sides, all 3 phones have similar positioning of ports and buttons. The left side holds the triple-slot card tray and volume keys. The bottom holds the loudspeaker grille, USB Type-C port, primary microphone, and the 3.5mm audio jack. Meanwhile, on the right side is the power button. But, it is not just a simple power switch for both the 6 and the 6 Pro, because it also doubles as the fingerprint scanner. It is a capacitive sensor that works quite fast that can unlock the phone in almost an instant.
Overall, the realme 6 looks good, it feels great to hold, and there's enough heft in it. However, we highly recommend the use of the free case. Not because the phone is slippery, and not only for its protection but also because the back panel easily attracts smudges and fingerprints.
realme 6 unboxing and hands-on
To learn more about its physical appearance, and what are the package inclusions, check our the above unboxing video.
See Also: Realme Band Launches in the Philippines; Intelligent Fitness Band for Only Php1,390
SOFTWARE:
The realme 6 runs on the latest version of the realme UI, which is 1.0 and based on Android 10. It does not mean that realme's software is not improving, in fact, it actually is. Previous realme devices, especially those released last year, are running on ColorOS, which is the same operating system of their sister company - OPPO. That's why the young mobile brand decided to have their "own" system, which is again the realme UI.
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| Software |
However, aside from the default rounded shape of apps and folders, the realme UI still have lots of similarities, if not the same, with the ColorOS 7 found in the likes of OPPO Reno3 and Reno3 Pro. Nonetheless, this is still a great move from realme to have their very own OS name. It gives them added identity and reduces their association to OPPO further.
Realme UI is an intuitive software that anyone can quickly grasp, whether they have used Android or iOS in the past. It is clean, easy to use, and has lots of useful features, such as Driving and Riding modes, Digital Wellbeing and Parental Controls, App Cloner, Split Screen, and Game Space.
To learn more about realme UI, you can visit https://www.realme.com/in/realme-ui.
PERFORMANCE:
Like the 6i, the realme 6 is powered by an octa-core MediaTek chipset, but it is the more powerful Helio G90T rather than the Helio G80. The realme 6's G90T has the same CPU composition as the 6i's G80. However, it packs a more advanced Mali-G76 MC4 GPU as opposed to Mali-G52 MC2 of the more affordable 6 series device. This MediaTek MT6785 silicon chip is based on the 12nm FinFET process and designed for gaming. Our unit has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage, which sells for Php13,990. The other one is the 4GB + 128GB variant that has an SRP of Php11,990.
Below are its results from our favorite benchmarking tools:
| Benchmark | realme 6 Pro | realme 6 | realme 6i |
| Antutu | 283,206 | 288,975 | 205,996 |
| Geekbench 5 (Single-Core) | 567 | 539 | 360 |
| Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core) | 1,678 | 1,686 | 1,293 |
| Geekbench 5 (RenderScript) | 1,195 | 2048 | 1,118 |
| PC Mark | 10,350 | 10,562 | 9,008 |
| 3D Mark Sling Shot | 3,547 | 3,154 | 1,769 |
| 3D Mark Sling Shot (Vulcan) | 2,328 | 2,600 | 1,342 |
| 3D Mark Sling Shot (OpenGL) | 2,527 | 2,550 | 1,349 |
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| Benchmark Scores |
It is no surprise that the results are higher than the 6i, what's surprising is that the scores, as you can see on the above table, are on par with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G of the more premium realme 6 Pro. In fact, it got higher scores in six out of eight benchmarks. This also means that the Helio G90T is better in raw computing power than the Snapdragon 730G. This is because, based on our test with 6 Pro, 720G is better than the OPPO Reno2's SD730G.
MediaTek haters and bashers won't definitely like it, but this is the truth. The MediaTek Helio G90T outperformed both the Snapdragon 720G and Snapdragon 730G. And maybe, it is time to accept that MediaTek is an equally good chip maker, especially in the mid-range category.
In actual real-world performance, the realme 6 did not let us down, even if we were pushing it to its limit. It still runs smoothly even if there are tons of resources-hungry apps and games in the background. Playing popular games with the realme 6 is blissful, no major hiccups or lags are encountered even in high settings. There is one thing we noticed though, it has no Ultra Mode in Mobile Legends, something that is present with the realme 6 Pro.
CAMERA:
The quad AI rear camera set-up is one of the key selling points of the realme 6. Again, the quad cameras are a common factor for all the 3 phones in the 6 series. The composition of the realme 6 cameras is similar to the 6i - primary, ultrawide, macro, and depth, albeit it has a better 64MP main shooter than the 6i's 48MP.
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| 64MP Quad AI Camera Set-up |
Meanwhile, the difference between the 6 and 6 Pro is that the former lacks the 12MP telephoto lens of the latter. On paper, the other 3 modules are identical - 64MP f/1.8 Samsung GW1 primary shooter, 8MP f/2.3 119-degree ultrawide-angle lens, and 2MP f/2.4 4cm focus macro lens.
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| 16MP Selfie Snapper |
In the front, it has a 16MP in-display selfie camera with f/2.0 aperture, 79.3-degree field-of-view, and 5p lens construction. For comparison, the 6 Pro has two modules - a 16MP f/2.0 Sony IMX 471 and an 8MP f/2.2 105-degree ultrawide-angle lens
As for the video recording capabilities, the non-pro variant does not support UIS Max technology found in the 6 Pro. In addition, it also does not support Ultra Steady for the front camera like the 6 Pro do. We check our software at the time of this review, and we have the latest one. So, we believed these features are not really part of the realme 6 for now. Maybe to give a clear separation between the pro and non-pro variant. But still, we do hope it will be added in the future.
Camera Samples:
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| Indoor, Low Light, Ultrawide |
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| Indoor, Low Light, Primary |
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| Indoor, Low Light, Zoom 2x |
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| Indoor, Low Light, Zoom 5x |
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| Outdoor, Gloomy, Ultrawide |
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| Outdoor, Gloomy, Primary |
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| Outdoor, Gloomy, Zoom 2x |
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| Outdoor, Gloomy, Ultrawide - Chroma Boost |
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| Outdoor, Gloomy, Primary - Chroma Boost |
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| Outdoor, Gloomy, Zoom 2x - Chroma Boost |
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| Outdoor, Playground, Ultrawide |
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| Outdoor, Playground, Primary |
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| Outdoor, Playground, Zoom 2x |
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| Outdoor, Pool, Ultrawide |
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| Outdoor, Pool, Primary |
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| Outdoor, Pool, Zoom 2x |
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| Outdoor, Night, Ultrawide |
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| Outdoor, Night, Primary |
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| Outdoor, Night, Zoom 2x |
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| Outdoor, Night, Ultrawide - Night Mode |
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| Outdoor, Night, Primary - Night Mode |
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| Outdoor, Night, Zoom 2x - Night Mode |
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| Outdoor, Selfie |
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| Outdoor, Portrait Selfie |
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| Outdoor, Selfie with Mask |
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| Outdoor, Portrait Selfie with Mask |
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| Outdoor, Night, Selfie |
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| Outdoor, Night, Portrait Selfie |
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| Outdoor, Night, Selfie with Mask |
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| Outdoor, Night, Portrait Selfie with Mask |
The realme 6 has an almost identical set of rear cameras as the 6 Pro, and as expected, it also offers similar versatility and quality. And like its pro brother, the 64MP primary shooter and 8MP ultrawide lens give great image outputs with lots of details, punchy colors, and good dynamic range. As you can see in the above images, the shadows and clouds are clearly visible. When shooting in 2x zoom, the photos are brighter, albeit colors are less saturated.
At night or in low light situations, the main 64MP module delivers great shots both when in Normal Mode or in Night Mode. However, if you can wait a few seconds between shots, we still recommend using the dedicated Night Mode as it offers more vivid colors and with more details.
For the 16MP front camera, the images produced are superb with almost accurate colors and beautification that is not so aggressive. When using Portrait Mode, it gives more highlights to the subject by bringing it into the foreground and blurring the background. There's also a clear separation between the subject and the background. When wearing a mask, it still offers good outputs, but everything becomes darker.
Also Read: Realme C3 Review; Affordable and Powerful Gaming Phone
CONNECTIVITY:
The realme 6 has a triple-slot card tray that can accommodate 2 Nano-SIM cards and a dedicated slot for MicroSD card for storage expansion. It has multiple LTE bands including the popular 700MHz frequency. Based on our test using the Smart Communications network, the connection is fast and stable, at lease in our place.
At home, consumers can easily connect on their router as it has dual-band WiFi, both 2.4GHz and 5GHz are part of the system. Other wireless connections are Bluetooth v5.0 and RM Radio receiver. For location-based applications, it can utilize GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, and BDS. For wired connection, it has a reversible USB Type-C port, and a 3.5mm audio jack.
BATTERY:
Just like the 6 Pro, the realme 6 has a 4,300mAh battery that supports 30W VOOC Flash Charge technology. However, for some reason, its score is lower. It only got 11 hours and 13 minutes in PC Mark Work Battery Life Test, while its pro counterpart got 14 hours and 12 minutes. That's almost 3 hours difference. Take note that the conditions for testing both devices are the same. We are actually expecting it to be close, if not the same, just like the OPPO Reno3 and OPPO Reno3 Pro do.
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| PC Mark Battery Test Score |
Anyway, we are happy to report that when it comes to refueling the battery, it only takes 67 minutes to have it fully charged from 0 to 100%. The same exact time as the 6 Pro does. Out of curiosity, we also used the 50W SuperVOOC Flash Charger of the OPPO R17 Pro, and its VOOC technology works. However, recharging the realme 6 is slower using the SuperVOOC charger, even if it has 50W output. At 67-minute mark, it registered only 87% and it took 82 minutes to have it 100%.
FINAL WORDS:
Realme 6 offers a smooth overall experience, and we can easily see why it was sold out on its first outing. It has an immersive 90Hz display that is not present with any of its competitors. It has a powerful Helio G90T chipset that can match or even exceeds Snapdragon 720G and 730G performances. It has a very versatile quad rear cameras and a nice in-display selfie snapper. It is also a good looking phone with a big battery that can last for long. Moreover, realme has a strong community and very much committed to bringing timely software updates.
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| Realme 6 |
That said, if you are looking for a value-for-money smartphone within its price range, the realme 6 is one of the firsts you should look at.
Realme 6 Specs Philippines:
- Dual Nano-SIM, dual-standby, supports 4G LTE connectivity
- 6.5-inch IPS FHD+ (2400 x 1080) capacitive touchscreen, 90.5% screen-to-body ratio, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection
- Dimensions: 162.1mm x 74.8mm x 8.9mm
- Weight: 191 grams
- Realme UI based on Android 10
- 2.2GHz 64-bit octa-core CPU, ARM Mali-G76MC4 GPU, MediaTek Helio G90T chipset
- 4GB/6GB/8GB of RAM
- 64GB/128GB internal storage, expandable up to 512GB via MicroSD card, uses dedicated slot
- 64MP f/1.8 PDAF + 8MP f/2.3 ultra-wide + 2MP f/2.4 macro + 2MP f/2.4 mono quad rear cameras; 2160 at 30fps, 1080p at 120fps video recording, gyro-EIS
- 16MP f/2.0 front camera, 1080p video recording at 30fps
- Multimedia Player
- 3.5mm audio jack
- WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band 2.4GHz, 5GHz
- Bluetooth v5.0
- GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BDS
- USB Type-C with OTG function
- Sensors: fingerprint (side-mounted), accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic
- Battery: 4,300mAh with 30W fast charging
- Colors: Comet Blue, Comet White
- Price: Php11,990/Php13,990