Realme is now breaking further into the IT space from smartphones to smart devices with the launch of its first-ever laptop -- the realme Book. But is this device just as promising as the emerging tech giant’s other economical offerings? Let’s find out.
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| realme Book Review; A Strong Start |
DESIGN and DISPLAY:
Simple and elegant are two words that best describe the realme Book. Either you get the Real Blue or Real Gray variant, this laptop is a delight in the eyes if you’re the minimalist type. The matte outer covering of the realme Book gives away a premium look, and we loved how realme kept it nice and neat by putting just a sole design detail on its rear part -- the realme branding etched on the right side behind the laptop’s screen.
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| Bottom |
Upon first looking at the realme Book, some tech consumers might be reminded of the Huawei MateBook or even the MacBook Air. This offering from realme carries almost the same design language with its rounded edges and slim form that measures 14.99 mm-thin and weighs only 1.38 kg. With that said, it’s evident that the realme Book is the kind of laptop that you can bring and flaunt anywhere you go, and you won’t feel like you’re carrying a hefty device.
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| USB Type-C Ports |
However, there’s always compromise. The slim body of the realme Book meant that ports are rare. With this first laptop offering from realme, we only get two USB Type-C ports, one USB-A port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. So if you’re planning to use the realme Book in other stuff that needs other ports like HDMI, we suggest you get an extension hub first.
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| USB Type-A and 3.5mm Audio Jack |
For its display, the realme Book showcases a 14.0-inch IPS display in 2160 x 1440 resolution and with a 3:2 aspect ratio. The bezels are slim enough not to be an eyesore, with the bottom part slightly thicker than the sides for a sleek realme branding and the bottom portion for the 720p webcam.
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| Book Display |
The display of the realme Book does a pretty fantastic job in delivering vivid colors and sharp details. However, if there’s one thing that we’ll list as a caveat, it’s the glossy finish on the screen with a little anti-glare coating. An anti-glare coating is a good addition on laptop screens as it reduces the amount of visible dust, grease, and dirt on display and the amount of direct and ambient light reflected, which is a distraction sometimes.
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| Keyboard |
Now, let’s talk about the realme Book’s keyboard and touchpad. This laptop’s backlit keyboard with butterfly switches comes in a typical layout. The brand said that its travel distance is 1.3mm, but technicalities aside, our overall experience typing tons of articles and reviews on the realme Book is nothing but a smooth ride. However, similar to the keyboard of the MacBook Air, it tends to show fingerprints and traces of sweat, so you might have to clean its surface now and then.
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| Retail Package |
Below the keyboard is the realme Book’s touchpad which comes in the same color as the entirety of the laptop. We noticed this part of the realme Book because it’s not as smooth as it seemed, and there were a few instances when its left and right buttons were unresponsive.
Also Read: Experience maximum productivity in style with the realme Book; Yours starting at Php29,990
PERFORMANCE:
With decent internals comprised of an 11th gen core i5 processor (i5-1135G7), 8GB of RAM, 512GB of onboard PCIe SSD storage, and Intel Iris Xe graphics, the realme Book is already a good choice of daily productivity driver for students and even for professionals with moderate laptop usage.
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| realme Book with realme GT Master Edition |
The operative words here are “moderate laptop usage,” which includes editing Word files, managing spreadsheets, and other tasks that aren’t as heavy as advanced photo and video editing, as the 8GB RAM of realme Book won’t be able to keep up.
A good thing about the realme Book, on the other hand, is it comes clean out of the box. So bloatware isn’t a problem with this laptop, and you’ll be given a fresh start with just the Windows 10 Home ecosystem with a free trial of Microsoft 365.
Plus, the realme Book promotes a seamless connection with Android smartphones through the PC connect app. This allows the realme Book to become an extension of Android smartphones -- notably the realme GT series -- and paves the way for easy file transfer, screen mirroring, and even directly viewing phone notifications on the laptop. Let’s hope that realme will make this feature compatible with all Android smartphones and not only with the realme GT series.
BATTERY LIFE:
Based on our actual usage, the 54Wh battery of the realme Book can last almost a whole day with light to moderate use. We did a video loop test with the brightness and volume set at 50 percent, and the realme Book stayed up for 8 hours and 13 minutes before it went pitch black.
As mentioned earlier, the realme Book has USB-C ports which can be used to refuel the device. The realme Book equates a 30-minute charge to 42 percent battery life, while an almost two-hour wait time is equivalent to a full charge.
FINAL WORDS:
The realme Book is a pretty impressive initial notebook offering from the number one smartphone brand. It’s competitive and powerful enough to match similar offerings from competitors. And, we won't be surprised if more realme laptops will rightfully dominate the market segment in the years to come.
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| realme Book |
Get the realme Book for P37,990 for the i3 variant and P47,990 for the i5 version on realme’s Lazada store and authorized retail partners all over the Philippines.
realme Book Specs (Philippines):
- 14-inch 2K IPS (2160 x 1440) screen
- 11th-Gen Intel Core i3-1115G4 | i5-1135G7
- Intel UHD (i3) | Intel Iris Xe (i5) GPU
- 8GB LPDDR4x RAM, 256GB, 512GB SSD
- WiFi 5/WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.1/Bluetooth 5.2
- Multi-touch trackpad with 3-level backlit keyboard
- 2x USB-C 3.1 Gen 2, 1x USB-A 3.1 Gen 1 (i3)
- 1x Thunderbolt 4, 1x USB-C 3.1 Gen 2, USB-A 3.1 Gen 1 (i5)
- Headphone jack, 720p webcam
- Windows 10 with free Windows 11 upgrade
- 54Wh battery with 65W charging
- 307.21 x 228.96 x 14.9mm, 1.38kg
- Real Blue, Real Grey
