Review: Realme 7 5G at the time of its debut, it is one of the cheapest, if not the cheapest smartphone with 5G . Thanks to the MediaTek Dimensity 800U processor it is also possible to support two 5G cards simultaneously, and in terms of performance benchmarks it is slightly more efficient than the Snapdragon 765 5G and phones powered by it. In addition, the Taiwanese company ensures that the demand for energy is reduced, which was still a problem for its processors. For this reason alone, realme 7 5G is worthy of attention. But we also have a large 5000 mAh battery, a decent set of cameras, an IPS screen refreshed at 120 Hz and finally a pretty nice look. So let’s see if the phone is worth your interest.
How do we rate design?
Realme 7 5G it has a very similar design to the one we already know from the models 7 and 7 Pro. The plastic back is matte and in three quarters the texture changes, which gives a very nice effect. The blue color is gradient and goes from bright to almost navy blue, depending on the angle of the light. The matte finish has one big plus – there are no fingerprints on it and the phone is relatively easy to keep clean without a case. But of course the manufacturer adds a silicone case to the set. The island with the cameras slightly protrudes above the surface. At the bottom we have a mini-jack input for headphones, USB-C and a speaker. The right side is a place for a fingerprint reader that has been integrated with the button to turn on the device. It is constantly active, so we do not need to press anything, a light touch of the finger is enough. A small minus for the fact that it has noticeable slack and sometimes knocks strange. Of course, the phone can also be unlocked with the face and this method is also instant. If we set ourselves to automatically wake the screen and bypass the lock screen, all we have to do is pick up the device and we will be able to use it. On the left side there is a hybrid SIM slot and two buttons for volume control. The dimensions of the phone are 162.2 x 75.1 x 9.1 mm and the weight is 195 g.
What do we think about the display?
The screen is made in IPS-LCD technology, has a diagonal of 6.5 inches, 1080×2400 pixels, 405 ppi and an aspect ratio of 20: 9. As for IPS, it has a very good maximum brightness, the minimum one could be slightly lower. The viewing angles are also decent, but you can see a slight degradation of colors and the black color turns gray under strong light. However, the great advantage of the display is the 120Hz refresh rate. We can switch them to 60 Hz or activate automatic selection. Then the phone decides the frequency itself. 120 Hz in phones with MediaTek processor has always meant speed, but not always smoothness – because they are two different concepts. There are both things here, which is presumably thanks to the processor – it is fast and smooth, well above what the price would indicate.
The selfie camera has been placed in a small hole in the upper left corner, the frames around the screen are standard for this type of screen thickness, with a slightly larger chin.
In the settings, we can choose the color temperature of the screen (cold, default, warm), the visual effect AXES, there is of course automatic brightness, dark mode and “eye comfort”, reducing the amount of blue light.
Specification / Operating System
In Realme 7 5G MediaTek Dimensity 800U 5G processor with Mali-G57 MC3 graphics chip was used. We had 6 GB of RAM in the test model. The built-in memory is 128 GB, expandable with a card. In AnTuTu Benchmark, the phone scored 321 886 points. It’s 54th place, right behind Mi 10 Lite 5G and before Samsung Note 9 and S9 +. The phone is very pleasant to use, the sensations of operation are almost flagship. Applications and pages load quickly, animations are fast and fluid, and programs are kept in the cache for a long time.
We have NFC so we can pay contactless. The GPS signal is caught very quickly, the phone maintains the connection stably and leads us comfortably to our destination. The call quality is very good. It is similar with the sound quality, thanks to the Dolby Atmos equalizer it is possible to adjust it to our preferences and the option also works on Bluetooth headphones.
The phone is also great for games. I tested it on PUBG and Mortal Kombat. The gameplay was very smooth, without dropping frames or cutting animations. Even after a long session, the device is not hot. We have a special Game Space where we can optimize performance, check network stability or block connections and notifications.
The communication package includes: LTE, 5G, dual band WiFi, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC. Location is realized using: GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo. The sensor kit includes: accelerometer, proximity, light, magnetometer, gyro, gravity and fingerprint reader.
The software is Android 10 with realme UI overlay. The security fixes at the time of the test were from October. The overlay is packed with features. There are of course the basic ones, such as the dark mode and gestures, but if you reach a bit deeper, you can, for example, find the possibility of permanently blocking the search bar at the bottom of the screen, changing the activity triggered by swiping down on the main screen (search or notification bar). It is possible to choose the style of icons and wallpapers, we also have a double tap to turn off or on the screen. There is an intelligent sidebar with quick access to applications, gestures on the off screen, app cloning, manager and screen sharing.
What photos does he take and what films does he record?
The camera set includes:
- 48 MP, f / 1.8, 26mm, 1 / 2.0 “, 0.8µm, PDAF;
- 8 MP, f / 2.3, 119˚ wide angle, 1 / 4.0 “, 1.12µm;
- 2 MP, f / 2.4, macro;
- 2 MP, f / 2.4, depth sensor,
- 16 MP, f / 2.1, 26mm, 1 / 3.06 “, 1.0µm – selfie camera.
Realme traditionally, it already offers very extensive photo opportunities, identical to those of the model 7 Pro. This means, among other things, that we have the ability to manually set the values not only when taking photos, but also when shooting videos. In addition, there are of course the following modes: night, video with Ultra stabilization and Ultra stabilization Max, photo, portrait with the ability to adjust background blur, photos at the maximum, 48 MP resolution, time-lapse movie, ultra macro, slow motion, panorama. There is also HDR and AI, i.e. artificial intelligence. However, in my opinion, it interferes with the photos too much, coloring them unnaturally and I had it turned off all the time.
The quality of the photography is generally very good. First of all, the autofocus works perfectly and in difficult conditions (leaves in the wind, a small cat still running), I was able to take nice, sharp photos, while other phones (let’s add that the more expensive ones) did not cope with such situations. Pictures are detailed, with no burnouts, with good tonal range and natural colors (no AI).
The problem begins at night, where the phone selects the white balance strangely. As a result, all light sources, and thus the surrounding objects, turn yellow. A similar ailment took place in the flagship Realme X50 Pro. Besides, everything else is OK, the photos are nicely sharpened and the photos have a very good amount of detail.
Electronically stabilized films that can be shot in 4K and lower resolutions are great. Compared to Realme 7 5G the quality of the picked up voice has definitely improved. There are no problems with keeping the focus, and whoever wants to, can play with the manual settings available for both lenses.
Sample pictures:
How long does the battery last?
The battery has a capacity of 5000 mAh. It takes about an hour and a half to fill it with a 30W charger. But the discharge is not so fast anymore – the phone in my hands withstood two full days with a working time on the screen of up to 10 hours (including occasional gaming and a lot of YouTube). At rest Realme 7 5G hardly wastes energy. There is no inductive charging.
Realme 7 5G – Conclusion
Realme some time ago, it announced a change of tactics on our market and focus mainly on the medium and budget shelf, which of course does not exclude the occasional appearance of a more powerful device. In my opinion, the concept is correct and, in addition, very well implemented. Already Realme 7 and 7 Pro were perfectly priced smartphones offering surprisingly much. Realme 7 5G joins this group by offering cheap access to the latest technology. But apart from that, we get excellent performance based on a very efficient processor and pleasant, well-optimized software. On the plus side, you should also include battery life, audio capabilities on the headphones, video and photos, even taking into account the “too yellow” night mode. The lack of waterproofness and inductive charging is standard in this class, so it’s hard to complain about it. If a company gains the trust of customers, and it will certainly do so with such models, it will be easier to persuade them to spend more on more expensive devices. Unless, of course, she wants to sell them, because there is also a little trap for realme. Since these phones have practically everything and work great, why buy something more expensive, even from the same manufacturer?
Who is it for Realme 7 5G
- People who appreciate good value for money
- People looking for a cheap 5G phone
- Needing a very well-functioning phone
- Needing a long working time on a single charge
For whom it is not Realme 7 5G
- Stereo sound lovers on external speakers
- Demanding waterproof
- People requiring inductive charging
Advantages Realme 7 5G
- Support for 2 5G cards
- Very smooth operation
- Very good quality of daytime photos
- Pro mode available during video recording
- Very good video quality
- Great battery life
- Fine workmanship
- Very good sound on the headphones with the equalizer available on the Bluetooth headphones
- Perfectly working fingerprint reader
- Very good value for money
Disadvantages Realme 7 5G
- Mono speaker
- Wrong selection of white balance during night photos
- Not waterproof
