Realme is slowly becoming the new OnePlus.They are launching phones which truly can be termed flagship killers.It has been around two years that Realme has entered the smartphone market and already has made its mark around the world.
The new Realme X3 Super Zoom was launched on 26th May,2020 in Europe with price starting from €499.The features they are providing are of flagship quality except for the processor.The Snapdragon 855+ is a more than capable processor but it is just that Snapdragon865 is the latest.For reminders Snapdragon 855+ was the chipset in most flagships of the previous year.
The €499 if converted to Indian currency becomes ~Rs.41510.Rest assured the original price would be much lower.Actually I am expecting it to be around the Rs.25000-30000 range.It has already launched in India on Flipkart and as I expected the base variant costs₹27990 and the top variant ₹32990.
This low price is completely due to the ommission of Snapdragon865 as its SoC.For those who don’t know Qualcomm has made a 5G modem compulsory to be bought with Snapdragon865 which has increased its price as is evident from the price of all the flagships featuring it.Anyways coming back to Realme X3 Super Zoom it is 4G supported which is very good since more than 90% of the world does not know what 5G is till now.
Here are a detailed view of the specs which this phone brings.
DESIGN AND BODY
The Realme X3 Super Zoom has a premium look to say the least.It features a glass front and back with an aluminium frame.It is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5.The back features a quad camera module while the front has has a pill shaped dual punch hole camera module.The back has a matte texture finish on the glass which doesn’t allow any fingerprint smudges.Realme claims that the front has 3D Quad curved glass with leading anti glare technology.
The fingerprint sensor is over the power button on the right side and the volume rockers are on the left.The USB Type C port and the single speaker grill is on the bottom.There is no place for 3.5mm jack which I really missed in the phone.The SIM tray has two nano sim slots that is there is no place for external storage.
The dimensions are 163.8mmx75.8mmx8.9mm(length x breadth x thickness).It weighs 202grams.
DISPLAY
The phone features a 6.6″IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen with FHD+ resolution(1080×2400).It has a screen to body ratio of 90.5%(claimed).The aspect ratio is 20:9 and it comes with~399ppi.
The LCD display may disappoint you a little bit but the 120Hz refresh rate really more than makes up for it.For those who still haven’t used a 120Hz display I swear the difference is huge with the customary 60Hz displays.It has a far smoother experience and the phone seems fast from the word go.
Well it has its side effects and any 120Hz display will drain battery faster.Realme X3 Super Zoom gives you the option of switching to 60Hz refresh rate and it is completely upon you when to use it.
OS,PROCESSOR AND STORAGE
The Realme X3 runs Realme UI based on Android 10.Realme UI is a rebranded form of Color OS of Oppo phones.You get the shortcut gestures like double tap to wake or lock the screen,three finger swipe down for screenshots and three finger swipe up for split screen mode.
Under the hood is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ chipset which runs on 7nm technology and has an octa core processor(1×2.96GHz,3×2.42GHz,4×1.78GHz).The G.P.U is Adreno640.
The phone has two variants of storage-8GB RAM and 128GB internal storage and 12GB RAM and 256GB internal storage.The RAM is LPDDR4X and onboard storage is UFS3.0 powered.There is no option for external storage.
REAR CAMERA
To be frank this is the elephant in the room.The highlighting feature of this phone is the camera setup.It features a quad camera module with primary 64MP,f/1.8 sensor,a 8MP(ultra wide),f/2.3 sensor with 119 degrees field of vision,a 2MP,f/2.4 macro lens and the 8MP periscope zoom lens with 5x optical zoom right at the top of the quad module.The focal length of this lens varies from 16mm to 124mm.
The main camera supports upto 60x Super Zoom as they call it which is really good.The main camera and periscope lens comes with OIS(optical image stabilisation).
Features like HDR,Panorama,Portrait,AI Beautification,Time Lapse are all supported.The Super Night Scape4.0 takes care of night time images and is boosted by AI.
A new Starry Mode is also featured which is also boosted by AI and along with long exposure gives a brightly lit image of a starry sky.The Pro mode allows users with camera knowledge to manually change settings and capture high quality images.It also come with a Tripod Mode which gives a long exposure of about 50s.With the help of this mode provided you have a tripod or a solid base where you can keep the phone standing you can capture light trails even.
VIDEOS
Maximum 4K videos can be captured at 30/60fps and 1080p videos at 30/60fps.Slow motion videos of 720p can be shot at 960fps.UIS(ultra image stabilisation) is present to give stable videos and features like Real Time Bokeh effect also enhances video shooting.
FRONT CAMERA
Realme X3 Super Zoom features a pill shaped dual punch hole front cameras with a primary 32MP,f/2.5 Sony IMX616 sensor and a 8MP(ultra wide),f/2.2 sensor with 105 degrees field of view.The front camera module also supports Super Night Scape Mode and features like Night Portrait,Face Recognition and Panorama.The ultra wide sensor allows to take group selfies a favourite of the young generation nowadays.
Videos of 1080p and 720p can be shot at 30fps on the front camera and is also powered by UIS.
OTHER FEATURES
The side mounted fingerprint sensor is very fast in unlocking the phone better than many phones of the same price point.Face unlock is also available.You may say that the fingerprint sensor could have been made under display to give the phone a more premium feeling.But it is not possible since to this date an under display optical fingerprint sensor is not available for any LCD screens.
In respect to audio there is only one speaker which has HI Res Audio certification and supports Dolby Atmos. Realme says that the speaker is a 1216 Super Linear speaker.Still I would say dual stereo speakers with these features would have been better.There is no 3.5mm jack so you will have to forget wired headphones.
Game space is another feature included for more immersive gaming experience.High detailed games with the 120Hz dislplay will be a very smooth experience.
Liquid Cooling technology is available in the phone to keep it cool after heavy multitasking or gaming.The company claims that there is 12.5% reduction in temperature.
The Tactile Engine Linear Motor enhances the vibration experience and the haptic feedback.
Bluetooth,WiFi,USB TypeC cable is supported but there is no NFC or Infra Red port.
BATTERY AND COLOURS
The Realme X3 Super Zoom is powered by a 4200mAH battery which supports 30W fast or as Realme says Dart charging which can charge from 0 to100% in just 55 minutes.Wireless charging is not supported.
It comes in two colours-Arctic White and Glacier Blue.
CONCLUSION
At first I mentioned that the price in India is not known.But the European price of €499 if converted comes to roughly Rs.41,510 which should not be the actual price in India as has been the case for other phones.
As the name suggests that Super Zoom is the highlight of this phone.Cameras are the defining factor nowadays in phones of a certain price point because the rest features are almost similar.Realme has hit the right target in my opinion and this phone has all features of being a crowd favourite.
Neverthless the LCD display is a drawback but then again to reduce budget you have to compensate on some specs.The 120Hz display is a very attractive feature and the camera module really calls for a hands on experience.For those who are in doubt of the Snapdragon 855+ SoC remember that OnePlus 7T ,one of the previous year’s top selling flagship which is even now very popular runs the same chipset.
To summarise if Realme X3 Super Zoom is launched in India around the Rs.25000-30,000 mark I would love to buy it.What do you think?Please let me know in comments.
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