realme 10: very close to ideal

Positioning: why realme 10?
Performance and battery life
Screen
Design
Camera
Specifications
Conclusion

Positioning: why realme 10?

realme 10 is a smartphone for those who care aboutperformance, screen, camera, but I want the smartphone to be conveniently controlled with one hand. A special emphasis is placed on performance in a smartphone. So, in addition to the Helio G99 chipset, the smartphone can have up to 16 GB of RAM (8 GB of physical + 8 virtual), allocated from a 128/256 GB drive.

Let's immediately analyze the smartphone for the pros and cons.

Pros:

Chipset Helio G99 is a new 8-core chipset,made according to the 6 nm process technology. At the moment, in this price segment, this is the only chipset that beats out more than 400 thousand points in the AnTuTu 9 performance test. This is a performance increase of 30-50% from the closest competitors.
6.4-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED screen with 90Hz refresh rate and 360Hz touch rate. Protective glass Gorilla Glass 5. A protective film is pasted from the factory.
4-8 GB of RAM + high-speed storage from which you can allocate up to 8 GB of virtual RAM.
Dedicated microSD card slot
5000mAh battery and 33W fast charging (50% in 28 minutes).
Main camera 50 + 2 MP, front camera 16 MP.
Design with flat edges and unusual back panel colors.
Relatively compact dimensions allow you to control your smartphone with one hand.
Realme UI 3.0 clean skin based on Android 12: no ads, minimum pre-installed apps, any apps are removed.
Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.3 LE.
There is a built-in call recording feature.
There is NFC that works with Mir cards, a full set of sensors (including a magnetometer), there will be an update to Android 13 soon, a case is included.
realme claims certain quality guarantees.So, according to the test of the German laboratory TÜV SÜD), realme 10 received the highest rating, which means that even after 36 months, the smartphone will match the new device in terms of speed and other parameters.

Comes with 33W charger and case.

Cons in the case of realme 10 are relative, but still, if you find fault, then:

I would like a second ultra-wide-angle module.Desire, in general, is legitimate, but dangerous. Since the closest competitor, for example, has an “ultra wide”, but the camera is only 5 MP, that is, in fact, a useless module.
The camera modules protrude slightly from the case, causing the smartphone to wiggle when lying on a flat surface.
This is a smartphone with a gaming character and the tenth anniversary number, but only a case is included. We could put on-screen sticks for games or at least a keychain to mark the event.
Both colors (both white and black) with a glossy back panel. On the white, fingerprints are invisible, but the black model could be offered with a matte cover.

And now let's take a closer look at the key elements of the smartphone.

Performance and battery life

Top reasons why you should choose realme 10,- This is a Super AMOLED screen 90 Hz, a MediaTek Helio G99 chipset based on a 6 nm process technology, a large amount of RAM and a fast drive from which additional virtual memory can be allocated.

Helio G99 is the latest chipset from MediaTek,became, perhaps, the main star of the year. It combines high performance with excellent energy efficiency due to the fact that it is made using a 6 nm process technology.

Another advantage of the advanced process technology isthat the chipset remains cold even under maximum load. Below are the results of the CPU Throttling Test, which loads all eight chipset cores at 100%. Not only is there no performance degradation, but the smartphone itself does not get hot.

Thanks to this margin of safety, the smartphone allows you to run games at high settings. For example, in PUBG, you can choose not only HD-resolution textures, but also the maximum available 2X anti-aliasing.

Useful, but funny.realme 10 has a game overlay, which, by the way, should not be neglected. There are quite a few useful options there. For example, you can record games, set up notifications, launch a second application in a floating window (browser, if you want to check something while playing).

However, the main thing is that there is a mode of increasedperformance, promising an increase in power, but warning that the smartphone will heat up. Apparently, this is true for previous smartphones, as even after an hour of playing Genshin Impact, the smartphone remained cold.

Helio G99 runs the game perfectly even when runninga floating messenger window or a browser with a YouTube video in which to spy on the guide. By the way, the temperature of the smartphone is displayed in the overlay. But I will not lie. During active battles with the second window of the video on YouTube turned on, from time to time a drawdown of frames. But this, of course, is already a fantasy scenario, since it is inconvenient to play at the same time as watching a video - this is not a tablet.

In Call of Duty Mobile, the smartphone confidently delivers about 70 fps.

The best part is that the smartphone does not heat up at all. But this can become a big problem: the smartphone heats up, hands sweat, the finger slides worse on the screen.

Chipset, made according to the advanced technical process,and a large battery is the key to good battery life. Although, perhaps, Android 12 and the realme UI 3.0 shell should also be mentioned. The absence of ads and optimization do their job. In the PCMark battery test, which simulates everyday tasks (Internet, video, photo / video processing), the smartphone lasted almost 11 hours at maximum screen brightness in manual mode with Wi-Fi enabled. Record value!

Own experience using a smartphoneshows that the battery lasts for about 1.5 days of use. And even under heavy load, defusing a smartphone in a day is not an easy task. Comes with a 33W charger. This is a good option for 2022. In the segment up to 20 thousand rubles, manufacturers usually prefer to put adapters for 18 watts.

Approximately 80 minutes are required to charge a smartphone from 0 to 100%.

Finally, let's touch on the point about the highest rating fromGerman laboratory TÜV SÜD, according to which even after 36 months the smartphone will feel like new in operation. That is, in fact, the test methodology is that the smartphone is subjected to maximum loads - applications, games are installed on it, photos and videos are taken in the volume that the average user reproduces in 3 years.

You should not rely on the test, but having a high score is definitely a positive thing. And ceteris paribus, it is better to choose a certified smartphone than one that has not passed the test.

Screen

Protected Gorilla Glass 5 Super AMOLED display6.4 inches with a resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels and a refresh rate of 90 Hz is the second main feature of the realme 10 smartphone. Large margin of brightness, advanced color reproduction: the screen is optimal for playing games or watching videos.

The AMOLED panel is of fairly high quality, plusrealme in the shell has provided the user with a full range of settings to customize the screen to suit their tastes. Enhanced color mode is enabled by default. In my opinion, this is the best option. Especially for games.

For Call of Duty Mobile, the screen fits exactly.

But for some, the colors may seem too bright.So, perhaps, to watch movies or TV shows, it is better to choose the option “Pro Mode” - “Cinematic”. The shell also has a video enhancement function using artificial intelligence. Somewhere the function is appropriate, somewhere it goes too far.

Main conclusion:the screen is good, it has a lot of settings, you have to try, experiment, adjust for yourself if you don’t like something. Although most will likely like the default mode.

A devastating paragraph has already been written aboutthe lack of an Always-On display, but it turned out that it is here. It's just hidden in the "Personalization" section (although logically this option should be either in the screen menu or in the "Screen - lock" item). The Always-On display does not have as many color and font options as other manufacturers, but it seems to be the only smartphone in this price segment that has an Always-On display that works all the time, and does not fall asleep after 10 seconds. That is, here, as they say, a real Always-On display.

The screen has a good margin of brightness.Measurements showed that the brightness in the smartphone is more than 600 nits. An excellent value that allows you to comfortably work with a smartphone on a clear day outside. An important point: realme talks about a peak brightness of 1000 nits. It should be understood that such brightness is rather theoretical. It is difficult to detect with the device. It usually works when there is relevant content on the screen. For example, in a certain scene of a film, increased brightness can be set or in a game when a grenade explodes.

That being said, realme did a good job with the auto-brightness setting. The smartphone selects the optimal parameters well.

An interesting point.The official specifications do not support HDR10. However, the same YouTube completely launches HDR videos. Probably, the option was not registered in the characteristics, since the positioning smartphone is not supposed to have it.

Of course, the smartphone has blue filteringlight, a dark design style, which, in the case of an AMOLED screen, will also save battery. There are also settings that allow you to hide the cutout (there are several design styles). So, perhaps, the only complaint about the screen will be the Always-On display hidden in the “Personalization” section.

Design

realme 10 stands out strikingly from the latestsmartphones that came for the test. realme 10 with a 6.4-inch screen in 2022 can be called a compact smartphone, which is quite manageable with one hand. This, to some extent, makes the smartphone unique against the backdrop of spade-shaped competitors.

The entire front panel is occupied by a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED screen with a cutout for a 16 MP camera.

The back panel has an unusual coloring, but the main thing is that fingerprints are invisible on the white panel.

Convenient location of the voice speaker. The screen has a protective film on it.

At the bottom there is a speaker, a headphone jack, a Type-C port for power, a microphone.

On the right side are the volume buttons and the fingerprint scanner.

On the left side is a tray for 2 SIM-cards and a separate slot for a microSD card.

At the top end there is an additional noise reduction microphone. An important element that many sacrifice for the sake of economy.

Despite the flat edges, the smartphone lies in the handwell, so I don’t want to hide it in a case at all. Perhaps most of all I liked the laconic and neat design of the main camera. The cameras protrude slightly above the body, which is why the smartphone, lying on a flat surface, sways slightly (you can put on a case).

Camera

The main camera of realme 10 issystem of two lenses: 50 + 2 MP. Recently, there has finally been a trend towards simplification, and manufacturers no longer feed on luring the buyer with a lot of useless lenses. In realme 10, the second lens is responsible for the bokeh (blur) effect in portrait shooting, as well as artificial intelligence for color correction.

But the main module is Samsung ISOCELL JN1,having an optical format of 1/2.76 inches. The highlight of the camera is that the size of one pixel is only 0.64 microns, thanks to which the lens turned out to be quite flat. The module supports 4-in-1 pixel binning for greater light capture. Samsung has turned out to be a rather advanced module, for example, ISOCELL JN1 supports proprietary Smart ISO, ISOCELL 2.0 and Double Super PDAF technologies (twice as many pixels are involved in phase detection autofocus as in the case of the Super PDAF system).

Let's see what the camera can do!

The resulting photos are saved at a resolution of 12.5 MP. You can, of course, shoot at a resolution of 50 MP, then the detail is better. But such photos weigh more, plus they are less processed by algorithms, so the colors are more faded.

The daytime results are encouraging.Fast autofocus, accurate white balance, good dynamic range. Perhaps the post-processing algorithms are slightly over-sharpening. There is also an option that includes artificial intelligence, which tries to select the best parameters depending on the subject. The AI here is surprisingly appropriate and delicate. Definitely worth using when shooting landscapes and architectural objects. I recommend turning it on when shooting text in books or documents. AI will improve sharpness, which will help avoid blurry letters.

Here are a couple of examples of how AI works.

And now to the daytime shooting.

Recently, many have been testedsmartphones with a 50 MP camera. And it seems that realme 10 has the highest quality night shooting. And this is thanks to advanced processing algorithms. There is quite a bit of noise in the final shots, but there is no loss of detail or twisted sharpness. You get very balanced shots.

A powerful chipset will allow realme 10 to add shooting modes that are usually reserved for more expensive models. For example, a smartphone offers simultaneous video recording on the main and front cameras.

There are no questions about the selfie camera. The 16 MP module is great for both selfies and portraits.

Original photos (zip, 184 MB)

Specifications

Specifications:

CPU: MediaTek MT8781 Helio G99 (6nm), Mali-G57 MC2 graphics
operating system: Android 12, Realme UI 3.0 shell
Memory: 6/8 GB, storage 128/256 GB, separate microSD slot
Screen: 6.4 inches, Super AMOLED, 2400 x 1080 pixels, 90Hz refresh rate, Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Battery: Li-Po 5000 mAh, fast charging 33 W
Main camera:
- 50 MP, f/1.8, 27mm (wide-angle), 1/2.76″, PDAF
- 2 MP, depth sensor
Front camera: 16 MP, f/2.5, 27mm (wide)
SIM card: 2 Nano SIM
Network and data transfer: 2G, 3G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, USB Type-C 2.0
Navigation: GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS
Sensors: fingerprint scanner (side), accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity, lighting, compass
Other: there is NFC, a separate microSD slot, there is a 3.5 mm jack, no radio
materials: glass front, plastic back and frame
Dimensions: 159.9 x 73.3 x 8 mm, weight 178 g

Conclusion

Realme 10 turned out to be rarebalanced smartphone without obvious flaws. Given the new chipset, Super AMOLED screen, and decent camera, you'd expect to save on something less obvious. However, NFC is in place, there is a magnetometer (it is also a compass, thanks to which the direction the smartphone is turned on is displayed on the map), the Wi-Fi module is good, Bluetooth version 5 supports Low Energy. At the same time, the smartphone is completely ready for Russian mobile networks: VoLTE, VoWiFi and frequency aggregation are supported. Plus, there is a call recording out of the box.

The performance reserve of the device is enough for a year3-4 years minimum. So realme 10 can definitely be recommended for purchase. The smartphone was estimated at 19,990 rubles. And that's a good price. Competitors offer less attractive options for 22-24 thousand rubles.

Price at the start of sales from 17,990 rubles