Realme 10 Review: A Mid-Range Success

Every year, Realme releases its numbered series of smartphones, as well as numerous variations with the prefixes I “pro,” “plus,” “5G,” and so on, to the point where it’s difficult to keep up. The new Realme 1oth series is on the horizon. The first phone in the new series is the Realme 10. There will be no series, but there will be 10 Pro, 10i, 10 Pro+, and so on. Realme 10 is powered by Android 12 and the realme UI 3.0 skin.

The design has evolved, as has the location of the fingerprint sensor, which is now on the side rather than on the screen. Second, there is a distinct set of cameras (Realme 10 has a 50 MP main module instead of the 108 MP one in Realme 9). Finally, the MTK Helio G99 replaces the Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 in the Realme 10. The G99 outperforms the Snapdragon 680 in benchmarks, but the Snapdragon 680 is considered more stable. And you won’t notice much of a difference, especially if you don’t play the most advanced games.

Specifications Table

Design

Realme’s new design generation has slim bodies, flat edges, and flat, shiny backs. The low-cost Realme C33 and the new Realme 9i 5G (not to be confused with the regular 9i) look identical. I’m sure Realme will use this design again and again. There’s nothing wrong with it; it’s stylish and modern; however, the edges are too sharp for me; I prefer more rounded edges. The device is extremely thin (7.9 mm), and Realme claims that it is the thinnest of the company’s phones.

The screen has small bezels, with only the “chin” standing out. The Realme 10 is protected against scratches by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The body is entirely made of plastic, but the design of the back panel (which is made of six layers) deserves special mention – it shines like a starry sky. Someone will admire it, while others will dismiss it as too kitschy; ultimately, it is a matter of taste. However, the fact remains that this phone attracts dust and fingerprints. So, even though it hides some of the “beauty,” it’s better to use a case.

Display

Realme 10’s display is just as stunning as its predecessor’s. It has a 6.4′′ Super AMOLED display with a FullHD+ resolution (24001080 pixels). The colours are vibrant and saturated, the black depth is deep, the viewing angles are ideal, and the readability in direct sunlight is excellent (peak brightness up to 1000 nits). There are three colour display modes available: Vivid, Natural, and Pro Mode. The former provides DCI-P3 coverage, whereas the latter provides calmer and softer colours. Two additional modes with more precise colour reproduction settings are available in the latter.

The refresh rate of the screen is 90 Hz – mid-rangers may offer more Hz, but 90Hz is sufficient. There are three modes of operation: standard 60 Hz, 90 Hz, and auto-select. However, I’ve noticed that in auto mode, 60 Hz is used more frequently, but it’s also much gentler on the battery. Everything is the same in the screen settings: light / dark theme selection, screen colour mode selection, eye comfort mode (warmer shades in the evening), auto-rotation, auto-off, refresh rate selection, show/hide the front camera cutout, and full-screen mode for non-optimized apps.

Hardware and Performance

The Mediatek Helio G99 processor powers the smartphone. This is a 6nm chipset that was released this summer. It lacks 5G network support and has 8 cores (22.2 GHz ARM Cortex-A76 @ 62.0 GHz ARM Cortex-A55). It’s essentially the same mid-range gaming-focused SoC as the previous generation G96, with 30% more data throughput and improved power efficiency. The SoC is comparable to the Snapdragon 695 or 765G. Realme 10 is said to be 40% more powerful than Realme 9. The truth is that this is most noticeable in synthetic tests. 

Cameras

There isn’t a lot of variety here, but I think the quality of the photos will please you. For the background blur effect, we have a 50 MP main module (Samsung JN1 1/2.76″) and a 2 MP auxiliary monochrome lens. It turns out that there is only one camera that is useful. It’s a shame the manufacturer didn’t include an ultrawide-angle lens; after all, they’re useful. Yes, and there was an ultrawide module in realme 9. 

The camera interface supports 2x zoom, and the image quality is average (since there is no telephoto lens). Realme 10 records video in FullHD resolution at 30 or 60 frames per second. Someone will complain about the lack of a 4K resolution, but this isn’t a deal breaker for me. The video quality is mediocre, there is insufficient stabilisation, and the image shakes when moving.

Software

Battery and Connectivity

The new phone has a 5000 mAh battery, which is a good standard for modern smartphones. It provides 10-11 hours of active screen time on average. The smartphone lasted 8 hours and 47 minutes in the PCMark Work 3.0 benchmark with maximum screen brightness and 90 Hz.

Realme 10 supports 4G networks, as did its predecessor, and also dual-band Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.2 (A2DP, LE), as well as satellite navigation (GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO). NFC is also used for contactless payments.

Warranty Plan