Realme U1 Review: Great Value for Money, But Not the Best Mid-range Phone
With dorsum to back launches since its debut in Republic of india earlier this year, Realme has been steadily developing a following for itself. However, the company is at present looking to brand a splash with the launch of a youth-centric and powerful budget device, the Realme U1.
The Realme U1 is the offset smartphone to be powered by MediaTek'southward flagship Helio P70 chipset, offering users a snappy and likable performance. The company has gone with a tried-and-tested design (much like its arch-nemesis Xiaomi), attractive colors, non-intrusive notch, to check all the boxes in the mid-range segment.
I've been using the top-stop variant of the Realme U1 (priced at Rs 14,499) in Fiery Gold for the by week and I'g here to not but share my experience with the device but also give you the answer to an important question. Can the Realme U1 beat the Redmi Annotation series, as well equally the new Honor 8C? Well, let's find out:
Realme U1 Specifications
Instead of jumping straight in to talk nigh my experience, let us first take a quick expect at the complete specs sheet for the Realme U1:
| Dimensions | 157 x 74 ten 8 mm |
| Weight | 168 grams |
| Brandish | 6.3-inch Full-Hard disk drive+ LTPS IPS, Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Processor | MediaTek Helio P70 |
| GPU | ARM G72 |
| RAM | 3GB/4GB |
| Storage | 32GB/64GB (expandable upward to 256GB) |
| Rear Camera | 13 MP (f/2.two) + 2 MP (f/ii.four), LED flash |
| Front Camera | 25MP (f/two.0) |
| Software | Android eight.ane Oreo-based ColorOS 5.ii |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.two, A-GPS, GLONASS, microUSB, 3.5mm headphone jack |
| Sensors | G-sensor, Grand-sensor, Gravity sensor, rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, proximity sensor |
| Battery | 3,500mAh |
| Colors | Aggressive Black, Brave Blue, Fiery Golden |
What's in the Box
If you lot remember, Realme just recently unveiled its new make identity and the packaging of the Realme U1 reflects the aforementioned with its grayness and xanthous box, forth with a U1 imprint on top. It contains everything we await to discover in a smartphone box these days, including a pre-applied screen protector.
Here'due south everything you will find inside the Realme U1 packaging:
- Realme U1 (Peppery Gold)
- 10W Ability adapter
- MicroUSB data cable
- Quick Commencement guide
- SIM removal tool
- Screen protector
- Silicone case
Realme could've included a pair of cheap earphones in the box to consummate its offering, but we are not ane to complain at this toll point.
Realme U1 Design and Build Quality
In typical mode, let's first talk about the build and aesthetics of the Realme U1 smartphone and right off the bat, yous will find one thing: Realme didn't actually accept fourth dimension to blueprint a new smartphone in the 2 months since its last phone. It has picked the aforementioned design from the Realme 2 Pro, which worked in the past (straight out of Xiaomi'southward playbook!).
Yeah, the pattern of the Realme U1 is well-nigh the same every bit the Realme 2 Pro and in that location'due south no major surprise in store for y'all – except for perchance the more than comfy grip and in-mitt feel of the new Realme device. It's slightly thinner than the 2 Pro and that makes a considerable departure in daily use.
The Realme U1 feels handier, lighter, and its rounded edges give you more confidence in holding the device – even though the plastic feels a bit cheap. The fingerprint sensor and Confront Unlock are very responsive, with the latter being a tad quicker than the OnePlus 6's camera-based Face Unlock.
Circling back to compare the Realme 2 Pro and Realme U1, everything from the dual rear-cameras, fingerprint sensor, and Realme branding on the rear to the dewdrop notch front, these two devices are identical. At that place's no difference in button or port placement as well, as you can run across right here:
The newest fellow member of the Realme family is definitely a looker and the 'Fiery Golden' variant with us got people drawing comparisons to the iPhone XS. The light pillars (as Realme likes to call the reflective pattern on the back) on Realme U1 set it autonomously and make it await stunning in unlike lighting conditions.
The ability button (on the right edge) and volume rockers (on the left edge) of the Realme U1 are fabricated out of plastic and may feel inexpensive to the bear on but are quite tactile, and then I accept got no qualms about them. There'due south a 3.5mm headphone jack and microUSB charging port at the bottom, just the secondary microphone up superlative is missing — which is disappointing.
Realme U1 Display
Moving along, if someone were to ask me one of the key highlights of the latest Realme smartphone, and then I would say that the display on the device is gorgeous. The dewdrop notch makes the Realme U1 expect a lot more bezel-less than it is, and beautiful.
The Realme U1 features a 6.3-inch Full-HD+ LTPS IPS display, with a 2340 x 1080 pixels screen resolution and 19.5:9 attribute ratio. The company boasts of a 90.viii% screen-to-body ratio and the display looks pretty good in everyday use.
The colour reproduction is on point, the display gets quite bright in indoor weather condition and holds upwardly quite well in direct sunlight too. I have got no major criticism here, except for the fact that the Realme 2 Pro has a much meliorate LCD console that offers users more brightness and color range.
However, I love the dewdrop notch blueprint and information technology feels like you are using a unmarried slab of drinking glass at night when the mentum disappears and only the non-intrusive notch is visible to the heart.
Realme U1 ColorOS
The biggest flaw in the Realme U1, as has been said time and fourth dimension again with Realme phones, is the software experience. The device runs Android viii.one Oreo-based ColorOS v.2 and though it's quite characteristic-packed, which is something I appreciate. But the visitor's skin requires a lot of work and remodeling to make the experience worthwhile for the user.
The ColorOS UI seems to have been heavily inspired by iOS. It does take some fourth dimension getting used to this, just you will acquire your fashion effectually it quite easily, enjoying access to some of the addition features including the Smart Assistant and Smart Sidebar, along with Kids Space, Voice Call Furnishings, and many others.
In terms of usability, I constantly faced issues with the gesture-based navigation bar which stopped working for me in the camera and gallery app many times. Swiping up from the bottom does non always actuate the gestures.
Realme U1 has no notification LED and it'south super frustrating!
Another major problem is with notifications. The Realme U1 is missing the notification LED and ColorOS is typically never in the mood to surface the latest notifications as they come in. The device usually but lights up the screen and vibrates when a new notification arrives and doesn't show which app has sent information technology, which gets frustrating very soon.
Realme U1 Performance
Every bit we've already pointed out, Realme U1 is the beginning device to debut with the bankroll of MediaTek'south latest flagship chipset – the Helio P70 and it's mighty enough to handle almost any of the tasks thrown at it. I have been using the device for around a week and didn't notice whatsoever lag or stutter across the user interface, even though it's heavily skinned.
Aye, the Helio P70 chipset inside the Realme U1 powers through tasks similar a champ and you wouldn't notice any issues with the user experience, making multi-tasking a cakewalk. Yet, I did observe that ColorOS was aggressively closing apps that take been in the memory for too long and they had to reload each time I tried opening them. That's a bit disappointing but nothing that cannot be fixed with a software update.
Turning our attention to the gaming performance, which has become a cadre obsession for users ever since the launch of battle royale phenomenon PUBG Mobile. Well, Realme U1 comes packed with the Realme Game Space and it comes in handy for freeing upwardly the memory to run games smoothly, while too muting app and telephone call notifications and so as non to hinder your gaming feel.
I tried out everything from low-cease games such as Temple Run, Mr. Gun, and Badminton League (my latest obsession) on the device and didn't notice any issues, however, heavy games like PUBG Mobile (medium settings, by default) did take a bit of price on the functioning. I did notice minor stutter or frame drops during State of war Mode gameplays but otherwise, Asphalt ix, Shadowgun Legends, and other like games was a fun experience with no concerns.
MediaTek Helio P70 Antutu Benchmarks
Finally, for those who dearest to judge and compare smartphone performance via benchmark scores, nosotros've attached screenshots of our Geekbench 4 and AnTutu results of the Realme U1 (codename RMX1833) downwardly below. These numbers amazed us when we ran the tests, well, because they are clearly meliorate than the Redmi Notation 6 Pro , running Snapdragon 636.
The numbers prove that MediaTek Helio P70 chipset is not only more than powerful than the Snapdragon 636 but also closely compares to Snapdragon 660 in benchmark numbers. This ways Realme U1 can offer yous better performance than the Realme 2 Pro, which is something we'll be testing out thoroughly in a couple of days.
Realme U1 Cameras
Coming to the highlight of the Realme U1, the company is pitching this device as a Selfie Pro and it goes up against the likes of Xiaomi's Redmi Note vi Pro and Redmi Y2. The device packs in a dual camera system, with a primary 13MP (f/2.two) sensor and a secondary 2MP (f/2.four) sensor on the rear and a 25MP (f/2.0) sensor on the front.
Now comes the moment of truth and let me clinch y'all that the cameras on Realme U1 are quite good for the price, but could've been ameliorate. Let's check out the camera samples in different lighting conditions to requite you lot a better idea:
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Daylight Conditions
In broad daylight, the Realme U1 performs well but you will find that while some of the photos look stunning with great detail, the others look oversharpened and a bit saturated (fifty-fifty though the Super Bright mode was off). The device is quick to focus and manages to capture details and shadows right, but has a tendency to blow out highlights.
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Depression-light Conditions
In low-light and artificial atmospheric condition, the Realme U1 performs pretty well and manages to capture a lot of light. The rear, equally well as the front camera, does a good job in capturing details but similar daylight, some of the images seem to exist oversharpened. The highlights, as well equally shadows, are handled with ease and the images appear skilful enough for the price.
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Selfies/ Portraits
Coming to the selfies and portrait, which the company touts to be the highlight of Realme U1. Well, information technology's not completely wrong. The 25-MP selfie snapper on here is considerably amend than the Realme 2 Pro (which you'll see in our comparison below) and manages to capture more detail in the subject's face and hair. But again, if there's a light source in the background then it's overexposed and Realme U1 find it hard to act during such scenarios.
The device comes with a portrait fashion, much like whatsoever other phone these days, and I've been quite satisfied with its quality. The edge detection is boilerplate, the background blur looks natural, and the photos don't look dull similar they did from the Award 8C .
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Addition Features
Well, the photographic camera on the Realme U1 too comes with portrait lighting effects – like to iPhones but certainly not as practiced. In that location are as well AR face stickers, which make Akshay and Rupesh await peculiarly attractive, don't they?
Realme U1 vs vs Redmi Note six Pro vs Realme two Pro Camera Shootout
Now let me also requite yous a brief await into how the Realme U1'south camera compares against its similarly-priced competitors, including Xiaomi's Redmi Note 6 Pro and the Realme 2 Pro. And well, there's no doubt about the issue of the showdown as the Redmi Note six Pro still comes out on peak with flying colors (quite literally), but the Realme U1 is not far behind.
Finally, speaking of the video capabilities of the Realme U1, it packs support for up to 1080p video recording at 30fps and from the looks of it, the video quality is decent plenty for casual recordings. The colors seem dull and sections of the video are blown out, with the camera having issues with varying lighting, every bit shown in the sample attached below:
Realme U1 Connectivity
Realme U1 is carrying forward the triple-slot tray that nosotros've seen on the Realme 2 Pro, which means you can use two nano-SIM cards, too equally expand the storage by up to 256GB via the dedicated microSD card slot. This will come up in very handy for users who might be looking to apply their device to tape or download YouTube videos.
The device packs 4G dual VoLTE connectivity support and the reception was decent during my usage, with no network issues during calling or Cyberspace surfing. You lot as well get support for Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/northward/ac, which suggests Realme U1 can seamlessly connect to 5GHz networks, but I was disappointed to come across my 5GHz Wi-Fi network not appear in the available network list.
Further, you lot'll go the usual set of connectivity options including Bluetooth 4.ii, A-GPS, GLONASS, a 3.5mm headphone jack (thankfully, it hasn't disappeared from the budget segment just all the same), and more.
Realme U1 Audio and Telephony
The Realme U1 packs in a single lesser-firing speaker, which at present seems to be the norm for nearly smartphones, however, I despise this placement. It is easy to conceal the speaker with your hand while playing games and that can certainly get frustrating in no time.
As for the audio quality, well, the speaker gets rather loud and produces a treble-heavy audio that should be sufficient for you to requite your friend a listen to that new hit track you tin't cease talking about. You get access to 16 book steps, which is decent, and you can comfortably enjoy music at around 50-60% volume without vocals beingness drowned out by the instrumentals.
My telephony feel with the Realme U1 has been good. I had been using my Airtel and Jio SIMs on the device for the past week and did not notice any connection or calling woes. However, the absenteeism of a secondary microphone affected the call quality a tad bit as callers asked me well-nigh the increased groundwork noise – which isn't the example with my usual daily driver, the Nokia vii Plus.
Realme U1 Bombardment
Finally, the Realme U1 includes a moderate-sized 3,500mAh battery on board and it has served me quite well over the past week. I was comfortably able to milk the device'due south charge for around one and a half day during regular apply, carrying out daily role piece of work, speaking to friends on call or WhatsApp, scrolling through Instagram, and watching a handful of videos on the way dorsum home.
I likewise tried to clasp in a couple games of PUBG during my tiffin hours and the device still stood tall with nigh 10-20% accuse at the end of the day. So, I'k pretty impressed with the battery on the Realme U1 but non ColorOS as you'll not exist able to see screen-on-time figures here.
Equally for charging, the company has provided a power brick rated at 10W and information technology enables you to juice upwards the Realme U1 from five% to 75% in around 90 minutes, which is pretty good enough for a smartphone in its price bracket. It hands takes ii+ hours to completely charge the device but as yous've already seen, the device would last a day without a hitch.
Realme U1: Should Xiaomi Be Worried?
Well, subsequently everything, we take finally made it to the end of our Realme U1 review and it's at present time to tell you lot whether the latest device from Realme is worth buying or not. And let me start by giving you lot the greenish light for that decision as Realme U1 (Buy here from Rs 11,999) is trying to offering you the best it tin can in its toll bracket – except for the few caveats that we found in the software department.
The Realme U1 at par with the company'south previous launch, the Realme Pro two (Buy from Rs 13,990), fifty-fifty though it is powered by a Snapdragon 660 chipset. The decision, information technology seems, volition ultimately boil down to the cameras – especially the selfie 1 in this instance. Realme U1 will take the cake here for its stellar front end camera performance.
However, if the rear camera is a priority for you and you cannot compromise even a tad bit on that front, then Redmi Annotation vi Pro (starts at Rs 13,999) should definitely exist the upkeep phone of your choice. Information technology also has MIUI, which is more matured than ColorOS. You volition have to alive with a bigger notch and bigger chin, the usual Xiaomi build, but in that location'south no better upkeep phone, with a superior camera out there in this price segment.
PROS:
- Classy and lightweight
- Waterdrop notch
- Superfast face unlock
- Snappy performance
- Solid battery life
CONS:
- Boilerplate cameras
- ColorOS woes persist
- Display could accept been better
Run into ALSO: Realme ii Pro Review: The "Real" Realme ane Successor?
Realme U1 Review: Falls Just Brusk of Mid-Range Rivals
The Realme U1 has shaped up to be the company's best try to date but with its flaws in the software and camera, at that place might exist some pause for potential buyers. We hope that Realme optimizes ColorOS for the new MediaTek SoC and also improves its epitome processing, which would definitely make it a worthy contender to take on rivals. The overall package of the Realme U1, given the price and the more snappy processor, could plow out upwardly exist a huge threat to Xiaomi and Honor'southward dominance.
Promise this review helps you make your selection when picking a smartphone in the sub-Rs. xv,000 segment. If you accept whatsoever doubts or queries, shoot them in the comments down beneath and we'll reply them in no fourth dimension.
Buy Realme U1 from Amazon ( starts at Rs 11,999 )
| REVIEW OVERVIEW | |
| Design And Build 8.5 | |
| Display 9 | |
| User Interface 6.5 | |
| Performance nine | |
| Cameras 7.5 | |
| Connectivity 8 | |
| Audio and Telephony seven.5 | |
| Battery 8.v | |
| Value for Coin ix.5 | |
| SUMMARY Backed by the MediaTek Helio P70 chipset, a hitting design, gorgeous dewdrop notch display, and a massive front end camera, the Realme U1 is arguably the company's best effort to date, and a huge threat to Xiaomi and Accolade's dominance.. It does have its share of caveats, particularly in the software section, which bring downs the final score. | 8.two OVERALL SCORE |
Source: https://beebom.com/realme-u1-review/
Posted by: sheppardahmiltoorly.blogspot.com
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