realme C55 Impressions | A New Budget Challenger

It’s been a pretty sweet first quarter of releases for realme, quite literally with its most recent smartphone, solidifying its midrange lineup. But what about us loyal budgetarians, you ask? Well, they’re coming out swinging in the department, too.

With the imminent release of the realme C55, their latest C-series entry, there are a few expectations behind the anticipation. We got our hands on it, got to tinker a bit under the hood, and see how it’ll likely fare in the steadily growing budget beast menagerie.

Right out of the box, the clear overhaul in aesthetics smacks you right in the face–and you love it. Veering away from the C33’s teardrop selfie camera with more visible bezels, you get a neat punch-hole with an ever so slightly smaller chin. Sporting the Rainy Night colorway, the backside has a nice, wood-esque matte finish that guarantees you won’t be wiping down fingerprints every few seconds.

As for the main cameras, you have two large shooters lined up quite nicely. This, in my opinion, gives the C55 a more premium feel–or rather, completes it. I mean, who wouldn’t get lost in those big, dreamy peepers?

While the cameras can get distracting, let’s go back up front so we can take a gander at the 6.7-inch IPS LCD display with a smooth 90Hz refresh rate. While it doesn’t sport the much-desired 120Hz, you still get some smooth swiping and tapping.

The C55 is powered by a MediaTek Helio G88. Our variant comes with 8GB of expandable RAM with a whopping 256 GB of storage. It’ll definitely be interesting to see how it works under more “strenuous” situations–namely, running Genshin Impact. So far, with less demanding games and general use, you won’t be getting any problems in this department.

Going back to the peepers, you get a rather straightforward setup. No ultrawide, but you get a nice Chroma Boost-capable 64MP camera and a 2MP depth lens with a portrait mode that works fairly well. As for video, you can shoot up to 1080p/60fps with the main camera–which was quite a pleasant surprise.

As for selfies, well, the photo can only be as good-looking as the subject, I suppose. What I’m saying is, the 8MP front camera performs fine.

The C55 is definitely a step up from the previous C-series model. Offering a wider variety of variants to choose from, an overall better camera, and a more subdued, yet still eye-catching aesthetic, this is definitely a smartphone worth checking out if you’re currently wading through the budget range. Speaking of said range, we’re probably looking at 10 to 12 thousand pesos for this bad boy.

Also, it’s worth noting that the 5000 mAh battery got me through more than a day on some relatively heavy use. But it charged up quickly enough in just about an hour. Sometimes we forget these simple joys.

The realme C55 official launch will commence on April 18, 6 PM. Catch it live on TikTok and on Facebook. For more information, visit the official realme website.

realme C55 specs: