Review: realme 7

By Sylvester Sy
12 Min Read
realme 7 002

After the successful launch of the realme C-series, realme Philippines is now ready to offer it’s newest smartphone, the realme 7 and realme 7 Pro.

We’re fortunate enough to get our hands on an early unit of the new realme 7 and here’s our full review on yet again, another amazing product from realme. Inside the realme 7 is the world’s first MediaTek Helio G95 processor, making the device one of the most powerful smartphones in gaming and entertainment at its price point.

Related Article: realme 7 Unboxing and First Impressions

Equipped with the newly upgraded 30W Dart Charger and a 5,000 mAh battery that can be fully charged in less than 65 minutes. Aside from that the new realme 7 boasts a 64 megapixel quad-lens rear camera setup featuring the Sony IMX682 sensor and 90Hz ultra-smooth display.

realme 7 - 30W Dart Charger
The realme 7 comes with 5000mah Battery with a 30W DART charger which can juice up the device in just 65 mins.

Unboxing/Accessories

The realme 7 comes with the company’s signature bright yellow packaging with the big “7” model printed on the front of the box and a small realme logo at the lower portion of the box. Inside the box, you will find the realme 7 handset, 30W Dart charger, USB Type-A to USB Type-C data/charging cable, TPU dark translucent case for protection, paper documentations and the SIM ejector tool. Unfortunately, the realme 7 doesn’t have earphones in the box, you have to buy it separately.

realme 7 - What’s Inside?
What’s Inside?

For those interested, realme is also launching it’s newest TWS earbuds, the realme Buds Q. That are sold separately.

Build Quality/Design

Inspired by the space in nature, the realme 7 sports a new split design which asymmetrically divides the back into colours that run in opposite directions. It also has an anti-glare coating on top for a more smooth matte finish that doesn’t attract a lot of fingerprints. Like most of the realme smartphones we reviewed, it still uses polycarbonate plastic while the front panel is protected by Gorilla Glass 3 for scratch protection.

On the right side of the realme 7, we have a side-mounted fingerprint scanner which ingeniously fuses the power button and fingerprint recognition modules. On the right side is where you will find the volume rocker and the SIM tray. The bottom boasts of a 3.5mm jack along with a USB Type-C port and the loudspeaker grille.

The volume rocker is placed on the left side, above it is the SIM tray that supports 2x nano SIM and 1x microSD card slot.

realme 7 fingerprint scanner
side-mounted fingerprint scanner which ingeniously fuses the power button and fingerprint recognition modules.

While the power button that also doubles as a fingerprint scanner is on the right side.

realme 7 - 3.5mm jack along with a USB Type-C port
3.5mm jack along with a USB Type-C port and the loudspeaker grille.

The bottom part of the phone has a 3.3mm audio jack, microphone, USB Type-C port, and the speaker grille.

The realme 7 has a 6.5 inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen with a Full HD+ (20:9) 1080 x 2400 FHD+ resolution. Unlike other smartphones in this segment, the realme 7 offers a 90Hz ultra-smooth display. On top of the display is a punch-hole cutout which houses the 16 megapixel front camera. Powering this device is a massive 5,000mAh which is aided by a 30W fast-charger in the box.

realme 7 - Netflix
I watched Netflix at max brightness for about an hour and the total battery drainage was only about 8%

Overall, the new realme 7 is a great value for money in the mid-range level smartphone. The phone is powerful enough to handle multitasking and some gaming as well. As a matter of fact, I’ve been playing Call of Duty on this phone for 3 weeks now and I really like how it performed.

Camera

The new realme 7 uses the 2nd generation 64 megapixel f/1.8 Sony IMX682 main camera, 8 megapixel 119° ultra-wide camera, 2 megapixel macro camera, 2 megapixel depth sensors. In front, it uses a 16 megapixel ultra-clear front camera with f/2.0 aperture that supports different features such as smart beauty and bokeh mode. Aside from that, the new beauty algorithm developed for different genders, skin types and facial shapes allows users to easily take natural selfies.

realme 7 - Selfie Camera
16MP ultra-clear front camera is made to complete daily selfie needs with F2.0 aperture.
realme 7 - quad-camera
64MP Quad Camera with Sony IMX682 sensor

The Sony IMX682 sensor has incredible light-sensing ability, and comes with 1/1.73″ super large size sensor, 64MP super high pixels, supports Quad Bayer, pixel size up to 1.6μm. Even in low light, your pictures will come out super bright.

The company also introduces Starry Mode, which lets you take amazing night shots capable of capturing long exposure images of the night sky.

Here are more sample shots taken using the new realme 7: 

Overall, the realme 7’s camera performance is above-average considering its low price tag. To be honest, the camera quality can compete with most smartphones in the middle segment.

Performance

The realme 7 is the first smartphone powered by MediaTek Helio G35 processor that is equipped with the cutting-edge superb carbon fiber cooling system that can cool up to 8.6% keeping the phone’s performance up to speed, preventing it from excess heating during those heavy multi-tasking and gaming sessions.

Just like all realme smartphones, it also runs in realme UI on top of Android 10. As for the audio performance, the single loudspeaker at the bottom was sufficient although a stereo speaker setup would have sealed the deal especially for gaming. The face recognition and the side-mounted fingerprint sensor are also quick. Apps are generally quick to load, and with the 90Hz refresh rate scrolling through menus feel smooth.

Realme 7 - AnTuTu Benchmark
AnTuTu Benchmark

realme 7 scores 298761 on AnTuTu Benchmark, not bad for a mid range device.

When it comes to mobile games, the new realme 7 was designed to be the device for the mobile gaming enthusiasts. Under the phone’s hood is the world’s first MediaTek Helio G95 Gaming Processor, making the device one of the most powerful smartphones for gaming and entertainment in its price point.

Playing graphically-demanding gaming titles such as PUBG, Call of Duty, and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang at their highest settings ran smoothly without causing any issues. As a matter of fact, I’ve been using realme 7 for almost 3 weeks now playing Call of Duty and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.

Battery

The realme 7 is equipped with a 5,000mAh battery that can easily last for one full day with moderate to heavy usage. The phone also draws power from a 30W Dart Charger that is capable of refueling the battery from 0% to 100% in about 73 minutes.

realme 7 - PCMark Work 2.0 battery life
PCMark score battery life
Pros
  • Perfect for gaming
  • 90Hz refresh rate
  • Fast Charging
Cons
  • The camera software needs refinements but still not bad
  • Reflective LCD has average outdoor visibility

Verdict

Overall the realme 7 is a great value for a mid-range smartphone especially the entry-level variant. The performance is really good, the battery life is excellent, and the 90Hz refresh rate makes general usage feel smooth and fluid. The new MediaTek G95 offers impressive performance in all day-to-day routines and also makes it a good budget gaming smartphone.

realme 7 Specs

Display: 6.5-inch Full HD+ IPS display with 90Hz refresh rate
CPU: 2.05GHz MediaTek Helio G95 octa-core processor
GPU: ARM Mali-G76 MC4 900MHz
RAM: 8GB LPDDR4x dual-channel
ROM: 128GB UFS 2.1
Back Camera: 64MP f/1.8 + 8MP f/2.3 ultrawide + 2MP f/2.4 macro + 2MP f/2.4 depth
Selfie Camera: 16MP f/2.1
Battery: 5,000 mAh w/ 30W charger
OS: Android 10.0 w/ realme UI 1.0
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.0, OTG, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, dual SIM
Sensors: Magnetic Induction Sensor, Light Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Gyro-meter, Acceleration Sensor
Colors: Mist Blue, Mist White

Price and availability

The realme 7 is officially available in all realme stores, kiosks and partner mobile stores nationwide starting today for PhP 14,990.

Also starting September 30, the new realme 7 series will be available at Home Credit with 0 percent interest installment plans of 6 and 9 months.

The first 10 to purchase the realme 7 will also receive a FREE realme Buds Classic worth PHP 590.
Participating Branches:
  1. SM North EDSA Kiosk
  2. SM Megamall Kiosk
  3. SM Fairview Kiosk
  4. SM Mall of Asia Kiosk
  5. SM Calamba Kiosk
  6. SM Dasmariñas Kiosk
  7. SM Sta. Rosa Kiosk
  8. SM Manila Kiosk
  9. SM Pampanga Kiosk
  10. SM Bicutan Kiosk
It is also available via Major Credit Cards installment for both 6 and 12 months with 0 percent interest in participating stores nationwide.
They are also having a special launch promo Today September 30, those will purchase the realme 7 at Lazada will enjoy a PHP 500 off.
realme 7 series promo

Related Article: realme C12 affordable smartphone with long-lasting battery

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