Nine months ago, we had our initial review of the realme 6.  At that time, we were very impressed by the phone’s 90Hz display, the 30W fast charger and the capable performance thanks to the Helio G90T processor and 8GB of RAM. All these things might sound like “standard” right now but keep in mind this is a phone that was retailing at 30K.

With a new price drop to KES 27,000 and a realme band and realme Air Neo wireless buds bundled together, we ask the question, is the realme 6 still a midrange smartphone that is really good?

What’s Still Good

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Performance – Unlike the phones of the old, which would degrade a few months after usage, Android has come a long way. The realme 6 is a testament to this. Despite bearing a processor from 2019, the device is very much capable. The Helio G90T has handled everything we have thrown at it pretty well. Switching between apps is still fast, playing games is still smooth and speaking of smooth, that 9Hz display is a feature we didn’t know we needed – we love it! The 8GB RAM packed on the phone also helps it stay ahead of the pack, which offer 6GB or even 4GB memory for around the same price.

Camera – To quote the words of Anfernee in our initial review, “Nothing extravagant expected at this price point but it’s a very good point and shoot camera”. With that summary, you can understand why anyone would love this camera. In good lighting, whether you’re using the ultra-wide, macro lens or the main 64MP mode, the output is beautiful. Unfortunately though, things take a dip when the light goes down.

Battery Life – The battery on this phone has held up pretty well. Lasting throughout the whole day – I only charge this phone once a day, despite having it on 90Hz all the time. For those who want to get more from the battery (maybe two days), switching off the battery draining features like the high refresh rate can easily get you the 48 hours you seek. The super fast charging available is also something to write home about – with the capability to charge from zero to 100 in under an hour!

Position of the fingerprint scanner – This is something not a lot of people talk about but it’s one of the best things about the realme 6. Placed on the side of the phone, the fingerprint scanner is also the power button, which means for you to unlock, you simply pres the power button and voila! Some might say that in-display scanners are cooler but what’s the need for a cool feature that only works half the time due to its poor accuracy?

What Hasn’t Aged Well

The Software – While the software on the realme 6 is still better than most competitors – at least in terms of user friendliness, the fact that its still not updated to Android 11 is what gets to me. The current software on the phone world well, but knowing that there’s something newer out there that the manufacturer hasn’t yet provided to me doesn’t sit well with my soul.

Selfie Camera While On a Video Call – In the age the pandemic, video calls have become a necessity. Whthere it’s for work or personal, we have all made a video call over the past one year, more times than we have in our life time. Unfortunately for realme 6 owners, this means having to look like a potato every time you switch on that video call. Okay, maybe it’s not that bad but the quality is really wanting and is a reminder that this phone doesn’t cost that much.

Should You Buy The realme 6 in 2021?

The outright answer is yes! A lot of people will not care about the aged software and that’s okay. The only problem for most might be the selfie camera for videos but the lowered price and bundled freebies make it a phone worth considering all over again. You can buy the phone here (and yes, that’s the colour we recommend).