It’s November, the year is 87% complete and you still haven’t chosen what smartphone you want to buy to stroll into 2021 with. Well, you’re in luck. Smartphone fever is over, the phones we have in the market now are all we’ll have released in 2020. Now you must be frustrated about which phone to buy and you heard about the realme 7i and you’re looking for a hands-on review. I mean that’s why you are here. So sit back and let me tell you why this phone is turning heads.

realme 7i Review

Let’s take a gander at what you’ll see when you take the phone out of the box for the first time. Don’t worry, just watch it, the experience won’t make your unboxing any less fun:) Watch the unboxing here:

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First and foremost, the spec sheet. It’s quite a rather compelling phone on paper. You wouldn’t expect some of the specs on this phone especially at this price point. However, it’s 2020 so anything is possible

• 6.5-inch 720p display with a 90Hz refresh rate and a hole-punch 16MP selfie camera.
• Snapdragon 662
• 8GB RAM, 128GB
• Four cameras:
  • 64MP wide
  • 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens
  • 2MP macro lens
  • 2MP depth sensor

Now, let’s get to it. What makes this phone so ‘good at everything…

What We Like

Design

Whenever you take your phone out of your pocket you want people to go; wow… what phone is that? and that’s what realme are trying to achieve. The two-tone and colour gradient design features a split that separates the back in terms of its materials. We have a glossy finish at the top and a matte finish at the bottom.

To the touch, you can barely feel the difference but it’s there and it looks really good on this polar blue model.

The Display

realme are really making a difference in the smartphone world with their displays. They are showing that everyone can and should enjoy a smooth 90Hz display on their phone. Now we’ll try and delve further into this in a later article but for now, it’s imperative you understand what that means.

The refresh rate is the number of times a screen refreshes itself every second. The higher the number the smoother it will be to use the phone. Thus the realme 7i that comes with a 6.5-inch display and a 90Hz refresh rate is pretty smooth. Swiping through apps and watching content on this screen is really entertaining. There is relatively no lag when opening apps and when using the phone.

With all these smooth speeds, I’m going to need a lot of apps to use and test out and that brings me to the storage and performance.

Storage and Performance

The realme 7i I have comes with 8GB and 128GBs of storage. That’s pretty much all anyone really needs. The chip powering it is a Snapdragon 662 which would ideally offer better performance. I can’t say too much about performance since I haven’t had it for too long. For now though, so far so good. What’s nifty about this is that when I was gaming, especially during long sessions it didn’t heat up as much I expected.

The realme 7i comes running on Android 10 and realme UI v1.0. However do not like the UI so I quickly opted for the Nova Launcher to try and mask this. The dark mode works well and so does the adaptive punch hole screen.

The apps are responsive, games are smooth and all this power and storage is certainly proving enough for the 90 apps that I have currently installed with so much more left over for videos and pictures.

Cameras

The rear camera module consists of four cameras. There is a 64MP wide camera, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens, a 2MP macro lens and 2MP depth camera. There is also a hole-punch 16MP selfie camera.

You’ll notice that in most lighting conditions, realme 7i will take decent enough shots with daylight shots having good dynamic range and detail. the wide-angle shots try to retain the same colour profile with the main camera.

The cameras are not the best on any smartphone but they work just well enough to make your Instagram photos pop and your family photos stand out. Let me show you what it can do. Click to view:

In terms of video, the processor can handle 1080p at 60fps but only shoots 1080p 30fps. Same goes for the selfie camera. ElS included in the Ultra Steady modes(UIS & UIS Max Video Stabilization) will help to stabilize the video to avoid shakes when recording using your hands.

Battery Life

The battery is slightly smaller compared to the C15 at 5000mAh. The good thing is since the phone has smart features to set refresh rates at different points depending on how much you need it and power-saving modes, it is still big enough to last you a whole day or even more.

In addition to that, Luckily, charging is a dream with the 18W fast charger via its USB-C port included in the box.

Price

Finally. Well, the realme 7i will be retailing at KES 24,999. Yap, just that. It’s quite stunning that all those top-notch specs are playing within the midrange smartphone area. However, when you dive deep, you have to let go of some things. This is what brings us to the shallow negatives. Here’s where we aren’t too happy about.

What we Don’t Like

Huge Bezels

I only say huge because I have seen bezel-less phones (at least 95% screen to body ratio) but this is more of a personal preference. The bottom bezel stuck out to me the first time I unboxed this phone and it might do so for you too. However, it has come to grow on me and I notice it less and less nowadays… That is until I see another bezel-less phone and then it’s back to square 1.

720p display

This phone only packs a 720p display. Although this isn’t a factor for most people and it does save on battery life, I prefer a more captivating 1080p FHD screen. I guess it was either FHD or 90Hz and they chose the latter option.

Speaker quality 

There are no earphones in the box and thus I expect quality speakers till I get some Bluetooth earbuds. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. They get quite a bit tinny when the volume is really loud and lose out on the bass.

Accidental touches

The phone is a bit on the larger side and when I am using gestures I tend to get accidental touches that cancel my text or goes back on an app and it’s really aggravating. I hope this changes when I finally get used to it

realme 7i Review; Not the Best at Anything but it’s Good at Everything

Now as you can see, this phone is not perfect but it is good at everything else. It looks and feels good, it’s silky smooth when you use it and has enough space to accommodate you and three other users on this smartphone. It’s capable of handling your camera and entertainment needs to a point where you might not even notice those little caveats.

At this price, this is a phone we would recommend for a long term purchase.