The brand has little travel but no small showcase, and one more year renewed one of its main lines, giving, in this case, 3 possibilitieswith the Realme 6, 6 Pro and Realme 6i . Despite the particular moment we are experiencing with the COVID-19 crisis , we have been able to carry out the analysis of Realme 6 , the most intermediate option of the three, we will tell you.
It is a terminal with a 6.5-inch screen with a refresh rate of 90 hertz and versions with 6 and 8 GB. In this case we have been able to test the most powerful variant, with 8 GB and 128 GB of storage, so we will check that it is the best that Realme 6 can offer.
Realme 6 Specification
Design: Realme style is maintained with slight changes and goodbye to the notch
The Realme are usually eye-catching mobiles, with a rather youthful air and that follow the trends at the aesthetic level that we have been seeing in the last two years: reflective rear , which play with those reflections to look like one color or another, and a camera module in vertical to one side. In fact, although there is some difference that we will now specify, it is quite similar to the Realme 5 with respect to the design.
In this case we have tested the white version, but we can already see that the finish on the back shows a different pattern of reflections: it is not polygonal, but rather it starts from a vertex in the center of the lower edge, giving that "CD-like" touch with multicolored reflections depending on how we see or place it. A finish that, by the way, leaves the oleophobic part quite aside because the traces are left with extreme ease .
And that we do not have glass, since it is a plastic casing , as is the edge (although it has a finish imitating metal). As we usually comment, the main disadvantage of plastic is that it does not allow wireless charging, but we gain in terms of some peace of mind that it can break or scratch at least if, as in this case, it is a material that gives a feeling of quality and resistance .
It is a thick mobile , not until this is striking but almost standing at the centimeter talking about the vertical axis to the center. It shows in the grip, although the curvature at the back helps to distract the feeling, being quite subtle and continuing the silver border to draw what is almost a hemisphere. The screen stands out, assuming a black border on the profile and leaving room for the side fingerprint reader , which is in fact one of the main changes compared to the Realme 5 talking about aesthetics.
Another of the most notable modifications is that it says goodbye to the notch to go to the hole in the screen for the front camera. It is a perforation on the left side, with a black rim, and which we will talk more about on the screen (about how it affects its use).
Speaking of the screen and the front, we see that the frame is uniform except on the bottom side, with some chin . Although the screen is like a projection, it does not give a bad feeling in the grip when it is well finished and with some continuity with the edge, and the earpiece is integrated between the frame and the plastic edge with great discretion.
Speaking of ports and buttons, the fingerprint reader serves as the start button , with the volume ones on the opposite side. At the bottom edge is the USB Type-C port, speaker, and 3.5mm jack, not quite center-aligned.
It is not strictly a light mobile, but compared to what we see today it does not come close to those who set the record in weight with a similar volume and screen. Looking at other mobiles with a screen around 6.5 inches, we see that the Realme 6 is not among the three heaviest or the three most voluminous (being, respectively, sixth and seventh), seeing that the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 achieves put more battery (being a millimeter thicker) and also the Huawei Mate 30 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite .
| HEIGHT (MM) | WIDTH (MM) | THICKNESS (MILLIMETERS) | WEIGHT (GRAMS) | SCREEN (INCHES) | BAttery | AREA (CM2) | VOLUME (CC) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| REALME 6 | 162.1 | 74.8 | 8.9 | 191 | 6.5 / td> | 4,300 | 121.25 | 107.91 |
| SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 10 LITE | 163.7 | 76.1 | 8.7 | 199 | 6.7 | 4,500 | 124.58 | 108.38 |
| ONEPLUS 7 PRO | 162.6 | 75.9 | 8.8 | 206 | 6.67 | 4,000 | 123.41 | 108,603 |
| HUAWEI MATE 30 PRO | 158.1 | 73.1 | 8.8 | 198 | 6.53 | 4,500 | 115.57 | 101.7 |
| IPHONE 11 PRO MAX | 158 | 77.8 | 8.1 | 226 | 6.5 | 3,969 | 122.92 | 99.57 |
| PIXEL 4 XL | 160 | 75.1 | 8.2 | 193 | 6.3 | 3,700 | 120.46 | 98.78 |
| LG V60 THINQ | 169.4 | 77.7 | 8.9 | 219 | 6.8 | 5,000 | 131.62 | 117.15 |
| OPPO RENO 10X ZOOM | 162 | 77.2 | 9.3 | 210 | 6.6 | 4,065 | 125.07 | 116.31 |
| SONY XPERIA 1 II | 165.1 | 71.1 | 7.6 | 181.4 | 6.5 | 4,000 | 117.39 | 89.21 |
| XIAOMI MI NOTE 10 | 157.8 | 74.2 | 9.67 | 208 | 6.47 | 5,600 | 117.09 | 113.22 |
In general, it seems to us a comfortable mobile phone even with its volume , which as we say fits in the current line. In addition, it does not slip and the polycarbonate seems resistant, although later we will talk about the position of the side fingerprint reader and the contradiction that a good location and a good operation are sometimes "a catch".
Screen: an evolution while maintaining IPS DNA
Although it may not seem like it, the OLED still has to win the battle against IPS in the smartphone market. We see IPS panel still in most terminals of 2019 and those that we carry from 2020, with examples such as the recent Nokia 5.3 5G and the rest of Realme 6, with the nuance that this is normally relegated to medium or input ranges and not to the high range, with few exceptions such as the iPhone 11 .
In this way, following in the wake of Realme 5 and the rest of the mobiles in this family, the Realme 6 also incorporates an IPS screen, being a 6.5-inch panel with FullHD + resolution (1,080 x 2,400 pixels). Although one of the points to note is that it incorporates the possibility of increasing the refresh rate up to 90 hertz.
Something that has its configuration section in the screen settings , which we will detail later. But we really liked that the user is the one who chooses the desired refreshment or leave it in automatic so that the system adjusts it.
Of the theoretical advantages (and disadvantages) of a higher refresh rate we have discussed in depth earlier, are these noticeable in Realme 6? The truth is that it is hardly noticeable compared to the difference observed with 120 Hz (helped by heavy software), but we can see more fluid scrolls and slight improvement in games that support 90 Hz such as' SonicDash 'or' Vainglory ', but in any case it is an improvement that should be standardized so that it is present even with more general resolutions like this one.
Speaking of this aspect, with the FullHD + we have an acceptable experience at the level of sharpness . The pixel density is correct, not to break records but enough to see all kinds of content well on this 6.5-inch screen.
It comes well calibrated from the factory and something that may seem an advantage to us is that it is not saturated. In fact, in those screen adjustments that we were commenting on we can adjust the temperature gradually and leave it at the point we want, and also activate the OSIE Vision Effect, in theory to give more vividness to the colors and more sharpness, but which is imperceptible (or is that it does not work neither in video nor in static image).
The maximum brightness is more than enough the more the light hits (luckily, we have been able to test it in the sun, because it is a weekly confinement and rain), 480 nits according to the manufacturer. Although the minimum brightness is too powerful in very low light situations and the automatic adjustment is somewhat slow, it could improve to adapt more quickly to a change in lighting (and it is not uncommon for us to adjust it manually).
The panel's tactile sensitivity is correct and so is the viewing angle experience. The frames allow the front to be used quite well (90.5% according to Realme, 81.4% according to GSM Arena ), although they are noticeable and in fact the panel without curves is appreciated, so there are no accidental touches of any kind with supporting fingers.
Of course, you have to touch the double touch to activate the screen , since it does not work even if you activate that function from the settings. Yes, activation works perfectly when we lift the terminal, which is very useful for facial recognition (we will talk about it later).
The one in the front camera is a large and inconspicuous hole
Something that also allows this percentage of use to be quite good is opting for the hole in the screen, although other mobiles with notch achieve better figures (based on the GSM Arena standard) such as the Samsung Galaxy A50 (85.1%), although it improves on Realme 5 (82.7%). Of course, it is a large and inconspicuous hole , unlike that of mobiles such as the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite (with 86.6%).
Speaking of how the interface fits into this hole , the taskbar reaches a height of about 7.75 millimeters. Something considerable considering that that of the S20 Ultra is about 4.5 millimeters and that of the Galaxy Lite was about 6 millimeters, equal to that of the Honor View30 Pro , which translated to use means that the text of the bar of tools are lost in it, wasting space and giving a somewhat rare aesthetic feeling.
Performance: from Snapdragon to MediaTek and 8 GB because they touch me
In MediaTek they also have their “G” processors, a letter that we are seeing in the surnames of the SoCs to give the marketing nuance for gaming , giving them some more advantage in terms of power and / or efficiency to seek to give a better experience in games and heavy tasks. One of the options of this manufacturer is the Helio G90T that we see in this Realme, with support for those 64 megapixels of its main camera and seeing that the play is changed in relation to its predecessor, with a Snapdragon 665 .
As we emphasized at the beginning, of the two versions that exist at the level of RAM memory (6 and 8 GB) we have tested the most powerful, with 8 GB . A more than acceptable memory for a mid-range terminal that represents a modest bet in other aspects, but when playing it meets as the most.
The mobile does not give any type of problem or error when playing or doing some more demanding task, without appreciable lag and with good performance of the transitions (in any of the frequencies). And something that we liked a lot is that it does not heat up just after a while of use : there is a certain increase in heat, but very slight even if we have been playing. We show you the detected temperatures, they are relatively low and the difference between the one taken at rest and the one recorded after the game is very little.
For those of you who pay attention to the benchmarks , we leave you the usual comparison of results in the tests that we usually pass.
REALME 6 | REALME X2 | XIAOMI MI NOTE 10 | SAMSUNG GALAXY A70 | MOTOROLA ONE VISION | HUAWEI P SMART 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PROCESSOR | MediaTek 90G | Snapdragon 730G | Snapdragon 730G | Snapdragon 675 | Exynos 9609 | Kirin 710 |
RAM | 8 GB | 6 GB | 6 GB | 4GB | 4GB | |
ANTUTU | 289,133 | 461,370 | 253,660 | 170,567 | 136,111 | 130,026 |
GEEKBENCH | 512 / 1,670 (5.0) | 677 / 2,577 (5.0) | 539 / 1,715 (5.0) | 2,363 / 6,390 | 1,507 / 4,934 | 1,531 / 5,149 |
PC MARK WORK | 10,840 | 12,586 | 7,473 | 8,889 | 6,812 | 5,853 |
3D MARK (SLING SHOT) | 3,145 | 3,428 |
Software: the benefits of customization are mixed with the duties to be done with Realme UI
We are seeing how several manufacturers are specializing their personalization layers so that the different sub-brands have their own, even if only for the nomenclature. We saw it with Honor and Huawei, with EMUI and Magic UI and we have also seen it with OPPO and Realme, so that the former are left with Color OS and the latter with Realme UI. Thus, in this mobile we see Android 10 with what happened to be version 1.0 of Realme UI.
The layer has enough options to customize the look of the desktop . In fact, already in the first load of the system it offers us the possibility of customizing the shape and appearance of the icons of the apps, which may please those who are used to looking for launchers or themes in this sense.
Given that in general we have seen that several of the manufacturers have decreased the number of pre-installed apps (at least in their global versions), now it is more striking when a layer adds something else. This is the case of Realme UI, in which we see a few third-party apps in addition to Google's own and Google's utilities. But we can delete them, although it may be that in the case of Google, they will automatically appear again when updating without giving permission.
As for the settings , the menu is quite deductive although it incorporates somewhat different options from the usual ones. However, if we do not find any of the most common sections, the search engine works very well.
We have already discussed screen settings. There we will find everything related to configuring it and also options such as dark mode , which is applied to all the interfaces of the system and to those of the compatible apps.
On the home screen we will find the possibility of organizing the apps on a single desktop as well as the grid and the speed of the animations. There is no ambient screen, but there is the accessory desktop that is activated by default (called "Smart Assistant") and that is a tab on the left of the desktop for quick accesses (it can be deactivated).
It is something that we find in one of the most specific sections, that of "Smart Services", which also incorporates an intelligent driving mode that allows you to apply a certain configuration for notifications. These also have their own section, being able to adjust aspects such as showing the battery percentage or how notifications and the screen behave when they arrive.
In "Convenience tools" are the navigation options , which are very comprehensive and allow you to customize them and make better use of the screen by the interface. Here very well, since we can even choose the type of gesture and that nothing is seen on the screen.
We can also activate or deactivate the sidebar of quick accesses that appears activated at the factory bliss. It is quite similar to the idea of Samsung's edge tab, although smaller and with fewer options.
We will talk about the options for the drums and the sound later in its corresponding section. What we also find among its own functions is the "Games space" and the "Digital well-being" options.
The automatic options for games are not many, being able to choose their activation and between three modes (competition, higher consumption, balanced and energy saving). In each one we can manage as we want the permissiveness of calls and notifications.
As usually happens, it is not noticeable whether it is activated or not (except for the blocking of notifications). It will suit us above all because it prioritizes the network for the game, and in each case we will see that when starting the game it indicates what configuration is activated.
In Digital Wellbeing we see the usual interface and options to establish limitations of use, either by app, by time or with any of the predefined modes. It is where we also find the parental control settings.
In the end, Realme UI V 1.0 is a layer of customization as complete as it is incisive in the aesthetics of its interface. It gives many options that we can or cannot keep, and it does not saturate with too many notifications or automatic elements, which is a positive thing especially for new users.
The negative is that it is somewhat unstable . Although we do not see lag or stops if it is relatively common for apps to close, even their own as the camera. In addition, as we have mentioned, there are functions that are not activated in relation to the screen, something that does not seem due to the hardware, since in other aspects the touch sensitivity is correct.
Biometrics
The Realme 6 has 2D facial recognition in its camera embedded in the screen, accompanied by the fingerprint reading by the sensor on the side. Therefore, it is not necessary to give up any of the fashionable systems to unlock the terminal, added to the traditional ones.
The fingerprint reader works so well and is so well placed that this can be "a snag"
Earlier, when talking about the design and location of the fingerprint reader, we anticipated that this could be both positive and negative. The reason is that the combination of being very sensitive and effective with falling so central and achievable on the edge, there are quite a few accidental unlocks just by getting ready to grab the phone.
Perhaps it is advisable to add only the minimum footprints to avoid this as much as possible until we adapt our grip, but the important thing is that the reading is effective and fast . The sensor is not demanding in terms of the support area and will normally recognize the fingerprint and unlock the system.
It is also (in our opinion) a good decision to have opted for such an effective physical reader instead of a screen reader that perhaps would not have been so good (something that is not too strange in the more economical or basic mid-range). In addition, it is well fitted into an edge that, in favor of this, is relatively thick.
As for facial recognition , it works quite well in general, even catching on the way to the movement of putting the phone in front of us. It is very fast, very fast, so it can be our only method if we prefer it to the fingerprint reader.
We can configure that the home screen opens directly or that the lock screen remains, as well as that it can be used for apps. There is also an option to enhance brightness or not recognize faces with closed eyes, for added security. It will not work in the dark unless we activate this brightness enhancement, thus solving that it may give some failure in low light.
Cameras: a wide angle that still has to be more "ultra"
One of the evolutions regarding the Realme 5 is in the camera configuration. In that rear vertical module we see four cameras , dispensing with telephoto and betting on macro, ultra wide angle and a depth sensor , remaining as follows:
- Main camera with 64 megapixel 1 / 1.72-inch sensor (0.8 µm pixels) with f / 1.8 aperture lens.
- Ultra wide-angle with 1/4 inch 8-megapixel sensor (1.12 µm pixels) and f / 2.3 aperture lens.
- Macro with f / 2.4 aperture and 22-millimeter focal length with a 2-megapixel 1/5 inch sensor (1.7 5µm pixels).
- Monochrome 2-megapixel depth sensor with f / 2.4 aperture lens.
The front camera , meanwhile, incorporates a 1 / 3.1-inch 16-megapixel sensor (1 µm pixels) and a f / 2.0 aperture lens. As for video, the rear camera can record in 4K and there is electronic stabilization. But better let's go through the app first to see how all this is managed at the user experience level.
Camera app
Interface as classic as useful that of the Realme UI camera app. It has a tabbed browsing interface among which we can see the automatic mode, video, portrait, night, 64 megapixel and "more".
We cannot edit tabs, so if we want to activate slow motion, Pro mode, time-lapse, panning or macro mode we will have to go to "more". We will find shortcuts according to which mode we have active, finding those corresponding to HDR, Beauty, flash, filters, settings and the "color enhancement" mode in the automatic.
There we can also see the usual slider to change to the wide angle and activate the (digital) zoom, and in the portrait the possibility of adjusting the blur appears. We will see it on video, but when recording we will not be able to go from one lens to another in the same shot.
The own settings menu is pretty basic, but sufficient. It will be necessary to go to it to configure the quality of the video, but not to leave the HDR manual or automatic.
Later we will talk about the performance of each mode, but we can anticipate the possibilities of shooting with / each one. HDR is not available than 64 megapixels or portrait, night mode is automatic , with extended exposure (without being long as in Huawei or Pixel) and Pro mode is complete, without cutting functions.
The app works well in general, but sporadically suffers those closings that occasionally occur in days apps at least in the current version of the system. Another notable failure that should be corrected is that the Pro mode preview does not work well: we will see that, regardless of whether we adjust ISO or shutter speed, we can see it as too dark, not true to reality.
Rear cameras
Outdoors and in favorable light the Realme defends itself well in its automatic mode (and the pixel binning and its photos at 16 megapixels). We see slightly saturated colors but within an acceptable range of realism that you may even like.
The detail remains in the foreground and the secondary ones within what is expected, especially on sunny days or indoors with very good lighting. We will see that on cloudy days it also gives good photographs, seeing that its weak point is the poorly lit interiors .
Indoors and outdoors in unfavorable light (as cloudy days are a good example) is when we will see the most that it is difficult to get a good result. We will see that in low-light interiors it loses detail and there is too much contrast, but there is no noise and outdoors despite the difficulty it saves the result well even at zoom.
The HDR is never aggressive, which is positive and not so much in recovering dynamic range and information highlight and shadow when it comes to daytime shots. There we will hardly see any changes, but it does favor night shooting speaking of the automatic, since it does interpret the shadows better and recovers some dynamic range.
At night the shots are acceptable, seeing that there is not a striking loss of detail or outside what would be expected (speaking of the standard lens). We will see that there may be some excess contrast, but it does not completely spoil the quality of the photography when this occurs.
The night mode tries to improve the result of automatic reducing the ISO in most cases and achieving only slightly less noise, but the detail and contrast remain largely unchanged, perhaps making some improvement in auto white balance. It is not a long exposure as in other more complete night modes, but it can be helpful if we see that the light is somewhat scarcer.
The 64 megapixels are, as we said, a separate mode. Shooting will always be somewhat slower and we will not be able to resort to HDR, but we will obtain images that lose less clipping than shooting at 16 megapixels, but roughly there is not much difference in detail or definition if we are not going to need a larger photo to print or take, as we say, a cutout.
The available zooms (digital, there is no telephoto) give an acceptable result, without boasts, especially 2x. In the 5x we can see that if the situation at the light level is more demanding it can give us too exaggerated contours, probably as a result of a somewhat too aggressive processing.
The wide angle of day also usually give good results, without deforming excessively on the edges (this, in fact, is corrected well) but in less detail than standard. We will see that there is a slight loss of vividness in the colors compared to the main camera, but it is not too exaggerated either and can be fixed by slightly increasing the saturation.
The drama may come at night. It is much better not to shoot this lens in a night situation although with good lighting, the shot has a medium-low quality and does not live up to what we have seen in the wide-angle lenses of the previous mid-range.
The macro lens will allow us to get much closer in photographs of this type. It gives a good result, although it does not escape the difficulty of taking a good photo in less favorable light and we will see that there is less detail there, but in general it gives the expected result.
The color enhancement feature is inconspicuous in most scenarios we've tested. Perhaps it is convenient to go testing to see if it convinces us more in some situation, but trying to test objects with colors and abundant light has not seemed to us that there is too much change.
Speaking of portrait mode , we will see that the blur gives is quite flat and artificial, although when there is contrast between the main element and the background, the cropping is good, especially if the contours do not make it difficult. It will act with all kinds of items, whether or not they are a person.
The only thing that happens is that it is very complicated to make it work . It is very unstable and never makes it clear when to approach or when to move away, as the indication may change even if we do not move. This has a lot of room for improvement and should be fixed since it seems like an app stability issue with this mode.
Autonomy: the lure of a very fast charge to a battery that meets
The Realme 6 did not break a record in battery capacity, but on paper 4,500 mAh are far from negligible. There are interesting aspects in addition to expensive consumption to take into account: software settings such as saving modes or other mode and, on the other hand, 90 Hz.
We have alternated the configuration of the refresh rate, configuring it at 60 or 90 hertz in each load so that we could see a compensated average and the differences between them at the consumption level. The numbers that remain with this are an average of more than a day (about 31 hours) with about 7:30 hours on the screen .
The difference will always be determined by the use; regardless of whether we establish one or the other refresh rate, it will obviously depend on whether we use it more or less and if the apps are more demanding (such as games or camera) in terms of energy (also the type of connectivity, etc.). According to our experience with 60 Hz, it is possible to spend more than a day, reaching more than 1 day and 15 hours on a single charge, and with 90 Hz it tends to stay in about 22-23 hours with similar use.
Speaking of the charge, with the charger included in the pack you can get 50% of the charge in about 22 minutes and complete it in approximately 1 hour . A figure that is not bad at all and that ensures us a day of activity with just one hour at the plug.
We will see that there are some adjustments available to try to passively preserve autonomy. The system "detects problems", speaking of apps that keep their activity in the background and can lead to higher consumption, perhaps without the user being aware of it. Of course, if we are, we will not be able to deactivate those notices even if we have consulted them.
Sound: just enough to pass
When it comes to fighting for the best value for money trying above all to adjust the latter, there is usually some part that lags behind in the improvements compared to others and it is not uncommon for this to happen with the sound talking about medium ranges and entry. In this case, we have a sound with mono output supported by the 3.5 mm jack .
The audio output from the speaker is of medium quality, rather fair compared to what was expected. The dynamic range is very narrow and you need a more powerful bass. It will always be much better to keep it at 70% of the volume or below, reaching 114 decibels (just at the speaker output, leaving about 80 ambient) if we increase it to the maximum, which is quite high, but the quality it is lost in excess.
The headphones are a good alternative to have a slight improvement so it implies per se this listening with respect to that of the speaker (more isolation, more direct). It does not manage to be an surround sound, being quite flat , but we can improve something thanks to the equalizer.
Of course, the factory improvement that is proposed with Real HD Sound does not really seem like it. In our case, we have disabled this when we have used headphones because we have noticed a more nuanced sound, although it is true that with HDR there is a little more clarity.
Realme 6, opinion
The Realme 6 adjusts quite well to what a full-range mobile phone with a reasonable price must present. With no airs of grandeur or sneaking in which is sometimes branded as "premium mid-range," this phone provides some photographic versatility with tight performance and full software , albeit with homework.
The design maintains the design lines with respect to the above and other mobiles of the brand, probably following trends in demand that seem to favor that the rear are quite similar. This time they wanted to go further with a hole for the front camera, although this approach can improve a little more taking into account results like those we have seen at Samsung.
In the end it is a complete mobile that is not easy , with up to 8 GB of RAM which is not bad for a mid-range. The refresh rate of 90 Hz is also a good incentive in a screen that complies as it should, giving a fluid game and scrolls that many users will be able to appreciate.
The key will be if the price ends up being competitive
The camera complies in an acceptable way, without being very clear that it can be above the competition, especially in wide angle, indoor results and in an unaccompanied zoom lens. The key will be whether the price ends up being competitive in the showcase of this year's mid-range, which once again seems to be well loaded.
The terminal has been loaned for analysis by Realme . You can consult our company relations policy .
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