realme launched its latest mid-range smartphone, the realme 10, near the end of last year and the company has packed the device with features that help make its PHP 12,999 SRP worth every penny. Some of these features include a Helio G99 chipset, a 6.43-inch 90Hz AMOLED display, a 50MP rear camera, and a 5,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging.
Apart from the smartphone itself and the usual paperwork, realme has included a case, a charging adapter, a USB Type-C cable, a screen protector, and a case. There are expectedly no earphones here, which has become the norm in recent years.
Design & Construction
The front of the realme 10 features its 6.43-inch display and a punch hole in the upper left corner for its front-facing camera. The bezels surrounding the display are slim save for the bottom bezel, which is slightly thicker than the rest.
The left side of the device hosts the card tray, which can accommodate two nano SIM cards and a microSD card; no need to choose between either a secondary SIM card or a microSD card. On the right are the power button, which doubles as a fingerprint sensor, and the volume rocker.
The top of the realme 10 just has the device’s secondary microphone while the bottom features the 3.5mm headphone jack, main microphone, USB Type-C port, and the speaker.
The rear of the realme 10 showcases the rear camera assembly and the company’s light particle design, which gives it a shiny gradient look. Unfortunately, with how far the cameras stick out, it’s almost imperative to use a case with the realme 10 to protect them, which in turn hides the phone’s rear design.
Display & Audio
Going back to the display of the realme 10, the company has equipped it with a 6.43-inch AMOLED FHD+ resolution (2400 x 1080) display, giving it a fair pixel density of 409ppi. While the 90Hz refresh rate of the realme 10’s display isn’t too noticeable in fast-paced games or movies, it’s definitely appreciated in day-to-day usage, such as browsing or scrolling, as it makes moving UI elements on the screen look smoother or more fluid.
The AMOLED panel of the realme 10 is able to produce decently vibrant colors and deep contrast, making it good for casually viewing movies or TV shows. It’s also bright enough that it can still be used in bright environments.
The single loudspeaker of the realme 10 performs pretty much as expected. It’s decent enough for casual listening but lacks bass and the audio quality begins to falter when the volume is maxed. Thankfully, realme has still equipped the realme 10 with a 3.5mm headphone jack, allowing users to plug in headphones that may offer a better listening experience.
Software & OS
The realme 10 comes with the company’s Android 12-based Realme UI 3.0, which is packed with customization features that help users make the look and experience of the OS fit their wants and needs, such as a number of different shortcut options for apps and a selection of colorful themes. While the number of features and pre-installed apps may feel a bit overwhelming at first, especially for those used to simpler UIs, the ability switch them on or off as needed makes it easy to cater to your preferences.
Cameras
The realme 10 is equipped with a 50-megapixel main camera coupled with a 2-megapixel B&W secondary sensor while the front of the device features a 16-megapixel selfie camera. There’s no ultrawide option here as it looks like realme decided to help the device’s 50MP sensor produce better photos with the 2MP B&W sensor instead as it not only helps capture more detail but also with focusing as well.
Both the main camera assembly and the front-facing shooter are capable enough for casual photo taking and video recording. The main camera assembly is able to capture an impressive amount of detail and produces images with vibrant colors while the selfie camera offers shots that are decent enough for social media. The night mode isn’t particularly impressive but is definitely still usable in certain situations.
Performance
Powering the realme 10 is the MediaTek Helio G99 processor that’s coupled with 8GB of RAM. We ran the realme 10 through several synthetic benchmark tests, including Geekbench 5, PCMark, and 3DMark, as wel as tried playing several games on it, such as Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, League of Legends: Wildrift, Call of Duty Mobile, and several Roblox experiences.
The realme 10 was easily able to run all of our games at high settings, although your mileage may vary in Roblox where each experience can differ drastically in their hardware load and optimization. More demanding titles, such as Genshin Impact, will require you to lower their settings to be able to run and play smoothly. In general, we recommend running games at slightly lower settings than it recommends for a more reliable gaming experience.
Battery Life
The battery life of the realme 10 was pretty impressive, as it was easily able to get through a day of medium to heavy usage with a lot to spare. Unless you’re watching videos for most of the day, the 5,000mAh battery of the realme 10 is more than enough to get you through the day without having to bring a power bank or charger. Apart from 33W fast charging, the realme 10 also has an overnight charging feature that charges the battery slowly as you sleep, which can supposedly help maintain battery health.
Conclusion
Overall, the realme 10 is an impressively capable smartphone not just for casual day-to-day use but also gaming and media consumption. It’s filled with features that not only improve its usability but also to help make it your own. Its specs allow you to enjoy games and media throughout the day without much worry and the rest of its features, including its cameras, also help make its price tag of only PHP 12,999 even more attractive. The realme 10 is an undeniably strong competitor in the mid-range bracket and those looking for a smartphone that’s good enough for today’s most popular mobile game while staying at a reasonable price point should definitely consider it.