The realme C series continue to serve the entry-level market while the brand’s mainline numbered series has moved on to a more premium category. The realme C35 is the latest entry to the C lineup and it still comes with all the amenities you expect – a low price point paired with pretty decent specifications. It comes with a 6.6-inch 2400 x 1080 IPS display, a triple camera setup at the back with a 50MP f/1.8 main lens, and a 5,000mAh battery that supports 18W Fast Charging.
realme C35 Review – Specifications
| Chipset | Unisoc Tiger T616 |
| Screen | 6.6-inch IPS, 2400 x 1080 |
| RAM | 4GB, 6GB LPDDR4X |
| OS | Android 11, realme UI R Edition |
| Rear Camera | 50MP f/1.8 Main, 2MP f/2.4 Macro, 2Mp f/2.4 Depth |
| Front Camera | 8MP f/2.0 |
| Storage | 64GB, 128GB UFS 2.2, MicroSD Card Slot |
| Network | Dual-SIM, 4G LTE |
| Connectivity | WiFi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type-C |
| Battery | 5,000mAh, 18W Fast Charging |
| Others | Side-Mounted Fingerprint Scanner |
| Dimensions | 164.4 x 75.6 x 8.1mm |
| Weight | 189g |
| Colors | Glowing Green, Glowing Back |
realme C35 Review – Unboxing
The realme C35 is encased in the brand’s traditional bright yellow box. The smartphone is bundled with some documentation, a SIM ejector pin, an 18W wall plug, and a USB Type-A to Type-C cable. Unfortunately, it does not come with a silicone case for protection.
Design and Aesthetics
The smartphone comes with a boxy design reminiscent of certain Apple devices. The rear itself looks plain with no design aside from the realme logo at the corner. It does have a shiny and reflective finish – an incredible fingerprint and dust magnet. The device looks nice and premium until you put your hands on it.
Its power button is placed at the right-hand side and comes with an integrated fingerprint scanner. The volume buttons and SIM tray are on the left. It has a triple-cut SIM tray that allows it to carry two SIM cards and a microSD card at the same time.
At the bottom are the smartphone’s grilles for the microphone and bottom-firing speaker, a 3.5mm audio jack, and USB Type-C charging and data transfer port.
Screen and Audio
The C35 sports a 6.6-inch 2400 x 1080 IPS display. It has a pre-installed screen protector but does not come with 90Hz refresh rate. It seems that realme has made the trade-off for higher resolution than faster refresh rate.
The display is surprisingly competent for a budget-friendly device. Calibration is slightly off with slightly stronger red and green hues but color coverage is excellent with 98.90% sRGB and 96.60 DCI-P3. Brightness is not too shabby as well maxing out at 440.63 cd/m2. Contrast Ratio, on the other hand, is okay at 1201:1 given that it is an IPS panel.
- sRGB – 98.90%
- AdobeRGB – 82.00%
- DCI-P3 – 96.60%
- Luminance (Minimum) – 2.46 cd/m2
- Luminance (Maximum) – 440.63 cd/m2
- Gamma – 2.19
- Contrast Ratio – 1201:1
The smartphone only relies on its bottom-firing speaker for audio. Performance is sub-par as expected. Volume is rather moderate even at maximum and quality leaves a lot to be desired. Bass is not punchy and there’s no sound stage at all. Fortunately, highs don’t get tinny as much and vocals remain clear.
Software
The device comes with Android 11 with realme UI R Edition. This is essentially a lightweight version of the realme UI for devices who don’t have beefy specifications, especially in the entry-level market. It is closer to a stock Android experience unlike heavily-skinned UIs and still comes with all the Android options like Dark Mode, Multi-Window support, and some customization options.
realme C35 Review – Cameras
The C35 packs three cameras at the back: a 50MP f/1.8 main lens, a 2MP f/2.4 macro, and a 2MP f/2.4 depth sensor. A pretty standard set of shooters for an entry-level device. Over at the front is an 8MP f/2.0 selfie shooter.
The camera app remains rather standard. It supports HDR, Photo, Portrait, Burst, Time Lapse, Pro Mode, Panorama, 50MP, Night Pro, and Macro. Video is limited to 1080p30fps for the main lens and 720p30fps for the front camera.
Main Camera
The 50MP f/1.8 main lens takes good photos under well-lit conditions. Details are good and colors look vivid but we can’t help but think there’s some saturation and contrast boosting by the software. Introduce a bit of darkness in scenes and photo quality immediately takes a dip. Colors still look vivid but details can be hidden at times and there is some noticeable noise in darker areas.
realme C35 Review – Benchmarks
The realme C35 comes with a Unisoc Tiger T616 chipset with 4GB LPDDRX RAM and 64GB storage. Unisoc is slowly creeping in as a budget alternative for smartphone makers. It is a decent enough chipset allowing for smooth performance in most cases.
The C35’s 4GB RAM, however, might limit the number of apps open at the same time but resource management is alleviated by the lightweight realme UI R edition.
Synthetic benchmark performance is good but nothing special. It’s pretty much on par with other smartphones in the market in the budget category. AnTuTu scores at around 218,000 and PCMark Work 3.0 at 8,114.
Gaming performance is good but don’t expect to max out the graphical settings of games even the most mainstream ones. The smartphone does well in popular MOBAs like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and League of Legends: Wild Rift with a steady 60fps at most times. Shooters will also run steadily though some titles are capped at 30fps. Genshin Impact remains as one of the heavier titles in the Play Store with the chipset barely reaching 30fps and dipping below 20fps in intense scenes.
realme C35 Review – Battery Life
A 5,000mAh battery powers the realme C35, which the expected battery capacity from this kind of device. It should last for more than a day and a half with average use. PCMark Work 3.0 battery loop test puts the device at exactly 15 hours of usage with medium volume and brightness. The device does support 18W Fast Charging through its USB Type-C port that can fill up the battery from empty to full in an hour and 45 minutes.
realme C35 Review – Conclusion
The realme C35 sticks by the formula established by its predecessors: good battery longevity and okay overall performance all within a reasonable price. The average smartphone user will find the device absolutely competent in most areas.
Those who focus more on gaming might find the sheer performance of the C35 lacking. Sure, it can play MOBAs at a steady clip but playing anything heavier will show some of its shortcomings. Some might also be annoyed by the fact that the smartphone does not come with a power adapter despite the C series building its name on complete affordability.
With a starting price of PhP 8,499 in the Philippines, the realme C35 is a solid entertainment machine that can last you a long time while watching content or just browsing the Internet all encased in a sleek-looking chassis.
realme C35 Price and Availability
The realme C35 is now available in the Philippines for PhP 8,499 for the 4GB/64GB variant and PhP 9,499 for the 4GB/64GB version. It can be had through the official realme TikTok shop, Lazada, and Shopee stores, as well as realme authorized retailers nationwide.
