Initially launched in March, the Realme 6i is now making its way into the Philippines on May 13, 2020. Situated as the little brother of both the Realme 6 and Realme 6 Pro, the Realme 6i improves on its predecessor by having a more powerful chipset and beefier rear cameras.
Realme 6i
| Chipset | MediaTek Helio G80 |
| Screen | 6.5-inch LTPS IPS Dewdrop, 1600 x 720, Gorilla Glass 3 |
| RAM | 3GB/4GB |
| OS | Android 10 with Realme UI |
| Rear Camera | 48MP f/1.8 Main, 8MP f/2.25 Ultrawide, 2MP f/2.4 Macro, 2MP f/2.4 Portrait, LED Flash, Dual Pixel AF, Chroma Boost, EIS |
| Front Camera | 16MP f/2.0 |
| Storage | 64GB/128GB |
| Network | Dual-SIM, 4G LTE |
| Connectivity | Dual-band WiFi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type-C, GPS |
| Battery | 5,000mAh, 18W Charging |
| Others | Fingerprint Scanner |
| Colors | White Milk, Green Tea |
Unboxing
Like most of its contemporaries, the Realme 6i ships in a relatively inconspicuous box clad in the brand’s Yellow hue. Unfortunately, Realme does not ship the 6i with any audio accessories, sticking only to basic accessories such as its documentation, silicone case, SIM ejector pin, wall charger, and a USB Type-C cable.
A New Design
It seems that Realme is introducing a new design for their smartphones with each generation. This iteration has been design by Naoto Fukasawa. Distinct matte and shiny lines runs through the length of the device in an alternating manner that leads to a truly unique look. We can’t, however, stop thinking that it looks a bit like a luggage suitcase.
It’s front, however, is a bit more pedestrian compared to its rear. It comes with a 6.5-inch LTPS IPS Dewdrop 1600 x 720 with Corning Gorilla Glass 3. There’s no high framerate mode here and the screen strictly sticks to just 60Hz.
A Chipset with a Gaming Pedigree
Inside the 6i’s flashy exterior is a MediaTek Helio G80. The chip is composed two ARM Cortex-A75 at 2.0GHz and six ARM Cortex-A55 at 1.80GHz. In order to provide better gaming performance, the chip has an ARM Mali-G52 MC2 GPU that’s been clocked slightly higher at 950MHz.
Depending on the model, the Realme 6i can be decked out with up to 4GB of RAM and up to 128GB of internal storage. We can’t reveal any benchmarks yet but we can say that the smartphone offers a nearly lag-free experience. There are hitches here and there especially when there’s a lot of apps running in the background.
Higher Pixel Count than the 5i
The Realme 6i’s new chip also allows it to have cameras with higher pixel counts. Leading the pack of its quad camera setup is a 48Mp f/1.8 main shooter with EIS backed by an 8MP f/2.25 ultrawide, a 2MP f/2.4 macro lens, and a 2MP f/2.4 portrait camera.
Long-loved features from previous Realme smartphones comes back in the Realme 6i. Features such as Dual-Pixel AF and Chroma Boost are included. The camera app also includes all the familiar modes such as HDR, Night, Portrait, Ultra Macro, Time Lapse, Slow Motion. Panorama, Expert, and if you want to fully utilize the main camera, 48MP mode.
What else is there?
Inside the smartphone is a 5,000mAh battery. One of the most important improvements over the 5i is faster charging. Instead of the bog-standard 5V/2A charging, Realme has implemented 9V/2A charging, which should lead to less downtimes in-between charges. Thankfully, charging is done via a USB Type-C connection at the bottom. No more fiddling about with MicroUSB cables with the 6i.
The smartphone also comes with Android 10 with Realme UI. First introduced in the Realme C3, the Realme UI is the brand’s own take on the Android ecosystem. There are, however, quite a few similarities with ColorOS.
With a new chipset, design, and higher pixel count on its main cameras, the Realme 6i has the basics of a great smartphone. The price, however, will define if the smartphone will make its mark on the market or be a flop. Our complete review should be up once the official launch starts on May 13, 2020. Until then, we’ll be taking the Realme 6i through its paces.
