Review Verdict: When it comes to affordable smartphones, realme really gives a lot of options and the C25 is a great follow-up to their popular C-series as we found in our unboxing. A few upgrades from past offerings potentially make this a great option and their new higher standard of quality testing could make this a very dependable smartphone.

Pros

• Upgraded processor from past C-series phones
• Passed new standards of quality testing

Cons

• Specs too close to other offerings from the brand

Off the heels of the release of the Narzo 30A, realme is set to launch yet another device — the realme C25.  The C series devices were a hit for the brand last year; offering an option that was easy on the wallet but had the ability to be used as a tool for both work and play. What does the C25 have to offer? Let’s check it out.

Packaging and Contents

The realme C25 comes in the brand’s signature yellow box with the model name up in front and on its sides to avoid confusion. You’re also getting its key specs on the back as a quick reference. Unboxing the phone, you’ll see the usual set of accessories and the phone itself. You’ll be getting the standard set of documents, a SIM ejector PIN, a jelly case, a USB-C cable, and the 18w charging brick.

Design

In terms of design, realme has adopted the same look for its more affordable offerings with only changes to the patterns of the back panel to tell them apart. We can think of this as the signature look for the company. Unlike the Narzo 30A that we recently featured on the site, the C25 is a little bit more muted when it comes to the use of textures but is very similar to the C11 they offered in July last year.

For the overall build, you’re still getting the very familiar polycarbonate plastic unibody chassis but the C25 has received TUV Rheinland’s High-Reliability Certification so we can expect this to be able to handle the use and abuse of everyday life.

The company recently posted that this could possibly get rid of “Oh no” moments with the device. We’re not about to torture this phone to see if their claims are true but the certification is a nice touch.

As for the buttons and ports, the placement isn’t that far off from what we’re used to seeing either with the right side housing the power button and volume rocker.

You have access to the SIM tray on the left side.

Lastly, on the bottom, is where you’ll find the USB-C port that’s flanked by the headphone jack and a speaker grille.

Display

It should come as no surprise that realme has also slapped on the same display on the C25.

You’re getting a 6.5-inch HD+ IPS LCD Display and, while we would generally like to see a bit more pixel density on a smartphone, you have to remember that the C series is an affordable device. It’ll still get the job done when you have to hunker down to answer email when you’re away from your desk or for those times when you’re looking for your next budol on your preferred online shopping platform.

The speakers get pretty loud but, as always, it’s best to keep it at around 70-percent to avoid distortion and to make sure the speakers last longer.

Cameras

If you’ve seen some of realme’s smartphones lately then you should be well acquainted with the squared-off camera array and, for the C25, we’re getting a triple camera setup. It consists of a 48-megapixel main shooter at f/1.8, a 2-megapixel macro lens, and a 2-megapixel B&W camera. For taking selfies, it’s equipped with an 8-megapixel at an aperture of f/2.0.

 

We would have loved to see them sneak in an ultra-wide shooter to give the cameras a bit more versatility but given the price point of the device, we see why that wasn’t included. The resulting photos from the shooters are pretty much what we’ve come to expect.  You’re getting pretty good snaps with a decent amount of detail but take note that you do have to make sure that you get as much light as possible since you can already see some noise in the indoor shots we’ve taken.

You do, of course, have Night Mode on the C25 should you want to take photos in low-light situations. We’ll test this out further and get more snaps to update this section.

Performance and Battery Life

One of the big upgrades for the realme C25 for this review is the processor it has under the hood. You’re getting a Mediatek Helio G70 that’s paired with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Previous offerings had the G35 onboard so we should be getting a little more oomph.

We’re no stranger to this SoC and it is capable as a tool that you can use for work and for play. We do have to remind you to adjust your expectations when it comes to the gaming side of things. You’ll have to keep graphics settings to medium at best to make sure popular titles like COD: Mobile runs smoothly.

Keeping the lights on for the realme C25 is a 6000mAh battery and it took nearly two days before we had to top up the device. Our YouTube loop test saw it clock in at a time of 18 hours and 20 minutes from 100% to 20%. As mentioned, realme bundles this smartphone with an 18W charger and it took around 2 hours to fully charge it.

Wrap Up and Conclusion

The realme C25 is a good step up from previous members of the C series, at least, that’s what we found in our review. The new processor gives it a bit more punch for getting work done and we’re sure people will be thankful for the added power on the gaming side as well. Of course, a big bonus for this device is that it’s the first to get the TUV Rheinland Certification for reliability so that helps put you at ease if you’re wondering about the phone’s long-term durability or its ability to handle abuse.

Since the brand has been releasing phones left and right though, it could potentially get confusing for customers to dial in on a choice. Especially, since we are seeing a lot of similarities in the spec sheets of the brands’ devices in the price point. Not to mention, you’ve also got a lot of players in this space where the competition is extremely fierce.

Realme C25 Review Price Philippines

The realme C25 is officially priced at Php 7,490. However, the brand is offering a massive discount for the device from April 16 to 18 on their official store on Shopee that will see the price drop to Php 5,990.