realme C15 Review: Reclaiming the Battery King Title

realme is pushing more of it’s C-series products to address the needs of students who need a smartphone capable for online class use. One of their newest phones in this lineup is the realme C15. You might be asking, why release another C-series phone when we already have the C3 and the recently launched C11? It’s because the C15 has something that the other two phones don’t – a massive 6,000 mAh battery. Here’s our review of the realme C15.

REALME C15 SPECS:

OS:Android 10 with Realme UI
Processor:2.3 GHz MediaTek Helio G35 Octa-Core processor | PowerVR GE8320
Display: 720 x 1600 6.5" HD+ IPS LCD Display with Corning Gorilla Glass
Wireless Connections:LTE-A, Bluetooth 5.0, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, A-GPS, GLONASS
Memory:64 GB Internal Storage expandable with a MicroSD Card, 3/4 GB RAM
Connectors:Micro USB 2.0, OTG Support
Cameras:13 Megapixels f/2.2 wide angle + 8 Megapixels f/2.4 ultra-wide angle + 2 Megapixels f/2.4 B&W + 2 Megapixels f/2.4 Retro (Main Cameras), 8 Megapixels f/2.0 (Front)
SIM Card Slots:2x Nano SIM Cards required
Battery:6,000 mAh
SRP:64GB/3GB - P6,490
64GB/4GB - P6,990

THE UNBOXING

realme C15

realme decided to put some fun on the C15’s packaging. I received the Squad Edition box, a limited edition Philippines exclusive which has some doodles made by realme Community Member Vince Ricohermoso. Only 1,000 C15 units with 64/3 configuration are available in the realme Lazada Official Store.

realme C15

Inside the box are the realme C15, USB cable, USB charger, Silicon Case, SIM Card Ejector and User Manuals.

THE LOOKS AND FEEL

realme C15

The realme C15’s body seems to be based on the C11. I checked both phones’ dimensions and they’re almost identical. The C15 is a bit thicker and heavier since it carries a bigger battery capacity.

realme C15

On the right side of the C15 are the volume control and power buttons. The left side houses the SIM card tray which can accommodate two Nano SIM card and a MicroSD card.

realme C15

I’ve always admired realme’s designs even for entry-level phones. The C15’s back cover has trapezoids divided into three areas which brings out different colors every time a view angle is changed. The texture is nice too although I think it’s smoother than the C3. Nevertheless, its surface is still an anti-fingerprint magnet. The square camera module consisting four cameras and a fingerprint scanner are also found at the back. My C15 has the Marine Blue colorway but it is also available in Seagull Silver.

THE DISPLAY

realme C15

The C15 has a large 6.5″ screen with a resolution of 720 x 1600 and 20:9 aspect ratio. It still has a dewdrop display which is honestly quite obsolete already but it somehow managed to bring the screen ratio up to 88.7%. It is also coated with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 for protection against scratches. As expected, the C15 only uses IPS display but it’s good enough for all sorts of smartphone activities particularly watching videos or playing mobile games.

THE PERFORMANCE

realme C15

The realme C15 uses the same processor of the C11, a 2.3 Ghz MediaTek Helio G35 Octa-Core processor. I thought of not doing the benchmark tests anymore since we would get the same results anyway, but I still did run the benchmark tests. Here are the results:

I was right, the scores of the realme C11 and C15 are almost identical. Now, you might be wondering how can that happen if the C11 has a 32GB/2GB configuration while the C15 has 64GB/3GB? Actually, I mentioned in my C11 review that the variant I reviewed was a special edition of the C11 which is a 32GB/3GB combination. This is why my benchmark scores are almost the same.

realme C15

Having 3GB of memory is a lot better and I feel more comfortable leaving more apps open which I can later jump back on to. Playing mobile games is almost similar with my experience with the C11. Like before, I only had the graphics and video settings set to low on both Call of Duty Mobile and Asphalt 9: Legends. They played smoothly without any hitches.

I’m glad that the fingerprint scanner is back in the C15 and I’m able to add some additional security features by using my fingerprint instead of face recognition which is a chore these days since we wear our face masks most of the time. The new app I enjoyed in the C11 was Focus Mode. realme says it’s also included in the C15 but what I have is the Focus Mode pre-installed by Google, and not the app by realme. I find realme’s Focus Mode app very helpful in keeping me relaxed while in the middle of writing articles.

ALSO READ: realme C11 Review: Quality Performance for under P5,000

THE CAMERAS

realme C15

One of the major advantages of the realme C15 over the C11 is its cameras. The C15 has a Quad-Camera setup composed of a 13 Megapixel main camera, 8 Megapixel ultra-wide, 2 Megapixel B&W. and 2 Megapixel Retro Lens. I was impressed with the C11’s dual cameras so I expected for the C15’s cameras to be also good.

The weather wasn’t cooperating with me for days so I didn’t have much pictures under bright sunlight. Nevertheless, photos still turned out quite well whether I used the main lens or the ultra-wide lens. There were times I enabled Chroma Boost to add some additional colors in the photos. I was pleased that Night Mode is also included in the camera’s features but unfortunately, it isn’t as good as the ones used in realme’s mid-range or high-end phone models.

Here are some realme C15 sample photos:

realme C15
realme C15
realme C15
realme C15
realme C15
realme C15
realme C15

The selfie camera is an 8 Megapixel lens with AI Beauty. I didn’t bother using the AI Beauty mode as the front camera already does a great job in taking natural looking photos of our faces.

realme C15
realme C15

THE BATTERY LIFE

realme C15

The main selling point of the C15 is its 6,000 mAh battery, the highest capacity realme has included so far in a smartphone. Based on my actual usage the phone lasted more than two days on a single charge. If you forget to charge your phone the day before, then you at least have one day to survive on the remaining charge. I highly suggest charging it overnight though since it takes roughly around four hours to fully charge the phone.

DR’S CONCLUSION

realme C15

The realme C15 is good entry-level phone customers can buy. It has plenty of storage, more than enough memory, decent cameras and looooong battery life. This phone ranks second to the realme C3 in my realme entry-level phone standings.

PROS:

  • Attractive Polished Design
  • Decent Cameras
  • Loooong Battery Life

CONS:

  • Dewdrop display makes the phone look dated
  • Focus Mode app by realme is missing
  • Takes a long time to charge

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