realme 7i Review: Realme has been really busy since entering the Kenyan market a couple of months ago. The company which describes itself as the fastest-growing smartphone company in the world has unveiled a number of devices locally including the realme C11, realme C3, realme C15 and realme 6 with the recent one being the realme 7i.
The realme 7i costs Ksh. 24,999. Some good value for money considering its offering.
The phone comes with a 6.5-inch 720p display refreshing at 90Hz, just like the previously launched realme 6. The whole system is dependent on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 662 processor paired with 8GB of memory and 128GB of internal storage among other features which we will be talking about later on.
We already did the unboxing video for you. In case you missed it you can watch it below.
Important to mention is that the realme 7i is the third smartphone in the realme 7 series and also the first in this series we have seen launch in Kenya. So, what do we really like about this phone?
Design and Display
Realme went with some good design choices with the realme 7i. The back is made out of glossy polycarbonate. Our Polar Blue color review unit looked pretty good, clean and minimalist. The phone is also available in Aurora Green.
At the back, there’s some realme branding at the bottom left, a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, and a rectangular quad-camera setup which protrudes a little bit when placed on a flat surface without a case. So remember to always use the case to protect the camera.
At the front, there’s the 6.5-inch 90Hz IPS LCD panel with a resolution of 1600 x 720 and a pixel density of 270ppi, protected with Corning Gorilla glass. On the top left corner of the display is the hole-punch cut out for the selfie camera, and on the topmost part of the display is where you have the call speaker. No doubt the screen feels much smoother and responsive with the 90Hz refresh rate compared to the 60Hz mode.
The viewing angles on the realme 7i are pretty great and colour production on the screen is vibrant and punchy. Despite the phone coming with a 720p resolution, you won’t really struggle watching content, you still get that nice viewing experience.
The top of the phone is completely empty. At the bottom, there’s the 3.5mm headphone jack, microphone, USB Type-C port, and the speaker.
On the right side is the dual-sim card tray with a dedicated microSD card slot while the left side houses the volume and power buttons.
The realme 7i comes with a curved frame making it really comfortable to use although one-hand usage can really be a struggle.
Performance and battery life
The realme 7i is dependent on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 662 processor paired with 8GB of memory and 128GB of internal storage. Thanks to its processor, the phone can handle basic day-to-day tasks.
Realme 7i runs Realme UI based on Android 10 which has pretty clean software with a little bloatware that you can delete although some are stuck to the system and cannot be uninstalled. The UI is snappy, which we really loved as there are no lags when opening apps or multitasking. There are also a host of customization options which you can tweak to suit your preferences.
For the battery, the realme 7i is powered by a massive 5,000mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging. The battery life is pretty impressive and can easily last you an entire day. The phone usage involved a lot of WhatsApp, social media usage, music streaming and some YouTube sessions every single day.
Filling up the phone with the 18W fast charging takes just over two hours.
Camera
There Are four camera lenses at the back of the realme 7i– a 64 MP, f/1.8 wide, an 8 MP f/2.3 ultrawide camera, a 2 MP, f/2.4 macro and another 2 MP, f/2.4 depth sensor. For selfies, you get a 16MP wide camera housed in hole punch.
The camera performance is good especially in daylight but a bit disappointing in low-light. The images are not that sharp and there’s a notable loss in quality when you zoom.
In daylight, the colours are pretty accurate and sharp. The photos come out nice and accurate for use on social media or sharing with your friends and family members. For Night mode photos aren’t really the best though. For videos, the realme 7i can record up to 1080p at 30fps.
Check sample shots below.
Should you buy the realme 7i?
For Ksh. 24,999, the realme 7i is a good buy considering the specs and features it offers. From having a smooth 90hz refresh rate, a 64-megapixel camera, a massive and 5,000mAh battery that can last you a whole day, the realme 7i really stands out.
There are some things that realme could have done better though. First, we are still getting a 720p display which might not be ideal for some people – especially those who love streaming YouTube videos or even spending time on Netflix using their phones. The 64-megapixel camera also underperforms.
Overall, the realme 7i is still a great contender for the affordable mid-range segment in Kenya.
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