Realme 3 Review: Is This the Ultimate 5G Gaming Smartphone Under ₹15,000?
Realme has been making waves in the budget smartphone market, and this latest 5G phone was hyped as a powerful gaming device that could support up to 90FPS gaming. However, the reality is quite different. Let’s dive into a detailed review, covering the unboxing experience, design, display, software, performance, battery life, connectivity, and camera quality.
Unboxing and Design
The unboxing experience is standard, and you’ll find all the necessary accessories inside the box—no need for additional purchases. The device itself looks premium with a matte finish on the back, ensuring it remains smudge-free. The flat edges give it a modern look, and the phone is slim and lightweight, making it easy to handle. However, the build quality is entirely plastic, which is expected at this price point. The phone features Realme 3 protection, but disappointingly, there’s no Gorilla Glass. We strongly recommend applying a tempered glass screen protector on day one.
Additionally, the IP65 rating is a great feature, making the phone resistant to dust and water splashes. However, the vibration motor feels underwhelming, which is a letdown for a phone marketed as a gaming device.
Display Quality
Realme 3 features a Full HD+ 120Hz AMOLED display with uniform bezels, making content consumption enjoyable. YouTube videos at 4K HDR look stunning with vibrant colors and deep blacks. The display includes a Smart Touch feature, ensuring smooth usage even in rain or moisture. Outdoor brightness is impressive, but at low brightness, there’s a noticeable flickering issue, which could be annoying for some users.
Security-wise, the under-display fingerprint scanner works well, but there’s a downside—the 120Hz refresh rate isn’t well-optimized for many apps. For example, YouTube and several daily-use apps drop down to 60Hz, making the display feel less smooth than expected.
Audio Performance
The phone boasts dual speakers, with a dedicated top speaker delivering excellent loudness and clarity. The 3.5mm headphone jack is a plus, catering to users who prefer wired audio devices.
Software and UI Experience
Realme 3 runs on the latest Android version, promising 2-3 years of updates. However, the software experience is marred by excessive bloatware and pre-installed apps, including Hot Games, Hot Apps, and numerous unwanted recommendations from the app store. Setting up the phone requires 30-40 minutes just to remove unnecessary apps.
The interface feels smooth, but animation glitches appear when multitasking. Opening a single app is fine, but switching between multiple apps causes animations to stutter, making the experience less fluid.
Performance and Gaming
The device is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 processor, which is quite common in this price range. The key difference here is the UFS 3.0 storage, offering fast read and write speeds.
- AnTuTu Score: Over 650,000
- App opening speeds: Fast
- Multitasking: Good, but RAM management is weak
While the phone was hyped for 90FPS gaming, the reality is different. In Deathmatch mode, the frame rate fluctuates between 80-90FPS, but in classic matches or intense gaming scenarios, it drops below 50FPS, leading to noticeable frame drops. 60FPS gaming remains stable, but expecting smooth 90FPS gameplay is unrealistic.
Additionally, during a CPU throttling test, the phone’s performance dipped into the red zone a couple of times, indicating minor throttling issues. However, heating isn’t a major concern.
Battery and Charging
Realme 3 houses a 5000mAh battery with 45W fast charging, reaching 100% in about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Even with constant 5G usage, the phone provides 5-6 hours of screen-on time, making it a reliable choice for all-day use.
Network and Connectivity
The phone supports dual 5G SIMs and multiple 5G bands. Using a Jio SIM, the 5G performance was excellent, but VoWiFi (Wi-Fi calling) was missing for Vi users, which was unexpected. Call quality is excellent, thanks to the dual-microphone system. Additionally, silent call recording is supported, but you’ll need to download a third-party dialer.
A hybrid SIM slot is included, meaning you can use either two SIMs or one SIM and a microSD card.
Camera Performance
Despite having a large camera module, only one sensor is truly useful—a 50MP primary sensor. The 16MP selfie camera is decent but not exceptional.
Rear Camera:
- Daylight shots: Good colors, slightly oversaturated, and soft image processing
- HDR and dynamic range: Performs well but struggles against bright light
- Portrait mode: Decent edge detection but lacks 2x zoom
- Low-light photography: Bright images but lacks details and introduces noise
Selfie Camera:
- Daylight selfies: Look good, but zooming in reveals a lack of detail
- Color consistency: Inconsistent—sometimes natural, sometimes overexposed
- Portrait selfies: Edge detection is hit-or-miss, often failing in bright conditions
Video Recording:
- Rear camera: Supports 4K 30FPS, but videos lack stability
- Selfie camera: Records at 1080p, but videos appear shaky with weak details
Final Verdict: Should You Buy It?
For a ₹15,000 budget, the Realme 3 offers solid performance, a great display, and good battery life. If you can grab it at a discount, it’s a worthy purchase. However, if you’re expecting true 90FPS gaming, this is not the phone for you.
For the ₹17,000 price range, better options exist, such as the Realme 3 Pro (G85) or iQOO Z9, which offer superior cameras and gaming performance.
Pros & Cons:
✅ Pros:
- Great AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate
- Good performance for daily tasks
- Excellent battery life
- IP65 water & dust resistance
❌ Cons:
- 90FPS gaming is misleading
- Weak RAM management
- Camera quality is average
- Bloatware-heavy software
If you prioritize performance and media consumption, this phone is a great choice in its budget. However, for a gaming-first or camera-centric experience, there are better alternatives available.
Let us know in the comments if you’d like a comparison with other phones, and don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more tech reviews!
0 Comments