The realme C25s is a welcome upgrade from last year's C25. Both handsets come from the same melting pot but the former promises an upgraded performance with its new gaming chipset, better data transfer and battery recharging capability.
With the same price as the model it's replacing, the realme C25s poses to be another hit device from the current no. 1 smartphone brand in the Philippines. If you're toying on purchasing a new entry-level smartphone, join us in this review of the realme C25s and find out if it's the right device for you.
Design
The realme C25s sports a familiar backing which the company calls the Geometric Art design. It is similar to the C25 in terms of texture and finish. The back panel is made of plastic which comes off with a smooth feel due to the evenly-spaced lines. These also make the realme C25s an instant fingerprint killer.
On the left part of the back panel, there's a vertical section which runs from top to bottom. This area houses the realme branding on its mid-bottom portion. It also meets the camera module on its upper section. Speaking of the camera, we have a square module that features a triple camera set-up with the LED flash. A dimpled fingerprint sensor is also situated where it should be allowing ease of access for the index finger.
You'll have the option to choose between Water Gray and Water Blue color variants. We have the latter for our unit, which also looks like a washed-out gray tone to me.
When it comes to ports and buttons, we still have them in a no-nonsense placements. The triple-card slotted tray is on the left side while the power button and the volume rocker are on the right side. The bottom side houses the 3.5-mm audio jack, USB-C port, and speaker grille.
The overall design is pretty solid. The whole body has a little heft on it but this makes it easier to grip the phone. Likewise, overall back design is an eyecatcher.
Display
The realme C25s frames a 6.5-inch HD+ IPS LCD panel. The screen packs 720 x 1600 pixel resolution and 270ppi pixel density. Just like the older model, the C25s' display is capable enough to give you crisp, clear images and texts. The panel also has good color reproduction and contrast. In my opinion, realme's HD+ panel is quite superior compared to its counterparts.
There's no OSIE vision effect present in the settings but still, colors are bright and vivid. The display has a peak brightness of 570 nits which allows you to use the handset outdoors, even under direct sunlight. Consuming content would be a worthwhile experience using the realme C25s. Coupled with an efficient viewing angle and thin bezels, it's easy to watch videos with your friends and family.
Speaking of bezels, the front panel comes with a waterdrop notch and a fairly sizeable chin, which for me do not hamper the entire viewing experience.
Performance
realme is banking on its new chipset for this C25s release. This new model ticks with a powerful gaming chipset, the MediaTek Helio G85. For the purpose of comparison, the model it replaces has the Helio G70. We think that this is a significant upgrade knowing that we have the same price for both models.
The new SoC is developed under 12nm process and packs up to 2GHz of octa-core CPU. This is reflected in smooth day-to-day performance. Navigating the interface is such a breeze. Pulling up and dismissing apps are seamless due to the 4GB of RAM, and there's no significant lag or crashing of apps. You also don't have to worry about running out of storage if you choose the 128GB ROM variant.
In our Geekbench 5 benchmark test, the handset tallied 390 single-core and 1373 multi-core score. On top of that, the realme C25s has an OpenCL score of 1235.
The realme C25s is built for entry-level gaming. We have steered through several gaming apps from the likes of Mobile Legends, Legends of Runeterra, and Call of Duty Mobile, to name a few.
The phone can actually game with minimum frame drops in an intense Mobile Legends game. For graphic-hungry apps like PUBG Mobile, it defaults to medium graphics; though we think that it's still playable when you force it to high graphics, it may not be the best experience.
Overall, MOBA games are very playable in this smartphone.
In terms of audio, the phone has good sounding speakers. It may need to improve on the bass but we think that the quality for this price range is quite acceptable. It could also tend to go pitchy on the highest volume level. We have no issues in taking calls or in connecting through the internet in both cellular and WiFi.
Camera
The realme C25s is also showing some guns in terms of the camera department. It topbills a triple camera module, featuring a 48MP main camera with f/1.8 aperture lens. It's one of the few handsets to have this sensor in this price point. There's also a 2MP f/2.4 camera for macro shots and another 2MP f/2.4 for bokeh shots.
With good lighting environment, the smartphone captures good photos with just the right amount of details, and colors are natural-looking. The C25s shoots with activated HDR by default which results to cranked up color saturation. This may not be my cup of tea but I'm sure most of you will love it.
The camera app features a night mode or the Super Nightscape feature which captures mostly good photos in light-challenged scenes for which I'm quite surprised. Some shots may have small amount of noise but the realme C25s is making a great job in keeping the grainy portions of the shot at bay.
The macro shots are also exceptionally better with good details. However, it's still a fixed focus camera which tallies its best qualities at 4cm distance. The 8MP front shooter is a capable camera that produces highly shareable social media selfies. Check out the sample photos below.
realme C25s Sample Photos
The realme C25s boots with realme UI 2.0, it's the latest version of the company's proprietary skin. It is based on Android 11 which gives the users tons of customization features. On top of that, you can also take advantage of Android 11's banner features like the Dark Mode UI, improved security features, smart app suggestions, and redesigned notifications.
The realme UI 2.0 is also simple and minimalist by default. If you're into heavy tweaking, you can redesign your user interface using theme packs found in the Theme Store. Just like any Android skin, it's never without bloatwares.
Battery
There's a whopping 6000 mAh battery. This capacity could easily push the handset's battery life to one day and a half. For fair to moderate users, it can stretch up to two days before needing to recharge the phone. The inclusion of the USB Type C port also allows realme to use 18W fast charging tech for a faster recharge.
The Wrap
The realme C25s is a very welcome upgrade for the company's entry level C series of smartphones. The new Helio G85 gaming chipset makes a handful of improvements in terms of speed and battery efficiency. With the price of ₱7,490 for the 64GB ROM variant, the realme C25s is very easy to recommend for buyers who value speed and performance without breaking the bank. The improved camera capability and realme UI 2.0 are also great additions to the beefy lineup of features that this smartphone has.
Read also: realme 8 5G Review: Best-Value 5G Smartphone
Highlights
- Improved Helio G85 gaming processor
- Decent camera capability
- Exceptional battery life
- Solid build and design
realme C25s Specs
6.5-inch HD+ IPS LCD display
720 x 1600 pixels, ~270 ppi density
570nits Max Brightness
88.7% Screen-to-body ratio
20:9 Aspect ratio
MediaTek Helio G85 (12nm)
2GHz Octa-core processor
Mali-G52 MC2 GPU
Memory:
64GB ROM + 4GB RAM
128GB ROM + 4GB RAM
microSDXC dedicated card slot
AI Triple Rear Camera:
1. 48MP, f/1.8 main with PDAF
2. 2MP, f/2.4 macro
3. 2MP, f/2.4 depth
8MP, f/2.0 Front Camera
Up to 1080p@30/60fps Videos
Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
4G LTE
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth v5.0, A2DP, LE
GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
3.5mm headset jack
USB Type-C 2.0, USB OTG
Fingerprint (rear-mounted)
Accelerometer, Proximity, Compass
realme UI 2.0, based on Android 11 OS
164.5 x 75.9 x 9.6 mm, 209 grams
Li-Po 6000 mAh battery, non-removable
Fast charging 18W with reverse charging
Water Blue, Water Gray
₱7,490 64GB ROM
₱8,490 128GB ROM