Earlier this year, Xiaomi launched an upgraded version of the Redmi Note 7 to offer users a better camera experience at an affordable price. The company introduced the Redmi Note 7S with the same set features, a 48-megapixel rear main camera, and a few other tweaks. Now, Realme has done the same thing. The Chinese brand has unveiled an upgraded version of the Realme 5 with a 48-megapixel quad rear camera setup, which is quite a step up from the 12-megapixel sensor. The rest of the features are still the same, apart from a few things.
Realme has confirmed that it will continue to sell its old Realme 5 phone at a price of Rs 8,999. The Realme 5s is priced at Rs 9,999 in India. With this phone, the company, undoubtedly, wants to take on the likes of the Redmi Note 8, which also comes with the same price tag. Realme’s latest device will go on sale on November 29 via Flipkart. We managed to spend some time with the Realme 5s, and here are our first impressions.
Display, design
The Realme 5s looks identical to the Realme 5 and its Pro version. The handset flaunts a crystalline pattern, which looks beautiful, as was the case with the old phone. It gets a new paint job – Crystal Red, which will draw a lot of eyeballs. It is also available in the Purple and Blue color variants. The phone still uses a polycarbonate body with a laminated plastic back. On the rear side, there is a capacitive fingerprint sensor, and a quad-camera setup. With this phone, you get a micro USB port instead of a USB Type-C.
It has a 6.5-inch display with a waterdrop notch. The panel still supports HD+ resolution, and the Redmi Note 8 features a Full HD+ display. The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Plus. Comparatively, its rival offers Gorilla Glass 5 protection on the front and back panel.
Realme 5s: specifications
The Realme 5 was the first phone to offer the Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 SoC. The new one draws its power from the same Snapdragon chipset. This SoC is built on an 11nm fabrication process and is more power-efficient than the Snapdragon 660 chip. You will find the same processor on the Redmi Note 8 too. In our brief time with this phone, it responded quickly to everything we threw at it. We will talk more about this in our detailed review.
There are two variants of the Realme 5s – one is 4GB RAM + 64GB storage and the other one is 4GB RAM + 128GB storage. In terms of software, the unit is running on Android 9-based ColorOS 6, which is quite refined. One of the major highlights of the smartphone is its big 5,000mAh battery. You should get around two days of battery life with moderate usage. But after properly analyzing it, we will be able to tell you how long it will last. There’s however no fast charging support.
Camera
The 48-megapixel rear camera is clearly the biggest selling point of the new phone. You get a Samsung ISOCELL Bright GM1 sensor. We have seen the sensor on the Redmi Note 8 and even the Moto G8 Plus. There is also an 8-megapixel wide-angle shooter, and two 2-megapixel cameras – one of these is for macro shots and the other one is for portrait shots. There is also a 16-megapixel selfie camera tucked away in the notch. This is essentially the same camera setup as on the Realme 5 Pro. We will be taking a detailed look at all the cameras on the Realme 5s in our in-depth review.
Realme 5s: Initial impressions
The Realme 5s still offers compelling features, including a 5,000mAh battery, Snapdragon 665 SoC, 6.5-inch display, crystalline pattern and more. At a very low price, now you are also getting Realme 5 Pro’s camera setup. With a powerful Snapdragon processor, a big battery and the 48-megapixel quad rear camera setup at this price range, is the Realme 5s the best affordable phone? Do buyers have much to be excited about? Is it better than Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 8? You will get to know in our detailed Realme 5s review, so stay tuned for that.
| Features | Realme 5s |
|---|---|
| Price | 9,999 |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 SoC |
| OS | Android 9 Pie |
| Display | 6.5-inch HD+ |
| Internal Memory | 4GB RAM + 64GB storage |
| Rear Camera | 48MP +8MP + 2MP +2MP |
| Front Camera | 13MP |
| Battery | 5,000mAh |
