The Realme 7 5G – Available for £279 from the Realme website

Overall Performance: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars

2020 has to be the year realme has really taken the issues Huawei have and really pushed for a bigger market share. We recently reviewed both the realme 7 and the realme 7pro. The latest device and this time 5G enabled is the realme 7 5G. 

So let’s see what 5G on a budget is like? 

First Impressions  

Realme 7 5G - Budget 5G Handset

On first impressions, this device looks just like the realme 7 we recently reviewed however you do have a few noticeable changes such as: 

  • MediaTek Dimensity 800U 5G Chip with 5G+5G DSDS
  • 6.5-inch 120Hz Ultra Smooth Display
  • 30W Dart Charge, 65 mins to Get 5000mAh 100% Charged
  • 48MP Quad Camera with Samsung S5KGM1ST
  • 16MP In-display Selfie Camera
  • Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res Certification

Design

Without having to cut, copy and paste my review of the realme 7 the main changes in terms of design with the 5G version include a side-mounted fingerprint scanner and a single down-firing mono speaker and fast charging option it also comes with a 6.5 inch 120 Hz Ultra Smooth Display that boasts a 90.5% screen to body ratio. 

Realme 7 5G

Side-Mounted Fingerprint scanner

The fast charging offers 30W dart charging to the phones 5000mAh battery and can give you 100% battery in about 65 minutes. This is one of the key reasons why realme are making waves in the UK.   

Realme 7 5G - Budget 5G Handset

 

Performance

This phone is basically just a faster realme 7 that has had a few small improvements such as a slightly quicker refresh rate now 120Hz compared to 90Hz on the realme 7.  This is due to the improved MediaTek Dimensity 800U 5G chipset that improves the overall speed of the device.  You will notice you do have slightly less RAM as you get 6GB instead of the 8GB you got with the realme 7 this is a very questionable downgrade. However, on the whole, this phone performed everyday tasks just as well as you might expect. 

How it Performs on 5G 

The realme 7 5G comes with a Dual Sim which could in the future allow you to have 2x 5G sim cards but as we are still in the early period of 5G I only used the one sim card in this review. The other slot I used was for a micro SD Card for extra storage.  

5G is still very limited in terms of the number of areas near me so in order to test the device I have to take a trip to London to experience 5G in all its glory. This phone supports 5G+5G DSDS capabilities meaning you can have 2x 5G connections but as mentioned that is a little pointless currently. 5G in London just makes the whole phone feel that little bit faster and it even gives something like a Snapdragon 765G and offers a fantastic portable hotspot when needed. 

Camera

Realme 7 5G - Budget 5G Handset

The Realme 7 5G rear camera set up

For an entry-level phone, the Camera on the Realme 7 5G certainly packs a punch with its clarity of picture quality boasting a 48mp Camera. The camera on this phone is surprisingly good with sharp picture quality and nice edges to a picture with ease of use. This has a nice point and click feel to the device however it is let down in the fact that it’s quite basic for a 48mp camera.
Realme 7 5G

The camera on this phone is surprisingly good with sharp picture quality

One of the downsides is the zoom, it’s very slow with its screen pinch to zoom in and zoom out limited to 10x zoom but the zoom quality is fantastic with very little camera shake and the pictures still come out pretty crisp and clear even on close up which was a pleasant surprise. The camera itself comes with few features packed in.
Realme 7 5G

The shot was taken using 10x Zoom

The realme 7 5G comes with a feature for 48mp however this is confusing does this mean that when you take a picture in “normal” camera mode the picture is not that of 48mp?? also, when selecting the 48mp mode you have no zoom function which is a little disappointing so you can only point and click in this mode but the picture is good quality with nice crisp edges and a good cut to it.
The “more” mode packs a few features for you to enjoy more photography, the one feature I do love is the “ultra macro” function so you can get some real fine detail on those extra close up shots and wow your friends on Social Media with some great highly detailed close-up shots but you have to get within 4cm of the object you are shooting.
The other feature I love that realme have managed to pack into this phone is “Google Lens” where you can take a picture of an object and it gives you a description of what you have taken a picture of, great if you want to know what that plant is!
Other features are “pro mode” which to be honest is pretty basic but you can adjust aspects of light etc just like you have on a DSLR camera but again this is basic with a disappointing 5x Zoom.  The selfie camera is great at 16mp with a good cut and crisp clear image and defining lines.

A Selfie of our Camera Expert James

My overall experience of using the camera on this handset has been pretty pleasant nice easy to use quick to navigate around various settings with great picture quality that could give some of the mid-range Samsung’s a run for their money in terms of picture quality and maybe even the earlier iPhone’s, this is great if you’re looking to upload a quick shot on social media but there is room for improvement and adding in some extra functions to really get the best out this camera that could have been added in.
I feel that this device should have a few extra’s punches into the camera system but as a whole not a bad camera at all for an entry-level budget 5G handset. Good crisp clear pictures, the features and functions are good and easy to use just wish that they had a zoom function on the 48mp setting on the phone.

Verdict

The realme 7 5G has improved in certain areas such as the improved chipset using and slightly better display and the 30W dart charge and 5,000 mAh battery and a better camera then the realme 7. Now if you’re looking to make sure you are ready for the 5G revolution then it’s worth investing in.  However, the question arises when will all areas be 5G ready and by then will this phone be a little dated?

Price-wise the realme 7 5G costs £279 but for £269 you could get yourself a realme 7 Pro that let’s face it the realme 7 Pro is a better device but without 5G.

So you have a choice on your hands is 5G important for you? 

Product Rating: 

Design: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars

Speed: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars

Battery Life: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0

Camera: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars

Value for Money: 3.0 out of 5.0 stars

 

Overall Performance: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars

The Realme 7 5G – Available for £279 from the Realme website

 

 

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