The Realme 2 is a surprisingly good $120 phone
Though you'll have to settle for a low-resolution display, you do get dual cameras and a big 4,230-mAh battery.
The Realme 2 is a $120-ish phone designed for India and Southeast Asia.
It's quite likely that you've never heard of Realme before. Formerly a sub-brand of Oppo's , the now-independent company is making waves with its affordable and stylish phones in India, and it's setting its sights on Southeast Asia.
The Realme 2 costs $120 (roughly £90 or AU$165 converted), has a 6.2-inch notched display and dual rear cameras. But its most compelling feature is its beautiful rear finish that makes the phone glitter with a diamond-inspired design. If you're looking for something different, the Realme 2 will definitely catch your eye.
Oh, so shiny!
Given that it's a budget phone, don't expect too much when it comes to hardware. The Realme 2 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 chip, and while it didn't feel too sluggish, it's not exactly a top-end gaming performer.
The 720p screen isn't the sharpest, especially as it's 6.2 inches, and the screen icons are too large for my taste. You can't shrink them either, unless you download a third-party launcher.
It has dual rear cameras in the form of a 13- and 2-megapixel shooters.
But it does have some cool features besides its design -- the Realme 2 runs Oppo's Color OS on top of Android 8.1 and comes with a virtual SIM card that lets you data roam when you're traveling overseas. The cameras also have a button for 2x zoom, but because the secondary rear camera is only just 2 megapixels (and is used as a depth sensor for portrait shots), I suspect that this 2x zoom is digital instead of an optical or telephoto zoom.
The Realme 2 is currently available in Southeast Asia and India, and it's not expected to hit Western markets anytime soon.
Realme 2 specs
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 450
- Memory: 3GB or 4GB, 32GB or 64GB onboard storage
- Battery: 4,230 mAh
- Camera: 13- and 2-megapixel rear, 8-megapixel front
- Display: 6.2-inch, 1,520x720 pixels