Narzo-series launch has been long overdue. Realme made attempts to launch these phones in late March and then in mid-April, but due to COVID-19 related restrictions, the launches couldn’t go through. Apparently, third time’s the charm and we can now finally talk about the Narzo 10 and 10A – fresh additions to Realme’s affordable-phone lineup that’s increasingly getting crowded. Realme Narzo 10, that we will be talking about here, starts at Rs. 11,999 and almost overlaps Realme 6 when it comes to features and specifications.
As per Realme, the Narzo 10 is targeted at generation Z. Should you consider buying the Narzo 10 as your next smartphone? Let’s dive into the review to find all the answers.
Narzo 10 Specifications
| Model | Realme Narzo 10 |
| Display | 6.5-inch HD+ (720×1600 pixels), LCD dew-drop display |
| Processor | MediaTek Helio G80 SoC |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Internal Storage | 128GB, Dedicated MicroSD card slot up to 256GB |
| Software | Android 10 Realme UI |
| Rear Camera | 48MP + 8MP ultrawide sensor + 2MP monochrome + 4cm 2MP macro lens |
| Front Camera | 16MP |
| Battery | 5000mAh, 18W fast charging support (USB-C, OTG reverse charging) |
| Indian Price | 4+128GB: Rs. 11,999 |
Realme Narzo Unboxing: What’s in the box
Like most recent Realme phones, this one too ships in a yellow colour box with the company branding on all surfaces. The Realme Narzo 10 retail package contains:
- Realme Narzo 10 phone
- 18W Quick charger
- USB Type-C Cable
- Protective Case
- pre-installed plastic screen protector
- SIM ejector Tool
- Booklets with Warranty Card
Realme Narzo 10 Review: Design and Build Quality
Realme as a brand has been quite bold with its phone-designs in the affordable and mid-tier segment. Be it the diamond-cut pattern on Realme 2 or the Onion, Garlic inspired X-series master edition phones – the brand always manages to deliver something distinct and exciting. The Narzo 10 is offered in White (So White) and Green (That Green) paint jobs with unique vertical streaks and both colors look quite appealing.
The plastic build of the phone is quite evident from its looks and feel. While we praise the rather sober color choices in the world of flashy gradient backs, the quad-rear camera setup stares right back at us. It juts out quite a bit and so it is highly recommended that you use a case. The fingerprint scanner is also conveniently placed on the rear panel.
As you flip the phone, you will come face to face with a 6.52-inch screen and selfie camera fixed in the dewdrop notch. There are no flexes or creaks in the body and the phone feels pretty solid in hand.
One thing that’s impressive about the Narzo 10 is weight management. This simply doesn’t feel like a phone that houses a 5000mAh battery. Also, the tapering side edges ensure a firm grip.
The top edge is a clean slate, while the bottom edge features a USB Type – C port flanked by 3.5mm jack and dual microphones on one side with a mono speaker grill on the other side. The power button finds a spot on the right edge while volume rocker and an ejectable tray that holds dual sim slots and microSD card slot is on the left. Buttons feel a tad flimsy. Let’s hope they manage to stand the test of time.
Narzo 10 Review: Display and Sound
The Narzo 10 has a 6.2inch IPS LCD screen. The display has 720 X 1600 HD+ resolution with a regular 60Hz refresh rate. The panel feels sharp enough and the colors fall just a little short of being oversaturated. We noticed a slight color-shift at angles, which is coming common for affordable LCD screens.
The display on the Narzo 10 has a decent low and high brightness range. At the lowest setting, the phone is comfortable to use in dark and the maximum brightness makes it legible under direct sun. The Auto-brightness adjustments feel a bit erratic.
The loudspeaker on the Naro 10 is one of its weakest links. The mono speaker at the bottom just isn’t loud enough. Audio output through earphones is good enough for regular users.
Realme Narzo 10 Review: Software and Performance
The Narzo 10 debuts with MediaTek Helio G80 and is the first-ever phone in India to do so. The octa-core MediaTek SoC employs has two performance ARM Cortex A75 cores clocked at 2GHz and six Cortex A55 cores clocked at 1.8GHz for better battery efficiency while dealing regular loads. Meanwhile, the Arm Mali G52 steps in as the GPU.
The software experience on the Narzo 10 has been a mixed bag. It ships with Android 10-based Color OS with Realme UI enhancements on top. The Realme UI improvements do make a huge difference. Dark mode, Dual Channel Acceleration, Smart Protection to Prevent Personal Data Leakage, Realme Share, etc are some of the really useful features available on the Realme Narzo 10.
Having said that, the sheer amount of bloatware preloaded on the phone hampers what would otherwise have been an impressive budget phone experience. For instance, there are three browsers pre-installed on the phone eating into limited system resources. Spam notifications from pre-loaded apps also get quite frustrating. Thankfully, you can uninstall most of the preloaded bloatware. As for the remaining few apps such as Hot apps and App Market, you can only force stop them for temporary respite.
As for performance, we tried popular games like PUGB mobile and Call of Duty mobile on the Narzo 10. Call of Duty was running on Low Graphics setting and medium frame rates while the PUBG mobile, by default, runs on HD Graphics and High frame rates. The gameplay experience was decent enough without any noticeable jitters or frame drops. Here are some synthetic benchmark scores:
- Geekbench: 386 – single-core; 1341 – multi-core
- 3D Mark: 1338 Sling Shot Extreme – OpenGL; 1329 – Sligh Shot Extreme Vulkan
- Note: Since Google has removed Antutu from the Playstore, we decided not to sideload.
The 5,000mAh battery on the Narzo 10 won’t disappoint either. For an average user, the battery should comfortably last for more than a day. We could consistently get more than 5 hours of screen-on-time.
Realme Narzo 10: Camera Performance
As for the optics, the Realme Narzo 10 houses a quad-rear camera setup featuring a 48-megapixel Samsung sensor with a f/1.8 aperture lens in the lead. The primary sensor has been paired with an 8MP ultra-wide sensor, a 2MP Marco sensor, and a 2MP monochrome sensor.
The camera yields the best results in favorable day-light conditions. The camera managed to lock focus quickly event for faraway objects and in tricky lighting. At the same time, over-processing and over-sharpening eat into the fine details.
In low light, the shots tend to turn out grainy. Nightscape mode isn’t the best that we have experienced on Realme phones, but it does manage to uplift dark scenes when it works. Anyways, expecting an impressive lowlight performance in this price segment would be expecting too much.
We are rather happy with the 16MP selfie camera that captures great details in selfies.
Realme Narzo 10 Review Verdict
The Narzo 10 is a performance-centric phone that looks good, but it’s not particularly distinct. Perhaps a 64GB storage option with a lower price would have made more sense, but the recent GST hike must have got in the way, and the Realme 6-series devices that launched earlier feel like a better bargain.
Our only major gripe is the bloatware and pushy spam notifications – a flaw shared across all brands in the affordable segment as of today. Other than that, the camera feels reasonable, the HD display works fine, and the battery backup is quite impressive.
Pros
- Design
- Performance
- Battery life
Cons
- Bloatware
- Underwhelming speaker
Realme Narzo 10 FAQ
No, it only supports the 2.4Ghz band. It lacks support for 5Ghz band.
No, it only has an L3 certificate which means you can’t stream HD content on Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+ Hotstar etc OTA platforms.
No.
Yes, it supports 18W fast charging.
SAR: 0.857W/kg (Head) 0.609W/kg (Body)
The PUBG mobile runs on HD Graphics and Medium Frame Rates.
