Realme X7 Max 5G Review: A Gran Turismo, But

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Realme X7 Max 5G review summary:

Expert Rating: 3.5/5

Design

Audiovisual

Connectivity

Performance

Battery

Camera

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pros

  • Amazingly slim and light design
  • Engrossing display 
  • Snappy performance
  • Superfast battery charging
  • Decent stereo speakers 
  • Feature-rich software
  • 5G future-proofing

Cons

  • Not the best battery life
  • Camera tuning needs improvement

Realme X7 Max 5G is the first phone to bring Dimensity 1200 SoC to India. This is a flagship-grade chipset from MediaTek and as such, it is but obvious that you would be tempted to draw certain comparisons. Also, since the phone’s priced around ₹30,000, one would hold certain expectations as well. So, here we will see how does the X7 Max fares against our parallels and prospects. And accordingly, we will draw the conclusion as to whether you should buy the Realme X7 Max 5G or not.

But first, here’s an helicopter view of all the contents —

Realme X7 Max 5G Unboxing

As part of its 3-year anniversary celebration, Realme had sent out a big package which included the phone box, a T-Shirt, and a Cap. Congrats Realme on its journey thus far and thanks for sharing this bundle of joy. As for the phone box, which is a long silver-colored one like the X7 5G’s (review) with key highlights of the phone stamped big and bold across the surface. Anyways, here’s what you’ll find within it:

  • The handset
  • 65W SuperDart Charger
  • USB Type-C Cable
  • Protect Case
  • SIM Card Tool
  • Screen Protect Film
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Important Product Information (including the Warranty Card

Also Read:

Contents


Realme X7 Max 5G India price and specs

Dimension and Weight: 158.5mmx 73.3mmx 8.4mm; 179g
Screen: 6.43″ sAMOLED FHD+ 120Hz refresh rate,
360Hz touch sampling rate, 91.7%, 1,000 nits, 100% DCI-P3 color gamut
CPU: MediaTek Dimensity 1200
GPU: Mali G77 MC9
RAM: 8GB/12GB LPDDR4x
Storage: 128GB/256GB UFS 3.1
Rear cameras: 64MP, 8MP ultrawide, 2MP macro
Front camera: 16MP
Battery: 4500 mAh with 50W charging
OS: Android 11, Realme UI 2.0
5G: Yes
Connectivity: 5G, Dual Nano Card Slot, Dual-band WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, Dual Frequency GPS
Price: 8GB + 128GB – Rs. 26,999; 12GB+256GB: Rs. 29,999


And here we begin the Smartprix review of Realme X7 Max 5G —

Realme X7 Max 5G Review: Design

Rating: 4 out of 5.

As soon as I took the phone out of the box, I couldn’t help but be amazed at how slim and lite it felt. I quickly passed it on to my brother who shared similar awe. Realme X7 Max 5G is thin at just 8.4mm and weighs only 179g. It is built out of polycarbonate (not glass), which not only endows the levity but doesn’t feel cheap either. Realme has employed a dual-tone finish by the back. It’s mostly matte textured offering a nice warm grip, with a narrow vertical stripe towards the left side. This is glossy and hence prone to smudges. At the top of this band sits the camera island and by the bottom lies a small, shiny, yet sober “Realme, Dare to Leap” branding. I like the boxed-in insignia (probably owing to market study), and the svelte demeanor of the Asteroid Black variant in my hand.

The surrounding frame is also lustrous with the power button on the right-hand side sporting a golden accent. The volume rockers on the other side match the silver-blue frame. The buttons are well tactile and easily accessible too.

Oh and before moving ahead, know that the device is IPX4 certified against splashes. A higher-grade IP67 would have been better.

Realme X7 Max 5G Review: Audiovisual

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Coming to the front, we have a 6.43-inch sAMOLED panel with FHD+ resolution, and 100% DCI-P3 color coverage. That means pleasing for media consumption. At 1000nits peak brightness, even outdoor legibility wasn’t a problem. Further, thanks to the support for 120Hz refresh rate and 360Hz touch sampling rate, animations, and interactions on the screen feel smooth. You can lock the refresh rate to 120Hz at the cost of a slight dip in battery and it is content-dependent.

Realme has kept the bezels to the minimum which results in a 91.7% screen-to-body ratio. There is a punch-hole cutout to the top left corner. The face unlock is amazingly fast. The under-display scanner fails to read my mostly moist fingers, but that shouldn’t be your case.

Anyways, overall I like what I see here. The display is protected by Dragontrail Glass.

The visuals are complemented by a fairly good audio setup. Realme X7 Max 5G brings back the 3.5mm headphone jack. Brownie points for that! The stereo sound from the dual speaker setup also is plenty audible. Even the X-linear vibration motor produces pointed haptics. Not bad.

Realme X7 Max 5G Review: Connectivity

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

The call quality was passable. You get dual SIM VoLTE, VoWiFi, carrier aggregation, and even support for 5G Dual-SIM Dual Standby (albeit only Sub-6GHz bands viz., NSA N1/N28A/N40/N41/N77/N78/N79). Other connectivity options include dual-band WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, and Dual-Frequency GPS. The WiFi speeds were good and GPS was locking in with respectable accuracy. Latency with TWS audio was also on point.

Let’s now get into the action.

Realme X7 Max 5G Review: Performance

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Inside, what we have is (no points for guessing) Realme UI 2.0 on top of Android 11 base. This skin is cleaner compared to the counterparts. Most of the pre-planted apps are uninstallable. Or else, you can conveniently work your way around them. The browser ads and lock screen magazine can be toggled off. There are several good features tucked within the submenus of Settings. Some of my picks are the various Personalizations, Smart Sidebar, Sleep Capsule, Floating Window, granular Dark Mode settings, App Lock, Multi-user accounts, and Google Discover feed on the home screen.

The software is laid on top of 6nm based MediaTek Dimensity 1200 SoC. It comprises a Cortex A78 prime core clocked at up to 3GHz frequency coupled with three Cortex A78 medium performance cores (up to 2.6GHz) and four Cortex A55 low-powered cores (up to 2GHz). The GPU is ARM’s Mali G77 MC9. Realme has equipped the device with Stainless Steel Vapour Cooling. Actually, it is said to be a composite of copper (for thermal conductivity) wrapped in steel (for structural stability). The brand claims this design imparts a significant increase in cooling and thermal efficiency.

In everyday use like multi-tasking between apps, app loading times, boot times, scrolling, browsing, social media gawking, the phone breezes through. I ran few synthetic tests too and the results were telling of its power:

Realme X7 Max 5G BenchmarkScores
Antutu695258
Geekbench 5 Single | Multi916 | 3296
PCMark Work 2.09753
3DMark Wild Life Extreme1289
Androbench Sequential R/W (MB/s)1864.49 | 1267.56
Androbench Random R/W298.09 | 280.13
Conversion of 2:35min 1080p 60fps MP4 video to MKV using Video Transcoder app10 mins

As for gaming, the experience was great. I was getting around 60FPS in Asphalt 9 (high graphics) and CoD Mobile (high graphics and max frame rate), while the Genshin Impact was clocking 35-40FPS (highest graphics). In half an hour of Asphalt 9, the battery fell 2% and the temperature rose from 34.8℃ to 38.9℃. Meanwhile, a half an hour shootout in COD Mobile reduced the battery by 12% with a similar celsius rise. The only time I got a temp alert was while shooting videos out under the scorching sun. The camera app closed with a message, “Your phone is hot. Some functions are unavailable”. That brings us to —

Realme X7 Max 5G Review: Camera

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Realme X7 Max 5G has a triple camera setup by the back. This consists of a 64MP Sony IMX682 sensor (f/1.8 aperture), an 8MP ultrawide shooter (f/2.3 aperture), and a 2MP macro module (f/2.4 aperture). On the front, there is a 16MP snapper for selfies and video calls. Speaking of which, you get to record up to 4K 60FPS (with EIS) from the back and 1080P/30FPS from the front.

Check out the results:

The daylight shots bring sufficient details, appeasing colors and dynamic range. You can toggle the AI enhancement mode on for slightly upped saturation, not that the photos are vivid sans that. Turning on the 64MP mode makes the subject more sharper and detailed, but at the cost of storage space.

Coming to the perspectives out of different lenses, you get a 119° FoV using the ultrawide lens, 2MP macro shots, and digital zooms up to 2x and 5x magnification.

There are tonal shifts between regular and ultrawide shots. The latter also suffers from inferior dynamic range and lesser details, noticeably low by the edges. Digital zooms might not be able to match an actual telephoto output, but the results are usable for you to get a closer look at far-off things.

Speaking of getting close to the subject, the macro clicks are fancy for a 2MP output, but I don’t know if it’s all that useful.

When it comes to human subjects, the skin tones aren’t accurate and facial features are smoothened out. The standard portraits are fine at background blurring, but not so much at edge detection. As you can see, it has cut off my ears and a tuft of hair in the selfie shot. However, the fun part of portraits is in the filters, especially the ones named Dynamic Bokeh, AI Color Portrait, and Neon Portrait.

These filter portraits and ultrawide field of view are available in night scenes too. But, you will need ample ambient light to lit up the shots. The Night Mode on this doesn’t do much other than raising the exposure in the frame.

As for videos, the 4K60 clips retain more details, better dynamic range and vibrant colors. Stability is all wonky but turning on the ultra steady mode corrects the wobbliness a bit. 1080p videos from the front would pale against the 4K30 recordings from the rivals. But, should suffice for selfie videos and Zoom calls.

Realme X7 Max 5G Review: Battery

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The 4500mAh cell inside endured 9 Hrs in our PCMark test. The 6 nm-based Dimensity 1200 chip from MediaTek also claims a role in battery efficiency. Even things like Super power-saving mode, Optimized battery use, and night charging are smart and beneficial for battery longevity. In general use, I was getting around 6 hours of screen time. What all these numbers mean is that it should run for a day easily and perhaps the next day, depending on how conservative is your usage. In any case, the bundled 65W charger (which btw fuels at 50 watts) can quickly hit 100-percent (in less than an hour). Also, the quality of the brick and cable is top-notch.

Review Verdict: Should you buy Realme X7 Max 5G?

Editor’s rating

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

If Max stands for performance, you get that here. Realme has made the right bet by arming the phone with Dimensity 1200 SoC. It delivers, especially for the starting price of ₹26,999. This in tandem with a 120Hz refresh rate, 360Hz touch sampling rate, Android 11 based Realme UI 2.0 software optimizations ensure a smooth sailing smartphone experience. The comfort of using the phone extends to the FHD+ AMOLED display, decently sounding stereo speakers, and the exterior design as well.

Now this slim and light build comes at a smaller battery size, which again Realme cleverly addresses with its proprietary high-speed charging solution. This comes with immediate help when required. And to top off all these, there is 5G support as a cherry on the top.

My only discontent with the phone is with its camera tuning. The sensors are alright and in good lighting condition, the photos come out just fine. There is a load of features and filters for the fun of it. But in the not-so-ideal situations and use cases, the camera struggles. So it needs some more work to compete against the likes of Pixel 4a, which fall in the nearby territory. And since it should only be a matter of software update(s), and that rest of the offering is enticing, the Realme X7 Max 5G is a good recommendation in the sub-30K price segment.

Reasons to buy

  • Amazingly slim and light design
  • Engrossing display 
  • Snappy performance
  • Superfast battery charging
  • Decent stereo speakers 
  • Feature-rich software
  • 5G future-proofing

Reasons not to buy

  • Not the best battery life
  • Camera tuning needs improvement

Realme X7 Max 5G FAQ

Q. Does Realme X7 Max 5G has a dedicated microSD slot?

A. No, Realme X7 Max 5G doesn’t support memory card expansion.

Q. What is the SAR value of Realme X7 Max 5G?

A. Realme X7 Max 5G SAR values are: 1.149 W/kg @ 1gm (Head) & 1.098 W/kg @ 1gm (Body)

Q. Does Realme X7 Max 5G feature Gorilla Glass Protection?

A. Realme X7 Max 5G comes with Dragontrail Glass protection, not Gorilla Glass.

Q. What are the 5G bands supported by Realme X7 Max 5G?

A. Realme X7 Max 5G supports the following Sub-6GHz bands viz., NSA N1/N28A/N40/N41/N77/N78/N79

Q. Does Realme X7 Max 5G support dual-band WiFi?

A, Yes, Realme X7 Max 5G (2.4GHz + 5GHz) supports dual-band WiFi 6.

Q. Does Realme X7 Max 5G support VoWiFi or WiFi calling?

A. Yes, Realme X7 Max 5G does feature VoWiFi.

Q. How many microphones are on the Realme X7 Max 5G?

A. Realme X7 Max 5G comes with two microphones.

Q. Which is the Android update on Realme X7 Max 5G?

A. Realme X7 Max 5G ships with Android 11 software with Realme UI 2.0 skin. At the time of writing, it has the March 05 2021 security update. The Google Play System update is dated May 01, 2021.

Q. Does Realme X7 Max 5G support HD stream on Netflix and Amazon Prime?

A. Realme X7 Max 5G has DRM L1 certification and I did HD stream on Prime Video.

Q. Does Realme X7 Max 5G support auto-call recording?

A. Yes, Realme X7 Max 5G does support auto-call-recording with the stock Google Phone app.

Q. Does Realme X7 Max 5G support Dual VoLTE and carrier aggregations?

A. Yes, Realme X7 Max 5G does feature Dual VoLTE, as well as carrier aggregation on both 5G SIMs. It’s 3CA carrier aggregation, ie., aggregate 3 sub-carriers.

Q. Does Realme X7 Max 5G support GCam or Camera2API?

A. Realme X7 Max 5G comes with Level 3 hardware support level for Camera2API, which indicates the support for GCam. However, if there is a GCam build for MediaTek Dimensity 1200 chip is something to be seen.

Q. Does the Dimensity 1200 SoC within Realme X7 Max get hot?

A. Under heavy stress (like playing Genshin Impact at the highest of settings for a lengthy period of time) the device will heat up. However, if you play Genshin Impact at medium settings or other big titles for a stretch, the area surrounding the camera would get warm.

Vasan G.S.Vasan G.S.
An inquisitive mind who spends a big chunk of the day keenly tracking every emerging detail and is responsible for quickly passing on important developments to Smartprix followers. He loves to stay in his bubble scripting his destiny involving amazing technology and people with good character, passion, and brilliance.

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2 Comments
User
Oliver Smith
Anonymous
2 years ago

The smartphone sure has features for multitasking and the Dimensity 1200 processor only adds to that. I think it’s pretty nice

Reply
User
Ron
Anonymous
2 years ago

Does it support 3CA on 4G sim as well? Can you share a screenshot of the phone while using 3CA?

Reply

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