Realme U1

Realme has been quickly populating affordable online market segment which formerly enjoyed an unrivaled run for Xiaomi’s Redmi alternatives. The new U-series will allegedly bring in Selfie-focused phones, but the first in line, the Real U1, is so much more. The U1 brandishes a glass finish but is entirely made of plastic. The upside is that the polycarbonate glass on the back can withstand drops better than real glass or, in other words, should be more durable. The front is mostly screen and you get a trendy ‘dew drop’ notch in the top-center. The bezels surrounding the screen are extremely narrow too. And that’s perhaps as good as it gets in this budget. The U1 has a 6.3-inch display (19.5:9) with a tiny dew drop notch that houses the selfie camera sensor and other pre-requisites. It’s a full HD+ (2340 x 1080) LTPS IPS LCD panel and is amply sharp. Outdoor visibility under direct sunlight isn’t stellar, but the display was still perfectly legible outdoors. The Realme U1 is perfectly smooth. The face unlock on the phone is extremely fast, but it prioritizes convenience and speed over security. The fingerprint sensor is remarkably fast too. We didn’t face any connectivity issues on Realme U1. Call quality was excellent in our area and the UI has built-in call recording. The software is Android 8.1-oreo based Color OS. This isn’t our favorite custom skin, primarily because of how diligently it takes after the iOS. Realme has made some minor changes to the skin. For instance, unlike Oppo phones, you have the option to swipe away notifications in one step. As far as hardware goes, you get a 13MP rear camera with a 2MP depth sensor, and a 25MP selfie camera up front. The camera app and metering remain similar to what you’d get on the Realme 2 Pro. The 3500mAh battery on the Realme can comfortably last for a day of moderate to heavy usage. We managed 7 to 8 hours of screen on time. The 10W charger bundled with the phone takes around two hours and 15 minutes to charge the phone completely.