Realme has added a new series to its portfolio and the first smartphone in this series is the Realme U1. This is also the company’s first selfie pro smartphone. It seems that Realme, which was once a sub-brand of Oppo, wants to repeat the strategy of its former company. There is no doubt that Oppo’s F series has been very popular. Apart from the high-resolution front camera, this handset is the first smartphone to come with the Helio P70 processor. This processor is claimed to be more powerful and capable than the Helio P60.
In the market, Realme U1 will compete with Xiaomi’s Redmi Y series which is known for selfie smartphones. Apart from this, there will also be competition from Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1 and Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro. Is Realme U1 a smartphone worth buying? Let’s find out…
Realme U1 Design
Realme U1 looks a lot like the recently launched Realme 2 Pro. There is nothing wrong with that. The curved edges provide good grip and the matte finish makes it non-slippery. The display protrudes slightly from the body of the phone. The same is the case with the laminated back. The good thing is that during the review, there were no scratches on the back of this phone. With a thickness of 8 mm, Realme U1 is comfortable to hold and its weight of 168 grams is not too heavy either.
The position of the buttons is good. During the review, we did not face much difficulty in reaching the power and volume buttons. The SIM tray on the left side has separate slots for two nano-SIMs and a microSD card. The bottom of the Realme U1 has a speaker grill, micro-USB port and 3.5mm headphone socket. Once again, it was disappointing not to see USB Type-C. We have a complaint about the position of the speaker grill. It gets blocked easily when the phone is held horizontally. This means that the sound will not be clear while playing games or watching videos.
The 6.3-inch screen comes with a 450 nit brightness level. Due to this, there is no problem in reading the screen in sunlight. This is an IPS panel and the screen resolution is 1080×2340 pixels. Images look sharp on the display. You will also get the facility to control the color temperature in the Settings app. Realme has used Corning Gorilla Glass 3 which is a bit old. But something is better than nothing. The phone already has a screen guard. It got scratched easily. Fingerprints also appear easily on the screen guard. The same is the case with the laminated back panel. In such a situation, it will not be easy to keep Realme U1 always clean.
The waterdrop or dewdrop notch looks beautiful. You can also hide the notch if you want. There is a camera on the front panel. There is also an earpiece and select sensors above it. There is no notification LED due to limited space.
The laminated back gives a nice visual effect when the light bounces off it. We got the Ambitious Black unit for review. You also have the option of Brave Blue and Fiery Gold. The dual rear camera module doesn’t have a lot of protrusion. The fingerprint sensor is capable of quick recognition. Its texture is slightly different from the texture of the back panel. So the sensor is easy to find. Face unlock is also fast and the display lights up in low light so the phone can be easily unlocked with the face.
The Realme U1 handset comes with a 10W power adapter, USB charging cable, silken case, SIM ejector tool and some documents. The quality of the accessories is good.
Realme U1 software and specifications
One of the key features of the Realme U1 is the MediaTek Helio P70 processor. This is a faster version of the Helio P60 chipset. According to Realme, this chipset gives 13 percent better performance than its older variant. It is claimed to have an improved version of MediaTek’s on-chip AI processing engine. The Realme U1 scored good scores in benchmark tests.
We have reviewed the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage variant of this phone. However, you also have the option of 3GB RAM and 32GB storage. Other features include dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2, USB-OTG, FM radio, GPS and GLONASS. Dual 4G dual VoLTE support is available. Proximity sensor, gyroscope, compass, ambient light sensor and accelerometer are part of this phone.
Like the Realme 2 Pro, the Realme U1 runs ColorOS 5.2 based on Android 8.1 Oreo. It has the October 2018 security patch. The company says that the phone will get an update to Android Pie early next year. There are also some new software features. Realme has finally replaced the two-step process to dismiss notifications with a single right swipe.
You will find many apps pre-installed. Most of these can be uninstalled. Gestures are provided for navigation, screenshots and split screen mode. This phone has useful features like Smart Scan and Aroaming.
Smart Scan now supports Hindi. Using this app, you can scan documents in Hindi and the image will be converted into text format. It works well and does not require an active internet connection. However, you will need the internet for ‘Scan and Translate,’ which does real-time translation.
Realme U1 performance, camera and battery life
Realme U1 never surprised in daily use. Performance was as expected. Removing fingerprints from this phone is a very difficult task. We would suggest you to use the cover provided with the phone. The display is lively. Viewing angles are also quite good. We have no complaints with the call quality either. The phone remained cool on most occasions.
The Helio P70 processor handles most games with ease. There is no drop in frame rate either. Asphalt 8: Legends ran well even at high graphics preset. PUBG Mobile ran smoothly at medium settings. The phone does heat up when gaming and using the camera for a long time, which is a common thing. Most popular audio and video formats played fine.
Since this is a selfie camera smartphone, let’s start with the front camera. It has a 25-megapixel sensor with f/2.0 aperture. In daylight, the Realme U1 captures selfies with great detail. Skin tones are good and colors are good. The AI beauty mode is also not too aggressive. It smoothens your skin on most occasions.
If you like more saturated colors, you will love the Super Vivid mode. You can also activate the depth effect or Portrait mode, which does a good job of blurring the background. In Portrait mode, the camera uses four-in-one binning technology. You get better detailed photos, but the resolution remains the same as an 8-megapixel shot. You also get a preview of the HDR version when shooting in bright light.
Tap to see full-size Realme U1 camera samples
In low light, we found the camera had trouble capturing clean and detailed shots. Surprisingly, the camera shoots in 25-megapixel resolution and not in pixel binning technique. This results in grainy selfies. The HDR mode doesn’t help much either. Bright lights in the background look burnt out. Edge detection is also not very accurate in low light and bokeh mode.
There is a 13-megapixel camera on the rear with f/2.2 aperture. It captures detailed photos in natural light, but lags in low light. Autofocus is also not very fast. It takes a few seconds before locking focus. Super Vivid mode is a useful feature. HDR also works satisfactorily. You will get modes like Panorama, Timelapse, Professional and Portrait. Portrait shots are good due to the 2-megapixel depth sensor.
Shot using Super Vivid mode on the Realme U1
Tap to see full-size Realme U1 camera samples
With this phone, you will be able to record videos in the highest resolution of 1080 pixels. But there is no electronic stabilization. The quality is good, but the autofocus is not fast. The frame rate is very solid and low-light footage is also not very noisy. Despite having a powerful processor, the rear camera cannot record 4K videos. This is disappointing, because many phones in this price segment are equipped with this feature.
The 3500mAh battery easily lasts a full day. In our HD video loop test, the Realme U1 lasted 14 hours and 56 minutes. There is no fast charging, but the 10W adapter helps in charging quickly.
Our verdict
The price of Realme U1 starts at Rs 11,999. This price is for the 3GB RAM and 32GB storage version. Considering the powerful processor and battery life, the price seems aggressive. At this price, you will get the 4GB variant of Xiaomi Redmi Y2. But keeping in mind the performance of the front camera of both phones in low light, according to us Realme U1 is a better option. Because it comes with the latest design and a more powerful processor.
The 4GB RAM variant we tested is priced at Rs 14,499. In a way, it challenges the starting variant of Realme’s powerful Realme 2 Pro. Realme 2 Pro comes with a better rear camera and has support for 4K video. If both these things are important for you, then we would suggest you to buy the Pro model. We had expected the camera performance of Realme U1 to be equal to or better than Realme 2 Pro. In this phone market, it will also face competition from Redmi Note 6 Pro and Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 (6GB) which offer good performance in every department.
There are some shortcomings in this Realme phone. There is no video stabilization and the low light performance of both the camera setups is very average. But the powerful processor, strong battery life, good camera performance in daylight, sharp display and beautiful design make this phone a good option.
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