Content

1. Contents of delivery
2. TECH SPECS
3. Positioning
4. Design, dimensions, controls
5. Display
6. Battery
7. Memory, chipset, performance
8. Communication capabilities
9. Camera
10. Software
11. Competitors
12. Impressions

Contents of delivery

• Smartphone
• Charger 10W (5V / 2A)
• MicroUSB cable
• SIM card tray eject tool
• Protective film (already glued on)
• User manual, warranty card

Positioning

There seems to be nothing left of the once slender and logical range of models in the realme budget line. The C3 was followed by the C11. Where did models 4 through 10 go? Probably, we will not know anymore. I would understand if realme C11 was significantly superior in its filling to its predecessor, but no. If you look at the characteristics of a smartphone, without knowing its official name, then a hypothetical variant of the name may be something in the style of “realme C3s” or “realme C3 Lite”, smartphones are so identical.

Before us is an inexpensive smartphone with a high-capacity battery that can work as a portable battery. At the same time, at first glance, realme C11 does not have any pronounced “tendencies” as such. Well, let’s try to find them in the course of a closer acquaintance and understand the mysterious plans of marketers from the Middle Kingdom.

Design, dimensions, controls

Visually, they tried to make the smartphone as different as possible from its predecessor. The textured back has a nice mint green color, not as bright as the blue in the realme C3, but it looks pretty. Gray is frankly boring and not eye-catching. The camera block became square, while the number of lenses was reduced to two: the macro camera, which is not the most demanded element in this price category, fell victim to optimization. Now the cameras do not protrude so much from the body, this is a plus, the phone lies on the table almost flat and only slightly loosens when you press the upper right side of the display.

On the left edge of the back of the realme C11 there is a decorative and slightly more glossy strip, from above it captures the camera unit, from below – the manufacturer’s logo that has increased in size. The main organs have moved from the right edge to the left, and the fingerprint has not moved anywhere, it simply is not here. The only biometric authentication method is hidden in the infamous waterdrop notch at the top of the screen. If we had to visually change the smartphone to the end, then it was possible to make a dotted cut. Of course, this could have made production more expensive, and, apparently, there were still body parts from the C3. Or are there other reasons? Let’s leave reflections for the conclusion.

From the front side, the smartphone is unremarkable, the design is frankly already boring, somebody forbid the cutouts. Due to its texture, the back material does not slip in the hands, which is only a plus in the context of the absence of a complete cover. The assembly does not cause any complaints, the monolithic block does not react in any way to compression and twisting. It’s good that in this price category, manufacturers in their mass no longer allow such oversights.

Display

A little more, and in the price range of up to 10 rubles, you can find many smartphones with a Full HD screen resolution. At least, I want to believe in it, because at the moment there is no one to make a company for separate faceless smartphones of unknown manufacturers. So in realme C000 with a diagonal of 11 inches, we see HD + resolution, which, in general, seems to be used in everyday mode, but I want to forget such resolutions as a relic of the past. Definitely, HD + is more preferable in terms of autonomy and the same cost of components, but why not make a 6.5 mAh battery, but Full HD? And the wolves are full, and the cameras do not stick out above the body. Too large capacity? Samsung has to say this with their upcoming smartphone with a 6000mAh battery.

The screen itself is moderately bright, moderately contrasting, Gorilla Glass 3 is responsible for protection. The factory film is glued extremely firmly, it is likely that it can last for a long time with sane careful use. A couple of times I used my smartphone as a navigator, when a friend sat down with his device. Quite nothing, the display did not disappoint, the readability is good, as well as the responsiveness of the interface. In this role, the smartphone will prove itself more than adequate.

Battery

Despite the fact that the battery capacity of realme C3 and C11 is 5000 mAh, the novelty, thanks to a more energy efficient processor, lasts longer. This is at least evident in the video looping test, the result is in favor of the realme C11, which showed 27 and a half hours, which is 7 hours more than the similar result of its predecessor. But realme C11 also charges for almost three hours.

It took me almost three days to completely discharge the battery in mixed mode, every day the smartphone was used as the main one: calls, instant messengers, mail, calendar synchronization, occasionally watched YouTube, mainly listened to music from it in the background. The screen lasted 4 hours on average every day, the main work was done in parallel on a PC. In place, the functionality of reverse charging via OTG is a useful feature, especially with such a battery.

Memory, chipset, performance

The realme C11 went on sale in a 2/32 GB configuration, which, of course, is quite sad for 2020, even if there is a microSD slot. The frankly small amount of RAM limits the gaming experience in “heavy” games a la PUBG and Call of Duty Mobile with low graphics settings. In this configuration, games display stable 52-54 frames per second, the smoothness of the games interface is not the best. The PerfDog utility on my smartphone kept crashing, I had to close all applications except the game, an indicative moment. The processor seems to have the letter G in its name, which is responsible for games, but according to impressions it works out more towards energy efficiency. Its heating in 20 minutes of play averaged 42 degrees, which was slightly felt on the back of the device. Undoubtedly, it is possible to play, and even it will not be difficult to win, but you should not expect heights of productivity here, as well as a pleasant experience from the game.

The interface speed is average, sometimes the system “thinks” for a while, not fast memory affects. The performance of realme C11 is not the worst, but compared to its predecessor, there is nothing to boast of in this parameter. This is also confirmed by synthetic tests, according to which, in general, one can form an opinion about whether it is worth playing on such “hardware” in something demanding on the graphics and the processor.

Communication capabilities

The smartphone uses one speaker with an average volume margin. For those for whom it will not be enough, they left a 3.5 mm jack, so you don’t have to put your favorite wired headphones far away. But the NFC module in realme C11 is not provided, which puts the smartphone at a frankly disadvantageous position in comparison with competitors, we will return to this point very soon. There are no problems with the volume of calls, the level of audibility is normal, nothing outstanding, but there are no complaints either.

Camera

The configuration of the main camera speaks for itself, there is no need to wait for enchanting shooting results. Yes, bearable frames during the day, but nothing more, at night and at dusk it is more difficult to get a more or less adequate frame. The portrait lens is trying with might and main, but its work is not very fast, right in the viewfinder you can see how it blurs the background step by step.

There is an approximation of 4x, it works for both photos and videos. As they say, for social networks it will do, but you have to try and put in extra effort. There is no optical stabilization for video shooting.

Sample video (MP4, 64 MB) >>>

Software

Everything is unchanged here – a convenient and pleasant interface realme UI, a twin brother of ColorOS from Oppo, which, however, is not a reproach or a complaint, a step, in my opinion, is adequate, and then, you see, something of your own will turn out to do.

Competitors

There are two direct competitors. First of all, this is the younger version of realme C3, offering for the same 8 rubles a slightly faster processor, a fingerprint scanner and a third more RAM. Well, the main rival is Redmi 990C, which is about to appear on our market, it seems that it was this announcement that caused the appearance of the review hero on sale. The smartphones are identical in terms of configuration (the Redmi 9C has a fingerprint scanner) and are very similar visually. If the Russian version of the smartphone has NFC, then realme C9 is clearly not good, the image of the “best” company is strong.

If you add 1000 rubles, then a lot of smartphones with both NFC and a fingerprint will become available (realme C3, Samsung Galaxy A11, you can also swing at HTC Wildfire E2 in a 4/64 configuration, however, the announced start of sales turned out to be premature, judging by the lack of You can save the same thousand by choosing Honor 8A, however, it is less and less available on sale, and the battery capacity will be less than that of the realme C11.

Impressions

It seems that realme actually rushed to roll out a competitor to the upcoming smartphone from Xiaomi, otherwise I can’t explain its positioning in any way: an almost complete copy of the C3 in a different design with a less powerful processor and a weaker memory configuration, without NFC, which only typed popularity in Russia during the recent self-isolation. The visual resemblance to the Redmi 9C is in line with the trend, one look at the realme V5 is enough to understand this.

Apart from thinking about the place of a smartphone on the market, we can say that this is a typical ultra-budgetary device with a capacious battery, capable of charging other gadgets, shooting tolerably and allowing you to run into the “royal battle” at low settings. Of the advantages, one can also note the visually pleasant and tactilely comfortable texture of the back with a thin camera block. Autonomy is expected to be high, but there are questions about performance.

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