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realme 2 Hands On Review

realme 2

realme is a sub-brand of OPPO and has already established a local office in the Philippines. Known for offering feature-packed devices at an affordable price point and aimed at the entry-level market segment. It's just a matter of time before they officially announce the new realme 2 and realme 2 Pro in the local market.
 
The new realme 2 is an OPPO-inspired Android smartphone, so let's take a closer look at it and see how it stacks up as an entry-level device.

realme 2 Specs

ColorOS 5.1, Android 8.1 Oreo
6.2-inch FullView 2.5D Curved Glass 19:9 aspect ratio (1520 x 720 resolution) at 271ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection
1.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 Octa-core processor
Adreno 506 GPU
3GB RAM / 32GB internal storage
Expandable memory up to 256GB via microSD
Dual SIM, Dual Standby (nano, dedicated)
Dual 4G VoLTE, HSPA+
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
13MP (f/2.2 aperture) + 2MP (f/2.4 aperture) rear cameras, LED flash
8MP selfie camera, 1.12μm pixel size, f/2.2 aperture
Fingerprint scanner, face unlock
Bluetooth 4.2
USB OTG
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
4,230mAh battery
Colors: Diamond Black, Diamond Red, Diamond Blue
168g  

realme 2 Design
Just like the new OPPO F9, the Realme 2 has a fiberglass body with a matte finish and glossy diamond-cut design at the back, this makes the device looks really nice and has a premium look. Too bad the back cover can easily pick up fingerprints but surprisingly not too slippery, good thing it comes with a free soft jelly case for protection.

At the back is the 13-megapixel + 2-megapixel dual rear camera dual camera, fingerprint scanner, and below is the brand name. Going to the front is the 6.2-inch FullView 2.5D Curved Glass with a 19:9 aspect ratio display and has 88.8% screen-to-body ratio which is not bad at all. 

It also has a full notch at the top of the screen, it's where the 8-megapixel selfie camera and earpiece are placed, over time you'll get used to it and sometimes you won't even notice not unless you play some games in full view.

The screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3 and also comes with a pre-installed screen protector which is great now you can use it out of the box knowing it's protected from scratches.


To the left of the Realme 2 are the volume rocker and SIM tray that supports 2x nano SIM and 1x microSD card, while the power button is on the right side. Buttons are easy to locate and it's responsive when pressed. At the bottom is the micro-USB port flanked single loudspeaker and the 3.5mm audio jack.

The Realme 2 will be available in Diamond Black, Diamond Red, and Diamond Blue colors, in this review we received the Diamond Blue color.

Display
Just like we mention the Realme 2 sports a 6.2-inch FullView display with 2.5D Curved glass and has a 19:9 aspect ratio with 1520 x 720 pixels resolution at 271 pixels per inch. The colors are good and the viewing angles are great, but the brightness level is not that bright and we had a hard time using it under direct sunlight.

Using the Realme 2 to watch videos and YouTube is great, but when watching videos on fullview mode the notch is noticeable, too bad it does not have the option to turn off the notch. But overall this device has a good display great for everyday use.

realme 2 Performance
Under the hood, this device is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 Octa-core processor clocked at 1.8GHz with Adreno 506 for graphics, 3GB RAM, and 32GB internal storage that is expandable up to 256GB via a dedicated microSD card.

 
realme 2 Game Test

Realme 2 has good internals, it can handle the daily task as our main smartphone. Multitasking is not a problem, was able to switch between apps with a slight delay but bearable. We installed some games from the Google Play store like Contra Return, Streetfighter Zombie Frontier 3, and Asphalt 9 so that we can test its gameplay capability.

Playing games with Realme 2 is great, the games we installed were all playable with smooth performance with minimal lag, sure it does not have a Full HD+ AMOLED screen but the graphics are more than good enough to enjoy playing games.

We did not experience any heat-up with the device even when we were playing Asphalt 9 for more than 1 hour now that's nice since you can use this device to play for an extended time, just make sure you play in your free time.

Color OS 5.1
Just like OPPO smartphones, Realme 2 also has Color OS version 5.1 on top of the Android 8.1.0 operating system. You will feel right at home when using the Realme 2 out of the box since it has the same look and feels just like OPPO devices. It does come with pre-installed apps but the good thing is they can be uninstalled if you don't want them, this is to make room for the apps you want.

Color OS comes with a lot of features, you just need to dig at the Settings option. Some of the useful features are the Dual Apps, a three-finger screenshot shortcut to easily take screenshots, Themes for customization, and Notch full-screen multi-tasking' which displays shortcuts to recently used apps and toggles to take a screenshot, disable notifications, and start screen recording, this can be accessed when in landscape mode by swiping from the notch to the screen.

In terms of security, it supports a lock screen passcode, Fingerprint, and Face ID. It also has a Privacy passcode that can be used to lock apps and keep other important files safe.

realme 2

Other Features
The Realme 2 features a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and also supports face unlock, providing multiple biometric options for unlocking the device. It has dual SIM capability with dedicated slots for SIM cards and a microSD card. The phone supports 4G VoLTE, Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

realme 2 Cameras
Its equipped with a 13-megapixel primary camera with f/2.2 aperture and a 2-megapixel secondary camera at the back with LED light, at the front it has an 8-megapixel fixed focus camera with f/2.2 aperture and an 85-degree field of view.

realme 2

The camera app is easy to use, it supports multiple modes such as Timelapse, Video, Photo, Portrait, Sticker, and Panorama. The Sticker mode, it has 28 AR stickers you can choose from, and it can be used on both the main camera and selfies. Interestingly the Panorama mode can also be used in taking selfies, this is great if you want to take a groufie together with your friends. The camera view can be set to standard, square, and full-screen view.

The main camera can capture detailed pictures in daylight, and colors were reasonably accurate but it seems that has poor dynamic range, and focusing is fair. Images taken in low light condition seem to suffer from washed-out colors and lack details.

For the selfies, the AI on the camera works well in detecting gender, skin tone, and even guessing the age based on its algorithm and it looks like it also uses OPPO's beauty database to use as a reference in analyzing the pictures taken. It can record videos up to 1080p for both the front and rear cameras, and the videos taken are good enough to share on social media.x

Battery Life Performance
The Realme 2 is equipped with a 4,230mAh battery now that great, compared to OPPO F9 which has only a 3,500 mAh Battery. Our battery experience with realme 2 was great, were able to get a whole day of use that's from 9am up to 7pm use as our main smartphone, and it still has some battery power by the time we got home. Charging the battery takes time since it does not support fast charging, it comes with an Oppo-branded standard 10W charger, and charging the battery from 10% to full charge takes around 3 hours.

Verdict
The realme 2 is an affordable smartphone that strikes a good balance between design and features, performance, and battery life. It may not be able to hold its own against more expensive devices, but it does a good job considering its price point. The battery life is impressive, it can go an entire day without needing to bring along a powerbank. The design is attractive, and the screen resolution is good, but it might be better if it had a Full HD resolution. Low-light photography performance and not having the latest version of Android are both potential downsides. The realme 2 is a great option for those who are on a tight budget but still value performance and battery life.
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