realme Smart TV (43″) Review – Experience Android TV at Home
realme is expanding its product line-up with the launch of realme TechLife in the Philippines. Its two new devices the realme Smart TV and realme Watch S Pro was launched via the realme Facebook page.
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| Retail Box |
realme TechLife is a 360° digital lifestyle experience innovating the future of Smart Home Technology – from smart appliances to smart devices. The new realme Smart TV comes in 80cm (32”) and 108cm (43”) inches, we got a chance to test one, and here’s our own personal experience with this smart TV.
Unboxing and Setup
Just like any new TV, it comes in a standard TV box with lots of styrofoam for protection. Inside the box includes the realme smart TV, paper materials, remote, two AAA batteries, TV base stand, four screws, and audio/video cable.
Unboxing and Setup
Just like any new TV, it comes in a standard TV box with lots of styrofoam for protection. Inside the box includes the realme smart TV, paper materials, remote, two AAA batteries, TV base stand, four screws, and audio/video cable.
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| Contents of the box |
Installation is easy, it can be installed on the wall using a wall mount (not included) or use the base stand and placed in your living room. The power cord is already attached to the TV just plug it into any available 220v power outlet to use.
Design and Display
There is really nothing special about the TV design, most of them come in a plastic body with connection ports, and a display at the front. But the realme smart TV features an almost bezel-less design, with only 8.7mm black bezels on all sides, except at the bottom which is thicker and has the realme logo, and hosts a power LED and IR receiver.
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| Back panel |
It’s actually a nice-looking TV that can easily blend at home. There is no included wall-mount inside the retail box, which is a bit sad since this would sit better when installed on the wall.
This smart TV sports a 43-inch display panel with Full-HD 1920 × 1080 pixels resolution with up to 400 nits brighter, and a 60Hz refresh rate which is standard on most TVs within its price-point. Given its display size and specs, it’s more than good enough to watch our favorite TV shows on Netflix, and other streaming sites and play on our PlayStation.
Connectivity and Ports
Other than a good quality display panel, one of the more important features we look at on TVs is connectivity both wired and wireless, and plenty of ports, and the realme smart TV does not disappoint.
This Smart TV comes with 10 total ports at the back, now that’s plenty. It has 3x HDMI (one of which supports ARC), 2x USB, 1x LAN, SPDIF, AV, TV tuner/antenna, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The two HDMI ports, one USB port, and the LAN port can be found at the bottom which is a bit difficult to reach when mounted on the wall, while the rest of the ports can be found on the left side for easy access.
For wireless, it has Infrared, Bluetooth 5.0, and Wi-Fi (2.4GHz only), we do find that Bluetooth connectivity is an added feature since most smart TV within its price-point usually has WIFI only for wireless connection.
In terms of audio, this smart TV packs a 24W full-range dynamic speaker and a silk dome tweeter with Dolby Audio, and realme claims that it has a cinematic surround sound experience.
Smart Remote
Surprisingly the realme Smart TV remote comes in a slim compact design with limited keys, which makes it easy to use, and it’s also comfortable to hold and use. It needs two AAA-size batteries, that come bundled with the package.
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| Easy to use remote control |
The buttons include the usual power key, mute key, circular d-pad directional control, back key, home key (circular button), menu key, source key, and volume control buttons. There are dedicated keys for Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, and Google Assistant buttons with their logo.
The buttons have good space between each other, except for the Google assistant which is in between the volume up & down and there are times we keep on pressing the assistant key by mistake instead of the volume key.
The buttons have good space between each other, except for the Google assistant which is in between the volume up & down and there are times we keep on pressing the assistant key by mistake instead of the volume key.
The remote supports infrared and Bluetooth connection, with a Bluetooth connection there is no need to be in the line of sight to use it. Pairing is simple and easy, there is also a way to check the remote battery percentage by going to the Settings > Remotes & accessories menu.
Hardware and Android TV Software
This TV is powered by 64-bit MediaTek SoC with Mali-470 MP3 GPU and has 1GB of RAM and 8GB internal storage, but only 4GB is available for the user, understandable since you won’t be installing games to play on this TV.
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| Android TV System |
Out of the box, it runs on Android TV based on Android 9 Pie. Power-up takes about 30 seconds to load the IU.
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| Internal storage |
It has a simple interface and comes with pre-installed apps which are Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon Prime Video, these apps can easily be launched by pressing the dedicated button at the remote.
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| Simple User Interface |
There are also other Google apps that include Play Movies, Play Music, Play Games, and Play Store. Using the AI point, it’s quick to open apps by simply long-pressing the home button.
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| Pango web browser |
A minor issue we encounter: If you keep the TV on standby mode for a long time, there are times when the TV won’t wake-up up by pressing the power button on the remote via Bluetooth, we still need to point the remote towards the IR line of sight to activate it again.
This smart TV comes with a Chromecast built-in, with this it is easy to cast or share your Android smartphone’s screen to the TV via a wireless connection. Casting videos have good quality but we did experience some lag, but the overall experience is good.
This smart TV also has a one-touch Google Assistant, just press the Google button on the remote and simply ask questions you want, such as the weather, calendar, and much more, which is another cool feature.
Performance
This smart TV comes with a 43-inch display panel with a 178° viewing angle, it has Chroma Boost technology to enhance the overall viewing experience, it also supports up to 400 nits peak brightness which is great for home theater effect.
The brightness level is good and color reproduction is also nice, but for personal reference, we did tweak some of the settings such as the standard brightness, contrast, saturation, sharpness, gamma control, white balance, and more to get our personal preference.
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| Color Settings |
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| Picture mode |
There are pre-set picture modes to choose such as User, Standard, Vivid, Sport, Movie, Game, and Energy Saving modes, we do find the movie mode suitable, and we use the game mode when playing on PS4.
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| Full HD Content |
Watching 1080p (Full HD) content on this smart TV looks great with sharp and vibrant colors after the tweak and the details are good. While 720p videos are also good but not as sharp but still enjoyable to watch.
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| Netflix Interactive features |
On Netflix this smart TV supports interactive features, which is another way to enjoy watching shows that allow you to make choices for the characters, shaping the story as you go. Each choice leads to a different adventure, so you can watch again and again, and see a new story each time. Now that is a cool feature that other smart TV does not support.
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| Sound quality settings |
In terms of audio, the realme TV is equipped with two pairs of symmetrical speakers, each comprising one full-range speaker and one tweeter capable of delivering 24W output. The speakers sound good, the vocals are clear and crisp, and the volume level is great good enough to use when watching TV local TV shows.
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| Bluetooth connectivity |
But to get the immersive cinema experience it is a good better to pair the TV with a nice sound bar, and this smart TV supports cinematic surround audio, and realme has a 100w soundbar to complete the multimedia experience.
The overall picture quality of the realme smart TV is great in its price segment. The TV panel is bright, the contrast is good and the color reproduction is good it just needs some customization based on your preferences. Overall we loved having realme Smart TV in our living room to enjoy our family time watching our favorite show on Netflix.
realme SmartTV Specs:
Android TV based on Android 9 Pie
Display (43″ model): 1920×1080 pixel resolution
LED panel, 60Hz refresh rate, 16.7M colors, HLG and HDR10 support
400 nits peak brightness
24W Quad Stereo Speakers, Dolby Audio support
MediaTek SoC, 4x 1.1GHz Cortex-A53 processor
Mali-470 MP3 GPU
1GB RAM @ 2,133MHz / 8GB Storage
Infrared
Bluetooth 5.0
Wi-Fi (2.4GHz only)
DLNA, 3x HDMI, 2x USB, 1x LAN, 1x SPDIF, 1x AV, 1x Antenna, 1x 3.5mm audio jack
Remote control – IR and Bluetooth connectivity
Dimensions (43″ model): 967.5 x 604 x 233 mm (with stand)
Weight (43″ model): 6.8kg with stand
Display (43″ model): 1920×1080 pixel resolution
LED panel, 60Hz refresh rate, 16.7M colors, HLG and HDR10 support
400 nits peak brightness
24W Quad Stereo Speakers, Dolby Audio support
MediaTek SoC, 4x 1.1GHz Cortex-A53 processor
Mali-470 MP3 GPU
1GB RAM @ 2,133MHz / 8GB Storage
Infrared
Bluetooth 5.0
Wi-Fi (2.4GHz only)
DLNA, 3x HDMI, 2x USB, 1x LAN, 1x SPDIF, 1x AV, 1x Antenna, 1x 3.5mm audio jack
Remote control – IR and Bluetooth connectivity
Dimensions (43″ model): 967.5 x 604 x 233 mm (with stand)
Weight (43″ model): 6.8kg with stand
Pros
Certified Android TV
Good Display panel quality
Clean and simple UI
Slim Bezels
Plenty connectivity options
Full HD content
Nice audio better than other brands
Easy to use smart remote
Cons
Power cable built-in not user-replaceable
Hard to reach ports
TV stands are not that firmed
No 5GHz WIFI support
Minor bugs in the software
Final Thoughts
This Android smart TV from realme is done right, it offers a good quality display panel, audio, and plenty of connectivity options. It does take some learning curve if you are coming from standard TV, but once you get to know how to use the remote, which is by the way easy to use you can fully enjoy watching on this TV. There are some minor issues but this can be easily fixed via OTA updates in the future version. If you are in the market for a new Smart TV, the realme Smart TV 43-inch is a good option.
The realme Smart TV is priced ₱11,990 for the 32-inch while the 43-inch has a price tag of SRP ₱18,990 and it’s initially available on Shopee, at the Shopee 3.3 Mega Shopping Sale, MIDNIGHT 12NN. You can get the realme Smart TV at a discounted price of ₱8,990 for the 32-inch and only ₱15,990 for the 43-inch during the Shopee 3.3 Mega Shopping Sale using the voucher code: GADGETZONE8.
Note: 10 lucky buyers of March 3 of the realme Smart TV will get a free realme Soundbar; with a free, 12-month extended warranty worth 3,990 for the 1st batch of buyers.
Certified Android TV
Good Display panel quality
Clean and simple UI
Slim Bezels
Plenty connectivity options
Full HD content
Nice audio better than other brands
Easy to use smart remote
Cons
Power cable built-in not user-replaceable
Hard to reach ports
TV stands are not that firmed
No 5GHz WIFI support
Minor bugs in the software
Final Thoughts
This Android smart TV from realme is done right, it offers a good quality display panel, audio, and plenty of connectivity options. It does take some learning curve if you are coming from standard TV, but once you get to know how to use the remote, which is by the way easy to use you can fully enjoy watching on this TV. There are some minor issues but this can be easily fixed via OTA updates in the future version. If you are in the market for a new Smart TV, the realme Smart TV 43-inch is a good option.
The realme Smart TV is priced ₱11,990 for the 32-inch while the 43-inch has a price tag of SRP ₱18,990 and it’s initially available on Shopee, at the Shopee 3.3 Mega Shopping Sale, MIDNIGHT 12NN. You can get the realme Smart TV at a discounted price of ₱8,990 for the 32-inch and only ₱15,990 for the 43-inch during the Shopee 3.3 Mega Shopping Sale using the voucher code: GADGETZONE8.
Note: 10 lucky buyers of March 3 of the realme Smart TV will get a free realme Soundbar; with a free, 12-month extended warranty worth 3,990 for the 1st batch of buyers.
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