Realme 2 Review

• Overview
• Design and Build Quality
• Display
• Performance
• Software and User Interface
• Camera
• Battery Life
• Connectivity and Networking
• Additional Features
• Comparison with Other Related Phones
• Pros and Cons
• Conclusion

Overview

The Realme 2 is a budget-friendly smartphone that offers a blend of style, performance, and affordability. With its eye-catching diamond-cut design and vibrant color options, this device is sure to turn heads. The 6.2-inch notched display provides an immersive viewing experience, while the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 processor ensures smooth performance. The Realme 2 comes in two variants - 3GB RAM + 32GB storage and 4GB RAM + 64GB storage, giving you ample space for all your apps, photos, and videos. The dual-camera setup captures stunning photos, and the large 4,230mAh battery keeps you going all day long. With its attractive design and impressive features, the Realme 2 offers excellent value for money.

Design and Build Quality

The Realme 2 has a visually appealing design with its diamond-cut pattern on the back, available in three attractive colors - Diamond Blue, Diamond Black, and Diamond Red. This design element gives the phone a premium and sleek look. The phone has a 6.2-inch screen with a wider notch on the top, which adds to its modern design. The slim and thin build of the phone, weighing only 168 grams, makes it easy to hold and carry. The materials used in the construction of the phone feel sturdy and durable, ensuring a robust build quality. The back panel houses a dual-camera setup, an oval fingerprint sensor, and the Realme branding, with a clean and minimalistic design. The placement of buttons and controls is well thought out, offering easy accessibility. The bezels around the screen are slim, maximizing the display area. The frame of the phone is solid and adds to its overall sturdiness. The grip of the phone is comfortable, allowing for one-handed usability. Overall, the Realme 2 combines aesthetics, ergonomics, and a premium look and feel in its design and build, making it an attractive option for users looking for a stylish and well-constructed smartphone.

Display

The Realme 2 sports a 6.2-inch display with a notch design, which adds a modern touch to its appearance. The screen size is quite generous, providing ample space for media consumption and gaming. However, the display resolution is only 720p, which is a step down from its predecessor. As a result, the screen may not be as sharp and detailed as some users would prefer.

In terms of LCD technology, the Realme 2 utilizes an LCD panel, which is known for its good color accuracy and vibrant visuals. The colors on the display are vibrant and pop, enhancing the overall viewing experience. The brightness levels are decent, making the screen readable even in outdoor environments.

The touch responsiveness of the Realme 2 is smooth and snappy, ensuring a seamless user experience. The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass, which adds durability and safeguards against scratches and minor impacts.

While the Realme 2 does not offer features like HDR or wide color gamut, the viewing angles are decent, allowing for comfortable viewing from different angles without significant color distortion. The device also lacks an always-on display feature and a blue light filter for eye protection. However, it does offer adaptive brightness, which automatically adjusts the screen brightness based on ambient lighting conditions.

Overall, the Realme 2's display is satisfactory for its price range, offering good color accuracy, decent brightness levels, and smooth touch responsiveness. However, the lower resolution may be a drawback for users seeking a more crisp and detailed viewing experience.

Performance

The Realme 2 comes equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 chipset, which provides decent performance for its price range. The octa-core processor ensures smooth multitasking and app loading speeds. While it may not be as powerful as higher-end chipsets, it offers a lag-free user experience for everyday tasks.

In terms of gaming capabilities, the Realme 2 can handle casual and mid-range games with ease. The GPU benchmarks show that it is capable of delivering satisfactory graphics scores. Gamers can enjoy a smooth gaming experience with moderate settings on popular games. However, heavy and graphics-intensive games may require lower graphics settings for optimal performance.

The Realme 2's CPU benchmarks indicate satisfactory processor performance, allowing for efficient multitasking. The system optimization ensures that the phone runs smoothly without any noticeable lag or performance hiccups.

Thermal management is also well-handled on the Realme 2, with the device maintaining a reasonable temperature during prolonged usage or gaming sessions. This is crucial for preventing overheating and maintaining consistent performance.

While specific benchmark tests and scores were not provided, the Realme 2's overall performance analysis suggests that it offers a good balance between processor efficiency and GPU efficiency. It may not be the most powerful device in its segment, but it delivers on its promise of providing a smooth and lag-free user experience for everyday usage and moderate gaming.

Overall, the Realme 2's performance is commendable for its price point, offering satisfactory CPU and GPU performance, smooth multitasking, and a lag-free user experience. It is a suitable choice for users who prioritize everyday tasks and casual gaming without breaking the bank.

Software and User Interface

The Realme 2 runs on ColorOS 5.1, which is based on Android 8.1 Oreo. This operating system provides a familiar interface for Android users and offers a range of customization options. ColorOS 5.1 has a user-friendly interface with smooth animations and transitions, making it pleasant to navigate through the phone's features.

One of the advantages of ColorOS 5.1 is the ability to customize the phone's appearance and settings to suit individual preferences. Users can change the theme, icon styles, and fonts, allowing for a personalized experience. The operating system also supports gesture-based navigation, which can be a convenient alternative to traditional navigation buttons.

In terms of pre-installed apps, the Realme 2 comes with a few useful applications such as a file manager, a music player, and a video player. However, it also includes some bloatware, such as additional apps from Oppo and third-party services. While these apps may not be necessary for everyone, they can be easily uninstalled or disabled if desired.

Overall, the software experience on the Realme 2 is smooth and responsive, thanks to the combination of ColorOS 5.1 and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 processor. The operating system provides a good balance between user customization and ease of use, making it suitable for both tech-savvy users and those new to smartphones.

Camera

The Realme 2 features a dual-camera setup with 13-megapixel and 2-megapixel lenses, offering users the ability to capture a wide range of shots. The primary 13-megapixel lens ensures good image quality with sharpness and detail. The secondary 2-megapixel lens helps in creating depth-of-field effects in portrait mode. The camera also supports HDR mode, allowing for better dynamic range in challenging lighting conditions.

In terms of low-light performance, the Realme 2 struggles a bit due to its smaller aperture and sensor size. However, the phone does offer a night mode that enhances low-light sensitivity and reduces noise in images, making it suitable for night photography.

The camera app on the Realme 2 is equipped with various features such as AI scene recognition, which automatically detects the scene and applies the appropriate settings for optimal results. It also offers panorama mode for capturing wide-angle shots, and a pro mode for manual control over settings like aperture, ISO, and shutter speed.

Video recording on the Realme 2 is limited to 1080p resolution, but it does offer video stabilization for smoother footage. Slow-motion video and time-lapse modes are also available, allowing users to get creative with their videos.

Overall, the camera performance of the Realme 2 is decent, offering good image quality in daylight photography and some improvements in low-light conditions with the night mode. However, it may not be the best option for users who prioritize camera capabilities in their smartphone.

Battery Life

The Realme 2 comes with a sizable 4,230mAh battery, which is a standout feature of the device. This battery capacity ensures long-lasting battery life, allowing users to enjoy extended hours of video playback, music streaming, gaming, and internet browsing without worrying about running out of power. The phone also boasts good power efficiency and optimization features, helping to maximize the battery usage and prolong its lifespan. While the Realme 2 does not support fast charging or wireless charging options, the charging speed and efficiency are decent, allowing for a relatively quick recharge. Additionally, the phone offers a battery saver mode and effective battery management options to further optimize the battery performance. Overall, the Realme 2's battery delivers impressive endurance, making it a reliable device for users who prioritize long-lasting battery life.

Connectivity and Networking

The Realme 2 offers a range of connectivity options to ensure a seamless user experience. It supports dual SIM cards, allowing users to easily switch between two different network providers or plans. Additionally, the phone is compatible with 4G LTE networks, ensuring fast data speeds for browsing, streaming, and downloading content.

In terms of wireless connectivity, the Realme 2 supports Wi-Fi, allowing users to connect to home or public networks for internet access. It also supports Bluetooth, enabling wireless communication with other devices such as headphones, speakers, and smartwatches. The Bluetooth version is not specified, but it is likely to be a recent version to ensure compatibility with a wide range of devices.

For navigation purposes, the Realme 2 comes with GPS, which provides accurate positioning and navigation information. This is especially useful when using navigation apps or finding directions to a specific location.

In terms of physical connectivity, the Realme 2 uses a micro USB port instead of the newer USB-C standard. This may be a drawback for some users who prefer the convenience and versatility of USB-C. However, it still allows for charging and data transfer, albeit at a slower rate compared to USB-C.

Overall, the Realme 2 offers a decent range of connectivity options, including dual SIM support, 4G LTE compatibility, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. While it may lack some of the more advanced features such as 5G or wireless charging, it provides the essential connectivity options needed for everyday use.

Additional Features

Comparison with Other Related Phones

When comparing the Realme 2 to other related devices in the market, it's clear that this budget smartphone offers good value for money. In terms of market positioning, the Realme 2 competes with other affordable smartphones such as the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 and the Honor 9 Lite.

In terms of specifications, the Realme 2 features a 6.2-inch notched display, which is comparable to the Redmi Note 5's 5.99-inch display and the Honor 9 Lite's 5.65-inch display. However, the Realme 2 has a lower resolution of 720p compared to the 1080p displays on its competitors. This means that the Realme 2's display may not be as sharp as those of its competitors.

When it comes to performance, the Realme 2 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 chip, which is similar to the Redmi Note 5's Snapdragon 625 and the Honor 9 Lite's Kirin 659. However, benchmark tests have shown that the Realme 2's performance is slightly slower compared to its competitors.

In terms of unique features, the Realme 2 stands out with its diamond-inspired design on the back, which sets it apart from the more generic designs of the Redmi Note 5 and the Honor 9 Lite. Additionally, the Realme 2 offers a large 4,230mAh battery, which is a standout feature compared to its competitors.

When considering pricing, the Realme 2 is priced at around $120, which is slightly lower than the Redmi Note 5 and the Honor 9 Lite. This makes the Realme 2 a more cost-effective option for budget-conscious consumers.

In terms of market competition, the Realme 2 faces stiff competition from other affordable smartphones in the market. However, its unique design and impressive battery life give it a competitive advantage. Overall, the Realme 2 offers good value for money and is a strong contender in the budget smartphone market.

Pros and Cons

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Realme 2 is a budget-friendly smartphone that offers some notable features. Its attractive diamond-cut design and slim build make it visually appealing, while the decent performance and smooth navigation enhance the user experience. The inclusion of a dual-camera setup and face unlock feature are positive additions. However, the lower screen resolution and average camera quality may be a drawback for some users. The battery life is impressive, providing long hours of usage. Overall, the Realme 2 offers good value for money, making it a suitable option for those looking for an affordable smartphone with decent features.