Mini Capsule? – realme C55 Review

The Mini Capsule is a feature in realme’s entry level C line, and in this realme C55 review, we’ll take see what it really is.

I have been using the realme C55 on and off for over a month now. It’s the tech brands newest addition to their entry-level C lineup (at least at the moment of this writing). But before we talk about the device’s pros and cons, here’s what it comes with out-of-the-box.

What’s in the Box

The new C-series phone will come in realme’s usual yellow box. Inside is a quick user guide, safety guide, warranty card, clear rubber case, SIM ejector tool, USB-A to USB-C cable, 33W SUPERVOOC charger, and of course the realme C55 itself. You can check out my unboxing and first impressions video below.

Design and Build Quality

My review unit came in the Rainy Night colorway. It basically looks like rain showers during the night. I personally like it, but if you don’t, it also comes in the Sunshower colorway. Sunshower looks really cool as well, but it’s too flashy for me. The back also feels like glossy plastic, but I like the fact that it doesn’t pick up fingerprints that much. And like most entry-level and mid-range phones this days, it comes with flatter sides and rounded corners.

Button and port layout is the same as any standard realme device. The volume and power or wake buttons, which also doubles as the side-mounted fingerprint sensor is on the right side. The SIM card tray can be found on the left side. There’s really nothing on the top side of the device. And at the bottom side is a 3.5mm audio jack, mic, USB-C port, and a single firing speaker.

To be honest, I’m not really sure if I like the overall design of the phone. Personally, I sort of like the design, but it has almost the same design elements as its competitors. I really would have loved it if it has something that can set itself apart.

Display Quality

On the front of the device is a large 6.72-inch Punch-hole display, which I believe to be the largest in the C-series so far. The display is an IPS screen. Now this is an entry-level phone with a very reasonable price tag so we can’t really expect it to have an AMOLED display. Despite this though, it still produces vivid images. I’ve actually enjoyed watching videos on it. It also has a 90Hz refresh rate, so scrolling is smooth.

Audio Quality

Now sound quality is where it lacks though. It only has a single firing speaker at the bottom side. It doesn’t sound that bad, but it needs a little bit more oomph. It does get loud though, up to 200% volume. But louder doesn’t really translates to sounding better. It still lacks some of those satisfying low ends.

If you do enjoy listening to music over headphones or earphones, the then there’s no problem there. It still does have an audio jack, so you can hook up your wired headphones/earphones if you don’t have wireless ones.

Performance and Gaming

The C55 is powered by the tried and tested MediaTek Helio G88. It’s not the best, but still very well balanced chipset. It performs well on day-to-day use, from just browsing social media, to multitasking, and even to editing videos on CapCut.

For gaming, I’ve tested it on Asphalt 9 and Honkai Star Rail (I don’t really play Genshin Impact that much nowadays). The device runs smooth on Asphalt 9 with no hiccups whatsoever. It can also run Honkai Star Rail well on low settings. You do get a few stutters on certain animations, but not something that could take away from the overall gaming experience.

It is also very stable even on long gaming sessions, as you can see on my 3D Mark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test benchmark (98.4% stable). You can check out the rest of the benchmarks below.

User Experience

The realme C55 runs on realme UI 4.0, which is based on Android 13. I have reviewed and used many realme devices that I have come to enjoy its user interface. It’s smooth and snappy, and offer a bit of customizations as well. What I don’t like though is that it comes with a bit of bloatware. However, you can easily uninstall them if you like.

One new addition to the software side of things is its Mini Capsule. It is inspired by the iPhone’s Dynamic Island feature. It is called the Mini Capsule because it extends the punch-hole camera into an elongated pill-shaped window which displays certain information. For now, it is limited to displaying device charging, your data limit, and number of steps you’ve made. This is very good first step in this implementation, and I would’ve loved to see more functions. I hope realme will continue to develop this and apply it to future devices.

The device also has a large RAM and storage capacity to improve multitasking. And as for security, it sports a side-mounted fingerprint sensor which doubles as the power or wake button. It also offer Face Unlock.

Connectivity

It’s important to note that the C55 is an entry-level device, so we can’t really expect it to support 5G connectivity. It does support super-fast LTE-A, so you can still enjoy high speed internet. It also support 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi, as well as Bluetooth 5.2.

Battery Life and Charging

During my time with it throughout this realme C55 review, battery life has been pretty good. It can last a day even at heavy usage, with data on to browse social media, shoot and edit videos, and capture a few photos. All this throughout the day and I still got a few percentages left of battery life. Charging the device is also quick thanks to 33W SUPERVOOC charging support. It also comes with a 33W charger out-of-the-box, so repowering your device is a breeze.

Camera Quality

Finally, camera quality. Its main rear cameras are composed of a 64MP wide and a 2MP depth sensor. Picture quality are quite clear on perfect lighting. It suffers on low light situations though, but only a little bit. The depth sensor is not so great, but you get what you pay for since it is still a budget-friendly phone.

Like most phones nowadays, it also offer a bit of zoom. It can go up to 10x zoom, but the further you zoom, the greater the loss of quality. Below are some sample shots I took while drafting this realme C55 review.

realme C55 Specifications

As you can assume through this realme C55 review, the device is indeed a great option if you’re looking for a well-balanced smartphone that won’t hurt your wallet. It’s priced at PHP 8,999 for the 6GB+128GB variant, and PHP 10,999 for the 8GB+256GB variant. If you are interested in getting the device, you can purchase them on the links below.