Realme C65 5G review: a powerful budget 5G smartphone

The Realme C65 5G is the brand’s new budget 5G smartphone, and it arrives on the scene with some pretty bold claims. Realme calls it the fastest entry-level 5G smartphone under Rs 10,000, and to back it up, it uses the all-new MediaTek Dimensity 6300 SoC to power the smartphone. In addition to the new chipset, the device also boasts a segment-first 120Hz refresh rate panel. The Realme C65 5G on paper looks primed to deliver what it promises, but does it walk the talk in real-life usage? Find out in my Realme C65 5G review. 

Verdict

The Realme C65 5G stands out as one of the best performance-focused smartphones in its price range. In addition to its performance prowess, the smartphone offers a smooth 120Hz refresh rate, good daylight cameras and an impressive battery backup. While its low-light photography might not excite camera enthusiasts, the smartphone is an easy recommendation for power users seeking a capable budget 5G device.

Design 

Realme seems to be streamlining the design of its smartphone lineup, with the Realme C65 5G taking a page from the recently launched Realme P series smartphones. The C65 sports the same feather-like design elements and a round camera module at the back that looks similar to a watch face. At first glance, the smartphone looks nearly identical to the Realme P1 5G (review), but some subtle differences become visible when it’s observed closely.

The SIM tray has been moved up top, while the headphone jack has moved to the bottom. The in-hand feeling of the phone is also similar to the Realme P1, with a comparable weight of 190g and 7.89mm thickness. The smartphone also boasts IP54 dust and water resistance, so you’ve got improved durability. If you like the aesthetics of the P1 5G, the C65 is bound to please. 

Display

The Realme C65 5G features a 6.67-inch IPS LCD panel, with HD+ (720 x 1604p) resolution, a high refresh rate of 120Hz and a peak brightness level of 650nits. The phone boasts the highest refresh rate in the sub-Rs 10K segment currently, with 90Hz as the current standard. The UI and apps are well optimised for the high refresh rate, and it elevates day-to-day usage with a buttery smooth scrolling experience. The display offers satisfactory viewing angles and is comparatively brighter than some of its counterparts in the segment.

The tall display helps with the multimedia experience, and the speaker does a decent job of improving it. I typically read e-books on my phone during my commute or at night, and I quite enjoyed the experience on this phone. The brightness is sufficient for indoor use, and it can work outdoors when it’s not very bright. The brightness, however, falls a bit short when it comes to extremely bright environments, like noontime in Delhi these days. The side-mounted fingerprint scanner works well and helps unlock the phone swiftly. There’s also a rainwater touch feature, and it works as intended.

Cameras

The Realme C65 5G features a 50MP AI primary camera with an f/1.8 aperture alongside a 2MP secondary lens. At the front, you get an 8MP f/2.0 lens for video calls and selfies. Here’s a direct comparison with one of its chief competitors, the Moto G24 Power. The Realme C65 offers a better dynamic range and leans towards a warm hue. Though it does overexpose the image slightly in bright surroundings. The G24 Power in comparison, leans towards natural colours, though the dynamic range could be better. 

The primary camera captures appealing images in daylight with decent dynamic range and a respectable amount of details. The colours appear slightly boosted, and in very bright surroundings, the camera can sometimes overexpose images, which flushes out the shadows. The portrait mode on the device works well and the resulting images have good skin colour reproduction and a nice bokeh effect. In low light, the details are muted, with inconsistent edge detection, and it could take a few tries to get decent results. Low-light shots also have an observable amount of noise and bloom around light sources. 

Performance 

Moving onto the meat of the matter, how well does the Realme C65 5G perform in real life? The answer is, quite impressively! The MediaTek Dimensity 6300 SoC caters to all its performance needs, paired with 6GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB of UFS2.2 storage, which can be expanded up to 2TB with a MicroSD card.

We tested the 6GB+128GB variant of the smartphone using a variety of benchmarks, and the C65 outperforms its similarly priced competitors in most synthetic benchmarks. The Realme C65 punches above its weight class when it comes to performance and offers a similar performance output to higher-priced offerings, such as the Tecno POVA 6 Pro, POCO X6 Neo and Realme 12. Here are some benchmark numbers against its close competitors.

The Realme C65 5G performs splendidly with no apparent lags or jitters in regular usage, such as browsing apps, scrolling through social media, watching videos and more. The difference in everyday browsing is noticeable in comparison to other budget phones, which do not pack as much power. We also played some moderately demanding games such as COD: Mobile, BGMI, and Real Racing 3 to find out how well it can function as a gaming device. The results were impressive, with the smartphone delivering a satisfying gaming experience at medium graphic settings.

The C65 consistently delivers 60FPS in titles like COD: Mobile (medium graphical settings) and Real Racing 3. In BGMI, the device maintains around 40FPS consistently at HD resolution and high frame rate settings. However, during our gameplay, we encountered some issues, particularly with the rise of internal temperature, resulting in awkward freezes and a couple of crashes in BGMI. The touch response was also adversely affected during prolonged gaming sessions, especially at higher temperatures.

Software

The smartphone comes with Android 14-based Realme UI 5.0 out of the box. The OS skin does come with a few pre-installed apps but these can be removed as per your preferences. The ‘Hot apps’ need a bit more work and must be disabled from the App Market settings. The UI operates smoothly, thanks to the 120Hz refresh rate, and it incorporates a range of useful functions such as file dock, floating windows, and link to Windows functionality, which are some of my favourite features to use.

The smart sensing features also work as intended. The power button can be programmed to perform a variety of functions as well, which is neat. Realme promises 2 years of OS updates and 3 years of software updates with the C65 5G, ensuring the smartphone remains relevant until 2026.

Battery and charging

In our gaming and video streaming tests, which lasted roughly 2 hours, the combined battery drain was around 24 percent, which is a respectable result. Talking about charging speeds, the 15W bundled charger takes a little over 2 hours to recharge the device completely from 0 to 100 percent, which is the average charging speed at this price range. 

Final Verdict

The Realme C65 5G offers a deal that might just set the bar for sub-Rs 10K smartphones, starting at a price of Rs 9,999 for the 4GB+64GB variant (Rs 500 bank offer included). It delivers terrific performance that rivals pricier smartphones, offers an impressive battery backup, boasts the highest refresh rate of 120Hz in the sub-Rs 10K segment, and provides good daylight cameras. The smartphone’s primary rivals are the POCO M6 Pro 5G (review), Lava Blaze 2 (review), and the Moto G24 Power (review).

The former two provide a great performance output for the price, comparable to the Realme C65 5G. The M6 Pro offers a higher resolution display (FHD+), which improves the visual experience, while the Blaze 2 and the G24 Power come with a stock Android-like UI. The latter also offers a more potent battery life compared to the Realme C65. If you’re on a strict budget and factors like performance, a reliable battery life, and a smooth display are important for you, the Realme C65 5G is an easy recommendation that won’t disappoint.   

Editor’s Rating: 8 / 10

Reasons to buy: 

• The Realme C65 5G offers a 120Hz refresh rate display, which is the highest in the segment. 
• The smartphone offers terrific performance and dwarfs every other competitor in the segment. 
• The smartphone offers an impressive battery backup that should easily last you a day with regular use.
• The primary camera takes good-looking images in daylight. 

Reasons not to buy: 

• The touch response is inconsistent while gaming, particularly at higher internal temperatures.
• The brightness on the smartphone could have been better.