technology news: This new phone uses last year’s flagship chipset, but is it cheaper?

mardi 26 mai 2020

This new phone uses last year’s flagship chipset, but is it cheaper?

Realme

2020 has been the toughest year for affordable flagship phones, as the Snapdragon 865 chipset is more expensive than previous high-end Snapdragon chips. It's perhaps for this reason that Realme is taking a different approach with the newly announced Realme X3 SuperZoom.

The new phone sports last year's Snapdragon 855 Plus processor instead of the latest Snapdragon 865 5G chipset. This means no 8K recording, 5G or the latest and greatest CPU and GPU, but it's still one of the best flagship processors around. So gaming, camera performance, and general day-to-day operations should be very smooth.

The Realme X3 SuperZoom also packs a 120Hz LCD panel, which means you won't get an in-display fingerprint sensor here. Instead, you've got a side-mounted scanner. Realme's new phone also packs a 4,200mAh battery, featuring 30W charging. The device takes 55 minutes to reach 100% capacity, according to the brand.

In terms of camera quality, the phone packs a 64MP main camera, periscope camera (5x optical zoom with OIS), an 8MP ultra-wide camera, and macro shooter. A Realme representative said the periscope camera is capable of 60x hybrid zoom, but we're very skeptical of this claim. Selfies are handled by two cameras in a dual punch-hole cutout, namely a 32MP main shooter and 8MP ultra-wide sensor.

A phone for night shooting

Source: Realme

Realme is also implementing a Starry Mode, being a take on the Pixel's astrophotography mode. The company says it uses AI algorithms and multi-frame image processing to produce shots of the night sky. More specifically, it uses over ten exposures, with the total "exposure" time lasting for up to four minutes.

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The Chinese brand says it's also offering a Nightscape Pro mode, giving you the multi-frame HDR and noise reduction goodness while still letting you tweak ISO, shutter speed, and other features. There's also an Ultra Nightscape Mode in addition to the standard Nightscape mode, with the new mode being designed for extreme low-light snaps.

Other notable features include Realme UI based on Android 10, a linear motor for improved haptic feedback, and USB-C. It doesn't look like the phone has a 3.5mm port unfortunately.

The Realme X3 SuperZoom will be available for €499 (~$547) for a 12GB/256GB model. Pre-orders kick off today (May 26), with sales commencing on June 2

Source: Realme/YouTube

Realme/YouTube

The brand also announced the Realme 6S for Europe, and it seems to be the Realme 6 with NFC. Expect to pay €199 (~$) for a 4GB/64GB variant, with preorders from today and first sales on June 2.

Finally, the brand announced the €54.99 (~$60) Realme Watch, the €39.99 (~$44) Realme Buds Air Neo, the €24.99 ($27) Realme Band, and the 10,000mAh Power Bank 2 (€24.99/$27). All of these extras are launching on June 22.