realme launched the C35 smartphone in the c-series line-up late last month and we had our hands on the eye-catching midrange phone, the sleekest in the C-Series line-up.

realme C35 is a symphony of all young users’ needs for a stylish smartphone design with quality and high-end features.

At only Ksh21,199, the device wraps together an attractive design-build that broadly tales on the latest iPhone lineup. What you get here is a flat rim, sharp corners, a shiny glass effect on the rear side a clear stepped camera bump module. the slimmest phone in the segment with a new right-angle bezel as thin as 8.1mm, a powerful camera, excellent battery performance and a dynamic glowing design that makes it look futuristic and trendy.

The realme C35 also combines a visual experience with a comfortable feel with the slim design. It weighs about 189g which makes it the slimmest phone in the segment.

If you’re looking for a budget phone, the C35 stands as a better contender that gives you a genuinely excellent mid-range experience on a budget. realme guys got it right with the design.

Here’s what you get in the box. Check our unboxing article here

Pros

• Attractive design

• Great display

• Good camera

realme C35 features

Design and build

realme C35 is the thinnest phone in the price range and also the lightest and thinnest phone in the C series, which means it is very silky and comfortable to hold. The design boldly emulates that of the latest iPhone lineup. It comes with a new right-angle bezel design as thin as 8.1mm, combining a visual experience with a comfortable feel.

At the front, we have a mini-drop notch front camera design. It also comes with a pre-installed screen protector.

For the first time, realme C35 features a right-angle bezel made of 2D material, and the dynamic glowing design makes it look futuristic and trendy to show your personality. Most of the competitors use integrated plastic material, while realme C35 uses a rare 2D plate in the price range, with the popular right-angle bezel design.

On the left, we have a nano-sized sim tray and a dedicated slot for the MicroSD card and below eat and volume control button. Realme has separated the power and volume control buttons, you’ll find the power button on the right side which also acts as a fingerprint sensor.

At the bottom edge of the phone, you get a 3.5mm headphone jack, microphone, USB-C port and speaker

On its back, we have a polycarbonate rear panel featuring a glass-like finish. On the upper corner of the rear panel, we have a protruding camera bump, common with new premium phones.

Colour, price and availability

The phones will be available in two vibrant colours: Glowing Black and Glowing Green which gives them a touch of class and a professional look. Our unit which is black has a glossy glass effect on the rear with an almost glow-in-the-dark effect. From a distance, the rear panel features a glass-like finish. The C35 is now available in kenya at realme’s official retailers and e-commerce websites for ksh21,199.

Display

The realme C35 device features a large 6.6 -inch panel with a resolution of 2408 by 1080 (Full HD+). It also comes with a 90.7 per cent screen ratio for a more immersive watching experience. It’s also the first phone in the C-series to feature a full FHD screen.

Camera

50MP Triple Camera

realme C35 upgrades to a 50MP triple camera, allowing for clearer details in photos and easy access for users to take blockbuster shots.

50MP Primary Camera

realme C35 has a primary camera that adopts a 50MP image sensor with a large area and an f/1.8 large aperture that secures enough light and makes your pictures clearer and brighter. In addition, 4X Max Digital zoom enables users to shoot a clear photo from a long distance.

Macro Lens

realme C35 comes with a Macro Lens with super close focus distance. It will empower consumers to shoot unique macro photography with details and enjoy exploring the micro world’s charm.

B&W Lens

The B&W lens provides a special artistic effect for portraits, which reproduces portraits in black and white, providing higher exposure and enhancing the contrast between light and dark images. In conjunction with the simulation of master portrait works, photos are tuned to retro film style with wide applicability, adding texture to the final portrait-style shots.

Rear camera shots

8MP Selfie Camera

Its equipped with an 8MP selfie camera that takes a crystal clear selfie on the front. The camera also supports Filter and HDR functions. With AI Beauty, you can make your selfie beautifully stunning.

The rear camera is quite good, we got some super good shots with it. The camera also captures lowlight shots quite well for a budget phone. I found the burst option shots a bit blurred but still good enough for normal usage. Here are some of them.

Video recording

With Video recording, you have a choice between 720 or 1080p at 30FPS. The video quality is quite good

Performance

The device runs on a realme UI R edition based on the Android 11 version. It also features Unisoc T616 powerful processor, It is an octa-core 12nm processor that clocks up to 2.0 GHz and adopts Cortex A75 structure, bringing powerful and stable performance to C35.

The phone comes with pre-installed apps that include TikTok, Snapchat, Amazon, LinkedIn and the standard Google apps and realme community among other apps and an easy-to-navigate menu.

The phone comes with a 60Hz refresh rate which can handle gaming quite well. For graphics-intensive games, you’ll definitely experience glitches. Thanks to the larger FHD screen size in the C35 makes it better to watch videos much more clear. The 90.7% screen ratio also provides a more immersive experience for watching movies without visual blocking

It also comes with 4G of RAM and up to 128 GB of internal storage.

realme C35 equips an instant fingerprint sensor that can secure your private information. Compared to traditional capacitive fingerprint technology, this technology gets more mature and faster unlocking speed.

The C35 also boasts of the TUV Rgeighnland smartphone High-Reliability Certification that assures consumers of a good user experience. Every realme mobile phone goes through rigorous quality tests to give you the best experience. To keep up with our young users’ active lifestyles, realme is constantly seeking quality improvements. We have partnered with the world-renowned authority in quality — TÜV Rheinland.

Most test conditions are based on the three-year life cycle of a smartphone. The TÜV Rheinland Smartphone High-Reliability Certification contains 23 major tests, including 10 Daily Use Test Scenarios, such as drop, wear and tear. 7 extreme environment test Scenarios, such as super high and low temperature, high and low humidity, voltage fluctuation, button life, static electricity, and air pressure. And 6 Components Reliability Test Scenarios. Overall, most test conditions of TUV Smartphone High-Reliability Certification are based on the three-year life cycle of a smartphone. The realme C35 also passed over 300 tests of realme to provide users with a long-lasting smartphone experience.

5000mAh Massive Battery

realme C35 comes with a 5000mAh massive battery, and it can continuously play audio for 71.56 hours. According to the test of realme Lab, realme C35 could last for 39 days on standby. While charging the device, it took us less than an hour to full charge, we charged it with around 20 per cent charge and might take more time while on zero.

realme C35 specifications

Display and Size:
Size: 6.6inch
Screen Ratio: 90.7%
Resolution: FHD+ 2408*1080

Size & Weight
164.4mm75.6mm8.1mm
189g

Battery and storage
5000mAh

Storage
RAM: 4GB/6GB
ROM: 64GB/128GB

Camera
50MP Primary Camera, f/1.8 Aperture 5P lens 4X digital zoom

2MP Macro lens, f/2.4 Aperture, 3P lens, 4cm FF, B&W Lens, f/2.8 Aperture, 2P Lens

8MP Selfie Camera, Sony IMX355 Sensor, f/2.0 Aperture

Video , 480p / 720p / 1080p, 30fps

Colour:

Glowing black and Glowing green

Conclusion

If you are looking for a stylish and solid phone for your daily use, the realme C35 should be your go-to device. From a long-lasting battery to bespoke photography and seamless usage are all you get and much more on the device. If you are looking for high gaming permance however, you’ll need to spend much more on a 5G enabled version.