Recently, the new budget smartphone realme C63 went on sale. The device supports 45W fast charging, is equipped with an octa-core Unisoc T612 processor, and has 8GB of RAM. It features a 6.74-inch HD+ IPS display and AI functions. And all of this is priced under $250. Let’s see if this new model has a chance to win users’ hearts.
The realme C63 is available in two appealing colors: Leather Blue (with a faux leather back) and Jade Green. This budget model from the C series currently has an unknown price on the Ukrainian market, but on Aliexpress, the 6/128GB version can be purchased at a discounted price of $127 / €120. The 8/128GB and 8/256GB versions will be slightly more expensive.
Read also: Realme C67 4G review: stereo sound, IP54 and battery life
Realme C63 specifications
- Display: IPS LCD 6.75”, 720×1600, 560 nits brightness, 20:9, 260 ppi, maximum refresh rate 90 Hz
- Processor: Unisoc Tiger T612 octa-core processor with 12nm process technology, 2×1.8 GHz Cortex-A75, 6×1.8 GHz Cortex-A55 clock speed
- Video card: Mali-G57
- Memory: 8 GB of RAM expandable up to 8 GB + 256 GB of storage, microSD slot
- SIM card slot: Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
- Cameras:
- Main module: 50 megapixels, f/1.8 with depth sensor
- Front camera: 8 megapixel f/2.0
- Video recording: 720p 30 fps, 1080p 30 fps, 480 30 fps
- Sound: one speaker, 3.5 mm mini-jack
- Battery: 5000 mAh, 45W SuperVOOC wired charging
- Operating system: Android 14 + realme UI
- Wireless technologies: Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 and 5 GHz), Galileo, BDS, GLONASS, GPS and NFC
- Protection: IP54 (against dust and splashes)
- Dimensions and weight: 167.26×76.67×7.74 mm, 189 g
- Colors: Green, Blue
Package contents
Along with the smartphone, the slim cardboard box includes a transparent case, a SIM ejector tool, and, of course, documentation. And that’s it. You might wonder where the charger is. Unfortunately, this year realme decided not to include a power adapter with their smartphones, following the European Union’s recommendation to protect the environment. The model supports 45W charging, so you’ll need to get a compatible charger separately.
The silicone case is of good quality and provides solid protection for both the body and the cameras. Additionally, realme doesn’t disappoint when it comes to screen protection—there’s a protective film already applied to the front panel right out of the box.
Read alsо: Realme 12+ 5G Smartphone Review
Design and ergonomics
As we mentioned earlier, our review subject comes in two color options—green and blue. The test model, which is blue, features a back panel made of vegan leather that is resistant to scratches and fingerprints. It’s not only pleasant and soft to the touch but also meets animals-friendly standards..
I haven’t seen the green version in person, but it features a plastic back with a nice wave effect.
The phone is well-designed and made to ensure ease of use, such as unlocking and operating it comfortably. It features the trendy flat edges. Starting with the placement of components: on the right side are the volume and power buttons (the power button also includes a fingerprint scanner). On the left side is the SIM card slot. On the bottom are the earpiece speaker, mini-jack, and Type-C charging port.
What does the front panel look like? First, the selfie camera has a drop-shaped design—an outdated choice. Additionally, there’s a very wide “chin” at the bottom. So, while the back features what looks like “premium” leather, it’s immediately clear from the front that this is a simplified budget phone.
The phone isn’t heavy, fits comfortably in the hand, and doesn’t slip. Additionally, the camera island is well-designed in my opinion—it only slightly protrudes from the body and doesn’t interfere at all when placing the smartphone with the cameras facing down.
It’s worth noting that the manufacturer claims the device is protected to the IP54 standard—this means that dust and accidental splashes of water won’t be a problem for the realme C63.
Read alsо: Realme Buds Air 5 Pro review: I would have paid more!
realme C63 display
Now let’s talk about how realme cut costs on the display. I understand that they need to find ways to save, but having an AMOLED display in a budget model would have been nice. Instead, we have a 6.75-inch IPS screen with HD+ resolution (not even Full HD, just 260 ppi), a brightness of up to 560 nits, and a refresh rate of 90Hz (a bit low, though it’s good that it’s not the basic 60Hz). Additionally, there’s no automatic refresh rate adjustment; you only have the choice between 60 or 90Hz.
The screen itself looks dull, lacking contrast (and brightness on sunny days). It darkens when viewed at an angle, and when looking at apps and small elements, it’s noticeable that the resolution could be higher. This is surprising since the predecessor, the realme C53, had a screen with a resolution of 1080×2400. However, once again, a more casual user might not notice these issues.
In the settings, you can adjust the color gamut and image temperature. There’s also a dark mode, night mode, and other features available.
Read alsо: Realme 12 5G Smartphone Review
Sound
When it comes to sound, we have a monophonic setup that doesn’t impress with its bass or depth. However, if you still use wired headphones, you’ll be pleased to know that the realme C63 includes a 3.5mm mini-jack.
In the settings, there’s an OReality Audio feature with modes like “Intelligent,” “Music,” “Cinema,” and “Game.” The UltraBoom option also allows you to increase the volume by up to 200%!
Unlocking methods
You can unlock the phone in various ways, such as using a PIN code, a pattern, a fingerprint scanner, or FaceID. The latter worked well, but sometimes in low light, the phone didn’t recognize me and I had to enter the PIN code. On the other hand, I was most impressed with the fingerprint scanner built into the power button. This solution is quick and convenient, with no false touches. Honestly, I prefer this setup over having a scanner embedded in the screen—I can never be sure if the sensor’s placement will be comfortable for me.
Read alsо: Realme GT 6T Smartphone Review
Connectivity and data transfer
The realme C63 supports all the essential communication features: Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, Galileo, BDS, and of course, it includes NFC for contactless payments.
Read alsо: realme 12 Pro Review: All About the Cameras
realme C63 cameras
The realme C63 has a modest camera setup: just a 50MP main camera and an 8MP selfie camera. Everything else is just design.
Let’s start with the basic module: honestly, I wasn’t expecting such good photos at this price—just look at the contrast, vibrant colors, and details. Some of the photos even amaze me; they are really quite striking.
The night mode is decent for this price range; illuminated elements blend well into the overall composition, with no visible spots. Shooting in the evening or at night doesn’t take long—just hold still for 1-3 seconds for better results.
You can zoom in up to 10x, but it’s best not to do that, as the detail diminishes. It’s better to zoom in 2x or 3x, which provides a good balance between detail and image quality.
Video recording is decent, though the stabilization is poor. When you zoom in, the system struggles to keep up, resulting in “jerky” footage that looks messy in the frame. The phone only supports recording in HD/Full HD at 30 fps.
I have no complaints about the selfies; even though the camera is only 8MP, the portraits turn out well. There’s an adjustable aperture slider (for controlling the amount of light entering the lens) and beauty filters available.
What tools for taking photos does the app offer?
- for photos – Night, Photo, Portrait, Hi-Res (50 megapixels), Panorama, QR Code Scanner, Pro modes
- for video – standard Video, Timelapse, Slow-mo.
In addition, the app has a built-in Google Lens tool, as well as photo enhancement tools and filters.
Software
The smartphone runs on Android 14 with a simplified version of the realme UI interface. The skin looks more modest compared to more expensive “digital” models like the realme 12 and has fewer features.
In addition to basic security features, the system offers unique options to enhance the user experience. First, in the settings, you’ll find a “Special Features” section that includes a mini-capsule. This is an animation around the front camera that activates during certain actions. For example, it informs you about the battery status while charging, indicates when the device is low on power, allows you to control music playback, displays weather information, and notifies you when you reach your daily activity and step count limits. The manufacturer promises that the functionality of this mini-capsule will expand with future updates.
Another feature I liked in realme UI is the ability to view message history and the screen edge illumination for notifications (you can choose the color). There’s also an option to customize the power button for quick access to selected functions (dynamic button). For example, you can quickly open the camera by double-tapping the power button.
Among the special features, you’ll also find “air gestures,” app locking, and a personal safe. Interestingly, air gestures, as the name suggests, allow you to use the phone hands-free—the guide provides brief instructions on how to perform these gestures. This is useful when your hands are occupied and you need to mute the sound or answer a call (you can also remotely control the camera). Moreover, these gestures are supported in some apps like TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube. While I think it can be handy at times, the functionality is somewhat limited, and the selection of supported apps is, as you can see, restricted. Nevertheless, I give the manufacturer credit for these efforts.
The system is well-designed and intuitive, with a range of security features. There’s also an accessibility function that can help you read or enlarge content—this is a very positive trend, showing that realme cares about every customer.
Now, the question is whether there’s any bloatware installed? Of course, there is! TikTok, Netflix, Booking, Facebook, WPS Office, LinkedIn, Amazon, Spotify, and a whole folder of cheap games…. Unfortunately, this has become a standard for realme.
Read alsо: Realme GT 6 Smartphone Review
realme C63 performance
The smartphone is equipped with the Unisoc T612 processor from 2022, built on a 12nm process. It features 2 Cortex-A75 cores clocked at 1.8 GHz and 6 Cortex-A55 cores also clocked at 1.8 GHz. The graphics module is the Mali-G57. This is a basic chipset for budget devices.
The test realme C63 has 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. The settings also allow you to expand the RAM by up to 8GB using internal storage. Additionally, the flash storage can be expanded with a microSD card of up to 2TB.
I should note that the phone handled all tasks well: it didn’t freeze during online conferences, didn’t overheat while gaming, and there were no issues switching between apps. While it’s not the fastest phone out there, it performs quite well for its price. Only some modern 3D games may not run very smoothly, but most work fine—thanks to the Al Boost feature. This feature helps launch your favorite apps faster and reduces lag in games.
Read alsо: Realme 12 Pro Plus 5G Review: Created for Success
Battery life
The realme C63 has a standard 5000mAh battery. Additionally, the manufacturer notes that the new hardware has received TÜV Rheinland Safe Fast-Charge System certification, which is supposed to improve charging quality and speed. However, in reality, the charging is not as fast as expected—if you drain the phone to zero and want to charge it to 100%, it will spend about 1 hour and 20 minutes plugged in. But for this price, it’s not a major issue.
Moreover, the smartphone doesn’t need to be charged daily. Even if you’re a very active user, the device will last at least 1.5 to 2 days. In my case, the battery life was exactly 2 days.
In the settings, there are options to help conserve battery life, including a power-saving mode and app optimization features.
Read alsо: Realme Buds Air 5 TWS Headphones Review
Conclusion and competitors
realme knows what consumers want in the budget segment. This includes good performance, appealing design, decent camera quality, and well-thought-out software to make users’ lives easier. Indeed, the new model has these qualities and is priced in a way that almost anyone can afford it. However, that doesn’t mean the realme C63 is without its flaws—there are some. To be objective, I’ll discuss these shortcomings below. For now, summarizing what has been presented, I would say that for the money, the smartphone is worth considering.
Advantages of realme C63:
- Vegan leather case back option
- Sophisticated operating system – the presence of various control gestures, a functional side button
- The presence of a 3.5 mm mini-jack
- Efficient and fast
- Decent photographic capabilities
- Reasonable price
- Fast fingerprint scanner in the side button
Disadvantages of realme C63:
- Monaural sound
- The IPS display is not of the best quality, the maximum refresh rate is 90 Hz, without the ability to automatically change the frequency
- Teardrop-shaped front camera notch, wide screen bezels
- Pre-installed programs and games for commercial purposes (bloatware)
Can you find something better for such an affordable price? Yes, for example:
- Redmi Note 12S – not new, but with a good AMOLED screen and a 108 megapixel camera
- Redmi Note 13 4G (although it’s worth noting that it costs more
- Moto G54 5G also offers an eco-leather back, a 120Hz screen (also IPS), a faster chipset and 5G (our test)
- A similar but slightly cheaper option is Moto G73 (our test).
However, other competitors to the realme C63 fall short in some areas, such as having significantly less memory (e.g., the Redmi 13 4G, OPPO A78, Samsung Galaxy A15 5G).
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