Oppo Realme 2 review

The Competition

The Realme 2 was made in India and for India. China will get it under the Oppo A3s model on a different price at that, while we are yet to see if Oppo would release in on other markets as well.

But it's definitely a phone worth getting, especially if priced as low as on the Indian market. It has every trendy feature right now - a notched screen and a dual-camera, while builds on those with a large battery and stunning design.

The only potential issue the Realme 2 could face is the existence of the Realme 1. The series pioneer has a higher-res screen and more powerful hardware and might be considered the better phone by the notch opposition. And that's fine, as we mentioned before - the Realme 2 is not a successor, but more like an alternative option.

The Redmi 5 by Xiaomi is an excellent match for the Realme 2, priced exactly the same in India. It lacks the notch in the screen, the portrait shots, and the large battery, but makes up for that with an aluminium back and the more popular MIUI.

The Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite has a higher-res notched display but similar chipset, battery, and camera experience. The A2 Lite is made of metal and is part of Android One series, which means vanilla Android and regular updates. But it costs around 14,500 INR in India, far from the Realme's 9,000 INR.

The Honor 9N has the looks to impress, the 1080p screen features a prominent notch, and the camera experience is mostly the same though you can snap 16MP selfies. The Kirin 659 fails to impress at this resolution though, the battery is smaller, and Honor isn't known for its regular updates.

Oppo Realme 1 • Xiaomi Redmi 5 • Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite (Redmi 6 Pro) • Huawei Honor 9N (9i)

The Verdict

There isn't a better-looking or more jam-packed with features phone 9,000 INR can buy in India right now. We can't speak for other markets, but if you are shopping for the best bang for your money in India - look no further. The Realme 2 is what you should get. Unless you don't fancy the notch - then kindly refer to the Realme 2 next of kin and grab the Realme 1.

Pros

• Stunning design
• A notched screen with thin bezels
• Extraordinary battery life
• Snappy gaming performance
• Fingerprint scanner, among other goodies as 3.5mm port, FM radio
• A dual-camera with native portrait shots and good image quality
• Low-price

Cons

• Plastic, prone to scratches and fingerprints
• Low-res screen
• Omits a second mic for noise-cancelling in calls
• Unimpressive processor performance
• Uninspiring selfies, mono audio in videos
• Slow to charge