Realme 6i/6S hands-on review

Introduction

Today, Realme announced the Realme 6i for the Indian market, and we've got some impressions for you. Before we get cracking, let's clear up some confusion.

The Realme 6i for the Indian market is a renamed variant of the global Realme 6s.

Indian model (Realme 6i) = Global model (Realme 6S)

The global Realme 6i is a different model altogether, selling in India under the name Narzo 10.

Global model (Realme 6i) = Indian model (Realme Narzo 10):

Finally, both the Realme 6i for India and the Realme 6s for the global market are almost identical to the Realme 6, but have a slightly downgraded main camera. This one is available in both regions. Hope this makes more clear.

Realme 6 - available in both markets

Since it takes after the Realme 6, the Indian Realme 6i, which we have for hands-on today, has a 6.5-inch IPS LCD of 1080p resolution and a 90Hz high refresh rate, which is a key differentiator at this INR 13,000/15,000 price point.

Unlike the Realme 6, which has a 64MP primary camera, the Indian Realme 6i uses a 48MP Quad-Bayer unit instead. The rest of the cameras are identical across all three devices - an 8MP ultrawide, 2MP macro and depth sensors and a 16MP selfie camera, embedded into a punch hole inside the display.

The chipset is also the same Helio G90T octa-core unit, paired with either 4GB or 6GB of RAM. The Realme 6i has a 4,300 battery that supports 30W charging - more on that below.

Realme 6i specs

• Body: 162.1 x 74.8 x 8.9 mm, 191g; Front glass, plastic body
• Screen: 6.5" IPS LCD, FHD+ (1080 x 2400px) resolution, 90Hz refresh rate, 405 ppi
• Camera: Primary: 48MP Quad-Bayer, f/1.8 aperture, 0.8µm pixel size, 1/2.0" sensor size; Ultra-wide: 8MP, f/2.3 aperture, 1.12µm pixel size, 1/4" sensor size; Macro: 2MP f/2.4, 1.75µm pixel size, 1/5" sensor size; Depth sensor: 2MP mono camera
• Front camera: 16MP f/2.0 aperture
• Chipset: Mediatek Helio G90T (12nm): octa-core (2x2.05 GHz Cortex-A76 & 6x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55), Mali-G76 MC4 GPU
• Memory: 4GB/64GB, 6GB/64GB, expandable via microSD card
• OS: Android 10, Realme UI
• Battery: 4,300 mAh, 30W VOOC Flash Charge 4.0 (comes with 20W in the box)
• Connectivity: 4G LTE; Dual SIM; Dual-band Wi-Fi, Buetooth 5.1, GPS, USB Type-C 2.0
• Misc:Side-mounted fingerprint reader

The Realme 6i comes with all you'd need - a complimentary silicone case that will keep the phone from wobbling while flat on a table, a USB cable and a charger. We said the phone supports 30W charging, but Realme have bundled a 20W one in the box to keep costs down.

Realme will give people a choice of Eclipse Black and Lunar White colors and two configurations - 4/64GB and 6/64GB. The entry level model costs INR 12,999 (€150, converted) while adding 2GB of RAM gets you up to INR 14,999 (€170, converted).