realme C53 Impressions | A new budget-friendly C-series entry

After launching the C55 back in April, realme unveiled another C-series entry — the realme C53, and it promises to be even more budget-friendly than the previous device.

While realme has yet to reveal local pricing and availability of the C55 in the Philippines, based on the specs, the C53 should be a more wallet-friendly option without sacrificing much in terms of its features.

Specifically, the phone still has a 90Hz refresh rate screen, a large battery with fast charging capabilities, and an unique design.

Before we get to the phone’s features and capabilities, let’s first check the design of the new C53. From the back, you can see the phone’s unique look which features a shiny golden effect in the Champion Gold colorway. This is achieved through what realme dubs its Golden Silk Coating process which features multiple coats of material to give it the striking look that it has.

In hand though, the phone’s back feels a bit plastic-y, though we were pleasantly surprised to find out that it’s not a fingerprint magnet. This is despite the back’s glossy finish. Coupled with the flat sides with a matte finish, the phone feels grippy when held, meaning it won’t slip out of your hands, even in a particularly sweaty gaming session.

Though the phone does have a clear case inside the box which adds extra protection and grip, great for those who tend to drop their devices.

Moving to the front, we have the phone’s fairly large 6.74-inch display. Even though it’s a budget phone, the realme C53 still packs a 90Hz display that seems to have a 1080p resolution. This means you get a pretty good display that feel smooth when scrolling through menus and switching between apps.

Of course, as a budget device, the phone’s screen is LCD and not OLED, meaning you don’t get the vibrant colors and deep blacks of more premium devices. Still, from what we’ve seen so far, the phone’s display should be a nice partner for watching your favorite movies and shows while on the go.

Moving on to the cameras, the phone seems to have a triple rear camera setup at first. But don’t be fooled by the iPhone-style camera module as the phone only has two. The first is a 50MP main camera while the other, we don’t exactly know. So far, realme hasn’t yet revealed what this is, though it’s likely a 2MP depth sensor.

At the front meanwhile is an 8MP selfie shooter. As we’ve only had the phone for a bit, we’ve yet to test out its capabilities for photography, so you’ll want to wait for our full review to find out how well the cameras perform.

Speaking of performance, the phone is powered by a Unisoc Tiger T612 processor. While most phones today are powered by either a Snapdragon or a Mediatek processor, some budget Android devices come with Unisoc SoCs. As we’ve only tried out a couple of these, we’ll need to put the realme C53 under more tests to see if it’ll perform well.

As for its battery, the phone has a large 5,000mAh battery complete with 33W fast charging. This should be enough to give the phone all-day battery life (and possibly more). But again, we’ll need to actually test that out before we can declare a verdict.

For OS, the C53 runs on Realme UI that’s based on Android 13. From what we’ve seen of it so far, the phone should be similar to other recent realme devices based on usability.

For now, we can’t give our final verdict yet on the C53, but from the specs and from our initial time with it, the C53 holds a lot of promise, especially if it’s priced just right. And if it performs well when it comes to gaming and photography, of course.

realme C53 Specs: