realme C75 Review | Geek Lifestyle

When it comes to durability, realme is coming out swinging this 2025 with the realme C75, a follow-up to last year’s surprise in the C63. While the previous iteration gave us a run for our money thanks to its stylishly its rugged exterior, the brand is kicking things up a notch as they maintain that subtle stylishness while going completely bananas when it came to the phone’s defense points. I wish were joking here.

The realme C75 is that unassuming bar patron, sitting quietly in the corner wearing a dapper suit. While prim and proper, it brushes away any errant spills, handles its liquids like a champ, and is left completely unfazed by a sudden chair to the face. As we went through all the necessary methods of actually trying to straight up murder it, the new device is left unscathed–mocking all our attempts.

With the introduction of new ArmorShell protection coupled with a no-nonsense IP69 rating in what’s supposed to be a budget smartphone, the stakes just got higher in the Affordability Arena. Any electronic device worth its salt should come clad in some form of durability, so it was interesting to see just how far realme was willing to go just to prove a point.

You can color us surprised. Should you decide to read on, perhaps you will be, too.

Geeksthetic

Now, since the topic of durability is in question, we’re sure you had an idea about how the C75 would feel in your hand. Spoiler alert, you’re probably wrong.

Check out our unboxing here.

The device in Lightning Gold isn’t made of glass, or comes in the convex form factor you’d be envisioning. We get a thin, top layer of hard plastic that serves as the first line of defense for the stress tests to come. It has a nice, matte feel that won’t garner any fingerprints, even if you try. At 8 mm thin, and 196 grams heavy, we wouldn’t blame you for thinking it could handle that much punishment.

We get some nice, flat edges–which, if you look closely, secure the backplate with some tight, adhesive material. Likely, for water-proofing. Up top, we get the camera setup housing the 50MP lens which will be interesting to check out later–given the circumstances.

To the front, we have the 6.72-inch IPS LCD display which greeted us brightly enough upon powering on. It’s worth noting that it’s the other half of the ArmorShell sandwich, and is very likely secured to the body with the same amount of strength.

There’s not much to discuss in this area, as it’s simply a good-looking device that belies its true nature of being a tank. Personally, it’s a huge step up from the C65 when it comes to aesthetics. We don’t really talk about the C65 that much.

Binge-watching Factor

Now, for that tough-as-nails display. It’s a 6.72″ IPS LCD display with a maximum 90Hz refresh rate. It’s not bad, by any means, and we were able to navigate through apps rather smoothly. This really should be the bare minimum for any phone in the market. 60Hz would be too painful to the eyes.

As for viewing real estate, we get a 1080 x 2400 resolution with a 86.3% screen-to-body ratio. Still not bad, in spite of a rather chonky chin and some looming bezels on the side. Since this is more on the budget side, we’ll let it slide.

As for the actual viewing experience–whether it was indoors or under a garden hose, we were able to get some decent colors that popped off nicely enough even at its peak 690 nits of brightness. As for audio, we only get single speakers–which is understandable given the price and promise of waterproofing. In exchange, we get a whopping 400% volume that’s loud enough to make up the lack of sound-holes.

Gaming Prowess

Now, this part is where the C75 falls a bit short–at least for us. While we’re getting a 12-nanometer Mediatek Helio G92 Max, the performance leaves much to be desired. Even last year’s G85 didn’t have as much trouble running Honkai: Star Rail. Make no mistake, though. You’ll still be able to play your usual MOBAs and FPS titles with ease, as per usual. However, once you try to play something as demanding as Zenless Zone Zero, you’ll really have to curb your expectations.

Even at its base, low settings, the phone absolutely struggles once the action gets too intense. The same goes for all the other HoYo titles. If you’re looking to play Love and Deepspace, just don’t. You won’t have a good time. Even with 8GB of base RAM, you’ll get some stuttering in-game if there are too many pixels on-screen.

That being said, we believe the C75 was never intended to be a gaming phone, and those who don’t really “game” would be satisfied with the classic Honor of Kings or even Candy Crush–both of which run immaculately. Still, just take note if you’re curious enough to snag this as a gaming phone in the end.

Geek Photoshoot Capabilities

It’s nice to see that realme trimmed the fat when it comes to cameras. If you’re going to slap on a gimmick lens just to pad your specs, you really don’t need more than one. That’s literally the case with the C75’s 50MP AI Camera.

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It pretty much does all the work, from normal to portrait shots. We even got some surprisingly decent night mode photos. You’re capped at 10X zoom, and we highly encourage you not to got that far if you don’t want any noise in your shots. As for bokeh, you get some good output with some not-so-aggressive AI blur, which is always nice to see.

As for the front, the 8MP selfie camera captures photos just as nicely. If your goal is simply to capture good enough pictures for social media–and not get judged by your peers, the C75’s camera setup is actually good enough.

What’s more is you can go up to 1080p 30 fps for videos, and both ways. It’s by no means a vlogging phone, but you can rest assured that those video conferences won’t be running in 720p, at the very least.

Harder than Life

We decided to switch things up for this section–which happens to be the meat and potatoes of this review. The realme C75 looks to go above and beyond simply being a “reliable” partner. It aims to be Samwise Gamgee by the end of Return of The King.

First, let’s talk about ArmorShell Protection and ArmorShell Glass–something the C75 sports on both sides of the device. When it comes to durability, we’re getting 360° ultra shock resistance. This means those accidental drops–which occur much too often, won’t be an issue for as long as you aren’t actually pelting the phone into the floor. After a week of said “accidental” drops, our unit is doing fine. No TPU case required.

As for the display, you can expect some flagship-level toughness and scratch resistance. It would take a good amount of force to actually shatter the screen, so that was a bit out of the question. A more likely concern would be if one could throw the phone into a bag along with random items–and come out unscathed. The answer is yes. Still, if you’re a bit more delicate with your devices, just leave the proprietary screen protector on.

Of course, no test would be complete without some extreme measures. This included heating the phone and freezing the phone–a la Metal Gear Solid’s PAL key. If you’re in your 20s, never mind what we just said.

As you can see, the C75 survived both a camping hotbox and meat locker. Afterwards, it also survived a bit of Castlevania with a garden hose followed by a lengthy dip in a bucket. Aside from the ArmorShell Protection, the IP69 dust and water resistance rating really works overtime here. So much so, that it’s TÜV Rheinland Rugged Smartphone Certificate–the first of its kind, too.

Now, the coup de grace–the last line of defense lies with the C75’s secret weapon. Remember that 400% volume feature? It’s dual purpose.

The SonicWave Water Ejection system helps get rid of any remaining liquid in your device by vibrating at a specific frequency. It’s a nifty feature that guarantees that if ever your waterproofing misses any–well, water, you won’t have to worry about anything else.

Everyday Reliability

We understand that the aforementioned extreme measures won’t be your day-t0-day (or at least we hope not), but it’s still nice to have whenever the situation arises. So, if you’re living in a time of peace, you can still rest assured that you won’t be running out of battery.

This is thanks to the massive 6000 mAh battery that comes coupled with 45W SUPERVOOC charging. This comes as a double-edged sword, as you can get up to two days of juice but have to wait a good hour and a half to go back to 100%. So, if you’re the type who wants to get back into action in a jiffy, and at full capacity, you’ll need to wait a bit longer.

For productivity, you get a grand total of 24GB (8+16GB) of RAM and up to 256GB of storage. With realme UI 5.0 and Android 14, you’re also guaranteed regular updates and smooth performance.

As for quality of life, you’re pretty much covered. All the useful features from prior C-series models make a comeback, and they’re just as good as you remember. From the Mini Capsule, to Riding Mode, to Pocket Mistouch Prevention, you have it all.

As far as affordable daily drivers that can survive the apocalypse go, you really can’t go wrong here.

Geek Lifestyle Final Verdict

The realme C75 is a clear upgrade to last year’s show of durability. It can withstand extreme punishment, looks really good while doing so, and takes some decent photos right after. That last part wasn’t on our bingo card, to be honest.

Surely, it isn’t the first round pick as a gaming device. But it’s worth of being a go-to productivity partner that can not only keep up with your busy schedule–but also keep going even if you, yourself, decide to throw in the towel. Given its introductory price, this is definitely a smartphone to look our for.

The realme C75 is priced at PHP 8,999 for the 8GB+128GB variant and PHP 10,999 for the 8GB+256GB variant. It’s available in two color options: Lightning Gold and Storm Black. For more information, visit the realme official website and follow realme on Facebook.