realme C35 Unboxing and First Impressions

Let's take a quick look at the newly announced realme C35 with a UNISOC T616 chip, 5,000mAh battery, and 50MP rear camera.

realme C35's design

The newly released realme C35 features a large 6.6-inch IPS display with a 180Hz touch sampling rate, 2408 x 1080 resolution, and 600 nits peak brightness. Inside is a 12 nm UNISOC SoC, 4GB RAM, 64GB/128GB of storage, and a large 5,000mAh battery.

At the back are a 50MP main camera, 2MP macro, and 2MP monochrome camera with an LED flash. While in front is an 8MP selfie shooter.

In the Philippines, the realme C35 starts at PHP 8,499 for the 4GB/64GB model. 

Let's dive into the new smartphone!

Unboxing/Accessories

realme C35 box

The phone is packaged in the iconic yellow box with realme branding, key features and regulatory information.

Box inclusions

Inside the box are the phone, an 18W power brick, USB-A to USB-C charging cable, SIM ejector tool, and documentation. On the screen of the phone is the preinstalled screen protector.

There is no included silicone case nor is there a pair of earphones in the box even though the phone has a 3.5mm audio jack.

Build Quality/Design

Shiny back

The phone is made of a combination of polycarbonate and glasstic. The glasstic back has a clear and reflective finish. This makes it highly prone to fingerprint smudges and it makes the phone slippery. The sides of the phone are flat and are sharp to the touch. 

In between the two glasstic panels is a polycarbonate frame that has a faux metal finish.

There is no included case in the box but we recommend wearing a case right away to avoid smudges, and slippage and to protect your fingers from the sharp edges.

One of the most gorgeous-looking phones with a durable build on a budget!

Otherwise, the phone is surprisingly thin at 8.1mm and is super lightweight at 189 grams. This makes it a treat to carry despite the sharp edges.

This should also last for quite a while as realme is boasting that it passed the rigorous TÜV Rheinland Smartphone High-Reliability Certification.

The display

In front of the phone is an LCD IPS display with a notch on top. Above the notch is a slim earpiece. While around the panel are thin top and side panels. Only the chin bezel is thicker than the rest.

The aforementioned display has a resolution of 2408 x 1080 and has a peak brightness of 600 nits. This peak brightness is rare at this price point. We expect it to be very readable in daylight.

Top and bottom

On top is a smooth surface while at the bottom is the 3.5mm audio jack, microphone port, USB-C port, and a speaker grill.

Left and right

On the left of the phone are the SIM tray and the volume buttons while on the right is the power button that doubles as the fingerprint scanner.

SIM tray

The SIM tray can carry up to two nanoSIM cards and a microSD card. There is no rubber gasket.

The device measures 164.4 x 75.7 x 8.1 mm and weighs 189 grams.

Rear cameras

At the back of the phone are the 50MP f/1.8 main camera, 2MP f/2.4 depth camera, and 2MP f/2.8 monochrome camera with an LED flash while the notch in the front carries an 8MP f/2.0 sensor.

Stay tuned for the camera samples that will be coming in our full review.

realme C35 Specs

Display: 6.6-inch LCD (IPS) screen w/ 180Hz touch sampling rate, FHD+ 2408 x 1080 resolution at 400 ppi

CPU: 12nm 2.0GHz UNISOC T616 octa-core processor

GPU: Mali-G57

RAM: 4GB LPDDR4X

ROM: 64GB/128GB UFS 2.2 expandable via microSD card slot up to 1TB (dedicated)

Back Camera: 50MP f/1.8 w/ PDAF + 2MP f/2.4 4cm Macro Lens + 2MP f/2.8 B&W Lens + LED flash

Selfie Camera: 8MP f/2.0 Sony IMX355

Battery: 5,000mAh w/ 18W Quick Charge

OS: Android 11.0 w/ realme UI R Edition

Connectivity: WiFi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz/5GHz), 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, dual SIM

Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic

Others: Side-mounted fingerprint sensor, face unlock, TÜV Rheinland Smartphone High Reliability Certification, USB-C, Colors: Glowing Green, Glowing Black

Dimensions: 164.4 x 75.6 x 8.1 mm

Weight: 189 g

Price: PHP 8,499 (4GB./64GB), PHP 9,499 (4GB/128GB)

As of the moment

Web surfing

The realme C35 is a direct upgrade from the realme C25 and C25s last year. This offers one of the classiest and most durable builds for the price around, an upgraded display, and a better primary camera.

The internal UNISOC T616 is surprisingly good at CPU performance which offers a smoother than expected experience out of the box in tasks like swiping, opening apps, web surfing, and social media.

This is in the middle of the pack based on our experience. However, it is confronting stiff competition from other brands with better chips.

With that said, it will be offered for PHP 6,888 during the TikTok 1-day sale today May 18 until 8 PM. At this starting price, it is nearly a steal.

Stay tuned for the full review coming out soon.

What do you guys think?