realme C33 Unboxing and First Impressions

realme has an upcoming affordable in the Philippines soon, the C33.

realme C33 in Aqua Blue colorway

To build anticipation, realme Philippines sent us the unit for review ahead of its launch. However, you can rest assured that our experience written in this article will remain independent.

To recap, the realme C33 has a 120Hz 6.52-inch HD+ LCD display with a 400 nits peak brightness and 88.7 percent screen-to-body ratio. Inside is the 12nm UNISOC T612 octa-core processor, Mali-G57 GPU, LPDDR4X RAM, UFS storage, microSD card expansion, and a 5,000mAh battery with 10W wired charging thru micro USB.

At the back is a 50MP dual rear camera while in front is a 5MP shooter.

In the Philippines, there is no price yet for the C33 but it is expected to be priced under PHP 9K.

We share our unboxing and hands-on experience with the upcoming realme C33.

Let's dive in.

Unboxing/Accessories

realme C33's packaging

The realme C33 comes in a bright yellow box with realme branding, regulatory information, key features, and key specs.

Box inclusions

Inside the box are the phone, SIM ejector tool, 10W charger, USB Type-A to MicroUSB cable, and documentation.

There are no included earphones nor is there a silicone case in the box.

The screen protector is preinstalled on the display.

Build Quality/Design

Box inclusions

Like the realme C35, the C33 is prettier in person and is eye-catching. It is made of high-quality polycarbonate and acrylic that make the phone lightweight yet solid in the hand.

Great design!

Because of the same materials, it is a slippery phone that is also a fingerprint smudge magnet. Because there is no included case, we recommend getting one as soon as you can to avoid slippage and to avoid the sharp corners of the frame.

Lisa on the screen

In front, is the 6.52-inch LCD display with a 1600 x 720 resolution, a 400 nits peak brightness, and an 88.7 percent screen-to-body ratio. Out of the box, the 400 nits peak brightness is good enough for indoor use. Whether or not it will be good for outdoor use is still up in the air.

It is a 10-point multi-touch panel which makes it ideal for games or for multitasking. Our initial concern is the 720 resolution, hopefully, the 120Hz makes up for the lack of resolution.

Around the panel are decently sized top and side bezels. The chin bezel is noticeably larger than the rest.

Top and Bottom

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

The micro USB is becoming rarer these days but it made an appearance on the C33.

SIM tray

The SIM tray can house two nanoSIM cards and one microSD card. It does not have a rubber gasket for water resistance.

Inside is a large 5,000mAh battery that charges thru MicroUSB at 10W.

Left and right sides

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

The phone measures 164.2 x 75.7 x 8.4 mm and weighs 187 grams. It comes in either the Aqua Blue, Night Sea and Sandy Gold colorways.

Rear cameras

At the back of the phone are the 50MP f/1.8 primary camera and the 0.3MP f/2.8 portrait sensor while in front is the 5MP f/2.2 aperture

The stock camera app features Photo, Video, Portrait, Pro, Pano, Time-lapse, 50MP, and Night modes.

The Pro mode allows for controls of White Balance, Focus, Shutter Speed (1/1000s to 1/5s), ISO (100 to 1600), Exposure Compensation (-+3), Contrast, and Saturation.

We will be sharing our camera insights in our full review soon.

realme C33 Specs

Display: 6.5-inch LCD (IPS) screen w/ 180Hz touch sampling rate, HD+ 1600 x 720 resolution at 270 ppi

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

GPU: Mali-G57

RAM: 3GB/4GB LPDDR4X

ROM: 32GB/64GB/128GB UFS 2.2 expandable via microSD card slot up to 1TB (dedicated)

Back Camera: 50MP + 0.3MP f/2.8 + LED flash

Selfie Camera: 5MP f/2.2

Battery: 5,000mAh w/ 10W charging

OS: Android 12 w/ realme UI S Edition

Connectivity: WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, dual SIM

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

Others: Side-mounted fingerprint sensor, face unlock, USB-C, Colors: Aqua Blue, Night Sea

Dimensions: 164.2 x 75.7 x 8.3 mm

Weight: 187 g

Price: PHP 7,499

As of the moment

Handheld

Like the realme C35, it is appealing due to its eye-catching look. We also like that it has a reasonably fast performance, PDDR4X RAM, UFS 2.2, and a side-mounted fingerprint scanner. It has a large 50MP camera for a budget phone as well.

Our main concern is it has a 720p display only and 10W charging. It has no 5G connectivity as well. For its expected price, the realme C33 is looking to have stiff competition.

We will have to see how they perform as we run more tests. 

Stay tuned for our full review that will come soon.

What do you guys think?