Realme C67 5G review: affordable and capable

The Realme C67 5G appears to be an affordable version of the Realme 11x, with the only notable difference being the camera. This C-series smartphone is equipped with a 50MP primary camera instead of the 64MP found in the 11x. The rest of the specifications are largely the same. Does the cost-effectiveness, at the expense of reduced camera resolution, make or break this smartphone? Furthermore, how does the smartphone compare to its competitors in the market? Read on this Realme C67 5G review to uncover the answers.

Realme C67 5G | Verdict

The Realme C67 5G is an attempt from the company to offer users a value-oriented smartphone in the Rs 13,000-Rs 14,000 price range, and it seems to have succeeded. The handset delivers a solid performance on a budget, coupled with a capable screen and good battery life. Furthermore, the phone boasts good daylight photography.

Design and display

All the things I said in the Realme 11 and 11x review about the design and display apply to the Realme C67 as well. The handset boasts sleek flat edges and a circular camera module, though the phone’s symmetrical appearance is compromised by said module’s placement. The module, which houses a couple of sensors and an LED flash, protrudes from the surface, leading to a noticeable wobble when the phone is laid flat on a flat surface. This could be challenging for those who like to type without lifting the device up from the table.

That said, the glastic layer around the back has a matte finish, which keeps the fingerprints and smudges at bay. Underneath that layer, the phone boasts a textured finish, giving it an appealing appearance.

Regarding the display, the Realme C67 5G sports a 6.72-inch FHD+ panel of the IPS LCD variety with a 120Hz refresh rate. The display incorporates a centrally positioned punch-hole for the selfie camera, offers 550 nits of peak brightness, and exhibits noticeable bezels. The colours look punchy and bright, and the brightness is good enough to view the text under direct sunlight. The viewing angles might disappoint you, but given the price, it can be neglected.

The handset is equipped with a mono bottom-firing speaker that delivers loud sound, albeit lacking in crispness. In terms of security features, the C67 5G integrates a fingerprint scanner on the right spine, swiftly and securely unlocking the device.

Cameras

Coming to the optics, the Realme C67 5G sports a 50MP dual rear camera setup and an 8MP shooter in the punch-hole setup on the front. Except for the sharpness, I found the image quality at par with the more expensive Realme 11x, which comes with a higher-res 64MP main shooter. The 50MP primary camera outputs a 12.5MP image by default with a respectable level of detailing and dynamic range. The colours might appear punchy and bright but deviate from reality. Furthermore, there’s some loss of detail in exposure around the shadowy areas. The camera is assisted by a 2MP depth sensor, which does surprisingly well in daylight. The sensor with an f/2.8 focal length captures portraits with nice edge detection and natural depth of field.

The low-light performance of the cameras is so-so. While they can effectively focus on the subject and process images, the details may not be optimal, and colours appear dull, accompanied by noise across the frame. While the night mode succeeds in reducing the noise, thanks to the long exposure shot, it still needs some work. The 8MP front camera captures selfies with decent facial detailing and colour accuracy in a well-lit environment.

Performance and software

The Realme C67 5G is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ SoC, paired with up to 6GB of RAM and 128GB of user-expandable storage. The handset delivers swift performance for most basic activities, including browsing, social media scrolling, navigation, and more. Multitasking also appears smooth with a limited number of apps running in the background. As for gaming, the phone manages to run BGMI with medium graphics and frame rate settings without many hiccups. That said, I did notice a slight increase in the Realme C67 5G’s thermal levels after a gaming session.

When it comes to the benchmarking tests, the Realme C67 5G manages to achieve fractionally better scores on AnTuTu and GPU compared to the POCO M6 5G (review), which is also driven by MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ SoC.

Software-wise, the Realme C67 5G runs Android 13-based Realme UI 4.0 out of the box. The UI looks bloated with several pre-installed apps, some of which are removable but require effort from your side. Push notifications are also present. However, if you are a fan of customisations, you will be right at home with this custom Android skin.

Battery and charging speeds

The Realme C67 5G houses a 5,000mAh battery, which offers at least a day’s battery life with regular usage. On the PC Mark battery test, the handset achieved a score of 19 hours and one minute. Regarding charging, the Realme smartphone supports a 33W fast charging solution, capable of charging the device from 0 to 100 percent in an hour and a half. Final verdict

The Realme C67 5G can be yours at Rs 13,999 for the 4GB RAM variant, whereas the 6GB RAM option is selling at Rs 14,999. Despite its capabilities, the smartphone might face an uphill task in attracting buyers, with many of its issues arising from Realme’s strategy of offering similar smartphones across price ranges. For Rs 14,999, you can get Realme 11x (review), which comes with a better primary camera sensor than the C-series offering. Besides this, the C67 also gets stiff competition from the Moto G54 5G (review) and Galaxy A14 5G (review), both priced around Rs 14,000 after discounts. The handsets come with relatively cleaner software and better lowlight photography.

That said, if you are a fan of Realme and have a strict budget of under Rs 14,000, the Realme C67 5G is worth considering. The phone excels in performance, display quality, battery life, and more.

Editor’s rating: 7.5 / 10

Reasons to buy

• The FHD+ display provides a decent viewing experience.
• The delivers swift performance for most basic activities.
• The handset offers a day’s battery life with regular usage.

Reasons not to buy

• The software comes loaded with several pre-installed apps.
• Lowlight camera performance of the device is, at best, average.