Setting a higher standard for value

TEN weeks—that’s the lifespan of the average iphone before it gets damaged, according to a poll conducted by a United Kingdom-based research company. I’m not sure if Android phones enjoy a longer pristine lifespan before it gets maculated, but the most common phone mishaps surveyed are accidental drops (from your hand, pockets, or bags) water damage catastrophes (spills/ submerged) and toddlers.

Yes, those cute adorable little humans are secretly smartphone assassins.

Which is why durability should always be one of our concerns when buying a new smartphone. After all, it’s probably the object we touch and hold most everyday.

Unlike design, however, we often associate durability to brands that have been in the market for quite a while. That’s why we often think first of Toyota, Mitsubishi, Honda or Ford when it comes to cars, Sony and Samsung for TVS, and other longstanding brands when choosing our appliances.

So how does a two-year-old company like realme Philippines prove that its smartphones are just as durable as the “older” or more established brands?

Just a few weeks following the release of its narzo 30A smartphone, the brand announced its newest entry-level phone: the realme C25. But besides the usual upgrades, better camera, bigger battery and improved processor, it also comes with a certificate of its own: as the first smartphone to receive the TÜV Rheinland Smartphone High-reliability Certification.

As today’s youth use smartphones a lot differently from older age groups, realme has been working with TÜV Rheinland to improve the quality of its smartphones by designing the next generation of quality standards.

The partnership aims to improve the standards currently used in the industry and raise the quality of entry-level models to flagship standards and improve the smartphone experience during its initial threeyear life cycle.

The TÜV Rheinland Smartphone High-reliability Certification process encompasses 23 major tests, including 10 daily use test scenarios, such as drop, wear, and tear; seven extreme environment test scenarios, including super extreme temperature, extreme humidity, voltage fluctuation, button life, static electricity, air pressure; and six component reliability test scenarios.

Aside from setting a good benchmark for creating high-quality products, realme is also trying to understand how digital natives are using their smartphones. The brand has been reaching out to customers and fans to conduct product experience surveys and getting feedback during the mid-product life cycle and deep-diving into the results.

Based on younger users’ usual scenarios, such as travel and outdoor extreme outdoor sports, the brand has done more vigorous tests set in environmental settings. To withstand accident drops in popular outdoor sports such as skateboarding and parkour, the products go through more aggressive drop tests at a height up to 1.8 meters at multiple sides on different surface materials. It also simulates extreme temperature from negative 40 degrees Celsius to 75 degrees Celsius in an outdoor environmental setting to make sure all products will remain functioning.

I’ve been using the realme C25 for the past couple of weeks and while it’s impossible to say if it lives up to its promised durability, there are subtle nuances that confirm that it does follow the new standards.

Unlike other realme smartphones, for example, realme says the C25’s back cover is processed using the industry-leading German five axis precise radium engraving machine and undergoes 300 minutes of polishing. The 450+ curves are engraved to create a special reflective light effect. Don’t expect much of a drastic change in looks though, as it still retains the polycarbonate plastic unibody chassis and the design is still the same as its predecessors except for a less shiny finish. Available in two colors (Water Blue and Water Grey), the new design and texture does make it less susceptible to fingerprints and the grooves do protect it from scratching easily. It also gives it a better grip and prevents it from sliding off the table, which is more likely to happen given that a lot of us are still working from home

(and using the dining table as our work desk).

Now, what good is durability if a phone isn’t enjoyable to use?

The good news is that the realme C25, priced at P7,490, remains a fun phone.

Its cameras, for me, is the best among the C-series lineup. The main 48MP primary camera has a f/1.8 large aperture that secures enough light to make pictures clearer and brighter. In addition, the camera also supports Phase Detection Auto-focus (PDAF) to make focusing more rapid and precise. Photos taken outdoors are nicely detailed with vibrant colors. It also does an acceptable job taking indoor shots as long as there is ample lighting. The macro lens, on the other hand, allows you to shoot close-up photos of smaller objects with sharper details—just make sure to have enough light.

For those who love taking portrait photos, the realme C25 adds a B&W Lens that provides higher exposure and enhances contrast between the light and dark of images. Exposure, color temperature, hue and other parameters can be repeatedly fine-adjusted in portrait mode. Edge detection on portraits is good enough to give you that blurry background and make your subject stand out. I would have preferred a wide angle lens instead of the B&W though. For those who love taking selfies, the 8MP selfie camera provides you with all the beauty options to make you look as flawless as you’d like. Video quality, however, isn’t as good as there is no sort of stabilization. Still, the camera quality is an improvement, and it’s more than what you would expect from an entry-level device.

The C25 has a large 6.5-inch display with a 20:9 ratio providing a worthwhile gaming, audio and video experience. The IPS LCD display produces accurate colors and good viewing angles. Unfortunately, it only has a 1600 x 720 resolution with a pixel density of 270ppi unlike other similar priced phones which already have Full HD displays. For audio, the single firing speaker does a decent job but again, do not expect too much and you are better off using an earphone or headset.

Performance-wise, the realme C25 gets an upgraded Helio G70 Processor paired with 4GB RAM. Its clocks at 2GHZ and adopts a Cortex A75 structure, and is supposed to be one of the fastest in its category. This makes it ideal for mainstream smartphone users and casual gamers. I’ve used it for the usual gaming tests like the Asphalt series and

Mobile Legends, and

both play smoothly on default but with a bit of slowdown on higher settings. Same goes when there are a lot of apps open and you need to switch between applications. It’s an expected limitation but nothing that will annoy or frustrate you. It does have a massive 128GB storage so you will never run out of storage, and if you do, you could simply pop in a 256GB microsd card.

Gen Z users love to customize their phones and the C25 now has realme UI 2.0 allowing them to combine and create their realme UI as they like. There’s the newly upgraded icon customization feature that supports third-party icon packs. In addition to the ART+ redraw icon, realme UI 2.0 allows users to resize icons and adjust the size of application names using the font size adjustment function. There’s also the new theme color feature and customizable Dark Mode. Lastly, realme UI 2.0 has a built-in realme Link app to help the phone connect to its ecosystem allowing users better manage their AIOT devices.

For security, the realme C25 (still) has a rear fingerprint sensor and facial recognition. The rear positioning is a bit outdated, but the good thing is that both work quite accurately and really fast.

Finally, powering the C25 is a 6000mah battery that could easily last two days of moderate usage. It comes with an 18W charger and fully charging the device takes around two hours.

Final word: The realme C25 is a good, albeit small step forward for its C-series lineup. The new processor, upgraded camera and the implementation of realme UI 2.0 give you an overall improved performance, and you also get a bonus in terms of peace of mind with the TÜV Rheinland Reliability Certification if you want a phone that’s built to last.