Realme C55 First Impressions: All About the Mini Capsule?

On this week’s orbital, we discuss the Realme C55, which has been getting a lot of attention for its Mini Capsule feature.

Written by Sheldon Pinto, Edited by David Delima | Updated: 24 March 2023 18:26 IST

Realme C55 First Impressions: All About the Mini Capsule?

Realme C55 price in India starts at Rs. 10,999

After initially showcasing its idea for a Dynamic Island lookalike on social media soon after the Apple iPhone 14 series launch, Realme finally launched a smartphone with the software feature and it was called the C55. The phone was first launched in Indonesia and has now finally arrived in India at a starting price of Rs 10,999. The budget smartphone will go on sale in India from March 28 and will be available in three variants with the most high-end model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage priced at Rs. 13,999.

On this week's episode of the Gadgets 360 podcast Orbital, host Siddharth Suvarna and Executive Editor Jamshed Avari talk to Senior Reviewer Sheldon Pinto — that's me — to discuss the Realme C55. We discussed everything from why Realme decided on bringing Android's first Dynamic-Island-like feature to a budget smartphone, to how it did not work the way we expected it to — and how Apple's Dynamic Island feature is vastly different in principle.

We start off by discussing how Realme's C series has now graduated to the budget tier after starting off from the entry-level smartphone segment. There haven't been too many launches from smartphone brands in the entry-level segment lately and this is probably down to consumer's who are willing to spend a bit more to take advantage of better camera features or faster charging, as seen in our interview with Realme's Vice President for Business and Corporate Strategy (Global), Madhav Sheth.

Digging into the feature that makes this smartphone so special, which is the Mini Capsule. As pointed out in our first impressions, it works very differently from Apple's Dynamic Island implementation. In fact, most users will barely notice it as the notifications only pop up for a few seconds and with a very limited set of features. We go about explaining how Apple's implementation of the original is very different but at the same time how it's barely being used by developers as well.

Realme C55 First Impressions: Dynamic Island Comes to Android

We then round it all up by our views on the Realme C55 and how much has changed in terms of updates over the previous models, and how its camera and design are the main focus with this model. The phone also lacks one major feature that its competition has managed to include. The Realme C55 features a 6.72-inch full-HD+ IPS LCD display with a 90Hz refresh rate. It is powered by a MediaTek Helio G88 SoC and offers a maximum of 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage. The device has two rear facing cameras which includes a primary 64-megapixel shooter and a 2-megapixel camera for gathering depth data. Selfies are handled by an 8-megapixel camera. The budget device is powered by a 5,000mAh battery and comes with a 33W charger in the box.

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Realme C55

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Premium-looking design
Bright 90Hz LCD panel
Fast wired charging
Good daylight imaging
3.5mm headphone port

Bad
Lacks 5G connectivity
Software stutters and lags
Mini Capsule feature is half-baked
Too much bloatware, spammy notifications
Battery only lasts a day

Read detailed Realme C55 review

Display 6.72-inch

Processor MediaTek Helio G88

Front Camera 8-megapixel

Rear Camera 64-megapixel + 2-megapixel

RAM 4GB, 6GB, 8GB

Storage 64GB, 128GB

Battery Capacity 5000mAh

OS Android 13

Resolution 1080x2400 pixels

More Realme mobiles Realme mobiles price in India

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Further reading: Realme C55, Realme C55 specifiications, Mini Capsule

Sheldon Pinto Email Sheldon Pinto

Sheldon Pinto is based in Mumbai, and has several years of experience in reviewing smartphones and gadgets. As a Senior Reviewer at Gadgets 360, you will always find him deeply immersed in his reviews, switching from one phone to another. When the battery dies out, Sheldon is always browsing the web for a good sci-fi movie or reading up on cars and bikes. He also loves creating lists of interesting places to eat and travel. Sheldon is available on Twitter at @shellshocd, and you can mail him at ...More