Realme 2 review: Smartphone with notched display that's easy on the pocket

Available at Rs 8,999 for the 3GB+32GB edition, the Realme 2 comes loaded with premium features but compromises on a few others to keep the phone in an incredible price bracket

Going by the smartphone trends of 2018, the notch is here to stay. Introduced by iphone X, it is now a standard feature in every single brand that has come up with its own smartphone models. Realme 2 takes the notch game to a different level. While most of the offerings in this space come at higher price points, the Realme 2 is available at an incredible starting price of Rs 8,990. 

The phone is loaded with features -- a notched display with 19:9 aspect ratio, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 screen, fingerprint sensor, face recognition, separate slot for external memory -- name it and the phone has it. As exciting as all this sounds, not everything is hunky dory when it comes to performance. The 6.2-inch HD+ IPS display lacks the punch in screen resolution. The maximum brightness is average and makes the screen reflective, limiting outdoor readability. Nevertheless, the colours are vibrant and the average screen performance can be forgiven at this price point.

The most eye-catching part about the phone is the diamond glass effect on the back. The two available variants, 'Diamond Black' and 'Diamond Red' have the design while the "Diamond Blue' edition will also come with the same back. As far as the design is concerned, 15 tangent planes are carved onto the back panel that reflects light in various ways. However, scratches and fingerprints are easily picked by the fibreglass back that even makes the phone somewhat slippery. 

The Realme 2 is powered by octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 SoC, which carries out the basic day-to-day chores without any hiccups. I personally loved Realme 1 because of its Helio P60 SoC but the Snapdragon 450 is the go to processor at this price range and it performs quite well, to be honest. I reviewed the 4GB+64GB variant and the device loaded PUBG faster than OnePlus 3T at times. 

The phone comes with ColorOS 5.1 operating system based on Android 8.1.Oreo. Dual 4G-standby sim slots are available along with a dedicated memory card slot. This is one of the welcoming features of this device, as hybrid slots limit storage expansion capabilities.

The battery lasts quite long. With normal to moderate usage the battery lasts a day, even more with its considerable 4,230mAh battery. I rarely faced issues and the phone had enough juice for regular music, video streaming and net surfing.

The camera is decent at this price point. You get a dual setup, including a 13-megapixel primary camera with an aperture of f/2.2 and a 2-megapixel secondary camera for depth data, instead of the single lens shooter of Realme 1 and the performance is at par. The 8-megapixel front shooter was bit of a let down, although it clicked decent selfies in supportive light, the detailing faltered with low light conditions and the f/2.2 didn't help much.

To conclude, the latest Realme 2 scores with outstanding battery life, an uncommon design, a dedicated slot for microSD card, and a decent build quality but fails to deliver with its camera and display. While the 3GB+32GB version is available at Rs 8,990, the 4GB+64GB edition is available at Rs 10,990.