Realme C100x

At Rs. 62,999, the Realme C100x is worth considering mainly if battery life is your top priority. Its 8000mAh battery with 45W charging is one of the biggest you can buy at this price, and you also get a 120Hz screen, a microSD slot, a headphone jack and a 45W charger in the box.

The compromises are hard to ignore at this price:

• An HD+ (720p) IPS LCD where rivals offer AMOLED panels.
• An entry-level Unisoc T7250 chip with eMMC storage and 4G only.
• A basic 5MP selfie camera and only IP64 splash resistance.

Against the alternatives, the Itel Super 26 Ultra costs less and brings an AMOLED 144Hz screen and 8GB RAM, while the Infinix Hot 60 Pro adds an AMOLED screen and a stronger Helio G200 chip for a little more money. Both have much smaller batteries.

Verdict: buy the C100x if you want a reliable-brand phone that lasts two days or more on a charge. If display quality and speed matter more, the rivals give more for the money.

The Realme C100x has a 6.8-inch IPS LCD with 720 x 1570 (HD+) resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate and 900 nits peak brightness in high brightness mode. Scrolling is smooth, and a 240Hz touch sampling rate keeps taps responsive.

In daily use the brightness is decent indoors and outdoors, but the 900-nit peak is noticeably lower than the 1200 nits of the Realme C100, which shows mainly in strong sunlight. The bigger weakness is sharpness: HD+ on a 6.8-inch screen looks soft compared with Full HD, and IPS colours and contrast are behind AMOLED.

The screen also uses a U-shaped notch instead of a punch-hole, which looks dated, though video streaming up to 1080p 60fps is supported.

The phone runs on the Unisoc T7250 (octa-core, up to 1.8GHz) with 6GB or 8GB RAM and eMMC storage. Its benchmark score of close to 400,000 in AnTuTu is slightly higher than the Helio G92 Max in the pricier Realme C100.

• Everyday use: apps and the interface run without the lag earlier T7250 phones were known for, because software has since been optimised for this chip.
• Gaming: PUBG Mobile runs at HD graphics on High, and casual games around 40fps are manageable.
• Limits: this is an entry-level chip in a phone priced above that class. eMMC storage is slower than UFS, and the phone is 4G only.

Heating and long gaming sessions were not tested in depth, so sustained performance is not confirmed.

The Realme C100x has a 50MP main camera with an auxiliary lens on the back and a 5MP selfie camera on the front.

• Daylight: both cameras perform decently, and even the 5MP selfie camera gives good results thanks to processing.
• Low light: tricky. Photos easily come out shaky or blurred if your hand moves, though the AI Clear Face edit in the gallery can noticeably sharpen blurry faces afterwards.
• Video: the rear camera records at 1080p 30fps without electronic stabilisation, while the selfie camera is limited to 720p, where over-sharpening and poor light handling show.

The camera covers basic needs, but it is not a reason to choose this phone at its price.

Battery is the Realme C100x's main strength. It packs an 8000mAh battery with 45W fast charging, and the 45W charger is included in the box.

With moderate use, expect around two days per charge; Realme claims two and a half to three days with light use. Realme also says the battery is built to keep its health for years of charge cycles.

You can use the phone as a power bank through reverse wired charging for earbuds, smartwatches or another phone, although charging other devices this way is slow. Despite the large battery, the phone stays about 8.6mm thick, though it weighs over 200 grams.

The Realme C100x ships with Android 16 and Realme UI 7, but it does not get the full Realme UI 7 feature set of the Realme C100. Useful extras include:

• A Pulse Light notification LED on the back that can show different colours for different apps, and turns green while charging.
• AI tools such as Circle to Search, Google Gemini, AI Outdoor Mode and AI Boost.
• AI Clear Face in the gallery editor to fix blurry faces.
• A 300% volume boost for the single speaker.

Some bloatware comes preinstalled, but it can be easily uninstalled. Realme has not published an official Android update commitment for this model, so do not count on major upgrades.