Realme X3 SuperZoom Review - Android

Being a brand for the masses, Realme Philippines was easing it up by initially bringing its entry-level smartphones in the local market. Then the sub-Php10k smartphones arrived, midrange phones a few months later, and now, the company has launched its first flagship phone in the country.

Staying true to their core, their first high-end offering in the Philippines wouldn’t give fans a price shock as it’s still aimed to be a bang-for-the-buck offering.

With that, here in our Realme X3 SuperZoom review, we’ll see what does this budget flagship has in store for us. Let’s begin.

Realme X3 SuperZoom Specs

• Android 10, Realme UI
• Dual SIM, Dual Standby
• 6.6-inch FHD+ IPS display, 2400 x 1080 pixel resolution, ~398ppi
• 120Hz refresh rate, 90.5% screen-to-body ratio, Corning Gorilla Glass 5
• 2.96GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Plus octa-core processor
• 12GB RAM LPDDR4x
• Adreno 640 GPU
• 256GB UFS 3.0 internal storage, non-expandable
• 32-megapixel (f/2.5) + 8-megapixel (ultra-wide) front cameras
• 64-megapixel (f/1.8, Samsung GW1) + 8-megapixel (ultra-wide, f/2.3) + 8-megapixel (Periscope, 5x optical, 60x digital, OIS) + 2-megapixel (macro) rear cameras, PDAF, LED flash
• UIS Max Video stabilization
• Side-mounted fingerprint scanner, Face unlock
• Single super Linear Speaker, Dolby Atmos, Hi-Res Audio
• HSPA+, 4G LTE
• WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
• Bluetooth 5.0
• Dual-frequency GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, QZSS
• USB Type-C
• Dimensions: 163.8 x 75.8 x 8.9mm
• Weight: 202g
• Colors: Arctic White, Glacier Blue
• 4,200mAh non-removable battery, 30W Dart Charge

Design and Build Quality

We’ve always praised Realme for coming up with new designs in almost every of their releases. However, they set the bar too high that we feel a bit shortchanged on the Raelme X3 SuperZoom’s design.

The look where the quad cameras are on a vertical orientation on the top left, with the Realme logo adjacent too it, is starting to feel old. It looks the same from the Realme XT from last year, and a couple of other Realme devices before and after that.

However, Realme is treating us with a matte finish on this Corning Gorilla Glass 5 back panel, which is the same glass found on the front for extra durability. Realme did a special treatment to make it fingerprint-proof and not prone to glares, and it works.

I’ve never used a case on this thing and as you can see, it’s still squeaky clean. Despite the matte appearance, it has a reflective paint job that adds spice to the design. The review unit we got is the Arctic White variant, which looks really clean. But if you think it’s boring, you can get the Glacier Blue option.

The main chassis looks like metal, but feels plastic. You really can’t have it all, especially for an affordable flagship like this. There’s a pre-applied screen protector and a smoked clear case included on the box for extra protection.

What you’d immediately notice upon holding the Realme X3 SuperZoom is how large it is. You can easily get used to this, but at 8.9mm thickness and weight of 202g, this is definitely not the most compact smartphone around.

On the upside, Realme did a great job of streamlining the design and make it cleaner. We have an all-screen look on the front, with the punch-hole on the top left securing the dual selfie camera. The bezels are as thin as they can be, so the large 6.6-inch screen can fully take advantage of the space.

Since it uses an IPS panel, the Realme X3 SuperZoom can’t have an in-display fingerprint scanner. So instead of placing it in the back and be distracting, Realme opt for a side-mounted one and combines it with the lock/power button.

On the left side, we have the volume controls. All the physical buttons, especially the fingerprint scanner, feels a bit stiff when pressed.

The top only has the noise-canceling microphone. While on the bottom, we have the loudspeaker, USB Type-C cable, and primary microphone. We also have the dual SIM tray down here but, disappointingly, it lacks a microSD card slot. It does come with 256GB of storage, which might be enough for some.

For some reason, the X3 SuperZoom also lacks a headphone jack and doesn’t come with a USB Type-C to 3.5mm adapter on the box. But if you pre-ordered the device, then you might have gotten a free Realme Buds Air anyway.

All in all, we’re pretty satisfied with the Realme X3 SuperZoom’s design. It feels… practical. It may not be the most compact and imaginative design around, but it does a decent job of cramming all the power that’s inside this device.

Display and Audio Quality

The Realme X3 SuperZoom boasts a large 6.6-inch FHD+ IPS screen. Opting for an IPS screen, instead of OLED, is really disappointing for this price. However, Realme makes up for it by including a 120Hz refresh rate on this thing, a feature we only saw on really expensive devices like the Galaxy S20 Ultra.

Overall, the display quality is pretty satisfactory. Although, the overall color quality and contrast, especially the black levels, isn’t as good as the OLED panels around. However, the smooth 120Hz refresh rate really makes for a stunning visual experience.

You can compare it with a regular 60Hz screen and it makes a ton of difference. However, only a select number of video streaming and game apps can support 120Hz. But when it kicks in, you’d really appreciate how smooth everything is.

However, running at 120Hz all the time can easily drain the battery. In the display settings, you can opt to stay at 60Hz, beating the purpose of having a 120Hz. Or, set it to Auto, so it intelligently switches between 60Hz and 120Hz depending on what you’re doing to conserve battery.

Moreover, the single bottom-firing speaker provides a loud volume with a well-balanced sound. However, it would be nice to see a stereo speaker setup on this thing. The lack of a Type-C to headphone jack adapter, and a pair of earphones themselves, made lack of the headphone jack worse.

Hardware and Performance

It may not be the most powerful processor today, but the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Plus chipset on the Realme X3 SuperZoom is still one of the most capable chipset around. Realme aims to provide a flagship experience, without the high-end price that would’ve happened if they went with the Snapdragon 865.

What’s more interesting is, the sole unit we’ll be getting in the Philippines comes with a generous 12GB of RAM, which is more than what other high-end phones offer. There’s also the 256GB of storage, although the lack of a micro SD card slot for future expandability can be a big bummer for power users.

Realme X3 SuperZoom Benchmark scores

But nevertheless, the performance on this device is really fast and smooth, as you can see in the benchmark scores above. The Snapdragon 855 Plus is probably the second most powerful processor from Qualcomm, next to the Snapdragon 865, so we have no doubts about its performance.

Multitasking, taking pictures, social media browsing, video calls, and playing popular and demanding games like Mobile Legends and Call of Duty Mobile are really seamless on this thing.

Software and User Interface

The Realme X3 SuperZoom runs on the latest Android 10 operating system with the Realme UI on top. Realme’s interface are more straightforward and cleaner than what others have and is almost close to the stock Android look.

The home screen looks really clean, you can easily swipe up to quickly reveal the app drawer — just like stock Android. Swiping down reveals a search tab that can easily do local search and launch apps.

On the top, there’s the notifications tab and the control center which you can expand. You can also enable the system-wide dark mode from here, which also works in most apps. You can schedule when the dark