It has come to this day that we should rank realme C55 amongst our most prestigious smartphone tier list; the question is– can this device secure a spot within our Super Sulit category?
The realme C55 is the number one smartphone brand (as of Q4 2022 Canalys surveys) in the Philippines’ answer to the super affordable Spark 10 Pro from TECNO. Can it dethrone the Super Sulit king so far in the 2023 10K Tier List, or it needs to settle someplace else?
On paper, the realme C55 has a lot to give within a very affordable price point; a notable example to compare from last year’s realme C35 is the change in processor.
From a Unisoc Tiger T616 to an Helio G88 – there are no drastic changes if you look at it via the latest AnTuTu scores. Still, developers favor MediaTek more than Unisoc, so you’ll get a much more optimized user experience from media consumption to playing games.
Another significant improvement is eliminating the water drop notch into a proper hole punch for the better. The screen size gets even more critical, from 6.6-inch to 6.72-inch, roughly 2 inches more. And, of course, it has a 90Hz refresh rate compared to last year’s C35’s default 60Hz.
The camera is also trimmed down to the essentials: this year’s C55 has an even better 64MP primary sensor with a 2MP sensor. A far cry from realme C35’s 50MP primary sensor + 2MP macro and a barely usable 0.3MP depth camera. A welcome upgrade for sure, as few people find macro lenses useful anyways.
Aside from those differences, everything has been a stalemate to one. However, which is prettier? We all know that both the C35 and C55 heavily borrowed their design from one fruit-branded tech company we all know and kind of love to hate (At least in some people).
While the realme C35 looks modern and desirable, the realme C55 bumped it up a notch by also including a sweet sunray effect that can turn into a burst of prism scattered into a ray burst effect like when the Sun shines on you on a great morning.
Where did the realme C55 stay in our 2023 10K Below Tier List? While we are tempted to place it beside the current 2023 Super Sulit King, the Spark 10 Pro– we can’t help but highlight some of the features why realme C55 shouldn’t stay in the Super Sulit realm.
For once, the TECNO Spark 10 Pro and the realme C55 looked like your most popular flagship device with their dedicated ecosystem, but the Spark 10 Pro has a scratch-proof back – something the realme C55 can’t match. Also, the single most unique thing about this device– is the Mini Capsule, which functions like the iPhone’s Dynamic Island (hooray, we finally said it), but as of now, a few notifications and the act of charging will trigger this function, and there’s not much else.
On the bright side, the realme C55 has a much faster charging speed at 33 watts than the Spark 10 Pro, which only has a measly 18W charging rate. But what exactly ended the realme C55 from securing a spot in our Super Sulit section? Price point.
The realme C55 starts at around PHP8,999 for the default 6+128GB variant and PHP10,999 for the maxed-out 8+256GB. You can get an 8+256GB maxed-out TECNO Spark 10 Pro for around PHP8,699, so realme C55 has to step down ultimately.
We also plan to demote the Redmi Note 12 from Super Sulit to a Maganda Na spot because its cheapest variant (PHP8,599) only has 4+128GB and a Snapdragon 685; it performs almost the same power as the Helio G88 chipset. And for that note, we have to place it down the ranks. It was a good one week at the top, at least.
