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realme U1 announced: Helio P70 chipset, 25MP selfie camera for $170
- realme has announced the realme U1 smartphone, packing a 25MP selfie camera.
- The phone is also equipped with a Helio P70 chip, 3GB or 4GB of RAM, and 32GB or 64GB of storage.
- The realme U1 starts at ~$170, and goes on sale from December 5.
Realme revealed the existence of the realme U1 earlier this month, promising a mid-range device with top-notch selfie credentials. The company held the official launch event in India today, revealing all there is to know about the device.
The realme U1’s key selling point is the selfie camera, packing a 25MP f/2.0 front snapper (IMX576) akin to the OPPO F9. The selfie camera is also equipped with four-in-one pixel binning, real-time beautification/bokeh/HDR previews, multi-frame noise reduction, and night shot functionality. realme claims the selfie camera is also capable of recognizing 296 identification points to serve up to eight million personalized beauty solutions.
Switch to the back and you’ve got a 13MP+2MP camera pairing (f/2.2 and f/2.4 respectively), as you’d expect from a mid-range phone in 2018. The cameras are capable of bokeh effects, AI scene detection, and portrait lighting (natural, film, mono, rim, and bi-color options). The phone also supports 90fps slow-motion video recording (not a typo, by the way), which is a long way off 120fps and 240fps slow-mo seen in rival handsets.
As for the key specs, realme previously confirmed that the phone would pack the Helio P70 chipset. We’ve also got a 6.3-inch full HD+ screen with a waterdrop notch, 3GB or 4GB of RAM, 32GB or 64GB of expandable storage, a 3,500mAh battery, rear fingerprint scanner, and AI Face Unlock functionality.
Unfortunately the phone is using microUSB rather than USB Type-C, as well as Bluetooth 4.2 instead of Bluetooth 5. Additionally, you can expect ColorOS 5.2 based on Android 8.1, rather than a taste of Android Pie. At least the company has retained the headphone jack.
The smartphone will be available from December 5 on Amazon India, starting at 11,999 rupees (~$170) for the 3GB/32GB model, and 14,499 rupees (~$205) for the 4GB/64GB variant. The device will be available in blue, gold and black color schemes.
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