Just as we reported last week, the Realme 5i is indeed coming to the Malaysian market. Set to be launched here on 14 January next week, the affordable smartphone is quite interesting, thanks to its huge 5,000 battery and affordable price tag. Chances are, it should serve as an even more affordable alternative to the Realme 5.
After all, the Realme 5i shares a lot in common with the Realme 5; the former is only ever so slightly different in certain aspects. For one, it has an 8MP f/2.0 selfie camera instead of the Realme 5’s 13MP f/2.0 front-facing shooter. On top of that, the Realme 5i also sports a different back design (and colour) without the diamond-cut pattern.
Beyond that, other specifications of the Realme 5i mirror that of the Realme 5. It has a 6.5-inch 1600 x 720 HD+ IPS display with an 89% screen-to-body ratio, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 chipset, a rear fingerprint sensor, and of course, a very generous 5,000mAh battery.
In the camera department, the Realme 5i features a quad camera system on the back. It’s made up of a 12MP f/1.8 main shooter, an 8MP f/2.25 ultra-wide angle sensor, a 2MP portrait camera, and a 2MP macro lens. Basically, the very same camera configuration as the Realme 5.
Other specifications of the Realme 5i include a microSD card slot – it supports cards up to 256GB – a microUSB port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and ColorOS 6.0.1 based on Android 9 Pie out of the box.
Despite its similarities to the Realme 5, the Realme 5i’s main selling point is its lower asking price. For the Indian market, the 5i retails at only 8,999 Indian rupee for the sole 64GB model with 4GB of RAM. Converted to our currency, that’s only about RM515.
To put this into context, the most affordable Realme 5 for the Malaysian market is the 32GB variant with 3GB of RAM, which goes for RM549. If the 64GB Realme 5i does make its way here with a similar price tag, it’ll be a really good buy for those on a tight budget.
Granted, there’s a chance the Indian pricing of the Realme 5i won’t be reflected here once the smartphone reaches our shores. Nonetheless, we’ll just have to wait until 14 January next week to find out exactly how much the Realme 5i would cost in Malaysia.