In India, the budget smartphone market is rapidly changing, with the newest budget devices beginning to include 5G services. Realme has heavily influenced the market with the P-series, with the P standing for Power. The most recent release is the realme P4 Lite 5G, an affordable option for consumers looking for devices with both long battery life and the ability to access high-speed internet. I spent considerable time testing the 6GB RAM and 128GB storage in Mosaic Blue colour, priced at ₹15,999 in India. This device is aimed at young consumers who access social media and stream videos and play light games.
Key takeaways
- With moderate use, the 7000mAh battery lasted almost 2 days.
- Daily use, light gaming, and browsing use the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 chipset, which has a reliable 5G
- Smooth scrolling is made possible by the 144Hz refresh rate on the LCD panel, but HD+ will not provide the highest resolution.
- The 13MP Main camera performs terribly at night and decently during the day.
- The IP64 and ArmorShell protection provide decent protection for unexpected falls, which is usually not offered at this price.
Design and Build Quality
Realme’s “Mosaic” design features a textured back that catches the light beautifully while maintaining a lightweight feel. The blue hue easily edges out the competition in this budget range and is coupled with a large 7000 mAh battery to keep the device at a slim 8.4mm. At 212g, the device is quite heavy, however, the weight is well distributed enough that it doesn’t give my wrist a break during reading sessions.
This is the first time a device with ArmorShell, MIL-STD-810H certification has been offered to the public. The build quality is reassuringly solid and the device has sustained drops to wooden desks with no damage. The IP64 certification means that it is splash resistant and dust proof in other words, don’t fully submerge it in water, but it should work great while it is drizzling outside.
Display Performance
The 6.8 inch LCD display of the realme P4 Lite 5G is also one of the biggest phones for this price. In addition, it is one of the few phones we have seen at this price point that implements a 144hz refresh rate display. Scrolling in the user interface and social media such as Instagram is much more fluid when the refresh rate is this high. There is a downside though, as the display is only HD+ (720 x 1570). On a large display with this sorts of low resolution, when you look at a high res photo, the pixelation is apparent and the text does look blurry.
The peak brightness goes up to 900 nits which should be good enough for indoor uses and even in some cases of direct sun using it outside. It will fair well as it is average for outdoors and brightness and colors are worse than AMOLED. Dark levels on Netflix are not true blacks and the viewing angles are average when it comes to LCD. As a Lite variant, this Lite display will be good enough for social media usage, however it is not a good display for content consumption.
Performance and 5G Connectivity
The MediaTek Dimensity 6300 5G chipset powers this device. It is an efficient 5G chipset and uses a 6nm processor. In daily tasks such as switching between WhatsApp and Chrome, as well as Spotify, this device stays responsive. The 6GB RAM is adequate, in conjunction with the realme UI that handles background tasks efficiently.
Gaming on the realme P4 Lite 5G is a spectrum. Casual games such as Subway Surfers run with no issues. In BGMI (Battlegrounds Mobile India), the device set graphics to “smooth” and frame rates to “Ultra” by default. While it is playable, frame drops during heated combat scenarios are noticeable. To keep things from overheating, Realme equipped this device with a 5300mm² Airflow VC cooling system. After a 40 minute gaming session, the back of the device remained only slightly warm.
5G performance on this device stood out during the testing process. I tested a Jio 5G SIM and experienced consistent downloads over 300 Mbps in regions with good coverage in Delhi. The device is equipped with a myriad of 5G bands, resulting in good coverage across different telecom circles in India.
Camera Capabilities
The realme P4 Lite 5G has limited camera capabilities. It has only one 13MP camera on the back. While many phones feature 3 or 4 cameras on the back, I would take a camera like this over back cameras with low-quality 2MP sensors.
The 13MP camera takes photos with fair color accuracy and detail. These photos will be good enough to post on social media. It has average dynamic range. If the sun is in front of the camera it is possible to wash out the sky. The camera has a very difficult time when it is dark outside. The camera will take a photo with a lot of noise. You will also need to be very steady in order to get a good photo since the camera does not have Optical Image Stabilization.
Realme phones tend to have smoothing on video calls and selfie cameras which is present on the 5MP front camera. This default beauty filter can be changed in the settings, but the camera may smooth skin textures. Videos can only be recorded at 1080p and 30fps which is the standard for this price range.
Battery Life and Charging
The 7000mAh battery steals the show. Most other smartphones only have 5000mAh batteries. That extra 2000mAh will enhance the experience. I managed to survive months of gaming with only a few hours of screen time including 5G gaming. I was also using YouTube and Google Maps.
If you are a light user you may be able to last as long as 12 hours. Realme claims to use Silicon Carbon battery technology. This unique technology allows them to shrink the size of the individual battery components while also increasing the size of the components. Battery longevity outweighs the tradeoff of long charge times. I also plugged in the device to charge overnight every few days.
Software and User Experience
The phone runs on realme UI 7.0, which is based on Android 16. This is one of the first budget devices to ship with the latest version of the operating system, giving it a longer life cycle. The interface is colorful and offers plenty of customization options, from icon shapes to font styles. It includes some “Next AI” features that help with photo editing and system optimization.
However, the software does come with its fair share of pre-installed apps. You will find several third-party apps and realme’s own versions of standard tools. Most of these can be uninstalled or disabled, but the initial setup involves a bit of cleaning up to get a clutter-free experience. The benefit of the P-series is that Realme usually promises at least two years of major Android updates and three years of security patches, which provides longevity to the device.
Key Product Specifications
- Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 6300 5G (6nm process, up to 2.4GHz)
- RAM: 6GB LPDDR4X (supports dynamic RAM expansion)
- Storage: 128GB internal storage
- Display: 6.8-inch LCD, 144Hz refresh rate, 900 nits peak brightness
- Resolution: 720 x 1570 pixels (HD+)
- Rear Camera: 13MP Primary lens with LED flash
- Front Camera: 5MP Selfie camera
- Battery: 7000mAh Silicon Carbon battery
- Charging: SuperVOOC fast charging via USB Type-C
- Durability: IP64 Dust and Water resistance, MIL-STD-810H certification
- Weight: 212g
- Software: realme UI 7.0 based on Android 16
- Connectivity: Dual SIM 5G, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.3, GPS/Glonass
Verdict
The reality of 6 comes with realme UI 7.0. 6 is also one of the first few budget devices to come with the latest version of the operating system so it should have better device cycling. The 7.0 software comes with a variety of customization possibilities, such as, variations of icon style, type of font, etc, and is also very colorful. 7.0 as well has some ‘Next AI’ features that assist users in editing photos as well as system optimization. Although, software is not without faults, it does have a few downsides. For one, it has a lot of system and third-party apps installed, as well as some of their own versions of system tools. Most of the bloatware can be turned off from the settings, so it does not benefit the device to have so much installed from the factory. Also, a good incentive to get one of the P series devices is the long promised software updates. Most P devices have the promise of 3 years of security updates, and 2 major updates for the software, to improve the longevity of the device.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: Does the realme P4 Lite 5G support fast charging?
A1: Yes, it supports SuperVOOC fast charging via the USB Type-C port. A compatible charger is usually included in the box for the Indian market.
Q2: Can I expand the storage on the realme P4 Lite 5G?
A2: The 6/128GB variant usually features a hybrid SIM slot, meaning you can either use two 5G SIM cards or one SIM card and one microSD card for storage expansion.
Q3: Is the realme P4 Lite 5G good for gaming?
A3: It is good for casual gaming and can handle popular titles like BGMI or Free Fire on low settings. The 144Hz refresh rate helps with smoothness, but the processor is not meant for heavy competitive gaming.
Q4: What is the difference between Mosaic Blue and Mosaic Green?
A4: The difference is purely aesthetic. Both colors feature the same textured mosaic pattern on the back panel and have identical internal specifications.
