Realme X7 Max
The trend of affordable smartphones started last year as we witnessed a big price jump in the premium space majorly thanks to the Snapdragon 5G processors. This also created a void in the sub Rs 30,000 space which was first occupied by OnePlus with Nord and later on it was followed by the Realme X series, Samsung with its M series, and so on.
In 2021, the segment was spiced up by Xiaomi with its Mi 10i and then Realme launched the Realme X7 Pro. Lately, we saw the Mi 11X and the iQoo 7 flagship phones in the segment. The ever-competitive Realme is now back again with its third device in its X7 series, the Realme X7 Max.
The Realme X7 Max is a rebranded version of the Realme GT Neo from China. The star of the show here is the MediaTek Dimensity 1200 flagship processor which also makes its debut in India. The processor performs really well in terms of day to day as well as gaming.
In our first impression, we did not find any major issues with the phone, but we will hold our final thoughts on the device for our full review. For now, the display, camera, battery, and software experience seem to be above average. However, we are not a fan of the Realme X7 Max design.
The Realme X7 Max will take on the likes of the OnePlus Nord, Mi 11X, and iQoo 7 in India in the sub Rs 30,000 segment. Here is our first impression of the Realme’s new affordable smartphone.
Realme X7 Max price in India and availability
The Realme X7 Max is available in India in two variants. The base variant comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage which is priced at Rs 26,999. The 12GB + 256GB variant is priced at Rs 29,999. The colour options include Mercury Silver and Asteroid Black. The flashy Milky Way colour option will be available later in India. The Realme X7 Max will be sold on Flipkart.
The closest competitor is the Xiaomi Mi 11X, which is priced at Rs 29,999 6GB+128GB variant and the 8GB+128GB is priced at Rs 31,999. The iQoo 7 comes in three variants ー 8GB+128GB, 8GB+256GB, and 12GB+256GB priced at Rs 31,990, Rs 33,990, and Rs 35,990 respectively.
| Realme X7 Max | Realme X7 Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Dimensity 1200 | Dimensity 1000 Plus |
| Display | 6.43" FHD+, 120Hz | 6.55" FHD+, 120Hz |
| RAM | 8/12GB | 8GB |
| Storage | 128/256GB | 128GB |
| Rear camera | 64+8+2MP | 64+8+2MP |
| Front camera | 16MP | 32MP |
| Battery | 4500mAh, 50W | 4500mAh, 65W |
| Headphone jack | Yes | No |
| Weight | 179g | 184g |
| Thickness | 8.4mm | 8.5mm |
| Price | Rs 26,999 | Rs 29,999 | Rs 29,999 |
Design
When we saw the Realme X7 Max in the pictures, we were pretty impressed and excited to test out the device. But, things changed as soon as the device was in our hands. For starters, the Realme X7 Max comes in three colour options Mercury Silver, Asteroid Black, and Milky Way - the latter one will be available on a later date in India. We are using the Mercury Silver variant for our review and here is what we think.
The Realme X7 Max comes with a two-tone design with a glossy camera strip and the rest of the back with a matte finish that feels like sandstone back from the days of the OnePlus One. The device also now gets rid of the Big and Bold “Dare to Leap” branding on the back, but instead, you get a small box on the glossy strip bottom where the branding sits - a good move by Realme as many users didn’t like the bold branding. Further, the device is also quite light, weighing 179 grams and measuring 8.4mm thick.
While the device looks fairly good and is ergonomic, we did not like the in-hand feel of the device, especially the matte finish part on the Silver variant. We’d any day pick the Realme X7’s in-hand feel over this. The headphone jack also returns which is a welcome change and the device is also IPX4 rated.
Display
Realme ticks all the right boxes when it comes to visuals. You are looking at a 6.43-inch Samsung made Super AMOLED display with 2400 x 1080 pixels resolution. It runs smoothly at a 120Hz screen refresh rate. Other display features include a 360Hz touch sampling rate, 91.7% screen to body ratio, 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage, and Always-on-Display, dual light sensor.
In terms of playback, the device supports HDR10, HLG, and comes with Widevine L1 certification for HD playback on OTT platforms like Prime Video, Netflix. However, we could not play any HDR content on Netflix on the Realme X7 Max. The high refresh gives the device a more buttery smooth experience.
The screen itself is bright and punchy enough to please your eyes. The colours are accurate and have the right amount of contrast to read or watch content. It does get fairly bright to read under the sun. Overall we think the Realme X7 Max display is good enough, but we still think the Mi 11X has the best display in the segment.
The fingerprint scanner is also present on the display which is quite fast, but more often than not the face unlock works faster which gets rid of the need to use the fingerprint scanner.
Performance
Realme is one of those brands that want to be one of the first to introduce something new with its every product. With the launch of Realme X7 Max, the MediaTek Dimensity 1200 processor made its debut in India.
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The Dimensity 1200 is an octa-core chipset consisting of one Ultra Arm Cortex-A78 core clocked at 3GHz, three Arm Cortex-A78 Super cores clocked at 2.6GHz, and four efficient Arm Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 2GHz. This chipset is said to bring 22% faster CPU performance and 25% more power-efficient compared to the last generation. It also supports a wide range of 5G bands in India.
The graphics are handled by the Arm Mali-G77 MC9 GPU and the company has also added its HyperEngine 3.0 gaming suite to offer better performance while gaming and performing graphics-intensive tasks. To keep thermals under check, the Realme X7 Max sports stainless steel vapour cooling which can reduce the temperature by up to 15°C.
The day-to-day performance of the Realme X7 Max performed really well in our limited time usage and even during gaming sessions, the phone handled it well without overheating. The phone comes in two variants: 8GB RAM with 128GB UFS 3.1 storage and 12GB + 256GB. However, there is no microSD card slot on board.
Cameras
The Realme X7 Max comes with a three-camera setup on the rear with a 64MP Sony IMX682 main camera with f/1.8 aperture, an 8MP ultra-wide camera and a 2MP macro lens. Selfies are handled by a 16MP selfie shooter on the front, housed inside a punch-hole cutout.
Some of the camera modes include the new Pure RAM mode which uses a night scene algorithm to reduce noise. It processes images with 64MP and brings them down. Apart from that you also get AI passport photo, portrait, super nightscape, 960fps slow-mo, 4K 60fps, and more.
In our limited time of usage, we found the daylight samples of the Realme X7 Max to be good, however, we will hold our final thoughts on the camera for our full review.
Software
The Realme X7 Max runs on Realme UI 2.0 based on Android 11 which brings many new features as well as customization options. With Android 11 you get a security feature that gives you more control over app permissions. Realme does throw in a few apps that can be considered as bloatware, these include FinShell, Theme, HeyTap, Community, Phone Manager, and Theme store. Other pre-installed apps include Amazon, Netflix, YT Music, Snapchat, and Flipkart among the major ones.
The Realme UI 2.0 also brings some neat additions to the software such as new icon customization, customizable accent colours, Always on Display customization, dark mode, enhanced privacy mode, floating windows and mini windows. We will dive deep into the software in our full review. For now, everything feels smooth and snappy, except for some push notifications from apps like Theme and HeyTap - which can be blocked with one click.
Battery
Similar to the Realme X7 Pro, the Realme X7 Max also comes with a 4,500mAh battery unit, but in terms of fast charging, you get 50W support instead of 65W. However, the company is bundling a 65W adapter in the box.
In terms of battery life, the device performed above average in our first few charge cycles. With extensive social media usage, a few minutes of gaming and calls, the phone could last an entire day with five to six hours of screen time.
As for the charging, the phone took about an hour to charge from 5% to 100%, which is quite disappointing given that its cheaper phones take much less time to charge. For instance, the Realme 8 with a 5,000mAh battery charges the device from 0 to 100% in an hour with a 30W charger. We will be running more tests and come back with the final results in our review.
Audio
The smartphone comes with a dual stereo speaker setup which gets pretty loud and enjoyable. However, what might make the device even more exciting is the presence of the 3.5mm headphone jack which was gone on the Realme X7 Pro. The device supports Hi-Res audio and Dolby Atmos audio as well.
Early verdict
The Realme X7 Max is looking like a good offering at a starting price of Rs 26,999 — undercutting the closest competitors such as the Xiaomi Mi 11X and the iQoo 7 by about Rs 5,000 for the same configuration. While it has the potential to be one of the best phones in the sub Rs 30,000 segment, it might be worth keeping an eye out for the upcoming OnePlus Nord 2 and Poco F3 GT.
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