When you are set to buy a modern smartphone at this day and age, you are mostly advised to prepare about MYR 2,000 to MYR 3,000. Forget about high-end smartphones though, those will set you back MYR 4,000 and above nowadays. There is a common theme here; smartphones are expensive and they are just going to be more so in the future.

What if that is not true though? What if someone tells you that you can still get a decent smartphone for less than MYR 1,000 today? It is hardly believable, but you can get a smartphone for less than MYR 1,000 with realme.

They call it the realme 10, and it is a curious smartphone that trickled down from the already budget friendly realme 10 Pro 5G. It offers about the same design language as well as the realme 10 Pro with hard edges and completely flat display and sides. It feels like a slightly old-fashioned smartphone from a certain manufacturer, really.

The realme 10 is even more budget friendly than the realme 10 Pro 5G. It sets you back MYR 999. At that price, you need to expect some compromises in terms of the hardware it packs.

For starters, the device comes packing a MediaTek System on a Chip (SoC). Specifically, an entry-level Helio G99. They dubbed the SoC as a Gaming Chipset though, so you still can expect some decent performances from the processor, just not high-end or flagship level performance. Still, it should be fast enough to run Android 12 with realme UI 3.0 interface with little issues. You should benefit from up to 8GB of built-in RAM and up to 256GB of storage. From that 256GB of storage, you can technically ‘borrow’ up to 8GB as additional RAM on top of your built-in RAM. Unfortunately, there are no storage expandability options.

What greets you when you pick up the device is a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display that boasts Full HD+ resolution. At the same time, this is no generic 60Hz display. It is a fast 90Hz display that is worthy of your games. It boasts 4,000,000:1 contrast ratio with up to 98% NTSC colour gamut. All of these goodness is protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 5. For something you get at MYR 999, all these is rather impressive.

Out the glass clad back is one 50-Megapixel main camera for high-resolution clear photos. That main camera is paired with a 2-Megapixel monochrome camera for added details on your photos. Above the Super AMOLED display, tucked in one corner of the surface is a 16-Megapixel camera that can take super clear selfies.

Keeping the device running all day and even more is a 5,000 mAh battery. When it runs out, you can charge it quickly before you head out of home or anywhere else with up to 33W in charging speeds via USB type-C. It also comes with a matching charging adapter to keep your battery topped up.

As mentioned the realme 10 will be available for MYR 999. It is now available for pre-order on realme’s web store and participating dealers across the nation until the 16^th of February 2023. If you do pre-order your device, you are entitled to a free 1-year screen protection warranty and a complementary realme Band 2. It will be available in Clash White and Rush Black. For more information on the realme 10 entry-level smartphone, you can head over to their website.