realme narzo N53 is the latest smartphone under the narzo N series launched today in India and it’s a budget 4G smartphone highlighting its 7.49mm ultra-slim design, 90 Hz display, 50 MP AI camera, and 33W SuperVOOC Charge fast charging. It also features the new realme UI T Edition based on the Android 13 with the Mini Capsule feature and is powered by an octa-core CPU. Here’s all about the new smartphone in our realme narzo N53 review.
realme narzo N53 Specifications
- Display & Design: 6.74-inch IPS display, HD+ resolution (1600 x 720 pixels), 90 Hz refresh rate, 180 Hz touch sampling rate, 90.3% screen-to-body ratio, 450 nits brightness, 16.7M colors, 7.49 mm ultra-slim design, 182 grams weight
- Software: realme UI T Edition, Android 13 operating system
- CPU: 12nm Unisoc T612 octa-core SoC clocked up to 1.8 GHz (2x Cortex-A75 & 6x Cortex-A55 cores)
- GPU: ARM Mali-G52 MP1 Graphics
- Memory: 4 GB OR 6 GB LPDDR4x RAM (+6 GB Dynamic RAM)
- Storage: 64 GB OR 128 GB, eMMC 5.1 internal storage
- Main Camera: Dual cameras (50 MP f/1.8 main + depth camera), LED flash
- Selfie Camera: 8 MP f/2.0
- Others: Side-mounted fingerprint scanner, 3.5 mm audio jack, Face Unlock, 150% Ultra Boom Speaker, Dirac Sound
- Connectivity: USB Type-C, 3.5 mm audio jack, Bluetooth 5.0, dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz), GPS, GLONASS
- Cellular: 4G network, dual SIM, VoLTE support
- Battery & Charging: 5,000 mAh battery, 33W SuperVOOC Charge fast charging (11V, 3A), 50% in 31 minutes, 100% in 88 minutes
- Colors: Feather Black, Feather Gold
- Price: ₹8,999 (4 GB RAM & 64 GB Storage), ₹10,999 (6 GB RAM & 128 GB Storage)
- Availability: Special sale on 22nd May 2023 from 2 PM to 4 PM, first sale on 24th May 2023 at 12 PM on realme.com, Amazon India, and offline stores
- Offers: Up to ₹1,000 off (₹750 off on 4 GB + 64 GB and ₹1,000 off on 6 GB + 128 GB) on ICICI and HDFC bank cards, and EMI, and Jio benefits worth ₹3, 000 for Jio users.
Design, Display, & Build Quality
About the design, the realme narzo N53 is the thinnest smartphone, even thinner than its sibling realme narzo N55 (7.49 mm vs 7.89 mm). This is also the thinnest smartphone ever made in the whole realme family. This is the Feather Black color as you can see in the images below, the smartphone is available in two color variants – Feather Black and Feather Gold.
The backside has a California Sunshine design (Feather Gold variant) with a Gold filament coating that shines out in the light, it has a shiny golden texture effect on the back. The narzo N53 comes with a C-angle side design with flat edges making it easier to hold and carry and offers a good build quality. The overall design of the narzo N53 appears to be pretty much sleek, slim, and impressive.
You can see three camera modules on the rear side with two cameras and one for LED flash if you closely look. Other things you will find on the phone are a fingerprint scanner embedded in the power button and a selfie camera in a water-drop notch that features Mini Capsule similar to Apple’s Dynamic Island. The Mini Capsule was first seen on the realme C55 and later on the realme narzo N55.
Moving to its front side, the realme narzo N53 comes with a 6.74-inch IPS display with HD+ resolution (1600 x 720 pixels) and a fast 90 Hz refresh rate. Other display features include a 90.3% screen-to-body ratio, 16.7M colors, 450 nits peak brightness, and a 180 Hz touch sampling rate.
A 90 Hz display improves the overall display quality, a higher refresh rate adds smoothness and responsiveness while interacting with the user interface, but note that it uses an HD+ resolution (720p display).
Moving to the sides of the phone, the right side has a power button that doubles as a fingerprint scanner and volume controls just above while the left side has a dual 4G SIM tray with a dedicated slot for microSD card storage expansion up to a massive 2 TB.
The bottom side has a USB Type-C port, a loudspeaker (mono), a microphone, and a 3.5 mm jack for earphones/headphones. It has a 150% Ultra Boom Speaker powered by Dirac Sound, the loudspeakers are enhanced to offer more sound output than usual.
Software, User Interface, & Features
The realme narzo N53 runs on the new realme UI T Edition which is based on Android 13. The realme UI T Edition also shares features from the realme UI 4.0 which is currently the latest interface from realme. The realme UI 4.0 debuted alongside the realme 10 Pro Series smartphones. The realme UI T Edition seems the successor to the realme UI R Edition and appears to be made for light uses and for low-spec devices.
The narzo N53 uses a new user interface compared to its siblings, unlike the narzo N55 which runs on the realme UI 4.0 out-of-the-box, the realme UI T Edition is trimmed down for better UI performance as far as we know. It’s similar to the realme UI 4.0 which is more advanced compared to the T Edition, you will find more features in the realme UI 4.0 than in the T Edition. The realme UI T Edition is based on the Android 13 operating system and comes with a security patch on the phone dated 5th March 2023.
The realme UI T Edition on the realme narzo N53 has many of the latest features from the realme UI 4.0 and Android 13. One such feature from the realme UI 4.0 is the Mini Capsule (similar to Apple’s Dynamic Island) which we saw on the realme C55 and narzo N55.
A new feature you will see on the narzo N53 is the Mini Capsule for Android, realme has tweaked the realme UI T Edition to add a special feature that gives you a glimpse of information right around the selfie camera notch. Once deployed, can show you information such as a step count, data usage, or SuperVOOC charging status. The Mini Capsule converts the selfie camera notch into an elongated pill-shaped window.
In our initial usage, the realme UI T Edition performance is acceptable, but do not expect much from its entry-level CPU. Due to its fast 90 Hz refresh rate, it delivers a smoother UI experience in the segment compared to smartphones that are using a standard 60 Hz display.
The narzo N53 has some pre-installed apps that can be removed. Apps such as Facebook, Amazon, Snapchat, ShareChat, Dailyhunt, PhonePe, Moj, Public, Spotify, LinkedIn, and more come installed on the phone. While setting up the phone it may download more apps from the internet on your consent.
Hardware, Performance, & Gaming
The realme narzo N53 equips an entry-level octa-core CPU, the Unisoc Tiger T612 which is a 12nm SoC clocked at 1.8 GHz (2x Cortex-A75 & 6x Cortex-A55). The SoC comes paired with up to 6 GB LPDDR4x RAM, 128 GB eMMC 5.1 internal storage, and offers an ARM Mali-G52 MP1 GPU for gaming.
The Unisoc Tiger T612 is an entry-level SoC manufactured at TSMC in a 12nm FinFET process and consists of 8x ARM Cortex cores (2x Cortex-A75 and 6x Cortex-A55 cores). The two performance ARM Cortex-A78 cores are clocked at 1.8 GHz, and the six power-efficient ARM Cortex-A55 cores are clocked at 1.8 GHz.
It comes in two variants, 4 GB LPDDR4x RAM and 64 GB eMMC 5.1 storage as the base variant while the top variant is 6 GB LPDDR4x RAM and 128 GB eMMC 5.1 storage. The price for the base variant 4 GB RAM and 64 GB storage is ₹8,999 and the price for the top variant 6 GB RAM and 128 GB storage is ₹10,999, both appear to be value for money for these options.
The RAM can be dynamically expanded up to 12 GB (+6 GB virtual RAM) via its Dynamic RAM expansion technology and the storage can be expanded via a microSD card on a dedicated slot on both variants up to a massive 2 TB.
The performance of the chipset is suitable for daily use, you can expect a performance equivalent to Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 which is equipped in some phones in this price range. As per our experience, the AnTuTu benchmark can score more than 200,000 points in the benchmarks. If you are looking for this device, especially for gaming, you might want to check out other options with higher performance in this price range.
Cameras
About the cameras, the realme narzo N53 comes with a dual camera setup at the back, it has a 50 MP main camera and a depth camera on the rear side while the front side comes with an 8 MP f/2.0 selfie camera. The 50 MP with f/1.8 aperture is the main camera that combines the secondary depth sensor to take portraits. You don’t get to see a triple or quad setup on the phone due to the low pricing, it relies mainly on the 50 MP camera.
About the camera interface, it’s similar to what you see in the realme phones, however, what you see is from the realme UI T Edition. The camera app offers 50 MP Mode, Video, Night Mode, Panoramic view, Expert, Timelapse, Portrait Mode, HDR, AI Scene Recognition, Filter, and Slow Motion The user can record videos of up to 1080p videos at 30 fps and slow-motion videos of 720p at 120 fps.
About the camera quality, the 50 MP camera takes reasonably good shots in bright daylight with crisp details, given that the price is on the lower side. Only a 50 MP camera is available to use, no wide-angle camera, no macro camera, and limited features and capabilities make the phone’s camera an average performer. For the price, the main camera takes satisfactory shots for this price (₹8,999) and that’s all you need. Take a look at the camera samples below that we took from realme narzo N53.
realme narzo N53 Camera Samples
Battery Runtime & Fast Charging
Like its sibling narzo N55, the narzo N53 also uses a typical 5,000 mAh battery but what is surprising is the fast charging, it comes with 33W SuperVOOC Charge fast charging support. A 5,000 mAh battery in a 7.49 mm ultra-slim design is brilliant, plus the 33W fast charging is also impressive for this segment, far better than those having 10W or 18W options if you see it.
This is a great addition to the phone, the narzo N53 surpasses many smartphones in this price range with its 33W SuperVOOC Charge fast charging, it can charge the battery up to 50% in 31 minutes and can be fully charged up to 100% in 88 minutes as per realme which is fairly good. The 5,000 mAh may deliver up to 1.5 to 2 days of battery backup depending upon your usage.
Verdict – realme narzo N53 Review
The realme narzo N53 is the latest affordable smartphone under the narzo N Series, it comes in an impressive ultra-slim form factor (7.49 mm) and flat style design, offers a smooth 90 Hz display, and a 33W SuperVOOC Charge fast charging. For the price (₹8,999), such features are less frequent in the segment. Aside from these, it also packs the realme UI T Edition based on Android 13 with the new Mini Capsule feature. For this price, the realme narzo N53 checks several boxes for an affordable entry-level smartphone, the narzo N53 is a good choice for budget users under ₹10,000.
realme narzo N53 – Where To Buy?
The price for the realme narzo N53 starts at ₹8,999 for its base variant 4 GB + 64 GB variant and ₹10,999 for its top-variant 6 GB + 128 GB variant. The realme narzo N53 will be available from 24th May 2023 on realme.com, Amazon India, and offline stores. There is a special sale on 22nd May 2023 from 2 PM to 4 PM. You can grab the ongoing offers which include up to ₹1,000 off on ICICI and HDFC bank cards, and EMI, as well as Jio benefits worth ₹3,000 for Jio users.
Buy realme narzo N53 on realme.com
