Mobile games like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) prove that there is a growing market for gaming phones in Malaysia. Particularly when these hit games don’t require top-of-the-line specs to run, like MLBB.

The end product is the burgeoning of budget gaming phones developed by brands vying for a share of aspiring esports enthusiasts. Among them is realme, which only recently launched the realme 13 and 13+ in Malaysia.

realme markets these new offerings as affordable gaming devices, pushing taglines such as ‘Speed to Victory’ and donning on what they call the ‘Victory Speed Design’ on these phones. These are enticing concepts, no doubt, but at the end of the day it all draws down to how well they can perform overall.

We can’t say much about the realme 13+, but we were lucky enough to have been handed the realme 13 to see what it’s all about.

Sleek build with subtle textures

Based on aesthetics alone, the realme 13 doesn’t really strike us as a gaming device. We can’t blame them though, adding those RGB lights probably isn’t really a cheap affair. Still, a few tastefully positioned racing lines and coloured accents can go a long way.

Nevertheless, the realme 13 is still a handsome device. Our unit came in the eye-catching Speed Green colourway that flaunts a light green sheen on the rear panels. It may be hard to spot at first, but there are wispy streaks of subtle lines that add a nice touch to the overall look. Credit also to the circular camera module, which oozes a certain level of class with its reflective housing plate.

It’s all plastic, or at least plastic-like, but it still beats having a blank slate of solid colour like we see on other phones in this price range.

Build-wise, the realme 13 is undeniably slim with a thickness of 7.79mm. There’s a very slight curve along the edges of the display, with flat side panels that ultimately lend it the blockish look. On those, you’ll find the power button and volume rockers at the right, and a 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom.

The power button doubles as a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, which is snappy…when it does work. Unfortunately, it has failed me more times than I can count, and I’d consider it more a liability than a feature of convenience.

Performance

General: As expected on lower mid-range devices

The realme 13 utilizes the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 5G 6nm CPU, a relatively new chipset catered to mid-range devices. For the record, the realme 13 comes in a single 12GB+256GB configuration, with RAM expandable by up to 10GB via virtual RAM.

Geekbench scores for the realme 13 aren’t really anything to be impressed by. Based on our benchmarking, it mustered a modest Single-Core score of 778 and a Multi-Core score of 1781, a range typical of phones in the mid-range bracket.

Numbers aside, our real-world experience does whiff out signs of lower mid-range undertones with occasional jerks and slightly longer app loading times. Honestly, it’s nothing too serious to complain about given the price range.

Let’s make it clear: the realme 13 is more than capable of running social media apps. That means you won’t have to sacrifice any mainstream platforms such as Instagram, X, YouTube, TikTok, and Netflix. As for the mini stuttering, it’s a fair trade. If you were expecting silky smooth performance, you’ll need to look at costlier offerings.

The display is decent as well. It sports a 6.72″ screen offering Full HD+ (2400×1080) resolution. As expected on gaming phones, refresh rates reach up to 120Hz. You have the option to toggle between Auto-select (auto adjust), Standard to maintain it at 60Hz, or High to go all out and lock it at 120Hz.

The only minor con is that the bezels are noticeably thick, especially at the lower chin.

Gaming: Where it works best

You experience the best bits of the realme 13 with gaming. Extending GT Mode to the Number series is a nice touch. If you’re unfamiliar, GT Mode is essentially Performance Mode. It puts the phone into overdrive, upping frame rates and resolution at the cost of thermal and battery efficiency. Prior to this, the feature was exclusive to realme’s upper mid-range GT Series, hence GT Mode.

Returning to benchmarks, running the realme 13 through 3DMark Wild Life test revealed a good but unremarkable overall score of 1,364. In fact, it averaged just 8.17 FPS in the test, which is a telltale sign that it’s absolutely not built for graphically intense games.

However, the Wild Life Stress Test did indicate excellent stability with little drop in performance even for graphic-heavy games. That said, the Loop Scores were well below average.

There’s only so much numbers can tell you, so we did have a go at a few games, namely Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB). It can get a little choppy in certain areas, especially when switching between pages (e.g., from game lobby to home page) and transitioning between heroes on the hero selection page.

Other than that, the gameplay is considerably smooth, averaging around 60 FPS throughout. It’s still very playable from a casual player’s standpoint. Admittedly, I’m not such a pro myself, so if you’re sensitive to the subtle nuances of high-end gaming or if you’re trying to make rank, you may think otherwise.

Our sentiments are the same for Call of Duty Mobile. Even at its highest graphic settings, the game is still very playable. You’re met with the same delays when switching between pages and loading maps. Once you’re in-game, things smooth out and you get a fairly decent 60 FPS.

I knew it wasn’t going to be ideal, but we did have a brief playtime with Genshin Impact on the realme 13, just to see how things fare. To my surprise, it wasn’t all that terrible. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not great either, but I wouldn’t completely chalk it off as unplayable.

Yes, graphics take a hit, and you’ll be chugging along with low to mid settings, but movements like sliding and coursing along on the Wind Glider remain acceptably smooth. If you’re a play-for-the-storyline kind of player, you can definitely make it through. The only real hindrance is the slow load times at the start of the game and shifting between maps.

Overall, I found the realme 13 to be a pretty decent gaming phone. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s leagues above its rivals, but it does the job as it should, within the scope that its hardware allows it to. It’s a phone non-competitive gamers can thrive on for sure.

Camera: Stick to the main and you’ll be fine

On the face of it, there isn’t much going on in the camera department. Cameras aren’t really the forte of budget phones anyway, so this is to be expected. The realme 13 5G relies heavily on its 50MP OIS camera that offers 26mm equivalent focal length. Flanking this is an accompanying 2MP mono camera.

The 50MP main camera performed quite well overall. I managed to get great dynamic range, making bright colours pop. There were no obvious signs of artificial oversharpening, and colours rendered were true-to-life for the most part.

The same goes for the 2x in-sensor zoom. Despite pixelation seeping in, photos still turned out great and definitely still usable for social media or reminiscing.

That’s as good as it gets, though. In our experience, going beyond the 2x zoom results in a steep drop in quality that no amount of digital processing can salvage.

When it comes to portraits, you will have to settle for over-the-top artificial bokeh with less-than-perfect edge detection. Nevertheless, I figure you can still make it work if you have a good grasp of composition and focal lengths.

My general recommendation is to stick to the 1x and 2x array as that’s where the realme 13 performs best.

Battery that does the job

In terms of battery life, we managed to squeeze out a total of 8 hours screen time from the 5,000mAh battery before it reached 10%. Our way of testing primarily involved letting YouTube run for hours on end, where it lasted 5 hours and 40 minutes before reaching the 29% mark.

Pile another hour and a half of Call of Duty, MLBB, TikTok, and some file transfers and it finally drops into the red zone.

8 hours of screen time is a good number, not outstanding as most phones tend to hit these heights, but it’s comforting to know the realme 13 checks this box.

Charging isn’t bad too with the 45W adapter that thankfully comes in the box. You’ll be good to go in about an hour, with stable thermals the whole way through when in room temperature. As with all fast charging devices, it’s best to keep the adapter and phone away from areas prone to heat – such as near windows – just to keep things safe.

realme 13 5G: An average performer of the bare necessities

In its totality, the realme 13 5G just barely breaches the threshold of a value-for-money device. You get what you pay for – an adequate chipset, a passable camera, and sufficient battery life, all for an acceptable price. Not one feature falls off, nor do they exceed expectations.

At RM1,199, the realme 13 5G is a decent purchase. Maybe not exactly the total gaming phone that it’s hyped up to be, but a good phone overall nonetheless.

However, if you’ve got a couple of hundred bucks to spare, I recommend upgrading to the realme 13+ 5G instead. At least on paper, it just seems to make more sense. For an RM200 top up, you’ll be getting a steadier chipset in the Dimensity 7300 Energy, quicker 80W charging, and a Sony LYT-600 sensor backing the main camera.

Either way, it’s no harm done if you decide to cash in on either of these phones.

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