Realme 15T looks like an iPhone, lasts like a power bank
At first glance, you’d be forgiven for mistaking this phone for a slightly offbeat iPhone. The flat sides, the camera bump, the neat bezels — Realme clearly isn’t hiding where the inspiration comes from. But this isn’t an iPhone. It’s the Realme 15T 5G, the company’s latest budget contender, and it has a few tricks up its sleeve.
The pitch is simple: an iPhone-inspired design, a gigantic 7000mAh battery, and a sub-₹20,000 price tag. That combination alone is enough to make you look twice. But beyond the headline numbers, Realme seems to have built a device that balances familiarity with a surprising amount of personality.
Realme 15T design: familiar but fresh
Yes, the Realme 15T borrows liberally from Cupertino’s playbook, but it’s not just a copy-and-paste job. The Flowing Silver colorway shows off a marble-like swirl pattern created through a unique printing and coating process on the plastic panel. No two units look exactly the same, and despite the material choice, the phone feels more premium than you’d expect.
What’s most surprising is just how thin and light it is. On paper, a 7000mAh battery sounds like the recipe for a chunky brick. In reality, the 15T measures just 7.89mm thick and weighs 183 grams — lighter than several phones with much smaller batteries. The iPhone-style camera bump is made from aluminum alloy for durability and a bit of shine, while the flat edges are finished with a plastic-fiber glass frame.
Around the front, you get a massive flat display with ultra-thin bezels — just 1.73mm on the sides. That’s rare in this price segment. The screen is covered with Dragontrail Star D+ glass. It’s no Gorilla Glass, but it should stand up to scratches and everyday use. Realme even managed to secure IP66, IP68, and IP69 ratings, which means dust and splashes are a non-issue. Getting caught in the rain? No problem.
Realme 15T cameras: solid, if not versatile
The camera module looks like it should house three lenses, but Realme has kept it simple: a 50MP Omnivision primary sensor paired with a 2MP monochrome helper.
The main sensor delivers more than you’d expect for the price. Daylight photos are sharp, colorful, and balanced, with surprisingly strong dynamic range. Skies don’t blow out, shadows hold their detail, and colors stay lively without tipping into cartoon territory. Low-light shots are usable, especially with Night Mode, and portraits come with solid edge detection.
The absence of an ultrawide hurts versatility, but the 50MP front-facing camera picks up some of that slack. Selfies come out with natural skin tones and plenty of detail, making it one of the stronger options in this range. Video recording caps at 1080p 60fps, but electronic image stabilization does enough to keep handheld footage steady.
Realme 15T battery: The headline feature
The battery is where the Realme 15T makes its boldest statement. A 7000mAh cell in a phone this thin feels like cheating, and in real use, it lives up to the promise. Two full days of use is easy, and lighter users could probably stretch it to a long weekend before hunting for a charger.
When you finally do need to plug in, the 60W fast charging takes the phone from dead to full in about 75 minutes. That’s not blazing fast compared to some recent flagships, but for a battery this big, it’s impressive. Add reverse wired charging into the mix — enough to top up earbuds or save a friend’s dying phone — and you’ve got one of the most practical battery packages in the budget segment.
Realme 15T first look: The takeaway
The Realme 15T is one of those phones that sounds too ambitious on paper, yet somehow pulls it off. The design borrows heavily from Apple but adds its own flourishes. The cameras aren’t groundbreaking, but they’re reliable. And the battery is nothing short of ridiculous for the size and weight.
At under ₹20,000, Realme is clearly gunning for the sweet spot of people who want a phone that looks good, lasts forever, and doesn’t feel like a compromise. The 15T isn’t perfect — an ultrawide lens would have made the camera system more flexible — but it feels like one of the most confident budget phones Realme has put out in years.
