Realme Narzo N53 launches as super-budget, super-slim new Android smartphone

There is nothing hugely unusual about a new sub-US$150 smartphone from Realme - then again, the OEM has kept it interesting with the new Narzo N53. It is now touted as the OEM's slimmest smartphone to date, yet still manages to sport a 3.5mm jack alongside a "150% UltraBoom" speaker with Dirac enhancements along one edge.

This has been done thanks to a "C-angled" flat mid-frame, or one with subtle inward curves to strategically limit its height - much like, according to the latest rumors, the iPhone 15 series. On that note, the Narzo N53 is Realme's latest Mini Capsule smartphone, in that its waterdrop display notch can expand into a wider view for info such as data usage and battery stats.

The OS that will control this new UI feature is a new "T Edition" of Realme UI based on Android 13, which gives the impression of being an equivalent for Samsung's One UI Core version. The N53's 6.47-inch screen is also not made entirely clear, although it does support a max brightness of 450 nits.

Nevertheless, there is no mention of OLED anywhere on its new launch page - maybe the HTC U23 Pro can breathe easy after all. Similarly, the OEM does not specify which "powerful octa-core chipset" it has exactly, or what kind of back-up camera shares an iPhone-esque hump with the main 50MP "AI" shooter. 

The 33W SuperVOOC-enabled N53 is a "3-card" smartphone, in that it can support dual SIMs as well as a microSD card, although it has no more than 128GB of internal storage to go with its 6GB of RAM.

Realme asserts that one can double that last spec - albeit only as a result of a Dynamic RAM feature. That might be part of the reason it is priced at INR 8,999 (~US$109) in Feather Gold or Black colorways ahead of its May 22, 2023 release via Amazon.in.