realme 12+ 5G Review; The Mid-Range Challenger To Beat?

realme 12+ 5G Review; The Mid-Range Challenger To Beat?

INTRODUCTION:

The mid-range smartphone segment in the country is getting more competitive with back-to-back smash launches from technology brands. There's a new challenger from realme in the form of the realme 12+ 5G. With its eye-catching look and a promise of a value-for-money performance, it seems like realme will yet again strengthen its position in the local mobile market.

realme 12+ 5G Review; The Mid-Range Challenger To Beat?

Read on and find out what we think about the realme 12+ 5G.


DESIGN and BUILD:

Remember when almost every new mobile phone came with an iridescent, candy-colored back panel? Now, smartphone brands seem to opt for a more classic and regal look, with Emerald Green as the common hue.

Pioneer Green Colorway

For the realme 12+ series, the brand collaborated with celebrated high-end watch designer Olliver Savéo. His craft and expertise in creating luxury Rolex watches are evident in the realme 12+ 5G.

The realme 12+ 5G is dressed in a beautiful shade of green, covered mostly with vegan leather material. Its back part gives off a textured and industrial feel, accentuated by a sundial-like camera module and a vertical silver line traversing from the top to the bottom of the device. A neat realme emblem sits on the left side.

A metallic frame surrounds the sides of the realme 12+ 5G, adding a more sophisticated touch to the device. This kind of material is a fingerprint- and smudge-magnet, though, so it's advisable to use a clear protective case.

Despite its sublime look, the realme 12+ 5G is built sturdy. Its slim profile – weighing only 190 grams and 7.87mm-thick – doesn't equate to being fragile. In fact, the device carries a must-have, an IP54 rating that serves as protection against water splashes and dust.

Apart from the Pioneer Green colorway, which is perfect for those who want a pop of color, the realme 12+ 5G is also available in Navigator Beige, that is apt for smartphone users who like to keep things simple and neutral.

Loudspeaker, USB Type-C Port, Microphone, Card Tray

Ports and buttons come standard on the realme 12+ 5G. On the right side of the device is where you'll see the volume rocker and power button. At the top, there's a speaker and a 3.5mm audio jack – something that's slowly becoming obsolete these days. It's a good move for realme to include an audio port on the realme 12+ 5G. While Bluetooth personal audio devices are all the rage, it's always nice to have a wired backup option.

The realme 12+ 5G comes with a free SUPERVOOC fast charger, USB-C cable, transparent case, and a pre-installed plastic screen protector.


DISPLAY:

Flaunting a 6.67-inch Samsung E4 Super AMOLED screen in 2,400 x 1,080 resolution, the realme 12+ 5G's display is a delight to the eyes. Its colors are vivid, and the details are sharp. Plus, it comes with all the other things essential in a competitive screen – a 120Hz refresh rate for a smooth scrolling experience, up to 2,000 nits peak brightness, which makes the display visible even under direct sunlight, and a 240Hz touch sampling rate, which indicates that the screen is highly responsive to touch inputs.

6.67-inch Full HD AMOED Display

Surrounding bezels are pretty prominent on the realme 12+ 5G, especially on the chin. However, these do not affect the viewing experience on the realme 12+ 5G that much. There's also a punch-hole selfie camera on the middle top of the device.

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PERFORMANCE:

With the realme 12+ 5G, realme is bringing in another smartphone option that does tasks smoothly – ideal for on-the-go techies who use their smartphones as an extension of their laptops for work. The device performed well as our main driver for a few days, thanks to the realme 12+ 5G's set of internal specifications, including a MediaTek Dimensity 7050 chipset with Vapor Chamber, 12GB RAM, and 256GB of storage.

The realme 12+ 5G supports Dynamic RAM, meaning you can allocate a percentage of the storage to expand up to 24GB of RAM. This gives the smartphone more room to accommodate apps and tasks without hiccups.

Switching from one app to another while there are several more applications running in the background is a walk in the park with the realme 12+ 5G. It also helps that its realme UI 5.0 is designed intuitively, adding more convenience in using the realme 12+ 5G as a productivity buddy.

Among these is what realme calls the Flash Capsule. It's basically an upgraded version of a notification panel in a widget form, except it makes things easier and more organized. With the Flash Capsule, users can see real-time notifications without scrolling through the related app itself.

Gaming on the realme 12+ 5G is decent, too. There are no significant lags and stutters that could affect gameplays as long as graphics and audio settings are set to mid-levels.


CAMERA:

The triple-camera fleet of the realme 12+ 5G consists of a 50-megapixel SonyLYT600 f/1.88 primary sensor, an 8-megapixel 112-degree wide angle f/2.2 lens, and a 2-megapixel macro shooter. For selfies, there's a 16-megapixel camera.

50MP Sony Triple Camera

Camera modes include Photo, Video, Night, Portrait, Pro, Hi-Res, Macro, Movie, Slo-Mo, Group Portrait, Tilt Shift, Street, with options for 16mm, 26mm, and 52mm, and more.

Photos taken using the realme 12+ 5G can easily be posted on social media without the need for editing. Color accuracy and detail sharpness are on point, and depth of field is present.

However, the Portrait mode of the device could use a bit of smoothening in terms of the separation between the subject and the background as harsh lines are evident.

The realme 12+ 5G takes good self-portraits, keeping the skin color closer to natural, unlike other smartphones that seem to have a built-in white-washing effect. Detail clarity is also noticeable.

Similar to other mid-range devices, the realme 12+ 5G somehow struggles with night photography. We have a few camera samples using the device on our Facebook page, check it here. You be the judge.

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BATTERY:

realme smartphones always have the battery department as their strong suit. The 5,000mAh battery of the realme 12+ 5G is very helpful, especially for power users. With this generous capacity, the realme 12+ 5G can withstand a full day of moderate usage.

Plus, with a 67W SUPERVOOC charging support, you won't be required to wait more than an hour to have the battery of the realme 12+ 5G refueled back to 100% again.


CONCLUSION:

The quality the realme 12+ 5G brings is no surprise, especially given the reputation of the brand. It proves that realme is constantly leveling up its game for dynamic technology consumers looking for worth-the-money smartphone upgrade.

realme 12+ 5G

The realme 12+ 5G is available in the Philippines starting March 7 through the brand's official online and offline platforms for P17,999 and Php19,999, for 8GB RAM and 12GB RAM, respectively.

How much is the realme 12+ 5G price in the Philippines?

• The realme 12+ 5G price Philippines is Php17,999 for the 8GB RAM variant and Php19,999 for the 12GB RAM version.
• realme 12+ 5G on Lazada Philippines.
• realme 12+ 5G on Shopee PH

When will the realme 12+ 5G be available in the Philippines?

• The realme 12+ 5G is now available in the Philippines.

realme 12+ 5G Specifications:

• Dual SIM, dual standby, supports 5G connectivity
• 6.67-inch FHD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels) AMOLED Display, 120Hz refresh rate, HDR 10+
• Dimensions: 163mm x 75.5mm x 7.9mm
• Weight: 190 grams
• IP54-certified, dust and splash-resistant
• realme UI 5.0 based Android 14
• Octa-core (2x2.6GHz Cortex-A78 + 6x2.0GHz Cortex-A55) CPU, ARM Mali-G68 MC4 GPU, Mediatek MT6877V Dimensity 7050 5G 6nm chipset
• 8GB/12GB RAM
• 256GB UFS 2.2 storage, non-expandable
• 50MP f/1.9 PDAF OIS main + 8MP f/2.2 ultrawide + 2MP f/2.4 macro triple rear cameras, 4K video recording at 30fps
• 16MP f/2.45 front camera, 1080p video recording at 30fps
• WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band
• Bluetooth v5.2
• NFC
• USB Type-C 2.0 with OTG function
• GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, Galileo
• Multimedia Player
• Hi-Res 24-bit/192kHz Audio
• Sensors: fingerprint (under display, optical), light, proximity, accelerometer, magnetic, gyroscope
• Battery: 5,000mAh non-removable lithium-ion polymer; supports 67W SUPERVOOC fast charging
• Colors: Pioneer Green, Navigator Beige
• realme 12+ Price Philippines: Php17,999/Php19,999