realme 12 5G Review

A few weeks back, realme Philippines introduced the new realme 12 series featuring the realme 12+ and the realme 12 Pro+. But one model seemed to be missing from the lineup – the base model realme 12 5G.

At the time, we wondered whether or not it would arrive in the country. But, it seems we just had to be a bit more patient. Now, realme Philippines has finally launched the more affordable realme 12.

Given how capable the realme 12+ 48 and the realme 12 Pro+ 35 are, we have very high expectations for the realme 12. But is it worth buying over its more expensive and more powerful siblings? Well, I suggest you read on.

Design and Construction

Like the rest of the realme 12 series, the entry-level realme 12 adopts a similar design language. Compared to its predecessor, the realme 11, the realme 12 features updated styling that makes the phone look a lot more premium, but retains the design we have come to love from the realme 11.

You still get the large circular camera housing at the center. However, the layout has been changed into the 2×2 grid design like the realme 12+ and the realme 12 Pro+. Unlike the 12+ and the 12 Pro+, the cameras are a bit different but we will discuss that later. There is also no fluted bezel around the camera housing, resulting in a more simple design.

The zipper-like pattern that runs down the back of the phone has been retained. However, I like how realme made the zipper design on this phone a lot more discrete. There are no contrasting colors, which helps add a minimalist touch to the phone. The back panel also features a matte finish, making it relatively smudge resistant. There are also new colors like this nice pink colorway of our review unit.

The realme 12 5G does not have a curved body design, which some users might not like. But personally, I don’t mind. It feels nice in my hand with the buttons easily accessible with my fingers. The back panel is also made of plastic along with the frame of the phone, but it does feel sturdy. It is IP54 rated for dust and water, afterall.

The volume rocker along with the power button can be found on the right side, and at the bottom, you will find a loudspeaker, the USB-C port, and a 3.5mm audio port. At the top, you’ll find the other loudspeaker, a secondary microphone, and the dual-sim card slot and a microSD slot that takes up the second sim.

In terms of size, the realme 12 5G measures 165.6 x 76.1 x 7.7 mm, and weighs 188 g. It isn’t the lightest or slimmest phone out there, but it isn’t exactly heavy or bulky. It fits nicely into my pocket even if I have another phone with me.

Display and Multimedia

Open up the realme 12 5G, and you’re greeted by a 6.72-inch display. This being the entry-level model, it does not have an OLED screen. Instead, you will have to make do with an IPS LCD panel. The borders are slim on the sides, but the top and bottom are rather thick.

Despite that, the display is not bad. The colors are still bright and vivid, but you do have to set your expectations. Users can even choose between vivid and natural color modes in the settings, and even adjust the color temperature to their liking.

Despite being the entry-level realme 12 model, the screen is bright too with a maximum brightness of 950 nits. This makes it easy to see everything on your screen even under the really harsh summer sun we are experiencing right now.

In addition, you also have up to 120Hz refresh rate to work with. The dynamic refresh rate makes it nice to watch videos and even just go through the menu. But the ones who will enjoy it the most are the gamers, but more on that later.

When you’re watching videos with friends, you do get stereo loudspeakers which are decent at best. But at least they are stereo, meaning you don’t have to worry too much about your finger blocking the bottom loudspeaker. If you want a better listening experience, I would recommend using the 3.5mm audio port or pair your favorite Bluetooth earphones.

Cameras

Unlike the 12+ and the 12 Pro+, the realme 12 only comes with a dual-rear camera setup. The main shooter uses a 108MP sensor and it is paired with a 2MP depth sensor. For selfies, you do get an 8MP front camera.

If you really enjoyed the photos we were able to take with the 12+ and the 12 Pro+, I am glad to say the performance is decent. In daylight and well-lit environments, the photos are sharp and you do have nice saturation and contrast. Even when using 3x zoom, the photos still come out nice. However, the sharpness does drop off when you zoom beyond 3x, becoming grainy and losing detail.

At night, the photos are not as good, but the AI algorithm seems to be doing most of the worth. However, they aren’t as sharp as the ones taken in the day, which is to be expected. You’ll notice that the edges aren’t as sharp and there is a lot more noticeable grain. Even with 3x zoom, it is still usable, but the difference when compared to shooting in the day or in well-lit environments is quite noticeable.

You can expect similar results when shooting video using the realme 12 5G. The phone can record at a maximum of 1080P@30FPS, and there is no stabilization to help when shooting. With that, you better have steady hands when you’re shooting content using this phone.

Instead of 3x zoom like in photos, you have 2x zoom to choose from at the start. While you can zoom beyond it, I found that the video quality drastically goes down once you go beyond 2x. At night, it becomes grainy and the result is not so sharp videos. But if you keep it at 1x, the video quality is nice even at night.

Other photo modes you can choose from include night, street, portrait, and even dual-view video to name a few. Personally, I ended up using photo and video modes the most often since the phone’s AI algorithm already does a great job.

To give you a better idea, check out our sample gallery below.

Performance and Benchmarks

Powering the realme 12 5G is a MediaTek Dimensity 6100+. Our review unit comes with 8GB of RAM, which can be expanded by an additional 8GB for a total of 16GB, along with 256GB of internal storage. But as mentioned earlier, you can expand storage via a microSD card. However, you will have to sacrifice the 2nd sim slot in doing so.

The Dimensity 6100+ is a relatively powerful chipset, and it can easily handle your day-to-day tasks without any lag or slowing down. These include browsing social media, the net watching videos on YouTube, sending emails and more. Even if you leave apps running in the background and use floating windows, you won’t feel that the phone lacks performance.

It’s a similar story when it comes to playing games. As expected, the realme 12 can run light games like Mobile Legends and Asphalt 9 without any issues. You can even bump up the graphics settings for an overall better gaming experience.

When it comes to more graphic intensive titles, the realme 12 can also run Genshin Impact. It had a hard time running the game at max graphics and at 60FPS though, but if you adjust the settings a bit, you can enjoy playing Genshin on this phone. Paired with the 120Hz display you get smooth gameplay all throughout.

I did notice that it has a tendency to heat up after around 15 mins of playing Genshin even with the settings adjusted already. This did not really affect the gameplay performance though, but it is something worth noting.

For those of you who want to see the data though, check out the benchmark scores of the realme 12 below.

OS, Apps, and UI

The realme 12 runs on Android 14 skinned with realme UI 5.0. If you have ever tried a realme phone before, then you are bound to feel right at home. Even if you are a first time Android user, it is nice and easy to use. It isn’t overly skinned, and you still get that Android feel.

There are even several features you can take advantage of if you plan on working on this phone. Some of the special features you might end up using often include Split View and Floating Window. Given the relatively small screen, I did end up using Floating Window more as opposed to Split View.

While the features of realme UI 5.0 are nice, what I didn’t like about it is the loads of bloatware that comes pre-installed on the realme 12. There are so many apps that I ended up deleting since they take up valuable space, and these are apps I won’t even use. While some apps are useful like Facebook, Lazada and Shopee, the rest ended up in the bin.

Note: A recent software update added the Mini Capsule 2.0 feature.

Battery and Connectivity

The battery on the realme 12 5G is the standard 5,000 mAh unit. It’s the standard of what you would find, and paired with the Dimensity 6100+ chipset, it does last quite long. Since I’ve got my hands on the phone, it can easily last a whole day despite being used to taking photos, watching videos, and more.

What I did notice is that it uses up a lot more battery when playing graphic-intensive titles like Genshin Impact. During a one hour gaming session on 50-percent brightness and 50-percent volume, I went through xx-percent of battery.

But using our usual benchmarks, which includes our video loop test and PC Mark’s Work 3.0 battery test, we were able to get 24 hours and 1 minute and 16 hours and 58 minutes, respectively. All things considered, these are great results.

When you do need to recharge, you have a 45W fast charger to work with. According to realme, it can recharge the phone from 1 to 50-percent in just 30 minutes.

In terms of connectivity, the realme 12 comes with the full suite of products including 5G, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2, and GPS.

Conclusion

Overall, the realme 12 5G does not really shine, especially when you compare it to the 12+ and the 12 Pro+. It’s a bit down on specs and performance, but it does have one advantage – the price.

Compared to the other two, the realme 12 is the most affordable out of the bunch. The realme 12 in the 8+256GB configuration retails for just PHP 14,999USD 256INR 21,668EUR 243CNY 1,861. This makes it PHP 3,000USD 51INR 4,334EUR 49CNY 372 more affordable than the 12+.

Still, the question remains – is it a phone you should get? If you’re a bit tight on budget, you won’t be disappointed with the realme 12 5G. You have a relatively powerful chipset that can handle graphic-intensive titles along with your day-to-day tasks. You also get a decent camera and a relatively long battery life all for the price of just PHP 14,999USD 256INR 21,668EUR 243CNY 1,861.

But if you have the budget or don’t mind saving up a bit, I would recommend going for the realme 12 Pro+. It has one of the best cameras in its class, a better display, and a very capable chipset.

What do you think of the realme 12 5G though? Share your thoughts below.

What we liked:
* Very capable chipset
* Nice design
* Decent speakers
* Affordable

What we didn’t like:
* Cameras could be better
* Only IPS display

realme 12 5G specs:
6.72-inch FHD+ display @ 2400 x 1080
120Hz refresh rate, 950 nits of peak brightness
MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ 5G octa-core processor (6nm)
ARM Mali-G57 MC2
6GB / 8GB RAM
128GB internal storage
Dual camera setup
108MP f/1.75 main camera
2MP f/2.4 portrait camera
8MP f/2.0 AI selfie shooter
Up to 1080p @ 30fps video recording
USB-Type C
3.5mm audio port
5G LTE
Wi-Fi 5 @ 2.4 / 5Ghz
Bluetooth 5.2
GPS, Glonass, BeiDou, Galileo, QZSS
realme UI 5.0 (Android 14)
5,000mAh battery w/ 45W SUPERVOOC Charging
Fingerprint sensor (side-mounted)
Acceleration, light, magnetic induction, proximity sensors
Gyrometer
165.6mm x 76.1mm x 7.69mm (dimensions)
188 grams (weight)
Twilight Purple, Woodland Green