REALME 12+ REVIEW
With five phones in total—the Realme 12, Realme 12 Pro, Realme 12 Pro+, and Realme 12x—the Realme 12 family is rather expansive. The Realme 12+ is the last and fifth member of the family that we will be reviewing today. The Realme 12+, as its name implies, is a step up in terms of features and specifications from the standard Realme 12.
The Realme 12+ is a reasonably priced gadget. It retails at INR20,999 ($255/€230) in India, one of the markets where it is accessible. There’s a lot of value here at a price that’s quite budget friendly. The Realme 12+ is a somewhat comprehensive bundle. With IP54 ingress protection, it is well-built and has a somewhat upscale exterior. A 3.5mm audio connector and a dual speaker configuration are two more noteworthy characteristics. In some markets, NFC is also available. With a 67W rating, charging is somewhat quick.
Realme 12+ specs
Body: 163.0×75.5×7.9mm, 190g; Glass front, silicone polymer back (eco-leather), plastic frame; IP54, dust and splash resistant.
Display: 6.67″ AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR10+, 600 nits (typ), 2000 nits (peak), 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 395ppi.
Chipset: Mediatek Dimensity 7050 (6 nm): Octa-core (2×2.6 GHz Cortex-A78 & 6×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55); Mali-G68 MC4.
Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM.
OS/Software: Android 14, Realme UI 5.0.
Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.9, 26mm, 1/1.95″, PDAF, OIS; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2, 16mm, 112-degree, 1/4.0″, 1.12µm; Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4.
Front camera: 16 MP, f/2.5, 24mm (wide), 1/3.0″.
Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
Battery: 5000mAh; 67W wired, 1-50% in 19 min (advertised).
Connectivity: 5G; Dual SIM; Wi-Fi 6; BT 5.2; NFC.
Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); stereo speakers; 3.5mm audio jack.
Excellent specifications for the 6.67-inch flat display include compatibility for HDR10+, 120Hz refresh rate, AMOLED technology, and 2,000 nits of peak brightness. The Dimensity 7050 chipset, which powers the Realme 12+, is fairly contemporary. There are three memory configurations: 8GB/128GB, 8GB/256GB, and 12GB/512GB. There is microSD expansion for storage. In theory, the Realme 12+’s camera configuration appears to be rather flexible, featuring a 50MP Sony camera with optical image stabilization, an 8MP ultrawide, a 2MP macro, and a 16MP selfie camera. It is noteworthy that 4K@30 frames per second video may be recorded with the primary camera.
Design And build quality:
The Realme 12+ boasts a very high-end appearance that belies its price. It’s easy to understand why Realme claims that the design is influenced by high-end timepieces. The Realme 12 Pro series and its design language are actually fairly comparable. The round camera island breaks the continuity of the 3D Jubilee Bracelet that extends across the entire rear panel. Although the faux leather (silicone polymer, to be precise) used for the back may not be to everyone’s taste, we can attest to its greater handling and grip. There are two color options available: Woodland Green and Twilight Purple.
When light hits the Realme 12+’s camera island from different angles, it produces a pleasing visual effect. This camera island features the same Polished Sunburst Dial design as the Pro versions. Additionally, it complements the rear panel’s color, which is green in our instance because we acquired the Pioneer Green model. Navigator Beige is the alternative version. The Realme 12+ differs in that its camera island is not encircled by the Golden Fluted Bezel found on the Pro and Pro+, giving those phones a more upscale appearance. However, the camera module is surrounded by a golden-colored ring that is glossy and reflective.
The flat design is another difference. The Realme 12+ is less pleasant to hold than the Realme 12 Pro and Pro+ because of its flat frames and back cover. We believe that the Realme 12+ would have been simpler to grip if the rear panel had thin curves around its edges. The 7.87mm thin profile of the Realme 12+ is even thinner without appreciably diminishing corners. Although it is reasonable to describe the imitation leather back material as smudge-resistant, the phone’s flat central frame is the exact opposite. It is exceedingly slick and difficult to handle, and it attracts dirt and fingerprints like a magnet. It’s also pretty sparkly.
These images show that the Realme 12+ has a very typical layout and set of controls. The 3.5mm audio jack, which is not something you see very often these days, is maybe the only intriguing feature. The side buttons provide lots of tactile feedback and are lovely and clicky.
The Realme 12+ has a rather flat front. Its display bezels are fairly sized, while not being perfectly symmetrical (with an advertised screen-to-body ratio of 92.65%). Additionally, the selfie punch hole is not very big. Above the display, no sensors are visible. Everything is tucked away neatly or beneath the exhibit. In case you were curious, the notification LED is absent.
An under-display optical fingerprint reader is used by the Realme 12+. It is dependable and rather quick. We don’t have any grievances about it. Heart Rate Detection 2.0 is also supported by the fingerprint reader, and it appears to function rather well.
Lastly, we should point out that the Realme 12+ is a solidly constructed gadget that doesn’t exhibit any flex or hollowness. The front is made of Asahi toughened glass. Regrettably, we are unsure of the precise kind. The back is imitation leather, as we’ve already explained, and the central frame is made of plastic.
The IP54 ingress protection of the Realme 12+ is approximately average for its price range.
Display:
The 6.67-inch display on the Realme 12+ is rather huge. With a typical 20:9 aspect ratio and FullHD+ resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels, it is nearly flawlessly flat. This translates to approximately 395 ppi with extremely crisp pixel density. The AMOLED display features a refresh rate of 120 Hz.
According to Realme, it should have a typical brightness output of about 600 nits and a peak brightness output of 2000 nits. We recorded a peak brightness of 1,148 nits and around 586 nits in dazzling display mode during our standardized testing. That’s not quite the 2,000 nits that Realme claimed, but then again, a good chunk of the display is used in our standardized testing process. Furthermore, the Realme 12+ features a dedicated mode designed to increase brightness especially for HDR content. Furthermore, we discovered that the Realme 12+ offers enough brightness for comfortable outdoor use. We only measured a minimum brightness of two nits. The display used by the Realme 12+ is standard 8-bit. It gives coverage of both DCI-P3 and sRGB and has a plethora of color options to experiment with. The Realme 12+ supports HDR, specifically HDR10+ on the display, as was previously announced. It supports HLG, HDR10, and HDR10+ decoders. Not using Dolby Vision. Additionally, it is certified for the highest Widevine L1 DRM level, which enables apps like Netflix to provide FullHD broadcasts that completely fill the screen. Both 60Hz and 120Hz operation are supported, according to the Realme 12+. The 90Hz middle ground found on many other gadgets is absent from this one. In the display settings, there are three refresh rate modes to select from. The refresh rate is simply locked to 60Hz in standard mode. Next, you’ll find Auto Select and High modes. The preference for 120Hz is generally higher for High than Auto mode. Even in Auto mode, the Realme 12+ appears to lack intelligent auto-switching logic and instead uses a per-app logic. This implies that the phone will not switch to 60Hz to conserve battery life even in the absence of any screen movements. Even worse, we didn’t have much luck when it came to high refresh rate gaming. Out of all the games we tested, only one was able to push above 60 frames per second while running at 120 Hz. Thus, gaming with a high refresh rate is essentially forbidden. We genuinely hope that the Realme 12+ had improved refresh rate behavior overall.
Battery life:
The 5,000 mAh battery on the Realme 12+ is a respectable capacity. It achieved an above-average Active Use Score of 13:03 hours during our testing, but this is roughly what we would anticipate from the MediaTek Dimensity 7050 chipset, which we have previously tested in the Realme 11 Pro. Overall, the 6nm chip is efficient.
Charging speed:
SuperVOOC charging at 67 watts is supported for the Realme 12+. The package includes the charger and a special USB Type-A to Type-C cable. If you wish to charge at maximum capacity, keep an eye on both. It is not surprising that the two phones charge at precisely the same rate because the Realme 12+ and Realme 11 Pro share the same chipset, battery capacity, and charging capabilities. After 15 minutes on the charger, we measured the Realme 12+ review unit’s clock at 41%, and after 30 minutes, it was at 73%. Our time for a full charge was approximately 47 minutes.
Speakers – loudness and quality:
A dedicated bottom-firing speaker and an amplified front-facing earpiece serving as the second channel make up the Realme 12+’s hybrid stereo configuration. Additionally, the Realme 12+ features a small opening in the top bezel that allows sound to pass through, helping in stereo separation and channel balance. Despite the bottom speaker being louder, all of the speakers have a similar and balanced sound quality. Overall, quality is really decent, and we can definitely claim that it has improved over the previous Realme 11 Pro. To our ears, mids usually sound a little bit cleaner. The highs are also very crisp and exhibit minimal distortion. In addition to being louder than the Realme 11 Pro, the Realme 12+ received a VERY GOOD rating in our standardized test. The Realme 12+ also has Hi-Res audio support.
OS/Software:
The most recent version of Android 14 is preinstalled on the Realme 12+, but it still has its own unique skin on top. Down to the final feature, the device runs Realme UI 5.0, which is exactly the same as Oppo’s ColorOS 14 and OnePlus’ OxygenOS 14.
Performance:
Midrange performance is provided by the Realme 12+. It is based on the MediaTek Dimensity 7050 chipset, a very recent 2023 6nm chip. That is, assuming that you overlook the fact that the 7050 is essentially a Dimensity 1080 under a different name. However, the latter was released in 2022, so it is still a somewhat contemporary silicon chip. Two separate clusters make up the octa-core CPU configuration of the Dimensity 7050. There are six tiny Cortex-A55 cores operating at up to 2.0 GHz and two large ARM Cortex-A78 cores clocked at up to 2.6 GHz. It is a Mali-G68 MC4 GPU. The MediaTek APU 3.0, an AI processing unit, is also included. The Realme 12+ is available in three distinct memory configurations: 8GB/128GB, 8GB/256GB, and 12GB/512GB. As far as we can tell from the testing, the storage chips are UFS 3.1. Our review unit is a top-of-the-line 12GB/512GB model.
A modern triple camera setup:
Realme appears to be quite happy with the camera configuration of the Realme 12+, based on their marketing. Specifically, the primary 50MP camera—which Realme claims is the first in the category to utilize a Sony sensor. The LYT-600 is a member of Sony’s relatively new LYTIA image sensor lineup. These tend to focus more on low-cost smartphones and come with some intriguing features. For example, the LYT-600 is OIS-enabled and features all-pixel autofocus. With 0.61 µm pixels, it is a sensor of the 1/1.953 type. Realme takes great pride in their MasterShot Algorithm, which is said to provide flagship-caliber performance. Additionally, the NightEye Engine on the Realme 12+ is advertised as being optimized, with a specific focus on providing low-light photos with optimal bokeh.
Main camera: 50 MP Sony LYT-600 f/1.88, 26mm, 1/1.953″, 0.61µm, PDAF, OIS; 2160p@30fps
Ultra-wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2, 16mm, 1/4″, 1.12µm; 1080p@30fps
Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4; 1080p@30fps
Front: 16 MP, f/2.5, 1/3.0″; 1080p@30fps
There is also a wide range of interesting camera features, including 2x lossless zoom, Super Night Mode, Expert Mode, MasterShot, and more. The Realme 12+ even features a dedicated Starry Mode, which is intended for astrophotography. Unfortunately, due to the light pollution in our testing environment, we were unable to put it to the test. However, we intend to conduct additional tests in a location with less light pollution. We anticipate that this feature will be available in the future.
primary camera
Pixel binning forces the primary 50MP camera to take 12.5MP images by default. All in all, these seem fine, but we are at a loss for words. Although they could be a little better, the details aren’t terrible. Both the contrast and the colours are passable, despite the fact that the latter are highly saturated and unrealistic.
Ultrawide camera
Nothing to get too excited about with the 8MP ultrawide camera. It takes passable pictures with adequate contrast and detail.
However, the colors are much more saturated than they are on the primary camera, and the dynamic range is somewhat limited.
Macro camera
Considering its limited resolution, the 2MP dedicated macro camera performs rather well. It’s sort of useful, but more of a “stocking filler” designed to increase the total camera count for the PR department than anything else.
Although you must exercise caution because the focus is fixed, the focal plane is fairly deep and forgiving.
Selfie camera
A rather unremarkable 16MP fixed-focus selfie camera powers the Realme 12+. Nothing very noteworthy. We might certainly characterize these selfies as harsh and a little overprocessed in terms of quality. Saturation is set really high, and sharpening is fairly severe. Personally, we don’t think the look is all that great.
Video recording:
The Realme 12+ has a variety of video recording options. This includes 4K video recording at 30 frames per second using the rear camera, as well as 1080p video recording at 30 or 60 frames per second. Gyro-based electronic image stabilization is available at 4K resolution. 4K video recordings have good levels of detail and dynamic range, but the colors may appear a bit subdued. This appears to be a conscious decision on Realme’s part, as their target audience may prefer more subtle, less saturated colors. The electronic image stabilization works very effectively at both 4K and 1080p resolutions, smoothing out most shakes and jitters. However, there is some noticeable loss of detail and sharpness, especially at 1080p resolution.
Conclusion:
The Realme 12+ is a solid mid-range offering from Realme. With its combination of premium design, good display, capable performance, and versatile camera system, it offers excellent value for money. While it may not have the absolute best performance or camera quality in its price range, it more than makes up for it with its overall package. If you’re in the market for a mid-range smartphone that offers a good balance of features and performance without breaking the bank, the Realme 12+ is definitely worth considering.
Pros
- Very generous accessory package.
- Premium design that punches above its weight and good build quality.
- Pretty good battery life.
- Rapid charging speed.
- Very good stereo speaker setup.
- Very little thermal-throttling.
- microSD slot and 3.5mm audio jack.
Cons
- Poor high refresh rate handling and practically on high refresh rate gaming.
- Image quality out of the selfie camera is not very good.