After the successful launch of the realme 12 Series 5G recently, realme just launched the realme 12 5G, the base variant in the lineup.
This new realme 12 5G highlights a great camera with up to 3x zoom, eye-catching design, good display, and more. Recently, we released the unboxing and first impressions of this phone. In this article, I will share with you my experience with this phone.
Camera
The first thing we will talk about in this phone is the camera. One of the things it is proud of is its good image quality, just like the realme 12+ 5G and realme 12 Pro+ 5G. This phone features a 108MP Samsung HM6 main camera with 3x in-sensor zoom capability similar to that of the realme C67 and realme 12 Pro+ 5G. Alongside this main camera is a 2MP portrait lens, while it also has an 8MP selfie shooter.
Honestly, I love its image quality and its 108MP camera is not just a gimmick because it is really sharp even with 3x zoom. Its color processing as well as its dynamic range are also good. Just make sure you update the phone because there is a software update right away that fixes or optimizes the camera performance.
However, unlike its bigger brothers, it doesn’t have optical image stabilization (OIS), but it does have electronic image stabilization (EIS). Besides, its max video resolution is only up to 1080p@30fps. But the video quality is also good, it would have been better if it was up to 4K@30fps.
Here are our sample photos:
Display and Multimedia Experience
The next feature it is proud of is the display, you will enjoy watching and its viewing experience is really good plus it is also crisp because of its large 6.72-inch IPS LCD display with 391 PPI and FHD+ resolution. Even though it’s not an AMOLED panel, the colors produced are still okay.
Its display also supports dynamic sampling rate switching to 45Hz, 48Hz, 50Hz, 60Hz, 90Hz, and 120Hz depending on the scenario or apps you use to save battery consumption. So far, I haven’t had any problems with its refresh rate, especially at 120Hz.
However, when I’m outside the house it’s a bit difficult to view the screen because the max brightness it supports is only up to 950nits, which means it’s only ideal for indoor use.
Like other realme phones, it also features what they call Mini Capsule 2.0, a dynamic island in its punch-hole that displays charging & battery status, data usage, step tracking, weather notifications, event reminders, and music playback control.
For protection, it also has IP54 Dust and water resistance, but don’t try submerging it in water. Let’s learn to take care of our phones.
Performance
When it comes to performance, this realme 12 5G can also proffer decent performance because it has a 6nm MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ with a Mali-G57 GPU. Well, that’s not too powerful, but it’s more than enough for our usual tasks. Plus, it is already a 5G-ready chipset that is nice to have especially now that 5G is quite stable in certain locations in the Philippines.
For benchmarks, it got a 427K AnTuTu Benchmark score while a 9,298 score in PCMark Work 3.0, and those scores it got are just right for its price.
Moreover, the realme 12 5G also has a large memory because it already has 8GB RAM and 256GB internal storage and it is expandable up to 2TB via microSD card slot.
I have nothing to complain about its performance, maybe its focus is not really on performance but again, it is good enough for the usual tasks we do. I also tried playing Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Call of Duty: Mobile here and my gaming experience was smooth since those are light games.
But in Genshin Impact, which is a very graphically demanding game, this phone is struggling. Even with the low graphics preset, it’s still a bit laggy. I think it’s just not yet optimized with its chipset, but I hope Hoyoverse will fix it.
Battery
Another good feature of the realme 12 5G is the battery because it also has a 5,000mAh battery capacity that supports 45W SUPERVOOC fast charging. Since its battery is 5,000mAh, expect a whole day of juice.
It got 17 hours and 23 minutes on the PCMark battery benchmark and that can be considered long. The battery capacity is really big, but in case you run out of juice, it can be charged quickly.
In my testing, I tried charging it from 20% to 100% and it took 1 hour and 20 minutes. As per realme, it can be charged from 0-50% in just 31 minutes so don’t worry if you are in a hurry.
Verdict
For me, we can consider it worth buying especially if you love taking pictures or you want good image quality. Plus, its performance is decent, and can run most of the apps we use. Its design is also beautiful, so it’s perfect if you want an aesthetic phone. But I suggest you use a voucher or buy it when it’s on sale so you can save more.
Pros:
- 108MP main camera
- Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS)
- Trendy design
- Decent performance
- 120Hz
- 5G-ready
Cons:
- 950nits max brightness
- No ultra-wide camera
- Pricing
realme 12 5G Specifications
- Display: 6.72-inch IPS LCD, FHD+ resolution, 391 PPI, up to 950nits max brightness
- CPU: 2.6GHz 6nm MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ octa-core processor
- GPU: Mali-G57 MC2
- RAM: 8GB, up to 8GB Dynamic RAM Expansion
- ROM: 256GB, up to 2TB microSD card
- Rear Camera: 108MP + 2MP portrait lens + LED flash
- Front Camera: 8MP
- Battery: 5,000mAh, 45W SUPERVOOC (Type-C)
- OS: realme UI 5.0, Android 14
- Connectivity: 2.4GHz & 5GHz WiFi, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.3, GPS, Dual SIM (nano)
- Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope
- Colors: Woodland Green, Twilight Purple
- Weight: 188g
- Dimensions: 167.7mm (L) x 76.1mm (W) x 7.69mm (D)
- Others: Side-mounted fingerprint sensor, AI face unlock, USB-C, IP54 rating, Hi-Res Audio, Dual speakers, Google Assistant, 3.5mm headphone jack
Price and availability
realme 12 5G – PHP 14,999 | Shopee link | Lazada link
The new realme 12 5G is now available in realme and James Afante’s TikTok Shop. It will also be available in realme Philippines’ flagship store on Lazada and Shopee starting on May 5-10. You can also buy it on all authorized resellers of realme nationwide starting tomorrow.
Its first-selling comes with a lot of freebies like realme Buds T100 and other TechLife products. Besides, buying it at a physical store gives you a chance to win freebies worth up to PHP 24,999 and play the Lucky 12 Challenge to win a prize pool worth over PHP 600,000.
To join, If you get your realme 12 5G from one of 100 selected concept shops, kiosks, and exclusive stores, then you may play our Lucky 12 Challenge at its designated time slots.
