Between the more contemporary Realme 12x and the 12+ (review) smartphones, the Realme 12 finds its place. With a starting price of Rs 16,999 in India, the device is competitively priced versus the Redmi Note 13 and Infinix Note 30 5G. Does the Realme 12 has the necessary skills to compete with its fiercest rivals? Learn more by reading this review.
Verdict
An intriguing smartphone for consumers on a budget is the Realme 12. Its price makes it a worthy consideration even though its performance might not surpass that of its competitors. The smartphone has a lovely appearance, good daytime cameras, and solid performance. However, the watching experience may have been enhanced.
Design and display
Except for the vegan leather back, the Realme 12 design is similar to the “Plus” model. The rear of the phone has a matte texture with glossy, flat edges. Even if it is comparatively more comfortable to grasp, without a case, it might not provide a stable grip. For assessment, we were sent the Twilight Purple color variation, which appears to be attractive in natural light. The smartphone’s overall appeal is enhanced by the vertical fake seam and the slightly protruding circular rear camera module.
The smartphone has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner that unlocks the handset with accuracy and speed. Regarding input/output, the phone has a 3.5mm headphone connector, a speaker grille, and a USB Type-C port for charging and data transfer. The Realme 12 has a 6.72-inch punch-hole LCD on the front with a refresh rate of 120 Hz, FHD+ resolution, and a maximum brightness of 950 nits. Other than the peak brightness, which might not be suitable in really bright conditions, the picture quality is respectable for the price.
The device can stream FHD content from OTT services because it has Widevine L1 certification. Although the viewing angles are not optimal, the color calibration appears decent indoors with crisp text and images.
Cameras
The Realme 12 has a very simple camera configuration, consisting of a 108MP primary sensor and a 2MP portrait lens. The smartphone has an 8MP camera in the front punch hole for taking selfies. When the camera is in well-lit conditions and can focus on subjects pretty quickly, there is no jitter in the performance. For the price, you get fairly good image quality. The colors are strong and vivid, exuding a little oversaturated, social media-ready attitude. Its nearest competitor, the Redmi Note 13, is comparable in terms of details and dynamic range. It is noteworthy, nonetheless, that the Redmi smartphone, which tends toward colder color tones, lacks the superior color calibration of the Realme smartphone.
Even when in night mode, the phone produces passable low-light photos with a bit of graininess. Sharpness and details are lost, just like on other smartphones in the same price range. Furthermore, colors seem muted. The foreground and background can be pleasingly separated in portrait photography. However, especially toward the frame’s corners, the bokeh effect seems a little phony and uneven. In daylight, the phone’s selfie camera produces passable images. I believe that the phone’s pricing might be justified in light of the lackluster appearance of the facial details.
Performance and software
Realme 12 is powered by MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ SoC paired with up to 8GB RAM and 128GB expandable storage. According to the comparison results, the phone received 417,413 points in AnTuTu, and 738 and 1,935 points in Geekbench in single and multiple tests, respectively. This score is comparable to its competitors and it is truly a world-class phone.
Realme 12 works well and facilitates normal use. The phone also supports many games and routines. Although the phone can handle demanding games such as BGMI, it cannot provide an enjoyable gaming experience. We tested BGMI with HD graphics for half an hour and there were noticeable drops. In addition, while the temperature of the phone increased by 9 degrees, battery life decreased by 8 percent. In comparison, theRedmi Note 13 performed much better, with a 5-degree increase in temperature and a 4% decrease in battery life.
The Realme 12 is pre-installed with Realme UI 5.0, which is based on Android 14. Pre-installed third-party apps and app recommendations make the app drawer appear a little congested. Positively, though, the majority of these apps—like Amazon, LinkedIn, and Agoda—are beneficial and have amassed millions of downloads. You can uninstall these programs if you find them to be unhelpful. In addition, the software provides some customization choices so you can adjust the smartphone to suit your tastes. Realme has committed to giving the smartphone’s operating system upgrades for two years.
Battery and charging
A standard 5,000mAh battery with 45W fast charging capabilities powers the Realme 12. The phone can be fully charged with the suitable charger that comes in the package in 65–70 minutes, going from about 20 percent to 100 percent.
The PCMark battery test indicates that a full charge can last an incredible 19 hours and 15 minutes. The phone should give users at least 5 to 6 hours of screen time when using it in real life. The phone’s battery life dropped by 5% when we played a 4K YouTube video at 50% brightness and loudness, which is to be expected from a low-cost smartphone.
Final verdict
The Redmi Note 13 (review), which has an AMOLED display with a higher peak brightness and a better chipset for gaming purposes, beats out the Realme 12 in comparison. Even if it is a little outdated now, the Infinix Note 30 (review) has a JBL-powered speaker that produces clear sounds.
In comparison, the Realme smartphone has a stylish appearance. The cameras work exceptionally well in daylight, and their performance is also adequate for the majority of daily tasks. The Realme 12 is a good option for people who value endurance over other features because its battery life also matches its performance well, providing long-lasting backup.
