Realme 12 5G Review: Stylish Mid-Ranger With Great Cameras

The Realme 12 5G starts in India at a price of Rs.16,999 for the 6GB+128GB storage variant. Furthermore, the 8GB RAM and 128GB model of the phone will be available for Rs.17,999.

The Realme 12 5G is currently available for purchase on Realme India and the Flipkart website. It is available in Twilight Purple and Woodland Green.

The Realme 12 5G packs the following items inside the box:

• Phone
• Case
• Documentation
• 45W SUPERVOOC Charger

Before we talk in detail about the device, let’s see what the on-paper specs look like:

• Display: 6.72-inch Full-HD+ LCD with 120Hz refresh rate
• Chipset: MediaTek Dimensity 6100+
• RAM & ROM: 6GB 128GB, 8GB 128GB
• Software: Realme UI 5 based on Android 14
• Rear camera: 108MP+2MP
• Selfie camera: 8MP
• Battery: 5,000mAh
• Weight: 188 grams
• Dimensions: 165.6 x 76.1 x 7.7 mm

Like the Realme 12 Pro series, the Realme 12 5G has a large circular camera island on the back inspired by fashionable watches. However, it has a plastic back with a matte finish instead of the premium vegan leather finish in the Pro models.

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Despite the plastic build, the Twilight Purple colour I have looks stylish and offers a unique look compared to other budget phones. The circular camera island houses the dual camera setup and LED flash.

Similar to the Pro models, a thin metallic strip runs through the centre of the back panel. The bottom right corner has a Realme logo, and the corners have flat edges.

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The phone weighs around 188 grams and is 7.69mm thin, making it comfortable to hold in the hand. However, I recommend using the included case in the box as it offers a much better grip than the matte back finish.

Coming to ports and placements, the volume rocker and power button are on the right, while the left side remains completely clean. The top of the phone houses the secondary microphone and SIM tray.

At the bottom, you will find the USB-C port, 3.5mm headphone jack, speaker grille and microphone. The phone has an IP54 rating to protect it against dust and occasional water splashes.

The Realme 12 5G has a 108-megapixel primary camera and a 2-megapixel portrait lens. On the front, you get an 8-megapixel selfie shooter.

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The Samsung S5KHM6 primary sensor takes good shots during the day with plenty of contrast and detail. It can also take great 3x shots with in-sensor zoom.

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However, the 2-megapixel portrait sensor is only good on paper, and the shots taken are barely usable. During the night, the phone takes amazing shots with great contrast and details.

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There are plenty of different camera filters available that Realme has created in collaboration with Oscar-winning cinematographer Claudio Miranda. These include the Journey Filter, Memory Filter and the Maverick Filter inspired by Life Of Pi, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Top Gun: Maverick.

On the front, the 8-megapixel selfie camera can take decent shots with accurate colours. You get video recording up to 1080p at 30FPS from the front and the rear cameras. Overall, the Realme 12 5G offers one of the best cameras in this segment.

The Realme 12 5G packs a 5,000mAh battery that can easily last 6 to 7 hours of light to moderate usage. My usage pattern includes browsing through Instagram Reels, playing casual games, taking photos, and watching videos with the screen set to 120Hz.

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Thanks to the 6nm chipset, you can easily expect a day of battery backup with normal usage. You can also turn on the Power Saving Mode to get even more juice out of your smartphone.

You can use the included 45W SUPERVOOC charger to charge the phone fully within an hour. Overall, the Realme 12 5G offers great battery backup and charging speeds for the price.

The Realme 12 5G sports a 6.72-inch Full-HD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Furthermore, the screen has a peak brightness of 950 nits and a screen-to-body ratio of 91.4 per cent.

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Like other phones in this segment, you get a punch-hole cutout with sizeable bezels surrounding the screen. The colours are set to warm by default, and I changed it to cool to get a more balanced experience.

Despite the LCD screen, watching content on the screen is a decent experience, although you won’t get the punchy colours or pitch-dark black colours. I enjoyed watching Guns & Gulaabs, with the show’s 80s aesthetics represented correctly on the screen. However, I would have preferred an AMOLED panel since competitors like the Lava Blaze Curve 5G and Samsung Galaxy F15 5G offer at a similar price.

Thanks to the 120Hz refresh rate, navigating through the user interface remains smooth and fluid. You can switch between High (120Hz), Standard (60Hz) and Auto, which dynamically adjust the refresh rate based on the content.

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The phone has a stereo speaker setup with a speaker grille at the bottom and the earpiece doubling up as a secondary speaker. The speakers are Hi-Res certified and come with a 200 per cent mode that can be exceptionally loud to fill your entire room. You also get a 3.5mm headphone jack to connect your earphones and listen to music peacefully.

The Realme 12 5G is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ chipset paired with up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of UFS 2.2 storage. This 6nm chipset is a rebrand of an underclocked version of the MediaTek Dimensity 810, which debuted two years ago and can be found on phones like the Poco M6 5G.

It performs well in day-to-day tasks like scrolling through Instagram and Twitter and watching videos on YouTube.I did not encounter significant lags or stutters during my usage, even with multiple apps open in the background.

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Furthermore, you can play games like BGMI and CODM, although at reduced settings.BGMI runs at Smooth and Ultra, while CODM supports Medium graphics and High Frame rates.

Regarding benchmarks, the Realme 12 5G has a Geekbench score of 728 in the single-core and 1944 in the multi-core tests. Moreover, the phone throttles to 86 per cent in the 15-minute CPU throttling test.

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In addition, the phone has a 98.8 per cent stability score in the 3D Mark Wildlife Extreme Stress Test and an AnTuTu V10 score of 418159. Overall, the Realme 12 5G is a decent performer that is capable of handling day-to-day tasks and occasional gaming.

The Realme 12 5G ships with Realme UI 5.0, based on Android 14. The company promises two years of OS updates and three years of security patches, which is good.

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There are plenty of pre-installed apps, such as Netflix, LinkedIn, Facebook, Finshell Pay, Agoda, and Public, which some people might find useful while others won’t. Thankfully, you can easily uninstall these apps from the Settings.

The infamous Hot Apps and Hot Games folder is also present, but you can disable it from the App Market. Furthermore, Realme UI 5.0 offers plenty of new features, such as File Dock, which allows you to share files and photos between different apps. There is also a smart sidebar to launch your favourite apps quickly in a mini window.

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The Realme 12 5G also has some exclusive features like Dynamic Button, which allows you to map the power button to launch certain functions similar to the Action button on iPhone. You can use it to launch the camera, change the volume mode, toggle Do Not Disturb, open an app or set a timer, among many other functions.

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You also get a Riding mode that can bring a new UI when riding a cycle or motorbike. It shows you navigation via Google Maps, music controls, and a list of contacts so you can quickly dial them. Another feature is Smart Sensing, which allows you to scan QR codes for payment by facing your mobile screen towards the code.There is also support for RAM expansion to add up to 8GB of virtual RAM.

There are the usual Realme UI 5 features like Microsoft Phone Link integration, the ability to separate photos from their background and per-app volume control. Realme UI has undoubtedly improved in terms of offering valuable features, and hopefully, the company will include fewer preinstalled apps in the future.