realme continues its latest number series lineage with the official launch of the realme 12 4G in the Philippines.

Priced at a pretty wallet-friendly P13,999, or roughly $245 converted, this 8GB/256GB smartphone comes in Skyline Blue and Pioneer Green colors. If you purchase one by August 25, you’ll get a free TechLife Handheld Fan worth P1,599 ($28) — a sweet deal to cool you down as you check out this new midranger. The realme 12 4G is out now in partner retailers nationwide.

Sporting a familiar watch-inspired backplate, the newly launched device differentiates itself with a matte finish on the green model that’s almost metallic. realme is boldly promising a camera setup and display that outshine the competition. But can the realme 12 4G truly deliver a standout user experience on a budget? We’re diving in to find out if it’s a champion or just another challenger in the crowded midrange market.

Premium vibes with surprisingly good sound

realme continues its design-focused approach with the realme 12 4G, with its latest offering obviously drawing heavy inspiration from the Plus and regular models that preceded it. Like the realme 12 Pro Plus 5G, realme 12 Plus 5G, and realme 12 5G, this handset features a distinctive circular camera module that is influenced by modern luxury watches.

The metallic finish, accented by a central green stripe on our unit, gives our Pioneer Green review sample an unexpectedly premium vibe. Meanwhile, the addition of IP54 dust and water resistance is a welcome and increasingly standard feature.

The phone’s flat, plastic midframe is both practical and sleek, contributing to its impressively slim 7.92mm form factor and lightweight 187-gram feel. But while the realme 12 4G looks great at first glance, long-term use reveals a few ergonomic missteps. Its sharp edges and flat back can feel uncomfortable during extended use. We also found the vibration motor to be on the weak side.

Audio is a big highlight, though. The realme 12 4G delivers surprisingly good stereo sound thanks to its dual speakers, including a boosted earpiece acting as a second channel. It also has a small opening on the top edge for sound to escape, which helps in balancing the two channels.

The dual speakers are capable of good — even loud — sound, with clear highs and cleaner mids than previous realme models. The inclusion of a standard 3.5mm headphone jack is a win for audiophiles, and Hi-Res audio support and Dual-mode audio are the cherry on top. The latter lets you share your music with a friend. You can connect both wireless and wired headphones to your device at the same time, so you can both enjoy the same songs together.

The in-display fingerprint sensor is fast and reliable, though its placement isn’t ideal. Still, props to realme for including one in this price segment. Additionally, the fingerprint reader doubles as a heart-rate monitor, and it seems to work reasonably well.

Overall, the realme 12 4G is a stylish midranger with some solid features, particularly in the audio department. Its design is a clear winner, too, even though it falls short in a few key areas.

Solid AMOLED on a budget

The realme 12 4G’s 6.67-inch AMOLED display is a solid performer for the price. With Full HD+ resolution, a wide color gamut (98% DCI-P3 coverage), and a fast 120Hz refresh rate, visuals are sharp, vibrant, and smooth. Its ability to hit 2,000 nits of peak brightness is a welcome feature, ensuring excellent outdoor visibility. Deep blacks and strong contrast levels further enhance the viewing experience.

While the screen delivers in many areas, it’s a shame realme didn’t include HDR support. You do get Widevine L1 certification, so you can stream HD content on platforms like Netflix and Prime Video without any issues.

The inclusion of multiple refresh-rate options is also appreciated. The realme 12 4G offers a choice between 60Hz and 120Hz refresh rates, but skips the middle-ground 90Hz option. You can manually switch between Standard (60Hz) and High (120Hz) modes, or let the smartphone automatically adjust based on content with Auto mode, which tends to lean towards 120Hz for smoother visuals. Intelligently, the device can also drop to 60Hz when there’s no action on screen to conserve battery life.

realme’s Rainwater Smart Touch technology offers enhanced touch sensitivity for wet-display conditions, providing a practical solution for users in areas prone to heavy rainfall, such as Metro Manila.

One (camera) sensor to rule them all

The realme 12 4G’s rear camera system is arguably its biggest strength. Its 50-megapixel Sony LYT-600 main image sensor with optical image stabilization is a standout performer, capturing images with impressive detail, vibrant colors, and decent dynamic range. While the color tuning leans towards a more saturated look, it’s a style that many users, especially those sharing on social media, will appreciate.

Portrait mode holds its own with acceptable edge detection and skin-tone reproduction for this price range, while low-light photography benefits from a capable Night mode that effectively reduces noise without sacrificing too much detail.

Street mode is a notable feature for photography enthusiasts like us. Easily accessed by swiping left on the camera interface, it offers a dedicated space to experiment with different perspectives and styles. The adjustable focal lengths of 26mm and 52mm provide flexibility for capturing various scenes — from wide-angle shots to more intimate portraits.

Sample shots

Adding to the creative possibilities, Street mode includes a variety of filters that instantly transform your photos into black-and-white classics, retro-inspired snapshots, or cinematic masterpieces. It’s a fun and easy way to add personality to your street photography.

While the 50-megapixel sensor delivers impressive results, the supporting cast of cameras feels like an afterthought. Since you can’t take photos or videos with any of them, the realme 12 4G is essentially a one-trick pony, relying heavily on its primary shooter to carry the load.

Selfies from the 16-megapixel front camera are decent, with enough detail for social sharing. Video recording is serviceable, especially on the primary camera, with support for 1080p resolution at 30 fps on both the front and rear cameras. It’s good enough for quick clips and vlogs.

Prioritizing battery life and charging

The realme 12 4G positions itself as a midrange contender with a focus on everyday performance and battery life. Under the hood, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 685 chipset handles the reins. This 6nm processor offers a boost over its predecessor, the Snapdragon 680, thanks to higher-clocked cores. Four Cortex-A73 cores running at 2.8GHz and four Cortex-A53 cores at 1.9GHz handle the heavy lifting, while graphics duties fall to the Adreno 610 GPU, which is essentially the bottleneck here.

While it’s not a gaming powerhouse, the realme 12 4G should handle everyday tasks and some casual games well enough. Unfortunately, 5G connectivity is absent, but the chip does support the Bluetooth 5.2 standard.

To complement the processor, realme has equipped the smartphone with a generous 8GB of RAM and a spacious 256GB storage option. However, the hybrid SIM slot forces you to choose between expanding the storage and using a second SIM card.

The realme 12 4G also includes vapor-cooling tech to help mitigate thermal issues, and we think it serves its purpose well. Our unit never throttled below 70% of its maximum performance after 20-minute runs in the CPU Throttling Test app, which is quite an achievement.

Where the realme 12 4G truly shines is in its battery life and charging capabilities. The ample 5,000mAh battery consistently delivers all-day power, even with heavy usage. In the PCMark battery test, our unit displayed a run time that exceeded 15 hours.

Benchmark scores are solid, but everyday usage is where it counts. During testing, even with a decent blend of web browsing, social media, video streaming, and some light gaming, our review unit comfortably lasted through a full day.

When it comes to top-ups, the realme 12 4G’s 67-watt SUPERVOOC fast charging earns its name. It takes around 50 minutes to bring a nearly dead battery to 100% using the bundled charger and cable. At one time, our handset topped up from 10% to an impressive 70% in just 30 minutes. That’s the kind of speed that removes battery anxiety entirely.

On the software front, you get realme UI 5.0 layered over Android 14. It’s relatively lightweight, although expect some preinstalled bloatware and app folders. Thankfully, most of the bloat is removable, and realme grants you plenty of customization options, so you can tailor the look and feel. The overall software experience is smooth and responsive.

In essence, the realme 12 4G is a solid choice for users prioritizing long battery life and swift charging. While its performance is adequate for most users, those seeking a powerhouse for gaming or demanding applications might want to explore other options.

Final thoughts

The realme 12 4G is a pretty compelling option for budget-conscious consumers. Its standout features include a vibrant display, impressive battery life, and fast charging. The camera system, while not perfect, delivers impressive results thanks to its capable main sensor. However, the phone’s performance and design could be refined for an even better overall experience. The absence of 5G might be a dealbreaker for some, too.

Ultimately, the realme 12 4G offers a decent value proposition, though it’s not without its shortcomings.

The realme 12 4G is now available for purchase at retail stores nationwide. Visit the brand’s official website to keep posted on other realme announcements.

realme 12 specs

• 6.67-inch FHD+ E4 AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate, 180Hz touch sampling, tempered high-strength glass
• 6nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 685 4G chipset
• Adreno 610 GPU
• 8GB LPDDR4X RAM
• 256GB storage
• Dual 50-megapixel main, 2-megapixel monochrome rear cameras
• 16-megapixel front camera
• Under-display fingerprint reader
• 5,000mAh battery with 67-watt charging
• Dual speakers
• IP54 rating
• realme UI 5.0 based on Android 14

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