Realme 12 Pro+ 5G

Realme is a company that a few years ago decided to enter the smartphone market in the most complicated way possible, like a bull in a China shop and challenging all its competitors. We have to understand that, leaving aside the Chinese market, which is an implacable jungle in which only the most competitive products have the slightest chance of success, in the rest of the world things are not much better. Let's just say that in the collective imagination of most users, for those looking for powerful machines to carry in their pockets for a reasonable price, the first choice is Xiaomi. That positioning is almost a market dogma and fighting against that is very difficult.

But since Realme knew what it was getting into, the Chinese manufacturer has not been intimidated and in recent years has given us a list of phones loaded with features for a price capable of rivalling any model from other companies. With many successes and some imponderable failures, after several years, we can now say that Realme has made a name for itself and carved out a niche in the market, of which its new 12 Pro+ 5G model is an excellent example.

Aesthetically we are faced with a different device, almost rebellious against the current scene. In the 12 Pro+, Realme knows exactly what its main asset is and that is a superior camera. Well, this is something that is clear from the outside, since almost half of the rear is occupied by the constellation of sensors in a round frame that aesthetically gives it the importance it deserves.

It is true that apart from being eye-catching, and the truth is that we find it quite attractive, it is not entirely comfortable, since when it is placed on a table it becomes an irregular wedge that wobbles and lays raised, or when it is taken out of the pocket, it is likely to get caught on the fabric. However, we understand that these practical sacrifices have an aesthetic as well as a design explanation, as a large camera comes with a large responsibility, or in this case a larger than ideal protrusion. At 196 grams, this is about average for the sector, and if we had to blindly say how much this phone should weigh, that's the ballpark we would have gone with.

Available in two colours, blue and beige (a sort of bone white), Realme goes for rounded contours with an aluminium frame and a vegan leather back that gives it a premium feel, but unfortunately these materials are already known to be associated with the fact that wireless charging will be absent. In the hand it definitely feels good and the blunt edges help the grip to be fine. Realme has the detail of attaching a very basic but fully operational transparent TPU gel case that saves us the difficulty of having to look for something quick to protect our device, although it is probably not the definitive option.

The Realme 12 Pro+ 5G, comes standard with Android 14 with a small customisation layer that is not too intrusive and provides some bloatware but nothing critical, only certain preinstalled apps that we can dispense with whenever we want. Overall the user experience results in a smooth and pleasant performance, partly due to its processor, the Snapdragon 7S Gen 2, which is a reliable and powerful companion for 95% of the things we want to do with our phone.

Ok, it is true that here it is possible that many may have just felt a slight let down since in a device in this segment, we have recently seen some devices with processors from the latest version of the Snapdragon 8 series, but it is important to make it clear that this is a deliberate choice to give all the importance to the camera, not the chip. A choice had to be made and Realme went for the sensors and we support this decision.

Now that we have made it clear that it is not the most powerful processor on the market, it is time to say that for the vast majority of users it is more than enough. The Snapdragon 7S performs phenomenally well in everyday tasks and even for gaming with its Adreno 710 GPU, another old acquaintance that in our tests has allowed us to play very demanding current titles such as Genshin Impact, in high quality and good fps rates that withstand the thermal throttle thanks to the vapour chamber cooling. In part this is also due to the 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage which is perhaps not the fastest on the market, but ideal for the situation.

The panel of choice for the Realme 12 Pro+ 5G is a 6.7" FullHD+ OLED display at 120Hz (adaptable). It's a bit of the current standard, but it feels great in the hand and offers excellent viewing angles. The decision to continue offering screens with a small curved drop at the edges in the middle of 2024 is more debatable but it's still a matter of taste, personally I've never been a fan of curved panels, but they undoubtedly have their followers.

What is not so debatable is the low maximum brightness that this screen offers, which is a little below current standards. Let's not kid ourselves, 950 nits is an acceptable amount and for the vast majority of occasions it is sufficient, but perhaps we miss the 1100 or 1150 that is already easy to find on other phones in this price range.

The battery is 5000 mAh with a 67 Watt fast charge and charger included in the box. That 67W is probably a sweet spot for current charging, as it allows really good times without very high cell degradation. Would 120W be better? Well, probably on paper yes, but we have seen batteries in devices with that charge lose health very quickly and experience says that in the absence of lithium technology improving, maybe it is better to wait a little longer and have a phone for more years.

Connectivity is as expected, 5G, Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2. The basic set we expect in a device of this category and it delivers flawlessly.

We come to what Realme wants to be the reason why someone chooses this 12 Pro+ 5G and that is the photographic side of things. It doesn't hurt to admit that at the moment, this device is probably the best mobile phone pound for pound when it comes to photography. Much of the blame lies with Sony's 50mp IMX890 sensor with the f/1.8 lens at the back, which, just a year ago, we could see in other phones costing more than a thousand euros.

The Sony sensor performs excellently and even more so when we discover that it is accompanied by a 3x optical zoom which, although the manufacturer says it can go up to 160x, that end will always be digital. The tests we have carried out show us an excellent lens with a great performance and that by itself can perfectly justify the purchase of the 12 Pro+ 5G. While it's true that we noticed a notable drop in quality in the wide-angle, it's a small price to pay that, to be honest, doesn't detract from the good performance of the rest of the equipment. When it comes to night photography we are equally satisfied, as between the aperture of the sensor and the load of AI support, it offers magnificent results in low light conditions.

Let's come to the conclusions and we have to say that the whole set has convinced us beyond tastes or opinions. Realme 12 Pro+ 5G is a well-thought-out and well-executed mobile phone, a comprehensive piece of hardware but adjusted to its price that means another brick in the wall that the Chinese company is building to compete in a totally ruthless sector in which a failure can be fatal.

Taking a recap of all the above and knowing that no device will be perfect, the 12 Pro+ 5G delivers what it promises and in some cases even more, and that's why we gladly recommend it whether you're looking for a camera attached to a mobile or a mobile attached to an exceptional camera. In both cases, you won't go wrong.