Review Verdict: The realme 12 4G proves its worth with the excellent performance of its main camera, though people might think twice with its asking price–especially since the budget phone is a 4G-only model.

Pros

• Excellent main camera performance
• Great display

Cons

• Expensive for a Snapdragon 685 phone
• No ultra-wide camera

Before we get our hands on the 13 Pro series, realme wraps up the 12 series with the 4G version as its most affordable model. As the fourth variant under the 12 series, the realme 12 4G capitalizes on its camera performance while keeping an under Php 14k price tag. Is this budget midrange phone worth considering?

 

realme 12 4G Philippines Review: Design

The realme 12 4G has the same design language as the realme 12+ with two differences: the frame on the realme 12 4G has a normal matte finish, and you don’t get any vegan leather option. Instead, the realme 12 4G’s back panel has the same design found on the realme 12 5G, where you have a plastic back panel with a frosted finish and accent lines in the middle. Our review unit is in Skyline Blue, with the back panel changing color depending on how the light hits the surface.

Since it shares the same design language as the realme 12+, the button and port layout of the realme 12 4G is the same. That includes the headphone jack on top, stereo speakers, and IP54 rating.

 

realme 12 4G Philippines Review: Display

The realme 12 4G uses the same 120hz flat AMOLED panel found on the realme 12+. It’s a step up from the 120hz IPS panel used on the realme 12 5G and the dated 90hz Super AMOLED panel used on the realme 11.

Echoing our sentiments from the realme 12+, the realme 12 4G’s display delivered vibrant colors and has a high brightness range for outdoor use at up to 2000nits. You also get Widevine L1, so you can enjoy all your favorite Netflix shows in Full HD, along with an in-display fingerprint scanner.

The same goes for audio, as the realme 12 4G comes with stereo speakers that have a decent soundstage for its price and a headphone jack for your favorite wired cans.

 

realme 12 4G Philippines Review: Cameras

The realme 12 4G has two rear cameras, but only the main camera matters. The main camera uses the same LYT600 sensor found on the realme 12+, and also has OIS as well. We praised the realme 12+ for its stellar camera performance, and the same can be said for the realme 12 4G.

Aside from its excellent low-light performance, the LYT600 has a great in-sensor zoom performance, with its 2x digital zoom delivering excellent detail that reminds us of our experience with phones that used the IMX766 sensor.

Aside from not having an ultra-wide camera, the other limitation of the realme 12 4G is with video recording, where your are limited to shooting at 1080p resolution. The only consolation is that you have OIS on board, so taking videos with the realme 12 4G will get you more stable shots compared to its rivals that depend solely on EIS.

 

realme 12 4G Philippines Review: Internals and Battery Life

The realme 12 4G comes with the same set of internals you’d find on the C67, which consists of a Snapdragon 685 processor that’s paired with 8GB LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB UFS 2.2 storage. Some would argue that the processor of choice is a downgrade from the Helio G99 used on the realme 11 4G, but you’d barely see the difference with real-life use.

While the Snapdragon 685 is not meant for gaming, we give credit to realme for optimizing this chip well. We had low expectations of running Wuthering Waves on the realme 12 4G given how demanding the game is (not to mention the glitches it still has), but we were surprised that it was playable in low graphics.

The 5000mAh battery lasted us 15 hours and 18 minutes in PCMark’s battery benchmark, which translates to at least a day of use before needing to charge it. Like its predecessor, you also get support for 67w charging, which translate to charging the battery to 100% in under an hour.

 

realme 12 4G Philippines Review: Wrap-up and Conclusions

Despite only having 4G connectivity and being Php 1k less than the realme 12 5G, the realme 12 4G offers the better package overall especially if you prioritize overall camera performance and an AMOLED display. It may face tough competition, but the realme 12 4G has one of the best camera performance in its price segment.

realme 12 4G Philippines Review: Price

The realme 12 4G has an official price of Php 13,999.