Review Verdict: The realme 12 Pro+ is a mid-range phone that got us excited for its filler-free camera setup. The periscope camera can do many things that most mid-range phones can’t do, and the realme 12+ can be an ideal travel tech essential with its great battery life and generally decent overall performance.
Pros
-Periscope camera performs very well
-Proven sensor used on the main camera
-4K recording on the periscope and main cameras
-Impressive battery life
Cons
-No 4K recording on the selfie camera
-Thick and top-heavy
You most likely saw the photos we took at the recently concluded Eras Tour with the realme 12 Pro+, and a lot of you are amazed at what its cameras can do as a mid-range phone. Yes, the realme 12 Pro+ breaks the mid-range stereotype by having three useful cameras–from ultra-wide to periscope. But are the cameras the only thing that’s great about the realme 12 Pro+–or is it the most well-rounded mid-range phone you can buy today?
realme 12 Pro+ Review Philippines: Design
The realme 12 Pro+ retains the same core design language as the 11 Pro+. Aside from the significantly larger camera module, the 12 Pro+ still has the same split vegan leather treatment with a line accent going through the middle of the back panel. However, the vegan leather used on the 12 Pro+ has a better grip, making it easier to hold–especially since it is a few grams heavier than its predecessor and is notably top-heavy.
The large camera module has a significant protrusion, so you’ll most likely use the included case to keep it balanced when you place it on the table. Our review unit is in Submarine Blue, which has a navy blue color and gold accents to give it a luxurious appeal.
The button and port layout are the same as its predecessor, but the 12 Pro+ adds an IP65 rating, making it more comfortable to use in the rain. The plastic frame has a high gloss finish for the sides and a frosted finish for the top and bottom parts.
realme 12 Pro+ Review Philippines: Display
There’s no change with the display of the realme 12 Pro+, and that’s fine with us. It is still the same 6.7-inch 120hz curved AMOLED display used by its predecessor, and we still think that it is the best panel realme has ever used for its numbered series. Its 900nits maximum brightness is good enough to make it usable outdoors, and the curved sides are smart enough to detect accidental touches. The bezels are thin and symmetrical, maintaining their premium looks.
Echoing our sentiments with the display of its predecessor, the 12 Pro+ has vibrant colors and supports Widevine L1–you will be enjoying all of your favorite Netflix shows in Full HD.
You still get the same stereo speaker setup on the 12 Pro+, and they sound great. Whether you are watching videos, playing games, or listening to music, the speakers of the 12 Pro+ do a good job of maintaining their audio fidelity even when you crank up the volume.
realme 12 Pro+ Review Philippines: Cameras
Without any question, the cameras are the main draw of the realme 12 Pro+. While the 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera felt like the weakest link, you get two great shooters: the main camera is a 50-megapixel IMX860 with OIS, while the periscope camera is a 64-megapixel OV64B with 3x optical zoom and OIS. The periscope is a familiar affair since it’s the same one found on the Reno10 Pro+, which does not come as a surprise since both brands are under the BBK umbrella.
However, the big deal here is that the 12 Pro+ is the most affordable phone you can buy to have a periscope camera. realme did a similar feat with the X3 Super Zoom in 2020–but the technological advancements have made the 12 Pro+ have a significantly better periscope camera. Granted that it has a shorter optical range at 3x (the X3 Super Zoom had 5x zoom), the 12 Pro+ is superior with a brighter aperture and a significantly larger sensor with a higher resolution. The 64-megapixel resolution gives the 12 Pro+ more headroom compared to the 8-megapixel one the X3 Super Zoom had.
That being said, the 12 Pro+’s periscope performed great as a mid-ranger when using the base 3x optical zoom: its Portrait Mode is refined as a mid-range phone, and its focal length gives it an ideal range of 24mm (with the main camera) to 71mm (with the periscope camera) that’s commonly used for travel photography.
As for the main camera, the IMX890 is a sensor that we’ve been familiar with since the GT3. This 50-megapixel sensor is essentially an update to the proven IMX766 that’s used on several upper mid-range and even flagship devices. The 12 Pro+ performed well, and it does shine when it comes to low-light photography with well-preserved details and minimal noise–again, a feat considering that this is a mid-range device.
Both the main and periscope cameras can do 4K video recording with OIS, and it was natural for us to see the 12 Pro+’s absolute limit by using it to document our experience at Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour at Singapore National Stadium. Considering that this is a mid-range device, we’re impressed that we managed to get decent footage from our seats at CAT 5 (which is Upper Box if you compare it to our concert venues like MOA Arena) at 6x digital zoom.
Granted that it may be a hit-or-miss experience–you’ll need to tweak exposure, and sometimes the 12 Pro+ struggles in getting the focus right–the fact that a mid-range phone is capable of a feat that’s practically exclusive to Samsung’s Galaxy Ultra phones makes the realme 12 Pro+ a strong contender for a camera-focused device.
Being a mid-range device, the 12 Pro+ has a few setbacks: the ultra-wide is an old and overused 8-megapixel sensor, and the selfie camera can’t shoot 4K videos. Despite those setbacks, most users who will get this phone will most likely prioritize the main and periscope cameras–and that’s where the 12 Pro+ shines as a mid-range offering.
realme 12 Pro+ Review Philippines: Internals and Battery Life
Powering the 12 Pro+ is a Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 processor with 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and 512GB storage. While the processor is an upgrade over the 11 Pro+’s Dimensity 7050, some would argue that the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 is an “upgraded” Snapdragon 7 Gen 1. While the 12 Pro+ is not going to wow you like phones equipped with more powerful processors, the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 is still a decent pick for its price point.
While the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 appears to trail behind the Snapdragon 7 Gen in Geekbench, our PCMark and 3D Mark results show that the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 is indeed an upgrade over the Dimensity 7050.
As our daily driver, the 12 Pro+ handled multitasking like a champ, which is partly thanks to its use of faster LPDDR5 RAM. Gaming is not a problem either: we used the 12 Pro+ to play Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Railat high graphics during our free time, and the phone handled both demanding games without any hiccups–and with the back panel not getting too warm.
The 12 Pro+ comes with realmeUI 5.0 out of the box, and realme commits to three years of updates. Bloatware is toned down to a minimum, and we appreciate how polished realmeUI has been through every iteration.
You still get the same 5000mAh battery on the 12 Pro+, and we don’t mind if charging speeds are slower at 67w–you can still top up the battery in under an hour, and several devices (even outside of the BBK umbrella) use the same charging speeds, so you should have an easier time finding the right charger to enjoy fast top-up speeds. The 12 Pro+’s battery life is impressive–we got 16 hours and 5 minutes on PCMark’s battery benchmark, which translates to more than a day’s use before you need to find an outlet.
realme 12 Pro+ Review Philippines: Wrap-up and Conclusions
The realme 12 Pro+ essentially addressed our complaints with its predecessor and stepped up its game with a class-leading periscope camera that makes it a well-rounded mid-range phone in the Philippines if cameras are your priority. It’s really hard to complain about the 12 Pro+, as it is the only under Php 30k phone in the Philippines to offer a filler-free camera setup that includes a powerful periscope camera.
realme 12 Pro+ Review Philippines: Price
The realme 12 Pro+ is priced at Php 25,999.
