realme India unveiled today its anticipated smartphones as promised– the realme 12 Pro 5G and realme 12 Pro+ 5G both positioned as camera-centric marvels in their segment. Notably, the realme 12 Pro+ 5G takes the lead as the higher-end smartphone in the series, equipped with the faster Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 SoC with up to 12 GB LPDDR5 RAM and 256 GB UFS 3.1 storage while using even better cameras comprising the 50 MP IMX890 with 6x in-sensor zoom and 64 MP OV64B periscope with 3x optical zoom. Let’s dive into the details of the smartphone in our realme 12 Pro+ 5G review.
realme 12 Pro+ 5G Specifications & Features
- Display: 6.7-inch Curved Vision AMOLED display, 10-bit color depth (1.07B colors), Full HD+ resolution (2412 x 1080 pixels, 394 ppi pixel density), 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate, 1,260 Hz instant touch sampling rate, 16x HyperPrecise Touch, 93.65% screen-to-body ratio, 100% P3 color Gamut, 2,160 Hz High-frequency PWM Dimming, 5,000,000:1 contrast ratio, 950 nits peak brightness, 20,000 Level Automatic AI Brightness Adjustment, HDR10+ & TÜV Rheinland certification
- Design: Premium Vegan Leather Design, Luxury Watch Inspired Camera Module, 196 grams weight
- Software: realme UI 5.0, Android 14 operating system
- CPU: 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 octa-core SoC up to 2.2 GHz CPU clock speed (4 + 4 ARM Cortex-A78 cores + ARM Cortex-A55 cores)
- GPU: Adreno 710 Graphics
- Memory: 8 GB OR 12 GB LPDDR5 RAM, up to +12 GB extended RAM
- Storage: 128 GB OR 256 GB UFS 3.1 internal storage, no microSD card support
- Main Camera: Triple cameras (50 MP f/1.8 24mm IMX890 OIS + 64 MP f/2.8 71mm OV64B 3x periscope OIS + 8 MP f/2.2 16mm ultra-wide-angle 112°), 50 MP f/1.8 24mm with 1.156-inch Sony IMX890 with OIS + EIS sensor and 6x in-sensor zoom, 64 MP f/2.8 71mm with 1/2-inch Omnivision OV64B periscope lens with 3x optical zoom and OIS, 8 MP f/2.2 16mm ultra-wide-angle 112° with 112° FOV, 120x SuperZoom, All Pixel PDAF, 4K Video Recording (30fps), dual LED flash
- Selfie Camera: Single 32 MP Sony sensor, f/2.4
- Others: In-display fingerprint scanner (optical), Face Unlock, Dolby Atmos, Hi-Res Audio Certification
- Cellular: 5G network, dual SIMs, dual standby, VoLTE support
- Battery & Charging: 5,000 mAh battery, 67W SuperVOOC fast charging,
- Colors: Submarine Blue, Navigator Beige, Explorer Red
- Price: ₹29,999 (8 GB + 128 GB), ₹31,999 (8 GB + 256 GB), ₹33,999 (12 GB + 256 GB)
- Availability: 29th January 2024 from 6 PM to 8 PM (early access sale), 6th February 2024 at 12 PM (first sale) on realme.com/in, Flipkart, and other online and offline stores, Explorer Red color to be available from 9th February 2024
- Offers: Up to ₹2,000 discount on ICICI bank cards, no-cost EMI up to 12 months, exchange offers available
Design, Display, & Build Quality
The realme 12 Pro+ 5G embraces a premium Vegan Leather design flaunting a unique aesthetic with a luxury watch-inspired camera module. The design is identical for both smartphones in the series, sharing with its tone-down sibling realme 12 Pro 5G. The smartphone comes in three color variants – Submarine Blue, Navigator Beige, and an additional color India-exclusive Explorer Red which is to be available from 9th February 2024. The realme 12 Pro+ 5G design stands out as one of the finest in its segment.
Moving to its gorgeous curved display, the realme 12 Pro+ equips a 6.7-inch Curved Vision AMOLED screen with a 10-bit color depth (1.07B colors), Full HD+ resolution (2,412 x 1080 pixels), and a 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate. The smartphone is approximately 8.75 mm thick, weighs 196 grams, and is protected by 0.55 mm Double-Reinforced Glass.
Additional display features include a 1,260 Hz instant touch sampling rate, 16x HyperPrecise Touch, 100% P3 color Gamut, 2,160 Hz High-frequency PWM Dimming, 5,000,000:1 contrast ratio, 950 nits peak brightness, 20,000 Level Automatic AI Brightness Adjustment, and HDR10+ and TÜV Rheinland certifications.
Moving to the buttons, ports, connectivity, and audio, the right side offers a power button and volume controls just above while the left side remains plain. The bottom has a USB Type-C port, a dual 5G SIM tray, loudspeakers (stereo), and a microphone.
At the top, you will find another microphone and a second speaker for the stereo effects. The smartphone offers Dolby Audio support for the stereo loudspeakers and Hi-Res audio certification. No 3.5 mm jack is available for earphones/headphones, you have to use a Type-C to 3.5 mm convertor.
Software, User Interface, & Features
The realme 12 Pro+ 5G debuts with the new realme UI 5.0 interface, seamlessly integrated with the Android 14 operating system. The realme 12 Pro+ and the realme 12 Pro 5G are the first smartphones in the whole realme family to use the realme UI 5.0 interface with Android 14 out-of-the-box. We got the smartphone with an Android security patch dated 5th December 2023 and got updated to version RMX3840_14.0.0.205(EX01) firmware.
The realme UI 5.0 marks a substantial improvement over its predecessors (realme UI 4.0 and older) due to the Android 14 built. The new interface brings in an optimized UI experience, revamped Always-On Display, enhanced privacy and security features, and more.
The interface provides a host of customization options, allowing users to tailor the look and interface according to their preferences. The realme UI 5.0 also enables you to use the additional perks from the realme UI 4.0 interface. Noteworthy features include the Mini Capsule, reminiscent of Apple’s Dynamic Island, and Auto Pixelate chats for enhanced privacy.
Aside from the usual apps from realme and Google, you get a selection of pre-installed apps such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Amazon, Snapchat, Spotify, Netflix, Agoda, etc.. You can remove these apps if they are not required. You also get a folder for Hot Apps and Hot Games as you see on other realme smartphones.
Hardware, Performance, & Gaming
Powered by a 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 octa-core SoC, the realme 12 Pro+ 5G is surprisingly faster than most smartphones in the segment and is clearly ahead in terms of performance. The 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 octa-core SoC is clocked up to 2.4 GHz and is laced with up to 12 GB LPDDR5 RAM (+12 GB extended RAM) + 256 GB UFS 3.1 storage with Adreno 710 GPU for gaming and graphics-intensive tasks.
The Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 is a fast upper-midrange SoC with eight cores and is manufactured in a TSMC 4nm process. The SoC consists of eight Kryo cores clocked up to 2.4 GHz – 4x high-performance Kryo cores based on ARM Cortex-A78 at 2.4 GHz clock speed and 4x power efficient Kryo cores based on ARM Cortex-A55 at 1.95 GHz clock speed.
The smartphone comes in three RAM and storage variants – 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage, 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage, and 12 GB RAM with 256 GB storage all with LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage configurations. The price for the realme 12 Pro+ 5G starts at ₹29,999 for its 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage variant, ₹31,999 for its 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage variant, and ₹33,999 for its top-variant 12 GB RAM and 256 GB storage.
The RAM can be extended ranging from 4 GB to 12 GB (for the 12 GB RAM variant) which means the RAM can be virtually extended up to 24 GB, combining physical and virtual RAM. The system dynamically allocates virtual RAM based on resource requirements. For the 8 GB RAM variant, the RAM can be virtually extended up to 16 GB in total.
For gaming enthusiasts, the Adreno 710 serves as a fast midrange GPU, delivering commendable performance in gaming applications. To address thermal concerns, the realme 12 Pro+ 5G comes with a highly efficient Vapor Chamber Cooling System equipped with Graphite sheets for effective heat dissipation.
Cameras
The realme 12 Pro Series 5G highlights its camera-centric features in the segment. Being an upper-end in the series, the realme 12 Pro+ 5G takes photography seriously through its 50 MP IMX890 primary + 64 MP OV64B periscope cameras which is the main camera highlight. The realme 12 Pro+ 5G equips a triple camera setup with the main 50 MP f/1.8 camera utilizing the Sony IMX890 sensor with support for OIS + EIS and offering 6x in-sensor zoom capabilities.
On the other hand, there’s a 64 MP periscope camera as the secondary with f/2.8 aperture using the OmniVision OV64B camera supporting 3x optical zoom and OIS. The third camera is an 8 MP f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle on the rear side and a 32 MP f/2.4 Sony IMX615 selfie camera on the front. The smartphone supports ProXDR which analyzes the image content transmitted by the camera, optimizing photo effects for a complete range of brightness and dynamic range.
Compared to the predecessor, the cameras have significantly changed, you get a periscope lens, twice the OIS for two cameras, 3x optical zoom, 6x in-sensor zoom, and a maximum of 120x SuperZoom. The realme 12 Pro+ 5G has redefined the smartphone camera landscape by introducing a groundbreaking camera setup including a periscope lens in this segment. The trio of cameras on the smartphone is a delightful surprise for its segment, making it a highly recommended choice for photography enthusiasts.
The camera interface offers a bunch of features and modes, including Auto-zoom, Street Photography Mode, Moon Mode, Starry Mode Pro, Super NightScape, Pano, Professional Mode, Portrait Mode, HDR, AI Scene Recognition, AI Beauty, Filters, Text Scanner, Portrait Distortion Correction, One Take, Super Group Portrait, Slow Motion, Time-Lapse, Cinema Mode, AI Video Tracking, Starry time-lapse Video, and Tilt-shift time-lapse Video for the rear setup, and Portrait Mode, Pano, Ultra-wide Angle, AI Beauty Mode, Face Recognition, Filters, Super Nightscape, and AI Scene Recognition for the front.
The realme 12 Pro+ 5G camera offers exceptional performance, delivering stunning and impressive results, here are some samples attached below to show you how the camera performs.
realme 12 Pro+ 5G Camera Samples
Battery Runtime & Charging
The realme 12 Pro+ 5G is equipped with a 5,000 mAh battery with support for 67W SuperVOOC fast charging. When compared to its predecessor (realme 11 Pro+ 5G), the charging power has been degraded from 100W to 67W. We think this is certainly due to the pricing (₹29,999), it seems the smartphone has concentrated more on its cameras. Nevertheless, the battery can be charged from 0% to 50% in just 19 minutes according to the company and one can expect 100% fully charged in about 48 minutes.
The 100W SuperVOOC charger, on the other hand, can fully charge the realme 11 Pro+ 5G in just 26 minutes, making it one of the fastest-charging smartphones in its segment. The 5,000 mAh battery on the realme 12 Pro+ 5G ensures a decent battery life, the realme UI 5.0 and Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 optimizations play an important role in the battery runtimes, expect up to 2 days of backup depending on your usage patterns.
Verdict – realme 12 Pro+ 5G
The realme 12 Pro+ 5G offers remarkable specs and features for its pricing (₹29,999). The realme 12 Pro+ 5G has redefined the smartphone camera landscape by introducing a groundbreaking camera setup (50 MP IMX890 + 64 MP OV64B periscope + 8 MP ultra-wide) challenging the flagship smartphones in the market. You get a periscope lens for portraits, twice the OIS for two cameras, 3x optical zoom, 6x in-sensor zoom, and as much as 120x SuperZoom. The camera trio is a delightful surprise for its segment, making it a highly recommended choice for photography enthusiasts for this budget.
The camera’s exceptional specs also make it a perfect contender against many smartphones in this price range. With a stylish and premium vegan leather design, smooth 120 Hz curved AMOLED screen, snappy performance (Snapdragon 7s Gen 2), a powerful camera setup, and perks from realme UI 5.0, the realme 12 Pro+ 5G stands out as the best performer in its class. The realme 12 Pro+ 5G is highly recommended for those seeking a smartphone within the ₹30,000 budget range.
realme 12 Pro+ 5G – Where To Buy
The price for the realme 12 Pro+ 5G starts at ₹29,999 for its 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage variant, ₹31,999 for its 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage variant, and ₹33,999 for its top-variant 12 GB RAM and 256 GB storage. The smartphone will be available starting today i.e. 29th January 2024 from 6 PM to 8 PM as an early access sale and will go on sale on 6th February 2024 at 12 PM on realme.com/in, Flipkart, and in stores near you. The realme 12 Pro+ 5G Explorer Red Color Edition will be available from 9th February 2024. The launch offers include up to ₹2,000 discount on ICICI Bank cards, no-cost EMI for up to 12 months, and exchange offers.
Know More About realme 12 Pro Series 5G
relame 12 Pro Series 5G Launch Event Video on YouTube.com
