Realme 12 Pro Review: 5 Things We Liked, 3 Things We Wish Could Have Been Better

Earlier this year, Realme unveiled its latest mid-ranger, the Realme 12 Pro smartphone, in India. It’s powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chipset, features a fast display, and a triple rear camera setup, all at a starting price of Rs 25,999. We have been using the device for quite some time now and have delved into its capabilities to see if it lives up to expectations. Here’s a closer look at what impressed us and where there’s room for improvement.

5 Things We Liked

Here are all the things that impressed us during our time with the Realme 12 Pro:

Beautiful Display

The Realme 12 Pro takes visuals seriously. Its 6.7-inch curved AMOLED panel delivers vibrant colours, deep blacks, and a smooth 120Hz refresh rate for a truly immersive viewing experience. The colour accuracy is excellent, making it great for watching movies, browsing photos, or even gaming.

Unique and Stylish Design

If you are eyeing a smartphone that looks premium and stands out from the crowd, then the Realme 12 Pro might be your perfect companion.

It has a comfortable vegan leather back, reminiscent of its sibling in the series, feels great in hand and resists fingerprints. The camera module takes centre stage and was designed in collaboration with watch designer Ollivier Savéo to resemble a luxury watch dial. Design has always been a plus point of Realme’s smartphones, and this continues here too. It’s without a doubt a conversation starter.

Capable Camera System

When it comes to optics, the Realme 12 Pro packs a punch. The 50MP primary sensor (Sony IMX882) with OIS captures sharp, detailed images in daylight. The colours are slightly punchier, a typical Realme style, but still pleasing. HDR performance is also good, it keeps the highlights and the shadows in the image under check. The low-light performance with the primary camera is decent, although some noise can creep in dimly lit conditions.

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However, we were particularly impressed by the 32MP telephoto sensor (Sony IMX709), which offers a valuable 2x optical zoom for capturing distant details. There’s a slight colour shift between the telephoto and primary cameras, but it’s a minor quibble, and no one will notice this difference in regular usage.

The 8MP ultrawide sensor, while the least impressive of the three, still produces decent images that are surely usable for social media.

Long-lasting Battery with Speedy Charging

The Realme 12 Pro boasts a standard 5,000mAh battery that lasts a full day on moderate usage. The phone also supports 67W fast charging, which can fully juice up the device in less than 45 minutes. This is a lifesaver for those who need a quick power boost before heading out.

Decent performance

The Realme 12 Pro is powered by the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 SoC paired with 8GB of RAM. This combination handles everyday tasks and even some light gaming with ease. We experienced no heating issues during our testing period, even with extended use. It’s not a performance-centric smartphone, so the phone might not meet your expectations if you plan to run heavy tasks on it.

While the Realme 12 Pro handles other tasks well, gaming is where it slightly fumbled. We came across instances when the game stuttered. It wasn’t consistent but, is something you should know. That said, the Realme 12 Pro is still a great choice for daily usage which might include scrolling through social media, answering emails, browsing, and more.

3 Things We Wish Could Have Been Better

Here are the things that leave room for improvement:

Filled with Bloatware

Realme smartphones tend to come with a host of bloatware, and unfortunately, the Realme 12 Pro is no different. These unwanted apps eat into storage space and clutter the interface. While some can be uninstalled, others might linger as disabled apps.

Edge Detection Needs Improvement

The Realme 12 Pro’s portrait mode delivers decent results for casual shooting. But, the edge detection capabilities leave room for improvement. Sometimes, it might clip off the edges of your shoulders or struggle with fine details like hair, resulting in an unnatural-looking blur. This is something that can be fixed with an OTA, so we hope Realme pushes one out soon.

Low Brightness

While the display is legible in most indoor situations, its brightness of around 800 nits was a bit low under direct sunlight. Yes, it’s still somewhat visible, but there’s a bit of squinting involved in most conditions. This is something that could have been handled better, considering smartphones nowadays are going crazy with peak brightness numbers.

Verdict

Overall, the Realme 12 Pro is a solid mid-range contender with much to offer. The beautiful display, unique design, long-lasting battery life, and fast charging make it a compelling option for many.

However, if you’re a power gamer or require exceptional outdoor visibility, you might want to look for a phone with a more powerful processor or a brighter display. The Realme Narzo 70 Pro, Vivo T3, POCO X6 Pro, or Nothing Phone (2a) are some good alternatives.