Realme 12 Pro+ review

Introduction and specs

The mid-range smartphone segment is off to a great start this year. The new midrangers seem to be getting new, more potent camera setups, nicer chipsets from Qualcomm, and even better displays. The Realme 12 Pro+ is still catching up, and the biggest upgrade is undoubtedly the camera hardware.

The new Realme gets a proper telephoto camera, a periscope lens with 3x zoom at that. This is an extremely rare feature in this price range. Speaking of prices, the launch price tag has been bumped by INR 2,000, but it remains to be seen whether the European price will get a correction.

Perhaps in order to accommodate the pricier 64MP periscope telephoto camera, Realme had to compromise with the main camera. The main 200MP shooter is replaced with a 50MP one with a slightly smaller sensor too. The third auxiliary 8MP ultrawide camera remains.

Realme 12 Pro+ specs at a glance:

• Body: 161.5x74.0x8.8mm, 196g; vegan leather back, glass front, plastic side frame; IP65 dust/water resistant.
• Display: 6.70" AMOLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, 800 nits (HBM), 950 nits (peak), 1080x2412px resolution, 20.1:9 aspect ratio, 394ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM7435-AB Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 (4 nm): Octa-core (4x2.40 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4x1.95 GHz Cortex-A55); Adreno 710.
• Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM.
• OS/Software: Android 14, Realme UI 5.0.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, 24mm, 1/1.56", 1.0µm, multi-directional PDAF, OIS; Telephoto: 64 MP, f/2.8, 71mm, 1/2.0", 0.7µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2, 16mm, 112˚, 1/4.0", 1.12µm.
• Front camera: 32 MP, f/2.4, 22mm (wide).
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
• Battery: 5000mAh; 67W wired, 1-50% in 19 min (advertised).
• Connectivity: 5G; Dual SIM; Wi-Fi 6; BT 5.2; NFC.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); stereo speakers.

The newer device now offers a more potent Snapdargon 7s Gen 2 chipset as well based on a more modern 4nm manufacturing process.

No changes to the display have been made, although we weren't expecting any to begin with. Last year's curved 120Hz OLED panel is perfectly fine in 2024 as well. Maybe the maximum brightness falls a bit short to competitors' solutions, but it's still good enough for comfortable outdoor use.

The device also retains its slick design with vegan leather and the 5,000 mAh battery, but unfortunately, the latter now charges with a 67-watt brick, down from the 100W charging from last year.

It looks as if Realme had to make a few compromises here and there to accommodate some of the new features, including the periscope telephoto camera. We dive deeper onto the following pages to see if there are any other noteworthy changes that are hard to spot from the specs sheet alone.

Unboxing the Realme 12 Pro+

The Realme 12 Pro+ comes in a standard retail box containing the usual user manuals, the 67W-rated charger and a USB-A to USB-C cable for charging and data transfer.

There's also a transparent silicone case that doesn't conceal the unique design.