Realme 12 Pro+ review

17 February 2024


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If they kept the previous main sensor this'd have been a banger. Solid 1x and ok 2x photos with stellar 3x ones. But now the 1x is only "Good".

Also is it just me or is the 7s Gen 2 a repackaged 7 gen 1, it performs atrociously considering it's supposed to be a step up from the 7 gen 1.The mid range performance is so overlooked, wish there was a middle ground between the 7+ gen 2 and the 7 gen 1, hope we get it next year.

The battery is so weird man why are phones this year so bad at gaming battery life?! Apart from the X100 Pro, IQOO 12 and S24 Ultra, every other normal phone is merely satisfactory in the gaming department but absolutely crazy in the video and web browsing department. Like seriously, the 12 Pro+ can match the iPhone 15 in those departments nearly and that's a feat. The GT5 Pro did great but it's a china only phone so dk how it'd have been on the global rom. ZTE's phones and Asus's phones are specialized and different so I think it's normal to expect monstrous battery from them.

This year's main cam and charging are worse, how is this an actual upgrade? This feels more like a side grade. Weird product by Realme. Hope next year we get the faster charging and a better main cam. Realme's software update policy is as bad as, if not worse than Xiaomi I believe so they must have some serious hardware prowess to gain a midrange buyer's money. Unless someone really wants a good telephoto lens, this is a mid phone. I really love telephotos and shoot 70% of the time in 2x or 3x but I still would be hesitant towards recommending this product considering the removal of pros from last year

    MG7, 16 Feb 2024The main and ultrawide camera sensor on this Realme 12 pro+... moreThe 12 Pro+ and 12R weren't alone using that ultrawide camera, a buncha midrange phones utilized the IMX355 so much to make the prices cheaper

      Hello GSMArena team!!
      Could you please let us know your strategy to review this Realme 12 Pro+ !!
      I've read your all intentions and reactions to the output of this phone.
      You've given 4.0 points out of 5 and your appraisal is pretty different from the subject.
      How did you give this device 4 points only??
      What was your state of your mind while assessing this device?
      Earlier in case of Samsung A54 I've seen that you have given 4.3 points out of 5 how cause that's camera was not so capable to compete against Realme 12 Pro+'s.
      I'm bewildered at your cynical review strategy and behavior that's giving me a lot of mistrust.
      I'd request you to provide me full reason behind your disliking this Realme brand.
      Thanks for your support!
      Yours Michael..

        Chavis, 17 Feb 2024We do check if screens support HDR video and/or Widevine L1... moreFair enough, thanks for the explanation. I also noticed there's no video review for the Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G and that has been out for a few weeks. Phones reviewed after already have its video.

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • 3nQ
          • 17 Feb 2024

          justasmile, 17 Feb 2024Just get a Poco X6 Pro or wait for Nothing Phone 2A if you ... moreI compared camera on my real me 11 pro. Not the proplus! With an iphobe 14 promax. I send the pics to friends and asked which is the iphobe! They were all not able to tell so I guess the real me 12 will do just fine,

          If I show picture of my real me 11 pro and compare then with my normal camera, Nikon... You will see it! For sure.

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            • Anonymous
            • DKN
            • 17 Feb 2024

            I own the 11 pro. Good phone. Switched off high refresh rate. I di not notice any difference. Camera very good, not worse then my friends iphone 14 p r O max. We compared. Realme more colour efficient. Or more like how my eyes see it,

            Negatices... Could do with faster charging. In 10 minutes or so. Or longer battery life, with WiFi I get like 10 hours screen on time. My old samsing m52 or 51 I forgot was better.

            For the rest... Nothing jeft yo be desired.

            Zoom lenses or what ever in never used or will use, j7st click and go. Mainly using normal app or WhatsApp,

            Viewing angles screen. Dunno. Never watch my screen in an angle . Straight in front of my nose.

            Visibility in sun! I think good.

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              • Anonymous
              • CDB
              • 17 Feb 2024

              Where is the portrait samples? Its really a shame you didn't show em while this device is portrait centered pretender

                Just get a Poco X6 Pro or wait for Nothing Phone 2A if you don't need extremely good cameras on a budget. Otherwise, this might be an interesting choice.

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • S2T
                  • 17 Feb 2024

                  The biggest problem is the price since no cell phone companies in northern Europe carries Realme. For way less I can therefore get the Nord 3, wtih 16 gb and way better performance, and it does not have a curved display (I hate curved display)

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                    • Rkm
                    • FY0
                    • 17 Feb 2024

                    "The Realme 12 Pro+ is a camera-centric midranger as it's the only handset in this price range with a 3x telephoto, let alone a periscope telephoto. Sure, the sensor isn't big, but it's a huge upgrade over any other numeric Realme in the past."

                    I think it is weird to call the telephoto sensor 'not big' considering even the biggest telephoto sensors in iPhones pros, galaxy ultras and Pixels pros are way smaller. It is not as large as Xiaomi pro/ultras, Vivo x pros or oppo's flagship but it is still significantly bigger when compared to everything else.

                      DNME Plus, 17 Feb 2024The 12R seems to be better compared to 12 Pro+ By its star ... moreIn most aspects, the 12R is somewhat better rounded. The 12 Pro+ only takes the win in the camera department

                        The 12R seems to be better compared to 12 Pro+ By its star ratings. Just the fact that They're on different target and class

                          Chavis, 17 Feb 2024We no longer do color accuracy testing of displays because ... moreUnderstandable mate. Thanks for clarifying 👍

                            ashrobb, 16 Feb 2024I've pointed this out a few times in earlier reviews..... moreWe do check if screens support HDR video and/or Widevine L1. If this info is missing in this review, I will make sure it's added.

                            As for GFXBench - we stopped testing it for a few good reasons:
                            - It was banned/blacklisted on many new phones we received for review, and it's never whitelisted at a later point. This caused gaps in our score database.
                            - It doesn't give you much different information in terms of device ranking compared to 3D Mark.
                            - Focusing on fewer, high-quality benchmarks makes the Performance section much more readable.
                            - Benchmarking now takes less time and allows for quicker review turnover.

                              LikeAG36, 16 Feb 2024Is it just me..... or this review feels awfully short compa... moreWe no longer do color accuracy testing of displays because we discovered the test is unreliable.
                              We no longer have a separate section for portraits, but you will find Portrait samples in the review. Despite marketing claims, we have seen no progress in this feature in recent years. It's already good enough across all phones, so we see no reason to dedicate it to a separate section any longer. If we see some big strides in this respect from future devices, we'll have more samples and detailed commentary.

                                Chavis, 17 Feb 2024That's entirely on point. We deal with limited resourc... moreThat's understandable. Thank you

                                  Aierlan, 17 Feb 2024Maybe the Oppo and Nubia weren't supplied by the manuf... moreThat's entirely on point. We deal with limited resources and must prioritize which phones to review. Global availability, launch date, device interest and page hits are all taken into account.

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                                    • Headphone Jack.
                                    • IWR
                                    • 17 Feb 2024

                                    AnonF-1006353, 16 Feb 2024Where are the 50mp samples and why is there no zoom to the ... moreThat's the new gsmarena for you. They keep on removing segments from their once detailed review format, thus continuing on their way to become just another review site.

                                    I too miss the full resolution mode samples cz that's the one mode I use when I shoot outdoors on bright sunny days.

                                    These guys used to review important stuff like call quality, messaging, typing experience etc back in the day but all of that has been discarded now which is quite sad :(

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                                      • TheOneAndOnlyRahul
                                      • 7k$
                                      • 17 Feb 2024

                                      rosesarerosie, 16 Feb 2024This review just seems compelled and biased You criticize ... moreVery true.
                                      I too felt the same.
                                      God knows why they're doing this.

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                                        • TheOneAndOnlyRahul
                                        • 7k$
                                        • 17 Feb 2024

                                        Bantai, 16 Feb 2024I sense some paranormal activity going on here.I hope it's not true! 😔

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