Realme 12 Pro Review: Is It Worth Buying?
Realme 12 Pro – 6.7'' AMOLED, Snapdragon 6 Gen 1, 50MP camera, 5000mAh battery, 67W fast charging, and IP65 water resistance.
Realme has launched Realme 12 Pro series improving on its previous models. This new lineup offers premium features at affordable price. The series includes Realme 12 Pro and Realme 12 Pro+ both featuring a stylish design inspired by luxury watches.
The Realme 12 Pro+ stands out with its advanced periscope telephoto camera for better zoom. Meanwhile, the Realme 12 Pro has a powerful telephoto camera with up to 2x optical zoom.
In this review, we will take a closer look at the Realme 12 Pro to see its features, performance, and whether it’s a good choice for buyers.
Table of Contents
📱 Realme 12 Pro – Full Specifications
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| 📅 Launch | Announced: Jan 29, 2024 🔹 Released: Jan 29, 2024 |
| 🔳 Body | Dimensions: 161.5 x 74 x 8.8 mm 🔹 Weight: 190g ⚖️ 🔹 IP65 dust/water resistant 🌊 🔹 Dual Nano-SIM |
| 🖥️ Display | 6.7″ AMOLED 🌈 🔹 120Hz refresh rate ⚡ 🔹 1080 x 2412 pixels (~394 ppi) 📏 🔹 800 nits (HBM), 950 nits (peak) |
| 📂 OS & UI | Android 14 🟢 🔹 Realme UI 5.0 |
| ⚙️ Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 (4nm) 🔥 |
| 🧠 CPU & GPU | Octa-core: 4×2.2 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4×1.8 GHz Cortex-A55 🎛️ 🔹 GPU: Adreno 710 🎮 |
| 💾 Memory | ❌ No card slot 🔹 128GB 8GB RAM 🔹 256GB 8GB/12GB RAM 🔹 512GB 12GB RAM |
| 📸 Main Camera | Triple: 50MP (OIS, PDAF) 📷 🔹 32MP (2x telephoto, OIS) 🔍 🔹 8MP (112˚ ultrawide) 🌄 |
| 🎥 Camera Features | LED flash 💡 🔹 HDR 🖼️ 🔹 Panorama 🔹 4K@30fps, 1080p@120fps (gyro-EIS) 🎞️ |
| 🤳 Selfie Camera | 16MP (wide) 🔹 1080p@30fps 🎬 |
| 🔊 Sound | Stereo speakers 🎶 🔹 ❌ No 3.5mm jack 🔹 24-bit/192kHz Hi-Res audio 🎧 |
| 📶 Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6 📡 🔹 Bluetooth 5.2 🔗 🔹 GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS, QZSS 🛰️ 🔹 NFC (varies by region) |
| 🔌 USB | USB Type-C 2.0 🔌 |
| 🛡️ Sensors | Under-display fingerprint 🖐️ 🔹 Accelerometer 📡 🔹 Gyro 🔄 🔹 Proximity 📏 🔹 Compass 🧭 |
| 🔋 Battery | 5000mAh 🔋 🔹 67W fast charging (50% in 19 min) ⚡ |
| 🎨 Colors | Submarine Blue 🔵 🔹 Navigator Beige 🟤 |
| 🔢 Model | RMX3842 |
| 💰 Price | ₹21,830 / $279.99 / €249.00 🏷️ |
Realme 12 Pro 5G Design and Display
Realme 12 Pro has a stylish design that stands out. Submarine Blue variant looks bold and eye-catching while Navigator Beige version has a more classic look. Both have a luxury watch-inspired design with a stain-resistant vegan leather finish. However, the back texture can attract dirt, though it is easy to clean. Realme has clearly focused on making the design look premium for its price.
Phone has a curved-edge display on the front and a leather-like back that feels comfortable to hold. It is also IP65-rated meaning it is resistant to dust and water. With a thickness of 8.75mm and a weight of 190 grams. It is easy to handle while still feeling solid.
Realme 12 Pro features a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution, a smooth 120Hz refresh rate and 2160Hz PWM dimming for eye comfort. It supports 10-bit color depth, making colors look vibrant. ProXDR feature, usually found in high-end phones, enhances HDR photos, while the O1 Video Colour Boost improves SDR content in some apps. Users can adjust the display with color profile options like Vivid, Natural and Cinematic. For durability- screen is protected by 0.5mm high-strengthened glass.
Phone supports Widevine L1 which enables users to stream HD material. It can play HDR videos on YouTube but does not support them on Netflix. Dual speakers with Dolby Atmos deliver clear and strong sound, making it ideal for watching videos and movies.
Realme 12 Pro 5G Performance and Software
Realme 12 Pro is the first phone in India to feature the 4nm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chipset, though Realme hasn’t widely advertised it. This chip isn’t built for high-end gaming but handles daily tasks and casual gaming well. Some stuttering may occur in demanding games, but the phone isn’t meant for professional gaming. It comes with LPDDR4x RAM, UFS 3.1 storage, and supports up to 16GB of virtual RAM.
The phone supports 67W fast charging, going from 0 to 100% in under 50 minutes. With normal use, the battery lasts a full day. It runs on Android 14 with Realme UI 5 and is confirmed to receive Android 15 and 16 updates, along with three years of security patches. While Realme has reduced preinstalled apps, some still cannot be removed. The latest security update is from December 2023.
Realme UI 5 includes features like File Dock, Flash Capsule (similar to Apple’s Dynamic Island), Smart Image Matting, and Phone Link for Windows PCs. The overall user experience is smooth, with no major issues. Here’s how the phone performs in benchmarking tests.
Realme 12 Pro 5G Photography and other features
Realme 12 Pro has a 50MP main camera with OIS, an 8MP ultra-wide lens, and a 32MP telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom. The selfie camera is 16MP. This setup is much better than the previous model.
The phone offers various camera modes like Portrait, Night, and Panorama. Users can zoom from 0.6x (ultra-wide) to 20x digital zoom. There’s also a new watermark feature and special filters made with cinematographer Claudio Miranda.
Photos look great in good lighting especially at 2x zoom. Ultra-wide lens is less sharp. Telephoto camera takes good portraits and macro shots. Selfie camera works well but struggles in low light.
For videos, it records in 4K at 30fps, but OIS is only available in 1080p at 60fps. There’s no portrait video mode which is only in the 12 Pro+. Video quality is good in daylight but not in low light.
Other features include good haptic feedback, a slightly low fingerprint sensor, and no NFC or microSD slot.
Pros and Cons of Realme 12 Pro 5G
| ✅Pros | ❌Cons |
|---|---|
| ✅ Stylish design (vegan leather) | ❌ Weaker chipset |
| ✅ Good main & telephoto cameras | ❌ Color inconsistency in cameras |
| ✅ 67W fast charging & big battery | ❌ Lots of bloatware |
| ✅ Bright AMOLED screen | ❌ |
| ✅ Competitive price | ❌ |
| ✅ Dust & water resistance | ❌ |
Conclusion
Realme 12 Pro isn’t a big upgrade from the Realme 11 Pro, except for its cameras. But it’s the only phone in its price range with a telephoto camera, making it great for zoomed-in shots.
The price is Rs 2,000 higher than before, but bank offers give a Rs 2,000 discount, making it a good time to buy.
Its main competitors are the Poco X6 Pro and Redmi Note 13 Pro. Those focus on performance, but the Realme 12 Pro is better for photography.
