This current and latest budget phone from Realme is now available nationwide, the Realme C12 has a whopping 6000mAh power battery, Helio G35 gaming chipset, and a triple cam with just Php5,990 price tag. Helio G35 offers connectivity enhancements that means it will give you a more stable and reliable connection. Perfect for homeschooling. Despite its budget price, is it powerful enough?
Specification
| Realme C12 | |
| Design | 209g |
| Plastic back | |
| Marine Blue, Coral Red, Silver | |
| Display | 6.5″ IPS LCD |
| 720 x 1560, 20:9 ratio | |
| 264PPI, 83.1% STB | |
| Camera | 13MP f/2.2 (Main) |
| 2MP B/W | |
| 2MP Macro | |
| [email protected] | |
| Selfie | 5MP f/2.0 |
| [email protected] | |
| Performance | Mediatek Helio G35 (12nm) |
| Power VR GE8320 | |
| Android 10, realmeUI 1.0 | |
| 3GB | |
| 32GB | |
| expandable storage (up to 256gb) | |
| Battery | 6000mAh |
| 10W Charging | |
| Features | Wi-Fi 802.11 |
| microUSB 2.0 | |
| 3.5mm Jack | |
| Bluetooth 5.0 | |
| Face Unlock | |
| Price | P5,990 (3GB+32GB) |
Pros
- Large 6000mAh
- Budget Powerful Chipset
- Large Display
- New Design Refresher
Cons
- Less dynamic range
- Less storage space
- 10W takes time to charge the large capacity
- No ultrawide
Build
Texture-wise, it is similar to Realme 5i and C3 but definitely with a new design. Like the Realme C15 and Realme C11, It has a square-shaped type camera module and inside it is a triple camera with a single flash. The power and volume rocker are in one location–located on the right. It has a 3.5mm jack, microphone, a micro USB port, and 1 speaker underneath. The body isn’t that slim enough but hefty though it is taller because it boasts a display with a 20:9 ratio.
Display
Speaking of the display, it boasts a 6.5-inch 720p IPS LCD with 264ppi density. The screen is different compared to the newly release C series–C15 and C11. The screen is in warmer tone by default and it has a color-accurate display thanks to the IPS LCD. The contrast is great and decent colors are alive and the viewing angle is good. Overall, the display has acceptable specs of 720p which is perfect on its price range.
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Camera
Now let us check out the cameras. We only have triple cameras with 13MP f/2.2 main cam and 2MP B/W and 2MP Macro lens. Just so you know, B/W lens is used on low light scenes to detect subjects in a low light environment.
So the quality on the main cam, the first noticeable part of the image is the white balance, it tends to be in cooler temperature. The dynamic range is fairly good and the thing though is the whole image is properly exposed when you turn on the HDR. Thanks to HDR and chroma boost, images can be enhanced.
Now let us check out the depth sensor, subject to background separation is 97% accurate. Realme C12 outputs a natural-looking photo and it has a pretty acceptable shallow depth of field.
Now heading to a macro lens, images are acceptable however the white balance is not on the whitest white and it tends to have a greenish tone. It also outputs a somehow sharp image though we can’t get closer to the subject because it doesn’t offer autofocus, it only offers a fixed focus lens.
Video recording is decent in social media sharing. It outputs 1080p 30fps max resolution and unfortunately, we don’t get EIS or the Stabilization. Colors though are natural-looking and it doesnt appear soft. If you want to see the quality we have a video comparison here.
Switching now to the front-facing camera we have a 5MP selfie camera housed on the dewdrop notch of Realme C12. Shooting at normal photo mode it outputs a warmer good looking tone and it’s quite sharp. Enabling portrait mode it has at least 95% accuracy on separating the subject to the background. It also offers to record 1080P @30 frames quality.
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As for camera features, we get a night mode, bokeh slider, slow motion, and expert mode that shoots up to 16s Shutter Speed and a max 6400 ISO. It has very decent all reliable camera features within its price range, considering its low price, there are no complaints.
Performance
Now, let us see its performance. We did some gaming and network tests on Realme C12-results are impressive. It is powered by Mediatek Helio G35 made with 12nm architecture with 3GB of ram and 64GB eMMC 5.1 with a dedicated microSD slot of up to 256GB, and now, again we are asking this question just like the Realme C11. Is this smartphone a gaming-centric phone? Not a gaming-centric phone but an overall daily driver, it certainly can play graphically demanding games at the lowest to moderate possible settings also. We experienced some stutters upon landing in PUBG with a decent and unnoticeable frame dropping when fighting and roaming the map. For mobile legends, we get a recommended setting of medium with HFR turned off, and if you want smooth gameplay, we suggest lowering the settings while HFR mode is on.
For COD, it only offers max available settings of low graphics + high framerates, and the game is pretty stable.
READ: Realme C11 Full Review – Perfect for School and Gaming?
Software
Realme C12 is running on Android 10.0 right out of the box along with the Realme UI. It has a smooth animation and a lighter feel that perform fast enough compared to another entry-level smartphone. We still get reliable features such as dark mode, double tap to sleep/wake, raise to wake function, split-screen, and face unlock. Though thanks to realme UI reliable features are available on this entry-level budget phone.
Battery
As for the battery endurance test, Realme C12 has a monstrous 6000mAh power battery with a 10W quick charging capability, so we have to expect that it will take longer to fully juiced up its battery. After doing some endurance test the battery depleted with an impressive 10hrs and 45mins. This includes video loop tests, gaming tests, and browsing social media feeds. As for charging the 10W charger fully charge the 6000mah in 3hrs and 42mins. Again we expected a longer charging here because of the 10W charging capability.
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Audio
The speaker of Realme C12 is pretty good. It produces a more bassy sound but it is not that solid. It has a loud sound enough to fill a single room and the output is satisfactory.
Verdict
Price to performance ratio–well considering its price, we don’t have complaints on this device. It is powered with an entry-level gaming chipset good enough for casual gaming media consumption and is still perfect for those who need a device for their online classes. Realme C12 can last up to all day thanks to the huge battery. For the price of P5,990 (3GB+64GB), you can still choose if you want to get the Realme C3 for a better gaming experience but for an overall daily driver, It has a 64GB internal storage which is perfect for installing useful and reliable apps. At a very low price, it is a bang for the buck.
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With that battery capacity, and micro usb, it may take 3 hrs to fully charge it. My vivo y11 which has 5000mah, charges to 2-3 hrs via micro usb.