The Realme 12+ is up against stiff competition in its price point from more established brands. You're unlikely to suffer too much buyer's remorse if you opt to slip this phone in your pocket but the possibility is there. You can have a better camera setup, processor, and screen for the same amount of money. That sort of difference is hard to argue in favour of.
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Design
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Performance
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Value
Realme is a relative newcomer to the Stuff offices, with the Realme 12+ 5G being the first smartphone to turn up on our website in review format. The Chinese brand, formerly a division of Oppo, is off doing its own thing. This upper-mid-range smartphone is one of the results and constitutes a (mostly) strong start for the lineup in South Africa.
We say ‘mostly’ because while there are many premium touches, the Realme 12+ falls short of being truly impressive. With a starting price of R15,000 here at home, you’re still getting loads of smartphone for your money but when you’re competing with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE, you’ve got to do a little better than that.
Boy scout
The Realme 12+, as is typical of many Chinese smartphone brands, comes with everything you need in the box. A 67W charging brick (ours was the pre-retail overseas block), a flexible clear case, and a preinstalled screen protector all turned up in our yellow review rectangle. It’s handy if you’re looking to avoid multiple trips to a store (online or retail, your call).
We’re both fond of and annoyed by the soft case. It’s certainly a requirement for keeping your phone protected but Realme splashed out on a textured faux leather back that feels great under your fingers. Having to immediately conceal it beneath a rubberised layer is a terrible shame. But at least it also protects the broad plastic edge that only mimics metal. It does a good job of looking anodised but it’s nowhere near as durable. The broad central camera bump, which hosts the Realme 12+’s three rear cameras, continues the premium impression a little more successfully.
There’s a relative rarity in 2024 along the Realme 12+’s top edge — a 3.5mm headphone jack lives up there. Along the phone’s base is the SIM tray (you can also expand your storage if you absolutely must) and the USB-C charging port. The speaker grille is also along this edge.
More than mid
Users will find that performance is in keeping with the R15k price tag. Realme includes a Dimensity 7050 chipset from MediaTek in this handset, chugging along with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage in the South African model. There are less capable versions out there, featuring a mere 8GB of RAM, but this mid-range chipset/RAM combo should handle most of what you throw in its direction.
But if it’s performance you’re after, Samsung’s Galaxy S23 FE sports a far more capable chipset for the same amount of cash. You’ve really got to prefer the visual styling here to choose Realme’s phone over the South Korean contender. Even the screen — the Realme 12+ has a 6.67in AMOLED running at up to 120Hz — comes in second to what Samsung offers, though this race is much, much narrower. We’re more fond of Samsung’s depth and over-exuberant handling of colours. Stockholm syndrome? Perhaps, but it’s still true.
Realme’s Realme UI 5.0, running on top of Android 14, shows that the company still has a way to go when it comes to software usability. The OS is loaded with bloat, most of which can be easily uninstalled, but it’s still there. Users shouldn’t need additional legwork to make a device usable. The Realme 12+ (and probably every other member of the series) punts the company’s own app and games downloads over the Play Store. We didn’t bother with either but they’re also impossible to get rid of.
The camera’s good, though?
But at least we can look forward to an excellent camera, right? Just look at that premium camera housing with space for four sensors (or three sensors and a laser). There’s something excellent hiding in there, right? Actually, it’s decidedly mid-range, just like everything else about this phone.
A 50MP main sensor provided by Sony is the highlight, with an 8MP ultrawide and 2MP macro sensor doing duty in two of the other slots. We’re not sure what the fourth spot is for but it isn’t for making images better. There’s some optical image stabilisation for the main sensor and the 12.5MP pixel-binned shots are fair-to-decent in good light. Better results are possible by forcing the Realme 12+ to use the full 50 megapixels but you’ll have to edit them down for posting on socials. Realme’s post-processing can be too aggressive and its software trickery has a way to go to catch up with the front-runners.
The ultrawide and macro lenses are simply… there. There’s nothing special about them, making it seem they were included just to fill out a spec sheet with “three rear cameras”. The front-facer is similarly nondescript. If the Sony sensor is the headliner, the remainder are session musicians. They turn up to do the job, get paid, and go home. Again, the Galaxy S23 FE outclasses this one.
Realme 12+ 5G verdict
Maybe you’re bored with giving Samsung money and are willing to take a chance on a newcomer. Perhaps you’re a fan of living dangerously and are willing to leave the case off to feel the Realme 12+’s textured rear under your caressing digits. Whatever your reasons, this smartphone will justify the R15,000 you’ll spend on it. This is particularly true when it comes to onboard storage but it’s possible to do better in just about every metric by looking elsewhere.
That doesn’t mean you have to. Realme, we have little doubt, will go on to do greater things in the South African market. This is just one of its earlier efforts and, as these things go, it’s not a shabby one at all. It’s just that Samsung’s efforts have been going on for far longer, is all.
