I do love the occasional smartphone unboxing especially since I’m usually unboxing computer peripherals and it’s been a while since I got to get one before its official release. Fascinatingly enough, it comes in a yellow ochre box with a minimalist design but with a big “12+” in front.
realme 12 and its variants
As realme has launched a plethora of variations and iterations of their generational phones with a mixture of the “pro” and “+” added to their names, let’s not mistake this 12+ 5G iteration from its PRO+ and PRO variants though it can carry its own weight.
What’s in the box!?!?
We had the opportunity to make a short unboxing video of it here and the realme 12+ 5G comes with a 67W SUPERVOOC charger, a clear gel case, USB-A to USB-C cable, and the unit itself. On first look, the phone looks great with its slim factor and a definitely noticeable matte-leatherette back panel.
120 Hz is the new 60Hz
Once I held it on my hand, I felt that it had a long portrait-oriented screen with a 6.67-inch FHD+ E4 AMOLED display. What caught my eye is that it’s that the display is so smooth and then I noticed that it has a 120Hz display. This is the baseline for me right now because anything lower than 120Hz is just weird for me since I normally play on a 144Hz monitor and my daily driver is also playing on 120Hz on my mobile games.
Use the gel case = less fingerprints
Without the gel casing, the metallic polished flat sides are indeed a looker but if you’re a bit more sensitive to having your fingerprints on this part of the phone, better use it with a case.
Weighing in at…
Upon carrying it, you can notice that it is on the lighter side weighing in at 190g. It also has an IP54 rating, which is dust and splash resistant, as compared to the IP65 rating, dust and water resistance, of the 12Pro+ variant.
Going BIG with that Sony LYT-600 OIS Camera
Looking at the camera setup at the back, I was intimidated at the big circular outline of the cameras divided into 4 quadrants. The realme 12+ 5G uses a 50MP Sony LYT-600 sensor with OIS. It can handle 4K at 30fps and 1080p at 30/60 fps. There are 2 cameras as well, an 8MP ultra-wide camera, and a 2MP macro lens. There’s a 16MP front camera as well with a 82.6° FOV for you selfie lovers out there.
Powered by…
The realme 12+ 5G is powered by the Mediatek Dimensity 7050 5G Chipset, which may not be the most powerful chip to date but it gets the job done. The version that we have here is the 12GB | 256 GB maximum option and upon opening the device for the first time, it runs on Android 14 with the realme UI 5.0. My only pet peeve upon opening and starting the device is that it has preinstalled apps that I don’t need but it’s not too much of a worry because you can easily remove those apps that are not useful for you.
The 3.5mm headphone jack
So who said that the 3.5mm headphone jack should be out in smartphones? realme did everyone a service here by retaining the 3.5mm jack and making it more accessible to wired ear peripherals. For me, that’s a win!
First Impression Summary
Looking at the realme 12+ 5G, I can see it being a good contender for your daily driver. Stay tuned for our full review in the upcoming days.