In most respects, the C12 is like the C11 which I reviewed last week. But, for the additional $50 cost, there are some additional features. Still, at $249, the C12 is very good value for money.
For one, there is 3GB of RAM, compared to the 2GB of the C11. But in testing I found that this model often has more drag than the C11. The SoC is the same for both devices, the eight-core Mediatek Helio P35 MT6765.
The Coral Red model of the C12. Supplied
It is a mainstream ARM SoC for smartphones that was introduced in late 2018 and integrates eight ARM Cortex-A53 cores in two clusters (big.LITTLE), according to the site NotebookCheck.
The four performance cores clock up to 2.3 GHz. The integrated graphics card is PowerVR GE8320 and clocks up to 680 MHz. The integrated memory controller supports LPDDR4x with 1500 MHz or 933 MHz LPDDR3.
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Another difference with the C11, is that the C12 has the biggest smartphone battery that I have encountered: 6000mAh. According to the manufacturers' specs, it takes three hours and 42 minutes to charge from zero to 100%, so I would put aside at least four hours if you have run it down completely. I did not measure this during actual use.
The Waibaidu Bridge in Shanghai photographed at night. Supplied
And a third difference with the C11 is that this device offers a fingerprint scan, with the scan area at the rear of the phone. Facial recognition is also present.
Given that there is only 32Gb of storage, the C12 includes a slot for an SD card of up to 256GB. There are two SIM slots.
The C12 lacks NFC, perhaps because the percentage of Australians using their phones for payments really isn't that high, at least not from my observations. In recent times, however, some iTWire readers have observed that they have changed their minds about buying specific models because of the lack of NFC.
A night shot of the Jinmao Tower in Shanghai. Supplied
The device has a 13MP AI triple camera, and night shots come out clear due to what is claimed to be breakthrough nightscape technology. There is a portraits lens and also a macro lens.
The screen is a 6.5-inch HD+ mini drop display and is more than suitable for watching videos or playing games. As I said before, there is occasionally a slight lag when scrolling.
Like the C11, the C12 has a Helio G35 Gaming Processor, one of the first phones to include this. There is no headset or cover with the device.
The realme C12 comes in two colours — Marine Blue and Coral Red — and has been available for purchase since 12 November for $249 at the realme e-store, JB Hi-Fi, Bing Lee, Make it Mine, mobileciti, 5GWORLD, Essential Appliance Rentals, Amazon, Kogan, eBay and Catch.com.
The Shimao International Centre in Fuzhou, Fujian Province photographed with the main camera. Supplied
SPECS
Product Name realme C12
Product Model RMX2189
SYSTEM
Android version 10
ColorOS version realme UI 1.0
DISPLAY
Screen size 6.52“
Touch screen Capacitive Screen
Touch panel technology In-cell
Screen texture LCD
Screen resolution 1600*720
Screen PPI 269
Screen ratio 20:9; 88.70%
Screen Contrast min: 800:1 Typ: 1200:1
Screen refresh rate 60Hz
Screen colours 16.7M
Colour saturation 0.71
Maximum brightness 420nit
Touch screen glass material GG3
Touch points 10
Oleophobic coating No
A feather as seen through the macro lens. Supplied
APPEARANCE
Size 164.5*75.9*9.8 mm
Weight 209g
Body colour Marine Blue / Coral Red
Middle frame texture PC+GF and aluminium alloy
Back cover material PC
CPU
CPU core 8
CPU platform MT6765
CPU frequency 4*2.3GHz+4*1.8GHz
GPU Model GE8320
CPU technology 12nm
MEMORY
RAM 3GB
RAM technology LPDDR4X
Flash specification emmc 5.1
ROM 32GB
External memory up tp 256GB
Standard SD card equipped No
FRONT CAMERA
PPI 5M
Sensor sizes/pixel data 1/5 inch/1.12um
Photo size 2592*1944
Sensor type CMOS
Sensor manufacturer and model GC5035-WC1X0
Focusing mode FF
Optical focusing No
Wide angle of front camera 77.9°
Aperture f2.4
Maximum zoom multiples N/A
Focal length N/A
Front flashlight NO
Front camera lens material Plastic
Lens number 3P
Characteristic function for photograph Beauty, filter, HDR, panoramic view, Portrait, Timelapse
Ways of taking photos Timer, Touch, Gesture,Volume Button,Fingerprint
Continuous Capture modes N/A
Supported resolution and frame rate in video "720P>>>30fps 1080P>>>30fps"
Slow motion No
Taken with the AI selfie camera. Supplied
REAR CAMERA
Number of rear cameras 3
PPI rear main 13M + mono 2M + macro 2M
Sensor sizes/pixel data "13M：1/3 inch，1.12um 2M Mono：1/5 inch，1.75um 2M Macro：1/5 inch，1.75um"
Photo size "13M:4160*3120 2M:1600*1200 2M:1600*1200"
Sensor type CMOS
Sensor manufacturer and model "13M: OV13B10-GA5A(OV) 2M-Mono：GC02M1B(格科微) 2M-Macro: OV02B1B（OV）"
Focusing method "13M:PDAF/AF 2M/2M:FF"
Optical focusing No
Maximum zoom multiples 4x
Aperture "13M:2.2 2M/2M:2.4"
Focal length 13M:25.53mm
Wide angle of rear camera "13M: 83.3° 2M: 88.8° 2M: 88°"
Flashlight Yes
Rear camera lens material Glass
Lens number "13M: 5P 2M: 3P 2M: 3P"
Macro lens 4cm
Slow motion 720p 90fps
Characteristic function for photograph Beauty, filter, HDR, panoramic view, Portrait, Timelapse, Slo-mo, NightScape, Expert,
Number of Output Pixels for ultra-high definition —
Continuous Capture modes Yes, max 20 limit
Ways of taking photos Timer, Touch, Gesture,Volume Button,Fingerprint
SR AUTO Yes
Image Format jpg
Supported resolution and frame rate in video "720P>>>30fps 1080P>>>30fps"
Video storage format MP4
Image stabiliser no
BATTERY
Full charge time (0-100%) 3h 42min
Battery capacity 6000mAH
VOOC flash charge No
Wireless Charging No
Theoretical Calling duration 45.63H
Theoretical standby duration 1359.0H
Energy density 712Wh/L
Simulated duration 24.12H
Theoretical Audio playing time 213.96H
Charging speed/power 10W
Theoretical Video playing time 27.42H
OTHERS
Headset jack 3.5mm
USB jack Micro-USB
USB transmission standard USB2.0
Flashlight Yes
Notification light No
Double mic noise suppression No
Fingerprint Yes
Linear Motor N/A
Vibrating motor Flat motor
Dual speaker No
Super linear speaker No
Glove Mode N/A
OTG Yes
HDMI No
SIM card slot Dual NaNo Card + TF Card (Three Cards Independent)
NFC No
Infrared ray remote control No
FM Yes
CONNECTIVITY
Bluetooth version BT2.1+EDR,BT5.0
Bluetooth Shared network Yes
Bluetooth support protocol A2DP、AVRCP、HFP、HSP、PBAP、AVDTP、OBEX、OPP、HID
Wi-Fi band 2.4GHz
WLAN protocol 802.11b/g/n
Maximum number of connected devices at a hotspot 8
WLAN Display Yes
W-Fi antenna technology No
GPS navigation GPS，Glonass，Beidou
Dual frequency GPS No
NETWORK
Technology GSM / HSPA / LTE
2G bands GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2
3G bands HSDPA 850 / 900 / 2100
4G bands 1, 3, 5, 8, 38, 40, 41
Speed HSPA 42.2/11.5 Mbps, LTE-A
ENTERTAINMENT
Video format .mp4, .3gp, .3g2, .3gpp, .3gpp2, .m4v , .mkv
Audio format AAC,HE-AAC v1, HE-AAC v2,AMR,AWB,MIDI,MP3,OGG VORBIS
Image format JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, WebP, Raw, HEIF (HEIC)
Supported WideVine level L3
Record format mp3
Video record format mp4
Ringtone format ogg
HD format Yes
Web page video play Yes
Sound effect type dirac
PACKING LIST
Handset 1
Adapter 1
Headset No
Micro USB Cable 1
Important Info booklet with warranty card 1
Quick Guide 1
SIM Card Tool 1
Screen Protect Film 1
Case No
OTHER BASIC FUNCTIONS
Text input default English
Call records (how many can be stored) According to the space left.
Upper limit for mass text messaging 200
Data backup Yes
Office tools n/a
Files compression and decompression Yes
World time Yes
Timing SMS function No
Import and export messages No
Import and export contacts Yes
