The realme C12: The budget phone with a massive 6,000mAh battery

Currently recognized and ranked as the fastest growing-growing smartphone brand globally, the youth-leaning device vendor is known to develop and unveil to the market modestly priced but feature-rich models akin to premium-priced models.

Even as other smartphone experienced year-on-year (YoY) declines in the third quarter of this year, mostly due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and slowdown in the global economy, realme was among a handful of brands which managed to defy the global market trend. The relatively ‘young’ mobile device vendor, founded recently in 2018, recorded a 45% YoY growth and 132% QoQ growth.

The brand cumulatively shipped over 50 million smartphones by the end of the third quarter 2020, becoming the world’s fastest brand to hit 50 million shipments since inception.

Since its founding just two years ago, the youngster-focused, online-centric brand has grown rapidly around the globe. According to Counterpoint Research, with the ability to efficiently bring cutting-edge technologies and features to the budget smartphone segment, and the “cool” marketing strategy to influence its target consumer segment, realme has managed to differentiate its value proposition in the intense market competition.

Towards the end of last month, realme launched two more new models into the Kenyan market as part of the brand’s global growth and expansion strategy, realme 7i and realme C12.

The latest model in the realme C series, realme C12, has been in the market now for about a month now.

The realme C12 compares favorably with other models in the same price range, even beating some pricier compatriots in terms of features and specs.

Key highlights of the realme C12:

• 6000mAh Mega Battery
• Support Reverse Charging
• 57-Day Super Long Standby
• 5cm (6.5”) Mini-drop Fullscreen with 88.7% Screen-to-body Ratio
• Instant Fingerprint Sensor
• 13MP AI Triple Camera with Nightscape Mode
• 5MP Selfie Camera
• Helio G35 12nm Octa-core 64bits Processor
• Geometric Gradient Design
• 3-Card Slots
• 2 SIM + 1 microSD
• realme UI

Specifications

Attribute	Value
Color	Marine Blue Coral Red
Display	Size: 6.5 inches Screen Ratio: 88.7% Resolution: HD+ 720*1600
Size & Weight	164.5mm x 75.9mm x 9.8m 209g
Battery	6000mAh
Storage	RAM: 3GB Internal storage: 64GB (expandable to 256GB via SD card).
Camera	Main: 13MP AI Triple Camera with Nightscape Mode Selfie: 5MP
Processor	Media Tek Helio G35 12nm Octa-core 64bits
Operating System	Android 10 with realme UI
Sensors	GPS Magnetic Induction Sensor Light Sensor Proximity Sensor Accelerometer Sensor Fingerprint
In the Box	realme C12 mobile phone 2-pin Adapter Micro USB Cable Warranty Card Quick User Guide SIM Eject Tool Screen Protection Film (already fixed on the screen)

Retailing at Kshs 14,999, it’s a bit heavier and bulkier compared to the C11 which was launched towards the end of August and which we reviewed here.

Performance

The C12 comes with a comparatively higher battery capacity of 6,000mAh. The realme C12’s mega 6000mAh battery gives the user up to 57 days in standby mode, which is a longer standby period not even available in some flagship models. With special OTG reverse charge, realme C12 can also be used to charge other devices.

With the App Quick Freeze feature, one can smartly freeze less frequently used apps to idle background app power usage, while Screen Battery Optimization feature will slightly lower some display effects without notice to increase battery endurance. One can also turn on the Sleep Standby Optimization feature to save more energy when they are sleep. But should one need longer battery life, they can enable the Power Saving Mode feature which will lower the screen brightness, shorten auto screen-off time to 15 seconds, and disable background sync to significantly lengthen battery life.

Design

Just like the realme C11, the back of the realme C12 is rugged and grooved (or ribbed) for a more comfortable and firmer grip when held on the palm, ensuring that the device does not slip through the palm and drop when held. The curves on the back are engraved, thereby creating a special reflective light effect.

Four cameras have been mounted at the left hand corner of the C12, just like in the C11 which has 3 cameras mounted in the same position. The design team at realme have since decided to retain this back camera position for all future models.

Dual Mode Music Share

The Dual Mode Music Share functionality allows two users to enjoy the same video or song at the same time from the same device. One can connect a pair of wireless earbuds and a wired earphone simultaneously, enabling both of them to listen to the same song played from the same realme smartphone. The functionality works when one user is listening to music in Bluetooth and wired headphones simultaneously. The feature can also be activated when one user is on call through Bluetooth and the other is listening to music through the wired device.

Downside

However, the main downside to the realme C12 is the set up process which is tedious and time consuming.

With 32GB of internal storage, by the time the device is set up, three-quarters of the capacity or 18GB, is already used up with system files. This leaves the user with less than 10GB of storage capacity to work with. This effectively leaves one with no alternative but to acquire and install an external storage card.

Overall, whatever the realme C12 lacks in other areas, it sufficiently makes up for this with its high capacity battery.