Realme has upped the mid-segment smartphone design game considerably with the launch of the new Realme 12 series smartphones. The brand, in partnership with international luxury watchmaker Ollivier Savéo, created these phones and unlike some brands that only bring the premium design to more expensive variants, Realme has brought it to even the more affordable device of the two — the Realme 12 Pro. The phone comes with a very premium design to the table, with a vegan leather finished back with a circular camera unit that has a sunburst design with highlights of gold in the mix.
At the front, the phone has a beautiful and again quite premium curved 6.7-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with 120 Hz refresh rate. The phone also comes with a very good camera setup — a 50-megapixel Sony IMX709 sensor paired with a 32-megapixel telephoto lens and an 8-megapixel sensor. Keeping it running is the task of a 5,000mAh battery, and the phone comes with Android 14 out of the box.
All of this at a starting price of Rs 25,999 makes the Realme 12 Pro a steal deal but there are a few features that are an open invite to its competition. The phone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chip which is a mid-segment processor, and cannot take on really heavy tasks without lagging. It also comes with fast charging support but it is just 67W, which can be matched and even bettered by some in its segment. And while the curved display is beautiful, its brightness is maxed at 950 nits, which does not quite hit the mark and those who like minimalistic UI skins would find the Realme OS on top of Android 14 a bit overwhelming.
So if the Realme 12 Pro has caught your eye, here are five other phones that are attention worthy too:
Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G: The Note-able Slayer In The Race
Price: Rs 25,999 onwards
Just like the Realme 12 Pro was overshadowed by the ‘+’ variant launched alongside it, the Redmi Note 13 Pro met the same fate because of its ‘Plus’ sibling. But the two “no plus” variants are bitter rivals. The Note lacks a curved display but comes with several other high-end features.
It has a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with 1.5K resolution, 120 Hz refresh rate and almost double the peak brightness of 1800 nits as compared to the Realme 12 Pro. The phone is also powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 which is more powerful and efficient than the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 on the Realme 12 Pro.
It also features great megapixel numbers with a 200-megapixel main Samsung Isocell HP3 sensor with OIS and has a slightly 5,100mAh battery with similar 67W fast charging support. Round that off with stereo speakers, IP54 dust and water resistance and you get a really efficient smartphone.
The only drawback would be the presence of Android 13 out of the box with MIUI14 on top, but it is expected to be updated soon to Xiaomi’s new HyperOS.
iQoo Z7 Pro 5G: Power-Packed Phone
Price: Rs 23,999 onwards
Another phone that can provide a lot of competition to the Realme 12 Pro is the iQoo Z7 Pro. The phone has a large 6.78-inch curved glass FHD+ AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate and boasts a very premium design too.
But the biggest highlight of the device is its processor. The phone is powered by the extremely powerful MediaTek Dimensity 7200 chip, which totally outguns the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 on the Realme 12 Pro.
Although it cannot boast of the sort of cameras the Realme 12 Pro has, the iQoo Z7 Pro comes with a good 64-megapixel main sensor with OIS, although its secondary 2-megapixel camera is of little use. The iQoo Z7 Pro also comes with a smaller 4,600mAh battery with support for slightly slower 66W fast charging support, and its FunTouch OS might feel a bit cluttered, but it is one of the most powerful phones in its segment.
Motorola Edge 40 Neo 5G: Punches Above Its Weight Comfortably
Price: Rs 22,999 onwards
The Motorola Edge 40 Neo is a phone that can be a potential challenger to not only phones in its price segment but beyond that too. It has all the makings of a great mid-segment and beyond device. It comes with a curved pOLED display which may seem a little small at 6.55 inches but has an FDH+ resolution with a very high 144 Hz refresh rate.
The phone is extremely slim (7.9 mm) and lightweight (170 grams) and a vegan leather back adds a design oomph to its anatomy. It is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 7030 chipset which is no gaming beast but is quite capable of handling everyday smartphone needs. The camera combination is a respectable one too — a 50-megapixel main sensor with OIS and a 13-megapixel ultrawide on the back, and a good 32-megapixel selfie camera on the front.
The 5,000mAh battery with 68W fast charging support, stereo speakers and clean, stock Android topped with a significantly lower price tag, make the phone an absolute headache for the Realme 12 Pro.
OnePlus Nord CE 3 5G: Settling? Never!
Price: Rs 24,999
Another brand that has been making waves in the mid-segment is OnePlus, whose Nord CE 3 goes up against the Realme 12 Pro.
It is no lightweight contender either as it is one of the bestsellers in the Rs. 25,000 segment. It has a 6.7-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with 120 Hz refresh rate and runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 782 processor which has a clear edge over the processor on the Realme 12 Pro.
The main camera on the phone is a Sony IMX890 50-megapixel sensor with OIS which we have seen on some flagships and the phone also comes with a very clean UI thanks to OxygenOS. A 5,000 mAh battery with faster charging support at 80W round off its specs.
It is not really as great looking as the Realme 12 Pro but it has got the spec power going for it. And it is a OnePlus.
Poco X6 Pro 5G: Top Choice For Gamers
Price: Rs 26,999 onwards
It might be slightly more expensive than the Realme 12 Pro, but the Poco X6 Pro is hands down the most powerful phone in this list. The biggest highlight of the phone is its MediaTek Dimensity 8300-Ultra chip which is a flagship-level chipset and the best that a sub-Rs 3,000 phone offers at the time of writing.
As if those were not enough, the phone also has a beautiful 6.67-inch display with 1.5k resolution and 120 Hz refresh rate, and comes with fast LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage (generally found at much higher price points) and stereo speakers, making the phone an absolute gaming monster. It has a decent 64-megapixel main sensor with OIS on the back and matches the Realme 12 Pro’s 5,000mAh battery with support for 67 W fast charging.
It has both Android 14 and Xiaomi’s HyperOS out of the box and while it does have a relatively basic design, its yellow vegan leather option does stand out. This phone is currently competitive Kryptonite for every device in the Rs 25,000 – Rs 35,000 segment.
