Summer calls for good times, tan lines, and the great outdoors. What’s even better? Getting to seas, or rather, seize this season’s festivities with a new nifty smartphone.
Enter the recently launched realme 12 5G.
Unveiled last April 25, the new smartphone is the more affordable counterpart of the realme 12+ and Pro variants. It carries the same design inspired by luxury watches and comes equipped with compelling features such as a 108MP Samsung HM6 main camera, MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ chipset, and 5000mAh battery.
In case you missed it, we did an unboxing and review of the device in the past weeks. And then last April 23 and 24, we got to enjoy the realme 12’s summer-ready features even further when realme Philippines invited us for a quick getaway to Zambales.
Dubbed as “realme Real Summer,” the two-day event allowed us to cool off with an island-hopping adventure plus an overnight stay at Sundowners Resort. Adding to the fun is, of course, our realme 12 test unit, which we made full use of during the trip.
Read on to know about our sun-sational vacay and why the realme 12 is a must-have, especially this summer.
Entertainment wherever you go
The participants and the brand’s marketing team left the realme office in Bonifacio Global City at around 5:50 am. Our trip to Zambales lasted for five hours, stopover excluded. While the travel was long, it was still plain sailing with the realme 12 keeping us entertained the entire time.
The device’s 6.72-inch LCD screen gave us a pleasurable viewing experience—from browsing through social media to streaming Elemental on Disney+. We enjoyed all these as the device’s display gives off vibrant colors and deep blacks.
Connected beyond distance
Our five-hour trip led us to Pundaquit, which is a small fishing village in San Antonio, Zambales. There, we saw several boats lined up on the shore, creating a picturesque scene against the green towering mountains surrounding the barrio.
We were divided into two groups, with each one hopping onto a 15-minute boat ride to our first stop: Capones Island.
From the time we left Pundaquit until we docked at Capones, I remained connected, consistently receiving messages from my peers via Messenger.
While there’s usually no cellular signal in remote areas, the realme 12 enabled us to maximize what my mobile network has to offer with the device’s strong 5G connectivity.
Boosting the CPU’s performance are the realme 12’s 8GB RAM and 256GB storage that altogether allowed us to download apps on mobile data at high speed when we were still on our way to Pundaquit.
Creating stunning images
We were greeted by a stunning sight as we arrived on Capones Island: beautiful white sand and huge rock formations. The island, also known as Grand Capon or Capon Grande Island, is a common stop in island hopping tours around Pundaquit and San Miguel, Zambales.
The island is serene, with steep cliffs, sparse vegetation, and clear turquoise waters. These make it an ideal location for utilizing the realme 12’s camera, which did not fail to impress.
The phone’s dual rear camera system is headlined by a 108MP Samsung HM6 main shooter with 3x in-sensor zoom and pixel-binning technology that promises to capture details no matter the lighting condition. This massive sensor is paired with a 2MP black & white shooter.
Same as before, the realme 12’s camera produced vibrant and sharp photos while we were using it on Capones.
The realme 12 produced equally stunning photos when we used it on our next stop: Nagsasa Cove. It vividly captured the brightness of the sun on the sandy island as well as the cool, refreshing atmosphere created by the lake and mountains surrounding it.
Records with clarity and precision
Our boat rides between the islands were bumpy, with low, rough waves rocking our watercraft. It was a bit scary at first, but we got used to it later on.
Aside from enjoying the scenic view of paramount mountains and deep blue waters, we made the most out of the experience by recording a video of our thrilling and refreshing ride.
realme 12’s camera can record videos up to 1080p @30fps. It also has a Movie Mode, which enables you to shoot pro-level videos easily. Although we only used the standard video mode for our recordings that time, the clips still turned out clear and vibrant, with every action captured at the precise moment.
Powered throughout the day
Work hard, rest easy, they say. The realme Philippines team clearly understood this, which is why they rewarded our participation in the day’s activities with an overnight stay at Sundowners Resort in Botolan.
The two-hectare beachfront resort provided us with a quick but sweet summer staycation through its Santorini-inspired villas, two common infinity pools, bar and restaurant, and a 100-meter beach.
We stayed in a two-bedroom villa with Scandinavian interiors that match the calming vibe of the entire resort. It comes complete with a living room, kitchen, dining area, and balcony. It also has its own pool where we took a refreshing swim the following morning.
It’s the ideal place to unwind, as the resort offers a splendid view of lush greeneries, clear skies, and cobbled walkways.
Its infinity pools are located farther into the property; they provide a scenic view of the beach and the horizon. There’s another pool by the restaurant, which is beautifully surrounded by beach nipa huts.
To cap off the day’s adventures, we enjoyed dinner and a get-together with the realme Philippines team at the resort’s restaurant.
The day was full of activities, yet our realme 12 test unit remained up and running. Our battery was still at 40% when we dozed off. It’s impressive, considering our heavy use of the device since leaving Manila in the morning.
We charged the phone’s 5000mAh battery with its 45W SUPERVOOC power brick and it increased our battery to a whole 100% in just 30 minutes.
The two-day realme Real Summer event is just like the realme 12—fun, feature-filled, luxurious, and out of the ordinary.
The realme 12 5G is priced at P14,999 and is available in realme stores and online via Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop.
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