realme, the number one smartphone brand in the Philippines, continues to raise the bar in the local gaming scene with exciting new events and offerings to cater to the needs of Filipino mobile gamers.
To kick off all the brand’s gaming initiatives, realme hosts Game On! 1v1 with Christine Samson, streamed live on realme’s Facebook page. The livestream features realme products that every mobile gamer should have in their tech arsenal including the recently launched realme 8 that comes packed with upgraded features to suit every gamer’s needs.
Mobile gamers can also look forward to other exciting gaming tips, announcements, and realme giveaways by watching the livestream event.
Exciting gaming events await the realme Squad this month
As part of its push to be the top smartphone of choice for Filipino gamers, realme co-presented PayMaya’s inaugural PlayMaya Tournament earlier this month, which kicked off PayMaya’s new PlayMaya feature.
The PlayMaya Tournament was a nationwide esports tournament featuring Filipino favorites such as Mobile Legends Bang Bang, Call of Duty: Mobile, and PUBG Mobile. Several activities and events were also held, such as a raffle sponsored by PayMaya and a special celebrity exhibition match with popular Filipino gaming personalities such as Ghost Wrecker and CongTV.
Further strengthening their position in the local gaming scene, the brand also launches other events for Filipino mobile gamers in the month of June.
First, Filipino Mobile Legends players can once again test their mettle in the online arena with the return of the realme Mobile Legends Cup, powered by the realme 8.
The Quill Award-winning Mobile Legends tournament, realme’s initiative for both amateur and professional players to hone their skills in the game, returns for its fourth season.
Players will duke it out for the glory of being the best Mobile Legends team in the Philippines, and the prize pool of PhP 500,000. Interested gamers can sign up for the tournament through this link until June 1.
Collegiate esports aspirants are also in line for glory and fortune as realme partners with the Philippine Junior Marketing Association to bring the realme x PJMA Mobile Legends Cup: Campus Invasion to local universities.
Marketing students from across the Philippines will represent their schools and play each other in a league starting from June 16, culminating all the way in playoffs and grand finals on August 20 for a prize pool of PhP 100,000. Registration is open until May 31 via this link.
Level up your gaming experience with realme mobile accessories
realme continues to enhance Filipino gamers’ overall mobile gaming experience with the release of their new smartphone accessories, which takes their play to the next level.
The gaming kit, which includes the realme Cooling Back Clip for smartphones and the realme Finger Sleeves, aims to be the ultimate companion for gamers’ play sessions, addressing a number of issues that arise during extended periods of mobile gaming.
The realme Cooling Back Clip rises to the occasion with its patented dual cooling technology that makes use of a power-driven semiconductor ice chip and a powerful 7-blade fan.
Keeping your game at an optimum level, a thermal conducting silicon chip absorbs heat and disburses it with the 5500rpm cooling fan all throughout the device. It maintains a steady temperature of 25°C and prevents any lag due to thermal throttling, power-saving activation, and major damage to the phone’s components.
To operate the device, the clip must be connected to a power source via the USB Type-C cable.
Meanwhile, the realme Finger Sleeves are a must-have for gamers to protect their smartphone’s screen from sweat while keeping the sensitivity to maintain total control on the touchscreen.
Coming in a pack of two, the sleeves are made with superconducting electric fiber material with 30% silver conductive fiber that has strong electrical conductivity and provides 6x more sensitivity than sleeves made with ordinary carbon fiber, making sure that every single touch is responsive to the touchscreen.
The realme Finger Sleeves are only 0.25mm thin and are equipped with spin covering yarn technology and a four-dimensional elastic design that makes sure they fit any hand in a light and breathable way.
Officially launching on May 28 on Lazada and Shopee, the realme Cooling Back Clip will retail for PhP 1,590 while the realme Finger Sleeves will retail for PhP 240. As an introductory offer, flash sales on both e-comm platforms will be hosted from May 28-30, where you can purchase the Cooling Back Clip for only PhP 1,290 and the Finger Sleeves for only PhP 190.
To give you the complete gaming experience, these will also be available for purchase as a bundle together with the realme 8 and the realme Buds Air 2 Neo. Originally worth PhP 18,310, the exclusive bundle will be available for only PhP 16,460 in realme’s official store in Lazada until May 30.
I got it as soon as it came out and it was the first time in a long time that I’ve sought out to get an Apple product as soon as the first reviews rolled out online. I haven’t felt this way about an Apple product since the first Macbook Air commercial in 2008.
Remember when the Macbook Air was slowly pulled out from an 8 x 10 brown envelope with Yael Naim’s New Soul playing in the background? That was a great Apple moment for me, everything after that just didn’t give the same feels.
Oh, and just in case you want to revisit that old commercial:
But now that Apple has given us the iPhone 12, let’s unpack why it’s got me (and the world) excited again.
Design
Perhaps my favorite feature about the iPhone 12 is its departure from the rounded edges that started with the iPhone 6. The flat edge not only feels like you’ve got a valuable and durable piece of technology in your hands, but it just looks really great, too. The rounded edges of the past felt cheap and flimsy to me, so going back to the squared edges was a great move on design.
Unlike its flat-edged predecessors, all the iPhone 12 variants are sleeker and, simply put, just built better. Built much tougher with its Ceramic Shield display, the iPhone 12 knows that it has no business being carried around in a case—the design is just too good to stifle inside one.
The iPhone 12 Pro in particular gets a surgical-grade stainless steel body, giving it a more premium look and extra grip.
From the 5.8-inch display of the iPhone 11 Pro, it is quite a leap that the iPhone 12 Pro comes with a whopping 6.1-inch display. To be honest, when my phone was delivered to me, I thought I was mistakenly delivered the Pro Max. The iPhone 11 Pro Max is just a tad bigger at 6.9 inches in display size.
Despite the jump in display size, however, it doesn’t take anything away from the overall feel in your hand.
Display
Let’s talk about the experience that a 6.1-inch screen gives you, shall we? Personally, I stay away from big phones. My threshold is pretty straightforward: if I can’t send messages with one hand, then the phone is a ridiculous size.
Amazingly, even with all the screen real estate, I have no problems typing up messages with just one hand. There is also quite a significant difference when you are watching videos or viewing photos on a 6.1-inch display.
Coming from an iPhone XS, or even the iPhone 11 Pro, the noticeable size difference was surprisingly a welcomed change. Because Apple barely has any bezel bothering you save for the notch up top, you really feel that all the screen real estate a 6.1-inch display gives is maximized.
I think screen size is an integral part of the iPhone 12 Pro’s design because it really showcases all the new technology that Apple equipped it with. It’s not a big jump in display specs or even in resolution if you’re coming from an iPhone 11 Pro, but the OLED display on the iPhone 12 Pro is noticeably more vibrant.
The deeper contrasts the screen casts are particularly visible when you crank up the brightness.
Camera
Possibly the biggest feature I am most pleased with is the iPhone 12 Pro’s camera. Keep in mind, my jump was from an iPhone XS, so the changes in camera performance were epic for me. My husband is on an iPhone 11 Pro Max, however, and I remember being dumbfounded by the camera’s ability to capture a decent image in total darkness.
At that time, I thought the new features on the iPhone 11 cameras were such a momentous leap. Who knew that the iPhone 12 Pro could do better?
The photo was taken in complete darkness on an iPhone 11 Pro Max:
Since both the iPhone 12 Pro and its predecessor pretty much share the same camera specs save for very few and minute improvements, I thought there wasn’t really going to be any substantial difference when capturing images where light is ample.
And because LiDAR is the most noteworthy feature between the two devices, I decided to do a side-by-side comparison of images taken from the iPhone 12 Pro and the iPhone 11 Pro Max in low light and no light environments.
iPhone 11 Pro Max in low light environment
iPhone 12 Pro in low light environment
The camera on the iPhone 12 Pro definitively gives a sharper image, especially on the areas that have the least light. Notice that the iPhone 11 Pro Max’s capture of the C’thulhu figure has gone blurry.
The camera also compensated with what seems to be its version of white balance in an effort to salvage the subject. On the other hand, the iPhone 12 Pro didn’t have any problems capturing the C’thulu figure. It even showed some depth as the darker areas of the subject were also captured.
There was no obvious compensation made by the iPhone 12 Pro’s camera either. Strictly considering how it appears to the human eye, the iPhone 12 Pro’s ability to replicate what I see, even in very minimal light, supersedes its predecessor by a long shot.
iPhone 11 Pro Max in total darkness
iPhone 12 Pro in total darkness
In total darkness, the image on the iPhone 11 Pro Max is grainy and blurry while the image taken by the iPhone 12 Pro is smoother, giving an illusion of a sharper image. Both images were taken at 1.9x zoom in a closed room with no light source or flash.
Even though it is highly unlikely that a user would take photos in total darkness, I found LiDAR most useful when I took this photo.
Focusing on a subject you can’t see had a significantly faster response time on the iPhone 12 Pro. The 12 Pro didn’t have any issues when focusing and zooming in at the same time in complete darkness, either.
I also used the Measure App to test the LiDAR and the reaction time on the iPhone 12 Pro was almost instantaneous. The iPhone 11 Pro Max could not even pick up on the object being measured since I tested the app in a low-light environment.
Another notable feature is the clarity of photos taken when zoomed in with low light. Images remain crisp for as long as you manage to remain as still as you can during the prolonged “aperture exposure.” The combination of the slight increase in optical zoom range with LiDAR translates beautifully on close-ups in a low light setting on the iPhone 12 Pro.
Probably the most disappointing feature on the 12 Pro is the front camera. With all the capabilities of the other cameras, it seems Apple didn’t really put any effort to improve the phone’s selfie-taking capabilities.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d think Apple was discouraging the selfie-culture with the lack of development in their front cameras. The selfie community will just have to make do, I guess.
Battery
Even though I was very keen on the iPhone 12 Mini’s size combined with its widespread positive reception from initial users, battery life just holds up better on the iPhone 12 Pro. If you’re like me and work on your phone a lot, any added juice is welcomed and highly prioritized. The deal-breaker of the iPhone 12 Mini for me was its reduced battery life to accommodate its more compact body.
Charging time on the iPhone 12 Pro is pretty decent, giving you half power at 30 minutes charge time on the standard Apple lightning cable and socket charger. An hour and a half will get you a full charge that will last a complete 24 hours of regular use.
Since there is no 5G where I am located, I cannot really comment on how this affects battery life. Many have complained of significant battery consumption when the 5G network is used.
It is to be noted that the new iPhone 12 comes in a much compact box than it used to because a Lightning to USB-C cable is all you’re going to get. Gone are the free earphones and socket charger. I also cannot comment on MagSafe charging just yet since I had to order that separately and the Apple Store online we have access to ships products all the way from Singapore.
Other noteworthy features
The iPhone 12 Pro possibly represents the biggest leap between past iPhone predecessors both inside and out. Apart from all the features discussed, which make the 12 Pro great externally, Apple also released the world’s first 5nm processor leaving most Android phones eating its dust.
Releasing four iPhone 12 variants was also a bold move by Apple, but the products are brilliantly positioned to target a broader market while appealing to specific needs of the said market. Changing up color options not also differentiates the recent, better-built iPhones giving it a fresher aesthetic.
iPhones allowed me to abandon my DSLR cameras of past, especially during my travels. It’s exciting to finally see Apple as a frontrunner again after playing catch up for the longest time on camera capabilities. LiDAR was not even a consideration when I was choosing between the four iPhone 12 variants and I am very glad I settled with the iPhone 12 Pro as I am really enjoying this feature.
It’s also useful to know that Apple One is now currently available as a subscription option in the Philippines. Apple One gives you Apple TV, Apple Music, 50 gigs of iCloud space, and Apple Arcade for only PhP 375 a month. If you are subscribed to any two of the apple subscriptions mentioned individually, the Apple One offer is a steal.
Deeply embedded in the Apple ecosystem, all your subscriptions run on any of your Apple devices. Streaming a show on Apple TV that you initially began on your laptop or iPad at home can be easily continued on your iPhone while on the go, starting exactly where you left off from your previous device.
With the new iPhone 12 Pro, streaming a show from Apple TV gives you the same vibrant colors your OLED TV does. Imagine that. The seamless Apple Eco System works particularly well for me when using Apple Arcade. Any app or game that requires you to do gestures like pinching and enlarging is now much easier on the new iPhone 12 Pro.
Final thoughts
The iPhone 12 Pro’s entry-level capacity is a decent 128GB, which is the main price driver in this series’s Pro variants. Let me repeat that: The 12 Pro has a capacity of 128GB at entry-level. Coming from the Mac OS9 days when Apple was yet to be user-friendly, I sometimes find myself fascinated over the fact that a 6-inch piece of metal is now more powerful than computers from 15 years ago.
Together with the new Mac Minis, its buzz-worthy new processors, and the company’s new subscription formats like Apple Arcade, my interest has once again been piqued by Apple. I look forward to anticipating what they come up with next. Tim Cook has stepped up his game considerably and is finally doing a good job at filling in some very big shoes.
