realme C12 review: Long lasting 6000mAh goodness!

Just recently, realme Philippines successfully launched the C15 smartphone in the country with 6000mAh battery and fast 18W charging. And it hasn’t even been a month and we have its younger sibling here with us — the realme C12.

It’s still the same battery monster but with a price tag of just PhP 5,990, some cuts had to be made. Join us and see how the realme C12 performs on a daily basis.

Design

When it comes to the overall design, you’re pretty much seeing the C15 on the C12. They have the same size, geometric gradient pattern on their backs, and even have the same square camera module at the upper left corner.

From this angle, we also see both fingerprint scanners and the only difference here is the quad-camera setup the C15 carries while the C12 has a triple shooter system going on. We also see the C12’s LED flash moving into the camera module.

Just like before, the C12 has the power and lock button on the right side along with the volume rocker. The left houses dual nano-SIM cards plus a microSD slot for storage expansion.

And of course, we have the same layout below for the 3.5mm audio jack, micro-USB port, and speaker grille.

If you haven’t seen our C15 review, we mentioned that having this geometric gradient design adds texture that feels good to the hands and adds a bit of grip. This is still the same for the C12 and we like that its design is simple yet adds a more premium feel to the device.

For the C12, we have Marine Blue and this Coral Red as color options.

Display and Multimedia

Up front, the C12 has the same 6.5-inch HD+ screen with a mini drop notch for its front-facing camera. Narrow bezels achieve an almost full display performance with an 88.7% screen-to-body ratio.

We had no complaints with the C12’s color and are satisfied with how the colors and brightness are vibrant and bright, respectively. Plus, the display is reinforced with Corning’s Gorilla Glass so that’s an added protection against scratches and mild drops.

The bottom-firing speaker produced decent volume and quality, but just like with any phone with speakers in this orientation, it’s easy to block when watching videos in full screen or playing games in landscape view. Thankfully, a headphone jack is around to solve this issue.

Cameras

As mentioned earlier, one of the main differences between the C15 and C12 is the camera setup. For the C15, you have the main shooter, a secondary wide-angle lens, and dual 2-megapixel sensors for added clarity and effects.

The C12, on the other hand, goes for a 13-megapixel main, 2-megapixel black and white, and another 2-megapixel shooter for macro. The main sensor also carries digital zoom up to 4x in case you need to get closer to your subject.

Photos taken with its cameras have good detail in them and is definitely enough for social media posting. Colors are balanced and vibrant as long as enough light is present and when it gets dim, its Nightscape feature takes advantage of its F2.2 aperture to let more light in and produce clearer photos.

Additionally, the main shooter has Phase Detection Autofocus for quicker focusing times.

The front camera has been downgraded a bit. From an 8-megapixel sensor on the C15, it’s now a 5-megapixel selfie camera with AI for beautification effects. Selfies are decent, but its beautification filters sometimes make the face look super white — a common experience when filters go overboard.

For the camera department, we can confidently say the C12 is armed with capable optics that will give you the tools you need to easily capture day-to-day events.

Performance

Inside, the C12 is armed with the same Helio G35 CPU that we’ve seen on the C15. This means you get a gaming-focused processor targeted especially for better performance on more affordable devices. It’s then partnered with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage which is expandable via its microSD slot.

Together, they work to provide a smooth and lag-free experience for the user. We had it for more than a week as our daily driver and it was a reliable device that handled usual tasks easily.

Surfing the web, watching shows, playing games, listening to music, and other things were done without any real noticeable hiccups. And as previously encountered, it does take a lot of working apps before the device started showing signs of slowing down.

Using it for video calls and online conferences, its 4G LTE made sure connectivity is stable throughout while its display is big enough to see everyone participating in the call. After work, we also used it for kicking back while streaming on Netflix and they were altogether enjoyable experiences.

Do take note, though, the realme C12 is just available in 3GB RAM and 32GB storage variant unlike the C15 that comes in 3GB/64GB and 4GB/64GB options.

Running on Android 10 with realme UI, system icons and colors are bright, saturated, and still bring a youthfulness to the overall skin. Features like Dual Mode Music Share which allows the use of both wired and wireless headphones at the same time, Focus Mode, and Dark Mode are still present. Additional features include 3-finger selected screenshot and personal information protection.

Battery

For battery, it does carry the same 6000mAh capacity but it no longer comes with an 18W fast charger. Instead, it utilizes a normal 10W charging in order to be able to make it more affordable.

You do have the same Super Power Saving Mode, though, so running different apps and even streaming videos wouldn’t drain the battery that much.

Of course, we subjected it to heavy testing parameters that include streaming an HD video on YouTube with Wi-Fi on, brightness set at maximum, and audio to about 75%.  The device was able to last more than 13 hours of continuous playback before we needed to plug it again. In real-life scenarios, an entire day of moderate usage still leaves about 35% on its battery when night time comes.

Meanwhile, charging takes a little over three hours which is still not bad considering the amount of battery capacity this phone has.

Just like the C15, the C12 can support wired reverse charging in case you have other devices that need power while you’re on-the-go. In case you need to charge another smartphone or a smartwatch, simply use a USB-OTG cable with micro-USB.

Creature Feature

As always, in our reviews, The Modern Creatures aims to look for special features in a device that make it worth having. Some things that give the product an edge over its peers. For the realme C12, it’s not exactly a feature, but the price as it gives options for users to go for a more affordable smartphone with a big battery, capable internals, and decent cameras.

With all the offerings and features the C12 has, it’s almost a steal at PhP 5,990. With it, you can download apps that could help in online studies or working from home, plug in a pair of headphones and stream movies and TV shows, and last the entire day without looking for its charger and even offer to give power to other devices as well.

realme couldn’t have chosen a better timing to offer such performances at an affordable price as a lot of us are still transitioning to this new normal while being watchful of the things we spend on.

If you want something with more features, the realme C15 is also a competitive offering starting at PhP 6,490. Below is our video review:

realme C12 specs:

6.5-inch HD+ mini-drop full screen display, 1600 x 720 resolution
Corning Gorilla Glass
2.3GHz MediaTek Helio G35 octa-core CPU
PowerVR GE8320 GPU
3GB RAM
32GB internal storage, expandable via microSD card
13MP main, 2MP B&W, 2MP macro
5MP front camera
Dual nano-SIM
4G LTE
3.5mm headphone jack
microUSB
Android 10 with realme UI
6000mAh battery with 10W charging
Marine Blue, Coral Red

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How to mine cryptocurrency using your phone

03/07/2021

The last time we talked about mining cryptocurrency, a lot of people asked us if they could mine through their smartphones. Considering the power of modern handheld devices and their ubiquity, the question isn’t just logical, it’s also not new. There actually used to be apps that mined using your smartphone’s processing power.

Unfortunately, mining established coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum can exhaust even the most powerful flagship phones. It also drained the phone battery like crazy. To protect its customers from the inevitable performance degradation of their devices, Google eventually banned mining apps from its Play Store – only allowing crypto monitoring apps on their platform.

But if you think about it, there are millions (maybe hundreds of millions) more smartphone users than people with computers powerful enough to do crypto mining. Virtually everyone – from tweens to senior citizens, students to CEOs (I’ve even met a couple of street beggars with smartphones) – has it. If someone can invent a new type of cryptocurrency based on the colossal reach of the smartphone market without damaging the devices… well, that’s a goldmine waiting.

Fortunately, three somebodies did exactly that. Standford graduates Nicolas Kokkalis Ph.D., Chengdiao Fan Ph.D., and Vince McPhilip M.B.A invented a new type of cryptocurrency that sets out to re-imagine Bitcoin as a social, mobile-first currency: the Pi Network, aptly launched on Pi Day 2019.

What is Pi?

Pi is a new type of cryptocurrency that you can ‘mine’ (or earn) through your phone. If you’ve heard of Bitcoin, the underlying philosophy of the two coins is the same. They are a new form of digital money maintained and secured by a community instead of governments and banks.

How do I get in?

Install the Pi Network app from Google Play or the Apple Store and activate it.

Right now, the Pi Network is by invitation only, like exclusive parties of celebrities where you can’t just show up uninvited. Fortunately, I was able to snag an invitation code that we can all use. Use the code: likebitcoinpioneers when the app asks for it.

Next, tap the green Lightning Bolt icon once per day… and that’s it! When you press that icon, you are proving to the system that you are a person and not a bot or software hoping to ‘game’ the Pi system. If you want to earn more Pi, you can also invite other users to join you in your social circle.

Invite others? Wait. That sounds like a pyramid scheme

Some people have expressed concerns that the Pi Network model sounds like a multi-level marketing scheme. The developers argue that it’s the Pi Network’s answer to the problem of bitcoin mining.

Mining Bitcoin (or other cryptocurrencies) rely on an energy-intensive algorithm requiring specialized, expensive machines such as Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) or Application Specific Integrated Units (ASICs). They use up a lot of energy that translates into high electrical costs, require space for the machines (ideally temperature-controlled), and require a bit of technical proficiency. As such, it’s hard for an ordinary person to get into mining.

“Unfortunately, in their current state, most cryptocurrencies remain out of reach of the everyday people who could most benefit from the technology.” Fan once stated. The Pi Network model hopes to overturn that.

Instead of using expensive machines to secure its ledger, Pi accomplishes the same work by having its members guarantee for each other as ‘trustworthy’. By tapping social ‘security circles’ (something that every smartphone user has) as a substitute for a complex algorithm, Pi can be used by anyone with a smartphone.

These expanding/interconnected ‘security circles’ create a global network showing trustworthy record transactions. A user can ‘mine’ directly from their phone by leveraging their existing social connections.

Is it dangerous?

First, let’s get it out of the way: Pi DOES NOT ask you to invest money. It requires no financial investment. The app is free to download and use. This is a crucial differentiator from pyramid scams. Second, the app does not damage your phone. It uses nominal electricity and does not drain your network data. Just open the app once a day and tap the green Lightning Bolt icon. You can safely close it after and it will continue ‘mining’ for you.

Third, there are no dubious permission requirements that the app asks you to agree on. It doesn’t need to monitor your phone usage or location or even access your contacts to operate (although you can give it access to your contacts if you want to invite people). It doesn’t use your mic, your camera, or need access to your images.

The only thing the app needs from you is to open it once a day and to tap the green Lightning Bolt icon. To know more about Pi, you can go to their FAQ section. Better yet, you can even read their white paper.

So will I be rich now?

Hold your horses. Right now, Pi is NOT free money… not yet, anyway. The coin is not yet traded so its value is currently at $0 – the same value of Bitcoin when the Bitcoin network was launched in January 2009 with Satoshi Nakamoto mining the genesis block of Bitcoin (block number 0).

Since then, Bitcoin has gained incredible, almost unbelievable value. Twelve years later, Bitcoin’s all-time high (as of publication) was at 1BTC = $58,332.36 (February 2021). If Pi ever does amount to something, it will obviously take a long, long time.

A long wait… and then a rocket to the moon

So why should I bother if it’s worth nothing?

That’s probably the same perspective of people who heard about Bitcoin when it was launched. Back then, the concept of cryptocurrency was only in the minds of cryptographers and high-level mathematicians. For the ordinary person, devoting his/her computer’s resources and electricity to a ‘coin’ that’s worth nothing sounded insane.

I bet those people would trade anything to go back in time and change their minds about Bitcoin.

No one really knows if Pi will ever have worth like Bitcoin. Maybe it will remain value-less. Maybe it will never be relevant. Maybe (as some critics humorously ponder) it’s not even real, just a social experiment – a test to find out how long people would support something when there are no concrete promises to hold on to. Pi may be the first smartphone-centric cryptocurrency initiative out there, but that doesn’t guarantee that it will succeed.

The opposite of that, of course, is the possibility that eventually, something worthwhile will come out of Pi.

Considering Pi’s strengths (use of already-existing, titanic global network, ease of use, no financial investment requirement), the rational course of action skews on trying it out. If it doesn’t work out, the only thing users are likely to lose are the second or two every day it takes to use the app. We dump far more of our time on TikTok or Facebook. If it actually works and becomes valuable, then users can be in on an amazing payoff.

Is Pi the only one of its kind?

Not at all. After the Pi Network’s remarkable growth (10 million Pi users as of December 2020, according to the developers), several clones have started popping up. There’s the Bee Network, Phoneum, Timestope, Spotter, Midoin, Reflex, Cowcow, and Initiative Q.

A note of caution: apart from copying the concept of the Pi Network, some of these apps are less transparent, may require you to watch ads, have a vague white paper, and enjoy a smaller user base. Just do your due diligence before you jump into one.

To Pi or not to Pi?

That’s a question only you can answer. Maybe opening an app and tapping an icon every day is too much to ask from you. Maybe staying with it for a decade and faithfully contributing to the community will still end you up with nothing. Or maybe it’s a chance to be a part of something remarkable – like the Bitcoin pioneers.

No one can tell. No one has a working crystal ball. No one really knows what will happen.

Only you can decide whether you’d want a slice of Pi.

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