Before delving into the main topic, allow me to drop a bold assertion: the so-called thousand-dollar devices have always fallen into two categories.
Firstly, there are those with decent exterior designs but abysmal performance configurations. Their existence mainly serves to boost profit margins for manufacturers when displayed in offline stores, commonly referred to as "fleecing customers' offline devices."
Another option is to consider those online machines that may not look great and aren't good for taking photos, but their purpose lies in satisfying core digital enthusiasts who pursue the ultimate value for money when it comes to processors.
As for appearance? It's not like you can eat it for dinner. Vibrations? You'll probably just turn them off as soon as you get the device. Photography capabilities? Just scan a QR code, and you're good to go.
The emergence of two distinct categories of "thousand-dollar smartphones" can be attributed to two main factors. The first category is simply a response to the pressure on companies to generate revenue. The second category, however, arises from the significant online presence and influence of digital enthusiasts. When the preferences of these enthusiasts converge online, it inevitably affects the overall reputation of a brand. To cater to this influential group and maintain a positive brand image, manufacturers feel compelled to meet their preferences. Moreover, offering good value for money is a competitive necessity in this market landscape.
However, there's this small group of people, you see, who are saying: "I don't have a huge budget, and I'm not into gaming. Can I get a reasonably priced device with decent performance, but with a good-looking design and better camera?"
For quite some time, I've noticed that their voices have been overlooked by manufacturers. Of course, this demand might be a bit niche, which might explain why their voices are getting lost in the shuffle amid all the "buy this, get a free phone" promotions.
Until last year, I noticed that the demand from users for "budget flagship" devices had finally caught the attention of manufacturers.
Initially, it was the Redmi Note 13 Pro. I've been using this phone since its release, and to be honest, its performance is quite lackluster. The system optimization is not up to par, and both features and animations are significantly cut down.
The design and quality feel of it really don't scream "Redmi", and the new 200-megapixel sensor is a bit of a game-changer. Several of my friends who aren't into gaming have actually bought this phone as a backup.
But after getting my hands on the realme 12 Pro+, I've noticed this trend becoming even more pronounced. Finally, there's a manufacturer that's paying attention to the segment of people who don't game but love taking photos.
The starting price of 1599, can you believe it? I've equipped it with an IMX890 main camera and an OV64B 3X periscope lens—yes, you heard it right, even mid-range phones now come with periscope lenses, and it's using the OV64B!
Some folks might not be familiar with this sensor, so let me put it in simpler terms — the OPPO Find X7, vivo X100, and iQOO 12 series flagship phones all come equipped with the OV64B periscope lens!
And here's a little insider scoop: because of the deep ties between realme and OPPO, word on the street is that this device also got its hands on a portion of the "Ultra Night Vision 2.0" version of the "Super Imaging Algorithm". It's got the hardware and the algorithms to back it up.
Honestly, speaking of this camera setup on the new phones this year—even if we're not talking about the ones priced over two thousand bucks, even those in the four-thousand range—there are still phones that haven't been rivaled yet.
And look at its appearance, you've all seen it. I won't go into "luxury watch design" or anything like that, but just slap on the realme logo—do you think it's got that vibe?
Certainly, this device has its strengths and weaknesses. It features the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen2 processor, which, although decent in terms of signal baseband and image ISP performance, is not significantly better for gaming compared to the Snapdragon 778G. Additionally, it still utilizes the 4nm process technology from Samsung.
At this price point of over a thousand bucks, there are plenty of phones with better performance, like the Redmi Note 12 Turbo, OnePlus ACE 2v, and realme Neo 5 SE we discussed earlier.
So naturally, this phone has also sparked debates about whether it's just a case of paying extra for the brand name.
But actually, as I mentioned earlier, I don't think it's a "sheep shearing" device. It's not in the realm of offline machines to fleece users. It's simply a smartphone that fills the niche demand for "camera-first, performance-second" preferences.
Of course, before using it, I couldn't draw conclusions easily. But since the release of this smartphone, I've been using it as my daily driver, and I have a lot of thoughts I'd like to share with everyone.
Let's start with the performance issue that many people are most concerned about. I've seen many people wondering whether the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chip can ensure smooth performance in daily use and handle this imaging setup.
Sure thing, let's put it this way: the performance of my iPhone 12 Pro+ in daily use does indeed suffer from occasional frame drops and stuttering, but it's far from being intolerable. The occurrence of these frame drops seems quite random.
Sometimes when I open an app, swipe down the menu bar, or swipe out the Control Center, I encounter frame drops. And when facing slightly heavier workloads, like running a WeChat video in the background, the likelihood of experiencing frame drops and stuttering also increases.
The app launch speed is noticeably slower compared to flagship devices.
However, if you're mainly using specific apps like Weibo, Taobao, or Bilibili, or just switching between two or three apps, the phone's system performance is decent.
As for gaming, it handles Honor of Kings fine, but Genshin Impact struggles. For heavy gamers, I have to say it's not really suitable. It seems at this price point, you can't have both great visuals and performance.
But I must say, the camera performance of this phone has pleasantly surprised me. Both the main and telephoto lenses produce results far above the average for this price range.
While it doesn't utilize OPPO's algorithm for portrait mode and only offers two focal lengths, 1x and 3x, its blur effect still appears quite natural. Considering its price range, its performance is considered quite impressive.
When you swipe to preview the sample images, due to the limited computational power of the chip, if you press the shutter button too many times, it will take a while for the photos to be processed. As a result, there's a delay before you can see the final images. Additionally, in portrait mode, there's a tendency for the background blur effect to be miscalculated, and sometimes the algorithm may even fail.
Ultimately, aiming for both quality and affordability within this price range seems unfeasible.
I specifically checked the official website and found that the repair cost for the telephoto lens alone on the Realme 12 Pro+ is $259, which is even more expensive than its main camera:
If we ditch the telephoto lens and opt for a more budget-friendly depth-of-field lens, then use the saved money to upgrade the processor, it might meet the expectations of some users.
However, if we actually go down this route, the phone would lose its unique selling points and become just another mid-range device.
Nevertheless, whether or not consumers agree, this phone has indeed been crafted with distinctive features.
Furthermore, apart from absolute performance and some inevitable sacrifices due to performance, there aren't many downsides: the screen's high-frequency PWM and DC dimming are relatively eye-friendly, and the 5000mAh battery doesn't lag behind in endurance.
As for the fingerprint sensor positioned lower down, well... If I were facing a flagship device priced at four or five thousand, I might criticize it for lacking innovation. However, for this budget-friendly device, using a slightly lower-positioned fingerprint sensor seems quite acceptable to me.
Furthermore, flagship phones indeed have everything, but they often come with a weight and thickness that's hard to ignore. However, among smartphones equipped with telephoto lenses for long-range shooting, this device stands out for its excellent handling and feel, which you can immediately sense when you pick it up.
In the past, if we wanted to buy a smartphone with good camera capabilities, we either had to increase our budget significantly to afford a flagship model or settle for outdated second-hand flagships. There was hardly a third option available.
Talking about this is quite twisted, the concept of "imaging," I don't know since when it has become deeply intertwined with the notion of "flagship," emphasizing a strict hierarchy.
When it comes to smartphones, it seems like we've reached a bottleneck. I'm glad to see that some manufacturers have finally separated the tracks of "performance" and "quality, imaging" for budget phones.
Currently, Redmi and Realme have taken this step. Who will be next?
