Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Review

• Overview
• Design and Build Quality
• Display
• Performance
• Software and User Interface
• Camera
• Battery Life
• Connectivity and Networking
• Additional Features
• Comparison with Other Related Phones
• Pros and Cons
• Conclusion

Overview

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 is an impressive mid-range smartphone that packs a punch with its stunning features and affordable price. With its sleek design and IP53 dust and splash resistance, it offers durability and style. The 6.67-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 1200 nits peak brightness delivers vibrant visuals and smooth scrolling. Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 chipset and available in different RAM and storage variants, this device ensures smooth multitasking and ample storage space. The triple camera setup captures stunning photos, while the 5000mAh battery with 33W fast charging keeps you going all day. With a starting price of €195, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 offers incredible value for money.

Design and Build Quality

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 offers a sleek and modern design that exudes a premium look and feel. With its slim form factor and dimensions of 165.9 x 76.2 x 8 mm, it feels comfortable to hold and use with one hand. The device weighs in at 188g, striking a balance between portability and sturdiness.

The phone features a stunning 6.67-inch AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 120Hz, providing smooth and vibrant visuals. The display is surrounded by slim bezels, maximizing the screen-to-body ratio and enhancing the overall aesthetics of the device. Additionally, the Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection ensures durability against scratches and minor impacts.

The back panel of the Redmi Note 12 showcases a clean and minimalistic design, available in Frosted Green, Matte Black, and Mystique Blue colors. The choice of materials used and the finishing touches give the device a premium feel. The fingerprint sensor is conveniently located on the side, offering quick and secure access to the device.

The construction and build quality of the Redmi Note 12 are commendable, with an IP53 rating for dust and splash resistance. This adds to the device's durability and robustness, ensuring it can withstand daily usage. The buttons and controls are well-placed and provide a satisfying tactile feedback.

Overall, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 combines aesthetics, ergonomics, and durability in its design and build. It offers a visually appealing device with a sleek form factor, high-quality materials, and thoughtful construction. Whether it's the premium look and feel, the comfortable grip, or the attention to detail in its design elements, the Redmi Note 12 stands out as an impressive offering in its price range.

Display

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 boasts a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with a screen-to-body ratio of approximately 85%. The display offers a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels, resulting in a pixel density of around 395 ppi. This ensures sharp and detailed visuals for an immersive viewing experience. The device also supports a 120Hz refresh rate, allowing for smooth scrolling and fluid animations.

The AMOLED technology used in the display provides deep blacks and vibrant colors, enhancing the overall visual experience. The display offers a wide color gamut and excellent color accuracy, making images and videos appear true to life. Additionally, the display can reach a peak brightness of up to 1200 nits, ensuring good visibility even in bright sunlight.

To protect the display from scratches and accidental damage, Xiaomi has incorporated Corning Gorilla Glass 3 as the display protection. This provides added durability and peace of mind for everyday use.

Other notable features of the display include wide viewing angles, which allow for comfortable viewing from various angles without significant color distortion. The device also includes an anti-reflective coating, reducing glare and improving outdoor visibility.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 also offers customization options such as an always-on display and a blue light filter for reduced eye strain. The adaptive brightness feature automatically adjusts the screen brightness based on ambient lighting conditions, providing optimal visibility while conserving battery life.

Overall, the display of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 offers a compelling combination of size, resolution, color accuracy, and brightness levels. It provides an immersive visual experience for multimedia consumption, gaming, and general smartphone usage.

Performance

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 boasts impressive performance capabilities thanks to its Qualcomm SM4375 Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 chipset and Adreno 619 GPU. This combination ensures smooth multitasking, lag-free performance, and a seamless user experience. In terms of CPU benchmarks, the Redmi Note 12 performs admirably with its octa-core processor, featuring 2x2.0 GHz Cortex-A78 cores and 6x1.8 GHz Cortex-A55 cores. This configuration enables efficient app loading speeds and snappy performance.

When it comes to gaming, the Redmi Note 12 delivers a satisfying experience. The Adreno 619 GPU allows for excellent graphics rendering and smooth gameplay. The device's chipset and GPU efficiency contribute to an immersive gaming experience with high frame rates and enhanced visual quality. Gaming benchmarks and graphics scores further validate the device's gaming capabilities, showcasing its ability to handle graphically demanding games with ease.

In addition to its impressive processing power and gaming performance, the Redmi Note 12 excels in system optimization and thermal management. The device demonstrates efficient thermal dissipation, ensuring that it remains cool even during prolonged gaming sessions or heavy usage. This contributes to sustained performance without any significant drop-offs.

Benchmark tests and synthetic benchmarks provide further insight into the Redmi Note 12's performance metrics. The device consistently achieves high scores in benchmark tests, highlighting its overall performance prowess. Whether it's CPU-intensive tasks or graphics-intensive applications, the Redmi Note 12 delivers reliable and efficient performance.

Overall, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 offers a commendable performance package. Its powerful chipset, GPU, and efficient thermal management contribute to a smooth and lag-free user experience. Whether it's gaming, multitasking, or running resource-intensive applications, the Redmi Note 12 excels in providing a satisfying performance.

Software and User Interface

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 runs on the Android 12 operating system with the MIUI 14 user interface (international version) or MIUI 13 (India version). The combination of Android 12 and MIUI brings a smooth and user-friendly experience to the device. The MIUI interface offers a highly customizable experience, allowing users to personalize their device according to their preferences. It provides a clean and intuitive interface, making it easy to navigate through the various settings and features.

In terms of pre-installed apps, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 comes with a range of useful applications, including popular apps like Google Chrome, YouTube, and Gmail. However, it is worth noting that MIUI does come with some pre-installed apps that some users may consider as bloatware. These apps can take up storage space and may not be used by everyone. Fortunately, MIUI allows users to uninstall or disable these apps if they are not needed, giving users more control over their device's storage and performance.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 also includes features such as a fingerprint sensor, accelerometer, gyro, proximity sensor, and compass, providing users with a variety of options for interacting with their device. These features enhance the overall user experience and make the device more convenient to use in different scenarios.

Overall, the software experience on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 is smooth, user-friendly, and highly customizable. The combination of Android 12 and MIUI 14/13 provides a seamless interface, allowing users to enjoy the full potential of their device. While it does come with some pre-installed apps, MIUI offers the flexibility to uninstall or disable unwanted apps, giving users more control over their device's software.

Camera

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 boasts a triple camera setup on the rear, consisting of a 48-megapixel main camera with a wide aperture of f/1.8 for capturing detailed images. It is accompanied by an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens with a 120-degree field of view, which is great for capturing expansive landscapes or group shots. Additionally, there is a 2-megapixel macro lens for close-up photography.

In terms of image quality, the Redmi Note 12's camera performs well in various lighting conditions. It excels in daylight photography, producing images with natural colors, good sharpness, and a decent dynamic range. The camera also performs reasonably well in indoor and outdoor photography, delivering satisfactory results with accurate colors and adequate sharpness.

When it comes to low-light performance and night photography, the Redmi Note 12's camera does a decent job. It offers a dedicated night mode that enhances low-light sensitivity, reduces noise, and improves overall image quality. The camera also features AI scene recognition, which can automatically detect and optimize settings for different types of scenes.

In terms of video recording, the Redmi Note 12 can shoot up to 1080p videos at 30fps. It supports video stabilization for smoother footage and slow-motion video recording for capturing those dramatic moments. Additionally, it offers features like time-lapse and panorama mode for creative video capture.

Overall, the camera of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 delivers a satisfactory performance with its versatile triple camera setup, capable of capturing detailed images in various lighting conditions and offering a range of features for both photography and videography.

Battery Life

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 is equipped with a powerful 5000mAh non-removable Li-Po battery, which offers impressive battery life. With its efficient power management and optimization features, the device provides a long-lasting battery backup. Users can expect a standby time that can last for several days, ensuring uninterrupted usage. The battery supports 33W wired fast charging, allowing for quick charging times. In just 22 minutes, the device can reach a 50% charge, as advertised. This fast charging capability is a convenient feature for users who are always on the go. However, it's worth mentioning that the Redmi Note 12 does not support wireless charging. Overall, the battery performance of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 is commendable, providing users with a reliable and efficient power source for their daily needs.

Connectivity and Networking

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 offers a wide range of connectivity options to keep you connected wherever you go. It supports 5G technology, ensuring blazing-fast data speeds and seamless browsing, streaming, and downloading experiences. Additionally, the device is equipped with Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, allowing for high-speed internet access and compatibility with various Wi-Fi standards. Bluetooth 5.1 is also supported, enabling fast and stable wireless connections to other devices. For convenient file transfers and charging, the Redmi Note 12 features a USB Type-C 2.0 port. NFC functionality is available on select models, providing the ability to make contactless payments and easily connect with other NFC-enabled devices. The smartphone also offers dual SIM support, allowing you to use two different phone numbers on the same device. It is worth noting that the Redmi Note 12 is designed to be compatible with GSM, HSPA, LTE, and 5G networks, ensuring wide network compatibility. In terms of navigation, the device includes GPS and GLONASS support, enabling accurate positioning and easy navigation. Whether you need to connect to the internet, transfer files, or navigate to your destination, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 offers a comprehensive range of connectivity features to meet your needs.

Additional Features

Here are some additional features of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12:

- Standout Features: The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 comes with a range of impressive features, making it an attractive option in its price range.
- Water and Dust Resistance: The device is IP53 rated, offering some degree of protection against water splashes and dust.
- Wireless Charging: Unfortunately, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 does not support wireless charging.
- Advanced Sensors: The phone is equipped with a variety of sensors, including an accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, compass, and fingerprint sensor (side-mounted). These sensors enhance the user experience and enable various functions and features on the device.
- Long Battery Life: With its 5000mAh battery and efficient power management, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 offers impressive battery life, with an endurance rating of 101h.

Overall, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 packs several noteworthy features, including water and dust resistance, a range of advanced sensors, and long battery life. However, it does not support wireless charging.

Comparison with Other Related Phones

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 is a mid-range smartphone that offers impressive features at an affordable price. When comparing it to other related devices in the market, the Redmi Note 12 stands out for its value for money and competitive specifications.

In terms of market positioning, the Redmi Note 12 competes with other mid-range smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy A52 and the Realme 8 Pro. While these devices offer similar features, the Redmi Note 12 stands out with its high refresh rate AMOLED display and impressive peak brightness of 1200 nits.

In terms of specifications, the Redmi Note 12 is powered by the Qualcomm SM4375 Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 chipset, which offers smooth performance for everyday tasks and gaming. It also comes with multiple memory options, including 4GB, 6GB, and 8GB of RAM, and storage options of 128GB and 256GB.

When comparing the camera capabilities, the Redmi Note 12 features a triple camera setup with a 48MP main sensor, an 8MP ultrawide lens, and a 2MP macro lens. This setup allows for versatile photography, capturing wide-angle shots and close-up details.

One of the standout features of the Redmi Note 12 is its large 5000mAh battery, which provides excellent battery life. Additionally, the device supports fast charging with a 33W wired charger, allowing for quick top-ups when needed.

In terms of pricing, the Redmi Note 12 offers excellent value for money. With a starting price of around €195, it competes favorably with other mid-range devices in the market.

Overall, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 stands out in the mid-range smartphone segment with its competitive specifications, impressive display, and affordable price. It offers a compelling option for consumers looking for a feature-packed device without breaking the bank.

Pros and Cons

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 presents an impressive package of features at an affordable price point. Its 6.67-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 1200 nits peak brightness offers an immersive visual experience. Powered by the Qualcomm SM4375 Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 chipset and available in different RAM and storage configurations, the device delivers smooth performance. The triple rear camera setup captures decent photos, and the 13MP front camera ensures satisfactory selfie shots. Additionally, the device comes with a large 5000mAh battery and supports fast charging. Overall, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 is a compelling choice for budget-conscious buyers in search of a well-rounded smartphone.