Introducing the Redmi Note 12 5G, yet another cost-effective mid-range offering from Xiaomi. While its standout feature is its 5G connectivity, let’s delve deeper and see if the device offers an attractive overall package. Join us in this Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 5G review to know more about this device.
Design And Display Build Quality:
Today, we will be focusing on Xiaomi’s pricier Redmi Note 12 model, the 5G version, which is one of the two models that the company has released. While both models share similar specifications, such as the design, the chipset and the primary camera are the only notable differences. It is worth mentioning that the 4G model has a flat back, whereas the 5G model has a curved one.
The Redmi Note 12 5G has a plastic back panel with a frosted finish that helps prevent smudges. The back curves into a matte plastic frame, and the device feels relatively lightweight for its size, fitting comfortably in the hand. Additionally, the phone has an IP53 certification against water and dust, which is a nice feature to have.
The display on the Redmi Note 12 5G is identical to that of the 4G model, featuring a 6.67-inch AMOLED screen with a 1080p resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, and Gorilla Glass 3 protection. Overall, the screen looks great, with sharp and contrasty visuals, and excellent color accuracy. Check out the latest price of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 5G here.
However, the screen lacks HDR support, and while its brightness is decent, it only reaches a maximum of 450 nits with the manual slider. The screen’s brightness boosts over 700 nits in auto mode when in Red Sun. The 120Hz refresh rate is a nice touch, smoothing out swiping and scrolling, but it’s fixed and won’t dial down to save energy when idle.
Speaker And Storage:
Both Redmi Note 12 models have a headphone jack and a single speaker. However, it’s unclear why Xiaomi decided to drop stereo speakers this year. That said, the speaker on the 5G model has good loudness, but the quality is just average, lacking in bass, and producing distortion at higher volumes.
The Redmi Note 12 5G features a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, which allows you to wake up and unlock the device with ease. The phone comes with either 128 or 256GB of storage on board, which is expandable through a microSD card.
System Interface And Chipsets:
The interface of the Redmi Note 12 5G varies depending on the market. It comes with Android 12 and either MIUI 13 in the Indian market or MIUI 14 elsewhere. MIUI 14 is designed to provide behind-the-scenes optimizations for smoother performance, and one of its new features is the ability to have large folders on the home screen.
However, some of the promised MIUI 14 features are yet to be seen and may be introduced through software updates in the future. Overall, the user experience of the interface is similar to what you would find on any recent Xiaomi phone, making it business as usual.
The Redmi Note 12 5G is powered by a Snapdragon 480 chipset, which is the main difference from the 4G model that has a Snapdragon 685. Both chipsets are built on a six-nanometer process, but the Snapdragon 480 brings a little bit more power, despite its lower model number, and has support for 5G connectivity.
In benchmarks, the Redmi Note 12 5G performs decently, but it’s not something that would blow you away. There are plenty of competitors that outperform it. Nonetheless, there’s enough power here for a solid day-to-day experience and some casual gaming.
Battery Life And Charging Time:
The Redmi Note 12 5G comes with a 5,000-milliamp-hour battery, just like the 4G model. However, the battery life is not quite as good here, presumably due to the different chipset. Even though both phones were tested on the same LTE network, the 5G model scored an endurance rating of 101 hours, which is unimpressive for a mid-ranger with a large battery.
The phone comes with 33W charging, and in our tests, we were able to charge the phone from 0 to 56 percent in just half an hour.
Cameras Specs And Performance:
In terms of low light performance, the Redmi Note 12 5G struggles as expected from a mid-ranger with a small sensor. Photos have visible noise and lack detail and sharpness. The night mode helps to brighten up the scene and bring out some details but the results are still average at best. Check out the latest price of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 5G here.
The 8-megapixel front-facing camera takes decent selfies with good skin tones and details in good light but struggles in low-light conditions. Overall, the camera performance of the Redmi Note 12 5G is decent for its price range but nothing spectacular.
It seems like the low-light image quality of the Redmi Note 12 5G’s rear cameras is not very impressive. The photos tend to be soft and lacking in detail, with dark shadows and noise present.
The dedicated night mode does try to clear out the noise, but it ends up smearing over the detail and the sky still looks grainy. The dynamic range is not great either, although the Shadows do get lifted a bit in the night mode.
The low light performance of the main cameras on both the Redmi Note 12 4G and 5G is comparable, particularly when using night mode. However, there are differences in color and contrast between the two, and without night mode, the highlights are slightly better on the 5G model, as expected.
The ultra-wide camera’s low-light photos are not of good quality, as they appear soft and noisy with washed-out colors and poor dynamic range. Night mode is not supported for this camera.
Regarding the selfie camera, the 13-megapixel front-facing camera produces inconsistent results in good lighting conditions. While some images exhibit decent sharpness and detail, others are often blurry or soft, with somewhat bleak colors overall.
Video Quality: The Redmi Note 12 5G’s rear cameras are capable of recording video at up to 1080p resolution and 30 frames per second, with electronic stabilization always on. Videos captured by the main camera are of decent quality, although they may appear slightly soft.
However, the colors and contrast look nice, and the dynamic range is adequate in contrast. On the other hand, videos captured by the ultra-wide camera are quite soft and noisy, with low detail and washed-out colors.
Final Thoughts: The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 5G is a good value-for-money phone, with a nice 120Hz OLED screen and an up-to-date 5G chipset. However, the absence of stereo speakers is noticeable, and the battery life could have been better. Ultimately, if you are not set on purchasing the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 5G, there are many other options available in the market to consider. Check out the latest price of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 5G here.
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