Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G Review: An Outstanding Mid-ranger

Xiaomi’s Redmi Note series is a popular smartphone lineup with various phones at different price tags. Among them, the Pro variants provide the best price-to-performance ratio in the mid-tier segment.

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G is the new entry in the Redmi Note series. It is priced at Rs. 38,999 for the 6/128GB and Rs. 41,999 for the 8/256GB variant.

The Note 11 Pro 5G did not live up to our expectations. It was a good phone but it was more expensive than the outgoing Redmi Note 10 Pro. The 12 Pro 5G increases the price tag by Rs. 1500 but it brings some meaningful upgrades.

So, are the upgrades worth the price hike? Read this review article to find out!

ALSO READ: Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G Price in Nepal (May 2024 Updated)

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G Review

Smooth Design

• 162.9 x 76 x 7.9 mm
• 187 g
• Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM)

Redmi Note 12 Pro brings a premium design with dual glass. It has a flat glass back on the rear and a Gorilla Glass 5 protecting the display up front. The glossy rear panel catches fingerprints but the frame has been given a matte finish and it is made of plastic.

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G brings a premium dual glass design with modern hole punch on the front.

The Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G is IP-53 rated for dust and splash resistance. This is not as good as Samsung’s IP67 rating on the Samsung A34, it’s still better than nothing.

One thing you can notice is that the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G adopts the camera module first seen on the flagship Xiaomi 12 series. This is apparent in the rest of the phones in the Note series as well.

The right side of the phone houses the volume and power buttons. The power button doubles as a fingerprint sensor and it is as fast as we expect it to be.

The bottom of the Note 12 Pro accommodates a speaker, a USB-C port, a mic, and a dual sim tray. On the top, there’s a mic, an IR blaster, a 3.5mm jack, and a speaker grille. So, it does have a dual speaker setup with Dolby Atmos.

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G is 1mm shorter and 15 grams lighter than the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G. Likewise, it has a good grip and the phone is easy to operate. This phone has been really well-designed by Xiaomi.

ALSO READ: Realme 10 Pro Plus 5G Review: The Best Midrange Smartphone?

Awesome Display

• 6.67 inches AMOLED
• 1080 x 2400 pixels
• Gorilla Glass 5
• 120Hz
• HDR10+

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G excels in the display department with the new Flow AMOLED panel with 1080p resolution. There’s a small cutout in the middle for the selfie camera.

It is a 10-bit OLED panel which means it can display over a billion colors. Moreover, it has a fast 120Hz refresh rate, 240Hz touch response rate, and 1920Hz PWM dimming to minimize eye strain in low-light conditions.

The OLED display has excellent colors and it’s a joy to watch videos on the Note 12 Pro 5g.

The OLED panel is certified for HDR10+, and Dolby Vision, and has a peak brightness of 1000 nits. I did not have any problems while using the phone under direct sunlight.

You get two options with the refresh rate: Default and Custom. By default, the screen is set to the Default option which sets the display at 120hz most of the time. The refresh rate automatically drops to 60Hz in certain apps like Netflix, YouTube, and Camera app. Likewise, it drops to 30Hz when the Always-On display is turned on.

Capable Performer

• MediaTek Dimensity 1080 (6 nm)
• Octa-core (2×2.6 GHz Cortex-A78 & 6×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55)
• Mali-G68 MC4
• 128GB 6/8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, UFS 2.2

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G switches allegiance to MediaTek for chipset. It is using the Dimensity 1080 chipset.

It is a 6nm chipset with Octa-core (2×2.6 GHz Cortex-A78 & 6×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55) CPU and Mali-G68 MC4 GPU. Furthermore, it comes with 6/8GB LPDDR5 RAM and 128/256GB UFS 2.2 storage.

Redmi Note 12 Pro is fast and smooth in daily usage. Basic tasks like UI navigation, app opening, and app switching is a breeze.

In terms of gaming, this is one of the most powerful phones for the price. We tested Genshin Impact in low graphics setting with a frame limit of 30 fps. The game ran well with negligible stutters and an average fps of 29.6. It was not totally smooth as there were some frame drops but it was expected.

In PUBG Mobile, we got an average fps of 55.8 after 20 mins of gameplay. The game was tested on Smooth graphics and Extreme fps. Theoretically, the game should run at 60 fps in this configuration but it was limited to 55.

Good Main Camera

• Rear Camera: 50MP, f/1.9, 24mm (wide), 1/1.56″, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS
  • 8MP, f/2.2, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/4″, 1.12µm
  • 2MP, f/2.4, (macro)
  • Video: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps
• Front Camera: 16MP, f/2.5, (wide), 1/3.06″, 1.0µm
  • Video: 1080p@30/60fps

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G has a triple camera setup with a 50MP Main sensor, 8MP Ultrawide sensor, and 2MP Macro sensor. The main sensor is Sony’s IMX 766 sensor with OIS. Similarly, it has a 16MP sensor on the front for selfies.

MAIN CAMERA

The photos from the main camera are nice and sharp with a very good dynamic range. The color profile is natural and the photos look pleasing. The autofocus is also fast and the OIS helps in capturing low-light photos.

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PORTRAITS

Redmi Note 12 Pro captures good portraits with good edge detection and decent background blur. The edge detection is not perfect if you look closely but it’s more than good enough. Also, you can adjust the amount of background blur in the post to make it more realistic.

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ULTRAWIDE CAMERA

The ultrawide sensor is also good but it is not as good as the main sensor. The dynamic range and detail are only average. Likewise, the exposure balance of the ultrawide sensor is not as good as photos from the main sensor.

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FRONT CAMERA

The 16MP sensor on the front captures decent photos but it’s not impressive. If you look at the faces, it is not as sharp as I would like it to be for the price. Likewise, the photos captured in harsh sunlight turn out soft.

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VIDEOS

Moving on to videos, it can capture videos up to 4k 30fps with the main camera. The videos are sharp with good dynamic range and details. Videos have a vivid color profile and 1080p footage also looks nice. But, the OIS is not as good as expected. You will notice the blob effect while walking and running, the stabilization totally falls apart while running.

Good Battery Life

• Non-removable Li-Po 5000mAh battery
• Fast charging 67W

The Note 12 Pro has the same battery capacity as the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G at 5000mAh. In moderate usage, I was getting around 6 hours of screen time. So, you can easily use this phone for more than a day.

It gets the same 67W charging as the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G. It takes 55 mins to go from 0 to 100% which is pretty good.

Software

• Android 12
• MIUI 13

Redmi Note 12 Pro ships with Android 12 out-of-the-box along with MIUI 14. It’s a shame that Xiaomi does not include Android 13 out of the box. Also, MIUI 14 doesn’t bring any significant changes to the table except for some optimizations.

Xiaomi has promised 2 years of OS upgrades on the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G. So, it should at least get Android 14.

Final Thoughts

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G is a really good phone from Xiaomi. While we were not impressed with the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G, the Note 12 Pro 5G is a notch above in most aspects.

ALSO READ: Vivo Mobiles Price in Nepal: Features and Specs

It has an upgraded display which is probably the best display for the price. Likewise, it performs really well and it has a good set of cameras. The only downside is the lack of Android 13 out-of-the-box and a short upgrade cycle. Else, it is truly the best phone you can buy under Rs. 40,000 in Nepal.

What do you think of the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G? Let us know in the comments!

Also, watch our review video of the Vivo V27 in Nepali.