In India, Xiaomi first introduced its recognizable Redmi Note line-up eight years ago. Since then, the line-up has acquired a quasi-cult status, revolutionizing not only the budget smartphone industry. In India, Xiaomi’s most recent mid-range smartphone is the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G. The most expensive phone in the Note 12 series is a direct replacement for the Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G, which did not quite succeed as a market leader as many had hoped. With the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G, Xiaomi is attempting to fill the void with segment-first hardware.
The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G’s 200-megapixel main camera is its standout feature. With the 120W charging setup, the phone charges more quickly than any Redmi Note has ever done. However, a higher price tag has also been lured by the mix of premium and segment-first hardware. In addition to costing significantly more than the Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G, it is also located quite close to the Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge. Does Redmi have a winning recipe with the Note 12 Pro+? Let’s find out in our review.
Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G Specifications
Before starting with the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G review, let’s look at the phone’s specifications.
- Display: 6.67-inch FHD+ resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, Pro AMOLED panel
- CPU: Octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 1080 Processor
- RAM: 8/12GB
- Storage: 128/256GB internal storage
- Software: Android 12 (MIUI 13)
- Main Camera: 200MP (OIS) + 8MP ultra-wide sensor + 2MP macro sensor
- Selfie Camera: 16MP (f/2.4)
- Connectivity: USB Type C, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v5.2, GPS/ A-GPS, FM Radio
- Cellular: Dual SIM
- Fingerprint Scanner: Yes, side-mounted
- Battery: 5,000mAh, Li-ion Polymer, 120W fast charging
Box Contents
Here’s a complete list of items you get inside the box:
- Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G smartphone
- 120W fast Charger
- USB Type C Cable
- Sim Ejector Tool
- Documentation
Design & Display
The glass body of the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G gives it a premium feel when held in the hand. Despite the phone’s approximate 208g weight, the curved rear panel ensures that it is comfortable to hold even for extended periods of time. The Iceberg Blue shade is one of three colors available for the phone. We’d choose white, which pairs well with the silver frame, over the other two.
The phone’s triple camera setup and LED flash are housed in a large square camera module in the corner on the back. The phone wobbles when placed face down on a flat surface because the camera island is not flush with the back. The handset still has a 3.5mm audio jack at the top, next to which are cutouts for a microphone, an IR emitter, and a dummy cutout for the secondary speaker. The earpiece doubles as a secondary outlet, so the phone technically does have dual speakers. The speaker grille and the USB Type-C port are on the bottom, while the power button, which doubles as a fingerprint sensor, is on the right side.
The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ has a 6.67-inch AMOLED panel with a Full HD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate, which becomes very bright for both indoor and outdoor use while maintaining the entire value appeal. Since it is a true 10-bit panel, it can display more than a billion different colors. Since the Note 12 Pro+ display dynamically refreshes between 30Hz, 60Hz, 90Hz, and 120Hz depending on the on-screen content, it also uses less battery power. When viewing content, you see rich blacks and vibrant colors. To step up the content consumption appeal of the handset, there is support for Dolby Vision HDR, WideVine L1, and HDR10 content on popular apps such as Netflix.
Software & Performance
In terms of software, the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G ships with the MIUI 13 custom skin, which is based on Android 12. However, we would have preferred to see the most recent MIUI 14 skin, which is based on Android 13. Although Xiaomi hasn’t specified the exact release date, it has said that the phone will have Android 13 and Android 14, as well as four years of security support.
MIUI 13 maintains its feature-rich design and extensive customization options. Along with a customizable Always-on Display (AoD), a redesigned security app, Android 12’s Privacy Dashboard, a permission manager, and a lot more, along with its highly acclaimed Floating Windows feature. Even though Xiaomi claims to have reduced bloatware, the phone still comes preinstalled with numerous third-party applications, including Moj, Snapchat, Zilli, Spotify, and others, in addition to the entire Google Apps suite and system applications that are already installed. It is hoped that the upcoming MIUI 14 update will further reduce the number of these apps.
The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ draws its processing power from the MediaTek Dimensity 1080 SoC, with an integrated Mali G68 GPU, and is paired with up to 12GB LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB UFS2.2 storage. Interestingly, this is the first Note series handset to not come with the option of expandable storage. The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ is no slouch, the handset navigates smoothly through all the day-to-day chores be it multitasking, app loading times, or simply using the phone for playing games.
We did try gaming on this phone and the experience was quite smooth with titles like Call of Duty: Mobile and Asphalt 9 Legends. Even after playing for extended periods of time, the CPU remains cool thanks to the phone’s vapor cooling chamber working extra hard. Even though we aren’t big benchmark fans, we did fire up AnTuTu, which gave the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ a respectable 4,38,748 points, while the phone scored 750 and 2205 points in the single-core and multi-core tests on Geekbench5, respectively.
Camera & Battery
The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ has the potential to be a camera slayer. The device has a triple camera arrangement on the back, with a 200-megapixel Samsung HPX primary camera sensor, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, and a 2-megapixel macro sensor. The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G includes a 16-megapixel front camera sensor for taking selfies.
The main camera takes clear pictures with a strong dynamic range and vibrant colors. The phone has a 1/1.4-inch sensor, which is rather huge, but the shutter is extremely quick and snaps pictures right away. The primary camera’s performance at night is also outstanding since it effectively exposes the shadows without adding a lot of noise. The images shot in Night mode though appear slightly soft, which could be due to the aggressive noise reduction algorithm.
The HPX sensor is being used to its maximum potential by Xiaomi, and the camera app includes several helpful features including Long exposure, Pro mode, AI SkyScaping, Vlog Mode, and Ultra HD mode for 50-megapixel and 200-megapixel photos.
In addition to giving you a broader field of view for your photographs, the secondary ultra-wide camera also produces photos that have some observable distortion and are fuzzy around the edges. This is to be expected as these images appear a little bit warmer than those taken with the primary sensor. Regarding the front camera, the photos frequently suffer from the same skin tone problem that has recently been seen on other Xiaomi smartphones. That said, m majority of the time, the selfies are highly detailed, and the AI uses the beauty filters responsibly.
The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ has a sizable 5,000mAh battery that, in our testing, lasted a full day with medium to moderate usage. Xiaomi has integrated its renowned 120W fast charging technology onto this Note series handset to swiftly recharge the battery. What’s amazing is that Xiaomi has included this charger, which retails for almost INR 3,000, inside the package. By taking full advantage of this charger, the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ can easily go from 0 to 100 in less than 20 minutes.
Verdict
The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ has undoubtedly seen several improvements since the Note 11 Pro+. It has a superior build quality, a great display, a top-notch camera, and lightning fast charging. The only sore point is that the device still ships with Android 12 out of the box, despite its 2023 debut date, and there is no confirmed release date for the Android 13 upgrade.
The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ will undoubtedly rank among the top 3 choices if you’re in the market for a new smartphone around INR 30,000 that performs well across nearly all metrics.
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