Xiaomi has finally launched the Redmi Note 12 series after a lot of teasing. The new Redmi Note series contains the vanilla Redmi Note 12, Redmi Note 12Pro, Redmi Note 12Pro+, and the Redmi Note 12Explorer Edition.
The Redmi Note 12 is the successor to the previous Redmi Note 11 which was launched earlier this year. Xiaomi improves on a lot of things with the Note 12 but it also made some noticeable downgrades to keep the prices a bit low.
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 5G comes with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 chipset, a 120Hz Samsung AMOLED display, and support for 5G connectivity. With all of this, the price is still in the same range as its predecessor, making it a great budget-friendly smartphone.
In this article, I’ll be sharing with you everything you need to know about the Redmi Note 12, its specs, features, and price.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Key Specs
- 6.67-inch FHD+ 120Hz AMOLED display
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 1
- 4GB or 6GB or 8GB of RAM
- 128GB or 256GB of RAM
- 48MP + 2MP dual rear camera
- 8MP front-facing camera
- 5,000 mAh battery
- 33W fast charging
- Side-mounted fingerprint sensor
- IP53 certification
Display
The display is one of the places that got upgraded over the predecessor. The Redmi Note 12 has a 6.67-inch AMOLED display that has an FHD+ resolution with a 120 Hz refresh rate and 100% DCI-P3 color space coverage.
The display has a peak brightness of 1200 nits which is a 20% increase over the peak brightness of the Redmi Note 11. The AMOLED panel is made by Samsung, known for its high-quality displays.
Design and Body
Coming to the design, you can see how much things have changed over the past few months, the Redmi Note 12 now looks way cleaner.
It comes in a plastic body that is available in three colors: Black, White, and Blue. It is 8mm thick and comes in at 188 grams of weight. On the rear, you’d see a rectangular island on the right side containing the dual camera and an LED flash. On the side, you’d find the volume rockers and power button that doubles as a fingerprint sensor.
The phone has an IP53 certification so it is dust and splash-resistant.
Processor and Memory
Under the hood, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 is powered by the new octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 1. It has two Cortex-A78 cores clocked at 2.0 GHz and six Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 1.8 GHz. It is paired with the Adreno 619 GPU.
Qualcomm says the new processor offers a 15% faster CPU and 10% better GPU performance than the previous gen. It has the Snapdragon X51 5G modem and also Spectra Triple ISP.
The phone has 4GB or 6GB or 8GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of fast UFS 2.2 internal storage. Unfortunately, there is no micro SD card slot for expanding the store. There are four configurations: 128GB storage 4GB RAM, 128GB storage 6GB, 128GB storage 8GB RAM, and 256GB storage 8GB RAM.
Camera
The camera is where Xiaomi watered things down a bit to keep the cost low as the predecessor has a better camera setup.
On the rear, there is a dual rear camera setup that features a 48MP main camera and a 2MP depth camera. It can record videos in up to 1080p resolution at 30 or 60 fps.
On the front, there is an 8MP selfie camera tucked in the punch hole cutout at the top.
Software
On the software front, the phone comes running on Android 12 with MIUI 13 skin on top.
Battery and Charging
On the inside, the Redmi Note 12 relies on a 5,000 mAh Li-Po battery. It has support for 33W fast charging which is the same as the previous model.
Network and Connectivity
Thanks to the X51 5G modem in the Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 chipset, the phone has support for 5G connectivity as well as LTE.
The phone comes with dual-band Wi-Fi 5, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 5.1 (A2DP, LE), an Infrared port, and GPS. It has a USB 2.0 Type-C port with support for On-The-Go. Fortunately, there is still a 3.5 mm headphone jack.
Redmi Note 12 Price and Availability
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 price starts at $165 for the base 4GB 128GB model and goes as high as $235 for the highest end 8GB 256GB model.
The phone is only available in China for now as open sales will begin on November 1. Global availability is not officially known yet.
