Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G Review

2023 started and yet we didn’t get value for money device, Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G is a pricey smartphone and has tons of major problems. So before we start the review, let me share with you the India price of the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G.

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G Price in India

• 6GB Ram + 128GB storage: Rs 24,999
• 8GB Ram + 128GB storage: Rs 26,999
• 8GB Ram + 256GB storage: Rs 27,999

The device is available in Obsidian Black, Arctic White, and Iceberg Blue color options while it will be available from 11th January 2023 at noon From Flipkart and Mi.com/in.

By the way, For a Limited time, you can get an instant Rs 3000 discount on an ICICI bank Card.

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G Review

Yes, the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G is worth buying but it’s not value for money device. However, if you’re a fan of Redmi and don’t want to buy any other brand’s smartphone then do consider the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G otherwise, better save Rs 24,999.

Max, Redmi should have priced this smartphone up to Rs 20,999 but now at Rs 24,999 price tag, it’s too much for what Redmi is offering.

When you spend 25k, you have options like Motorola Edge 30, RealMe 10 Pro Plus 5G, and even RealMe 9 Pro Plus 5G. So it doesn’t make any sense to pay a premium for Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G.

Related: 5 Best Smartphones Under Rs 30000

Concluding everything from price to features, it’s better to skip the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G and consider the RealMe 10 Pro Plus 5G as it has slightly better specs. Although, RealMe 10 Pro Plus 5G is also not a value money device but as of now, From RealMe and Redmi, these are the two good options available.

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G Pros and Cons

PROS	CONS
120Hz Smooth AMOLED Display	Overpriced
Bright 900 nits Panel	Night Photography Can be Improved
10 5G Bands	OIS Doesn’t Support Videos
Louder Stereo Speakers	Front Camera has Dynamic Range Issue
Long Lasting Battery Life	Not the best Options for Gamers
Takes Decent Images Under Sunlight	No In-Display Fingerprint Sensor
	Plastic Unibody
	Still Runs on Android 12
	No SD Card Slot

Display

I recently reviewed the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus 5G and guess what, Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G has the same display as the 12 Pro Plus 5G, not even a single change, so let me just borrow some paragraphs from that review.

The Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G comes with a 120Hz 6.67-inches AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels and pick a brightness of 900nits. This is a 10-bit panel and 240Hz Touch Sampling Rate while it also has the Wide Vine L1 Support.

To protect the front side, Redmi is using the Corning Gorilla Glass 5. Now, the rear and even frames are made from plastic.

Related: 5 Best Smartphones Under Rs 20,000

One Tip from my side, don’t buy the Stardust Purple color option because it look cheap. Still, if you love the design of the Stardust Purple color then go for it.

The MediaTek Dimensity 1080 is not a very powerful SoC and it will handle the 120Hz refresh rate without any problem.

All in all, The Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G has an excellent display and it does justify the Rs 24,999 price tag.

Performance

Again, no change in Processor too, both the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G and Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus 5G have the SoC.

The MediaTek Dimensity 1080 is not made for heavy games, so if you’re thinking to buy Redmi Note 12 Pro for gaming then don’t because, after 30 or even 45 minutes of gaming, you will see frame drops and lags.

In short, don’t buy Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G to play games like COD Mobile, PUBG New State, or even Apex Legends. Now, it’s not like these games won’t run but if you play for a long time then you will feel disappointed with your purchase.

By the way, Redmi has also added the 12-layer graphite sheet which means, the phone won’t get hot. Now, the real test of a 12-layer graphite sheet will be in summer, so let’s wait.

Related: 5 Best Gaming Smartphones Under Rs 50,000

The phone also has 10 5G Bands which include the SA; n1, n3, n5, n8, n28a, n38,
n40, n41, n77, and 78 NSA; n38, n40, n41, n77, and n78. In short, you will be able to take advantage of 5G all over India.

To put it simply, Don’t buy the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G for gaming but for day-to-day usage, it’s a good option to consider.

Software

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G runs on MIUI 13 based on Android 12. Redmi has promised 2 Years of OS Updates and 4 Years of Security Updates, so this device will get OS Updates up to Android 14.

The catch is,

The device runs on Android 12 and Android 13 has been out for months. Now, what Redmi did is, delayed the Android 13 update, so they don’t have to update the device up to Android 15.

Redmi has also said that MIUI 14 based on Android 13 is ready and it should be out within a month, so you see what Redmi did…

By the way, Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G comes with hall lot of Bloatware which you can uninstall but you will have to manually uninstall all the third-party apps which is not a good experience even after paying the Rs 24,999.

The phone has ads in the UI which you can disable from the settings but the problem is every single user won’t know about this, so they will continue using the device as it is.

Overall, MIUI 13 is the same as all the other Redmi Phones, there is nothing new to talk about.

Cameras

The bigger change is on the camera side of things,

The Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G has a 50MP primary sensor (OIS), 8MP ultra-wide lens, and 2MP macro sensor while there is a 16MP selfie shooter on the front.

The rear camera can shoot videos at 4k@30fps and 1080p@30/60fps while the front can shoot at 1080p@30/60fps.

Fun Fact, OIS works well when you take images but when shooting videos, it disappears, in short, OIS doesn’t work in videos.

So then million dollar question, why did Redmi bother to add OIS, if you can’t use it in videos?

No one will give me a million dollars but still, let me answer, it’s because they wanted to market the device.

By the way, if Redmi wants they can add OIS in videos by just updating the smartphone but they have to work on it. So let’s see whether they push updates or not.

Related: Best Smartphones Under Rs 25,000

For those who are wondering, the videos don’t come out well at all. Lack of OIS shows when I was shooting videos.

Also, if you’re taking videos and there is light behind you then the sensor will have a hard time fixing the background. Now, this can also be easily fixed with an OTA update.

The primary 50MP sensor is from Sony and its Sony IMX766 which is a premium sensor that has been used on phones like OnePlus 10T and even ROG Phone 6 Pro.

So you will be like, it’s good right, it should take good images?

Now, the problem is, no matter how expensive the sensor is if the brand doesn’t optimize well then it’s just there for a showcase. That’s the case with the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G

The Sony IMX766 takes useable images under daylight but when it comes to low light, it suffers a lot. It adds hall lot of noise and if you take an image of your friend then his/her skin will turn out to be on the softer side.

Also, as this is a Redmi smartphone, it does add a little bit of extra color, it’s not too much but yes, the human skin tone will be a bit saturated.

The 8MP Ultra-wide and 16MP front cameras are the same as Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus 5G.

The 8MP ultra sensor is there and it’s just there. If there is enough light then it will take good images but under low light, the images will come out soft.

The 16MP front camera is social media ready, you won’t have to use any kind of filter, just take a selfie and post it on social media and you will look white.

Overall, the Redmi Note 12 Pro has decent cameras and it can be improved further with an Update but it all depends on Redmi whether they want to put in extra hours and wants to improve the cameras or not.

As you can see, I didn’t add any camera samples of Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G, so what you can do is, go to this and you will find all the camera samples of this device along with videos too (Fyi, it’s Google Drive Link).

Audio

The device has a stereo speaker with the support of Dolby Atmos. Both of these speakers are good, they’re loud, sound clear, and have a good amount of bass too.

The microphone quality is also solid, so there won’t be any kind of problems with calling too while the carrier aggression also helps when the phone is not getting good singles.

It also has a 3.5mm audio jack and IR blaster as well.

Battery

The Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G has a 5,000mAh battery with 67W wired fast charging support and yes, the 67W adapter is supplied in the box.

The device will take about 46 minutes to charge from 0% to 100% which is super fast but make sure you charge the device with a 67W charger.

The MediaTek Dimensity 1080 is battery efficient processor, so there is nothing to worry about it. Expect the battery to last for a day but if you’re a very heavy user then expect the battery to last till 4 to 5 PM.

Here, I have provided the rough numbers, so the real battery life can change user by user.

Verdict

Still, if you have any kind of questions then feel free to drop them in the comment box, I would love to answer them, see you there…

By the way, we also have a WhatsApp Channel, so feel free to join the channel. And yes, it’s FREE…

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G Full Specifications

Launch Date	5th January 2022
First Sale	11th January 2022 via Flipkart at noon
Price	6GB Ram + 256GB storage: Rs 24,999 8GB Ram + 128GB storage: Rs 26,999 8GB Ram + 256GB storage: Rs 27,999
Display	6.67-inches FHD+ AMOLED 120Hz Screen Refresh Rate 10-bit panel 395ppi density 900nits pick brightness Supports Wide Vine L1 240Hz Touch Sampling Rate 86.8% screen-to-body ratio
Resolution	1080 x 2400 pixels resolution
Dimensions	162.9 x 76 x 7.9 mm
Build	Glass front (Corning Gorilla Glass 5) Plastic Frame Plastic back
OS	Android 12 – MIUI 13 2 Years of OS Updates 4 Years of Security Updates
Chipset	Chipset: MediaTek Dimensity 1080 (6 nm) GPU: Mali-G68 MC4 CPU: Octa-core (2×2.6 GHz Cortex-A78 & 6×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55) Cooling: 12-layer graphite sheet
Storage Options	6GB Ram + 128GB Storage 8GB Ram + 128GB Storage 12GB Ram + 256GB Storage – LPDDR4x Ram – UFS 2.2 Storage
SD-Card Slot	No
Rear Cameras	50MP Primary Sensor (f/1.9) – OIS (Sony IMX766) 8MP Ultra-Wide (f/2.2) 2 MP Macro (f/2.4) Video 4k@30fps 1080p@30/60fps Camera Samples
Front Camera	16MP Selfie Shooter Video 1080p@30/60fps
3.5mm Jack	Yes
Wi-Fi Version	Wi-fi 6 2×2 (2×2 wifi)
Stereo Speakers	Yes
Carrier Aggregation	Yes
Bluetooth Version	5.2
5G Support	Yes, 10 5G Bands.
5G Bands	SA: n1, n3, n5, n8, n28a, n38, n40, n41, n77, and 78 NSA: n38, n40, n41, n77, and n78
IR Blaster	Yes
Sensors	Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Electronic compass, IR blaster, Geomagnetic sensor Fingerprint (Side-Mounted)
Fingerprint Sensor	Side-Mounted
Battery	5,000mAh (non-removable) 67W Wired Fast Charging 0% to 100% in 46 Minutes
Colors	Obsidian Black, Arctic White, and Iceberg Blue
SAR Value	SAR Limit: 1.6 W/kg, Head: 0.844 W/kg, Body: 0.810 W/kg
Model Number	MZB0CXPIN
Weight	188 Gram
In the box	Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G, 67W Charger, USB Type-C Cable, SIM Eject Tool, Protective Case, Quick Start Guide, Warranty Card
Available at	Flipkart

*Images Credit: Gadget Bridge Hindi/YT