Key Features
Introduction
Announced at the Western Europe launch in Paris , the Redmi Note 12 5 gramme looks to extradite enticing specs including a 6.67 - in AMOLED 120Hz showing , 5000mAh battery and a 48MP rearward camera for as little as £ 219 if you want 4 GB of RAM , or just £ 279 if you want to boost that to 6 GB .
It certainly fathom like a tempting selection on paper , but how does it perform in real life ? I spent a flake of time playing with the Redmi Note 12 5 GiB at the launching event in Paris , and here are my initial imprint .
Design and screen
For a phone that costs just over £ 200 , the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 5 G looks pretty good . It sports the same minimalistic designing as the quietus of the Redmi Note 12 ambit which looks fairly bounty on the aerofoil — until you foot it up , that is .
Upon find fault it up the illusion of a premium smartphone is shattered , instead disport an all - credit card build . To its deferred payment , the moldable build means it measures in at a fairly lightweight 189 g , and it wo n’t shatter like methamphetamine counterparts , though the completely flat sides and rear mean the relatively large phone is n’t as comfortable to hold as the curvier Note 12 Pro Plus 5G.
Elsewhere , the phone pack key features including a side - go up fingerprint reader , aUSB - Cport for charging and even a 3.5 mm headphone diddlysquat for pumped up audio connectivity — a feature that has all but vanish from the top end of the market .
If the designing and physique are n’t much to write home about , it ’s probable because much of the phone ’s invent budget go into the exhibit . I acquire , anyway . It ’s not only large , measure in at the same 6.67 inch as the rest of the Redmi Note 12 range , but it ’s also anAMOLEDpanel that deliver a pantry smooth 120Hz refresh rate .
Considering Apple ’s £ 849iPhone 14is cap at 60Hz , that ’s a massive bonus for budget - focused consumers that makes the overall experience finger a little number smoother and more responsive .
The FHD+ answer can make the display look a little soft at sentence , specially compared to likewise - sized displays with a QHD resolution , but that ’s not a bod of citation that many budget buyers will have . It count absolutely serviceable during my hands - on time , with an impressive peak brightness of 1200 nit .
Cameras
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 variation a fairly decent camera setup when you look at the cheap £ 219 cost tag , bluster a main 48MP rear camera with impressive specs including f/1.8 , though you ’ll have to plump for one of the Pro model if you want to make economic consumption with OIS .
However , the megapixel count is n’t everything , and during my abbreviated hands - on testing with the earpiece I did notice that colours depend a little washed out and matte , and the lack ofOISmeant that a few shots came out rather shaky / blurry . Still , it has potential in well - fire up conditions — you just might have to boost those colours a petty morsel .
That ’s pair with the same 8MP extremist - broad and 2MP macro lens as the Pro and Pro Plus models , though that ’s more of a downside for the more expensive models than a plus for the standard Note 12 — especially when it comes to the 2MP macro that ’s essentially just there to bump up the photographic camera count .
alternate the phone over and you ’ll find the same 13MP front - face camera as the rest of the Note 12 lineup , which during quick tests calculate somewhat decent for selfies , though Xiaomi ’s more or less OTT beautify effect are passably obvious .
Performance
With a starting cost of just £ 219 , it should n’t occur as much of a surprise that the Redmi Note 12 5 G does n’t feature the immobile chipset on the market . It feature the lesser - known Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 , build up on the larger 6 nm process .
That ’s geminate with either 4 GB or 6 GB of RAM , though unlike most alternatives , it ’s not link up to storage — in the UK marketplace , at least . Both variance available in the UK come with the same 128 GB of repositing , so be sure you ’re start out the right variant for your need .
In the Note 12 5 G ’s defence , it does n’t feelthatslow in utilisation . It kept up with my speedy swiping around the home screen and app tray most of the meter , though I did find the occasional stutter and social function like switching the television camera can sometimes take a second or two to process .
fundamentally , it ’s obvious that Xiaomi has prioritised element like display and bombardment life , while public presentation has reasonably fallen to the roadside .
Despite the genuinely budget nature of the standard Redmi Note 12 5 G , it packs the same 5000mAh battery as its more expensive siblings as well as flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra . It is something we ’re seeing more and more onbudgetandmid - range phones , but still , it ’s nice to see here .
Though I ’ve not had the chance to fully test the Redmi Note 12 ’s battery carrying out just yet , I have no dubiety that it ’ll leave all - day barrage life , though whether it ’ll last a second Clarence Day is yet to be see .
Instead , the budget focal point of the phone shines through with burster speeds , cap at just 33W — a third of the bang speed of the top - endRedmi Note 12 Pro Plus5 G ’s 120W.
Though 33W is still relatively truehearted , when compound with such a in high spirits - capacity battery , it ’ll in all likelihood still take quite a while to go from matt to full . The fact that Xiaomi does n’t make charge time claims like it does with others in the Redmi Note 12 collection speaks volume about what you should have a bun in the oven .
The telephone set ’s software package is n’t quite up to scratch though ; it ships with Xiaomi ’s MIUI 14 , ground on the twelvemonth - old Android 12 . It ’s also quite a different coming to Android compared to much of the competition , with an obvious iOS breathing in in places — the notice shade and warm controls are split , for example — and there ’s plenty of bloatware too , from random apps to game I ’ve never heard of .
That ’s kind of bear at the flashy end of the securities industry , but it does n’t make it any easy to accept .
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Final Thoughts
While I ’m not quite ready to cede my last thoughts , my first impressions of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 5 G are largely positive , with a heavy 120Hz AMOLED display and the same 5000mAh bombardment found in some flagships . Of course , performance is n’t that great with a Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 , and despite a high - reticuloendothelial system 48MP camera , initial tests were n’t overwhelmingly positive .
Still , at the budget final stage of the market forfeiture have to be made , and if display and battery lifetime are the most significant component of a smartphone for you , you ’ll fight to find one well specced at a cheaper price .
