The Redmi Note 12 brings reasonable prices to an otherwise high end, top of its class flagship performance device, with AMOLED screen, a primary 48MP camera, fast 33W charging, an insanely huge battery at 5000mAh and a Qualcomm SM4375 Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 (6 nm) chipset. It ticks pretty much every box, and then some. This phone is nothing but a beast!
Design
The Redmi Note 12 comes with a 6.67-inch 90Hz AMOLED screen with a punch hole design for the selfie camera with a refresh rate of 120Hz. It has great aesthetics, narrow & uniform bezels all round, with a screen to body ratio of 84.8%. It has an aspect ratio of 20:9 and supports HDR which makes it an absolute delight to consume media with. It weighs 188g making it light for you to carry around.
It has a plastic frame and back and a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 front panel. It is very bright and vivid, peaking at 1000 nits. Its rated for IP53 dust and splash protection, which means it’s not waterproof. Like many Xiaomi phones, it comes with an IR blaster and fortunately a headphone jack. It has a physical fast fingerprint sensor, conveniently placed on its side, integrated into the power button. It supports stereo speakers, which are great for playing media.
Performance
The Redmi Note 12 brings in the heat with latest midrange Qualcomm SM4375 Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 (6 nm) making it very fast and great for gaming. It has a Cortex Octa-core CPU paired with a Adreno 619 GPU, with storage options of 6/4 GB for RAM & 128 GB for ROM. It comes with an hybrid expandable memory option, housed within the sim card tray. Paired with the 90Hz screen, running the latest Android 12 with a MIUI 13.5 skin on top, the performance feels very fast and premium. No lags or slow transitions on this one. Everything feels fast, fluid and rich in colour.
Cameras
The Redmi Note 12 has a quad camera arrangement on the back. It comes with a 48MP primary sensor, for those excellent daylight photos. The ultra-wide is an 8MP lens, with a 119˚field of view, giving it great immersion for those landscape or group photos. there is an extra 2MP telephoto lens. The video can support up to 1080p video at 30 fps, with HDR support. The selfie camera is a generous 13MP wide sensor, capable of taking content at focal point 2.5.
Other features
The Redmi Note 12 comes with 33W fast charging, the phone can get fully charged in 60 minutes. That’s not bad at all. That in addition to the fact that it also comes with a Li-Po 5000mAh non-removable battery. Even with the high refresh rate screen, this should be more than enough. The main concession would be that there is no wireless charging here. It supports NFC for contactless paying. it comes in Horizon Blue, Space Black, and Stardust
White color variants.
Similarly, priced phones would include Samsung Galaxy F22, Xiaomi Redmi 10, the Oppo A16 and Tecno Pova 2. the main distinctions at this price point is often a choice of better camera or more memory. The sizes are usually standard and the batteries are often huge. It’s unlikely there are fast charging options as the price is too competitive.
The design is great, and looks at par as many midranges in the market now. The OS will feel right at home, especially if you have used a Xiaomi phone before. It however does not support 5G.
Common Q &A
⦁ How much is a Xiaomi Redmi 12 in Kenya: the phone is currently retailing at Ksh 28,500
⦁ Where can I buy a Xiaomi Redmi 12 in Kenya: you can buy it at phonesstorekenya.com, both online and offline, with optional delivery on request.
⦁ Does Xiaomi Redmi 12 have fast charging: Yes. It comes with 33W fast charging with standard type C cable, on top of a 5000 mAh battery
⦁ 4. Does Xiaomi Redmi 12 have expandable memory: yes, it does, in a dedicated slot, so that it feels like the internal storage is not enough, you can always add more. It supports up to 128 GB
⦁ Does Xiaomi Redmi 12 support 5G: No. It only supports to 4G
