A massive 200MP lens, 120Hz refresh rate AMOLED display, and 120W charging for close to RM1,500?! Has Xiaomi gone CRAZY?! 

Well, in this article, I will be showing you THREE of the latest Redmi Note 12 series. The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G, the Redmi Note 12 5G, and the Redmi Note 12. 

Because while these “brothers” or “sisters” look very similar but they are special in their own right, so in this article, I will be highlighting each one of them to help YOU make a choice on which one that you should go with! 

 

Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G

Let’s start with the “eldest” of the range, which is the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G. It is one of the most weights on its shoulders since it has to be the best since the other siblings look up to it. 

Speaking of weight, it comes at 210.5 grams, and while I’ve always preferred a mid-range phone that comes within the 200-gram mark, but the good news is that it didn’t feel heavy at all.

All of these 3 phones have IP53 Splash Proof rating.

And let’s talk about this Polar White color, I mean, it’s like looking into the eyes of an angel. I mean, seriously, it’s love at first sight. 

At the back, it is made of new material with the advanced CMF process and a polished glass back. Surely pure premium goodness.

I also appreciate the matte frames at the sides, which gave the phone a better grip!

Speaking of which, I know that this would be down to a personal preference, but I really love the nice and clicky buttons that the phone had.

Then the front glass is made out of Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection, whereas the others have a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection.

So what does this phone do best then? Well, photography.

As this is specifically tailored if you LOVE smartphone photography because it features a massive  200MP f/1.65 lens with OIS and also AI assistance, then there is also an 8MP ultrawide lens and a 2MP macro lens.

And this 200MP mode on the camera really packs a punch. There is also a software feature invented by Xiaomi called Xiaomi ProCut, where if you snap a photo with this 200MP mode, then this feature will help to identify humans and animals in the photo and extract 3-5 best angles from the original photo, which helps you to crop the photo based on AI machine learning. Yeap, AI for the win, my friends!

And of course, it is the FIRST TIME a mid-range phone gets this high of a megapixel count, as only flagships are usually using camera sensors of this caliber at the moment. 

I have to say, to have this level of camera performance for a midrange device is really eye-opening. Literally, look at this picture of my eye. You can really zoom into the picture to really see the intricate details in my iris, which is phenomenal, to say the least. 

And in the pixel-binned regular photo mode, it also looked really crisp and great with detail due to its HUGE sensor, and the ultra-wide cameras also performed very well and so were the front 16MP photos as well.

Then this Pro+ variant is also the best in its video department as it comes with a rear recording of up to 4K 30 fps compared to 1080p on the other Redmi devices, and the front camera also records up to 1080p 60 fps compared to just 30 fps on the others, due to its chipset limitation, which I will dive deeper into which chipsets that each phone uses.

As the tell that this is a mid-range device is the MediaTek Dimensity 1080, which to MediaTek’s credit, is a powerful enough chipset for more than everyday use, which is also quite an energy-efficient chipset as well. 

Other than that, it also comes with a 120Hz 6.67” AMOLED display, very unusual for a mid-range series, and heck, even some so-called flagship chipset smartphones still don’t have this kind of refresh rate.

And during my first impressions, when scrolling and navigating through apps was as smooth as butter, and so it was when I was playing games to watching some videos on the phone. 

So yes, as you may expect, it has great detail, and saturation thanks to it being an AMOLED panel, and this Pro+ variant also has Dolby Vision support. I mean, like wow, to think that something like this only was available in flagships just a couple of short years ago is just really phenomenal. 

Not just that, but the battery, oh man, the 5,000mAh battery already gives decent battery life for its size of a screen, but the 120W charging is just life-changing.

It takes around 19 minutes of charge to go to 100% and yes, that is also with the included charger of course. So with that, I don’t even think I can get used to “slow charging” anymore.

And what’s nice is that all of these three models have 5,000mAh of battery, and of course, the major difference for the Pro+ 5G is the inclusion of the 120W Hypercharge as mentioned earlier. 

And it also has Xiaomi Surge P1 chipset, again a proper flagship level right here!

There is even a 3.5mm headphone jack and an IR blaster on the phone, which flagship phones typically lose out on. 

And speaking of headphones, these speakers on the Pro+ variant come with Dolby Atmos support, yet another Pro-like feature.

Then all three devices are shipped with MIUI 14 based on Android 12, which was nice to know, and this variant has Wi-Fi 6 connectivity as well.

So yes, this Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G is a hybrid of flagship and mid-range devices put together. Perhaps a Frankenstein of a device with the best bits from both the flagship and also the mid-range worlds, which has all the key flagship features for the FIRST TIME, including a 200MP lens with OIS, 120Hz AMOLED display, and a smart 120W Hypercharge, which clearly says that this currently is a “mid-range smartphone KING” for everyone!

 

Redmi Note 12 5G

Next, we have the Redmi Note 12 5G. Think of this as the middle child. Someone for the younger one to look up to but still slick, useful, and well-rounded like most of the secondborns are.

While the curvature and the overall build quality were very similar to the Pro+, but the rear was a matte finish, so it will be slightly less slippery than the Pro+ variant. And this unique color is called Forest Green.

Another highlight is the fact that this variant also has a 120Hz AMOLED display, and with the price that Xiaomi is offering, I can tell you that you CANNOT get this feature on any other mid-range smartphones.

And just watching videos on the phone was very much identical to the Pro+, hence the phone is another powerhouse when it comes to watching videos, playing some games and of course, using this phone daily.

Now, for those who are not really interested in the latest and greatest specs but rather just want something that just works very well, this is powered by the Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 6nm chipset; it still has 5G support.

It uses a 48MP F1.8 main lens and the rest of the rear lenses are the same as the Pro+ variant. And here is where it was really nice to see that the images also looked really great for all of the rear cameras as well, looking very flagship material too.

And even though the front camera had a slightly lower 13MP camera but it still performed really well.

Then as for the charging, instead of the 120W charging, it comes with 33W fast charging, still very decent compared to some other mid-range smartphones within this price bracket.

 

Redmi Note 12

Now, for the youngest sibling, the Redmi Note 12 might not be all “grown up” like its elders, but it loses on the 5G, but is still fine in its own right. Heck, even up until now, I have only been using 4G, so no worries over here.

Among the other siblings, this is the most cost-effective of them all, at half the price of the Note 12 Pro+ 5G. And don’t worry, I will let you know what are the prices shortly after this.

And from a build quality perspective, you know what they say, “less is more” and in this case, the Redmi Note 12 nailed it with its very lightweight design. It’s like holding a feather compared to its big bros. And this Ice Blue color is like a very refreshing splash of icy goodness in our amazingly hot Malaysian weather.

I also really loved how the rear part of the phone was flatter than its elder siblings, which meant that it felt a tad bit nicer to hold too, especially with the similar matte finish like the 5G variant.

When it comes to the chipset, this is powered by the new Snapdragon 685 chipset. During my first impressions of use, there were no signs of any lag or any performance issues, and the temperature overall was properly regulated, so it was really lovely to know.

As for the cameras, what’s interesting is that this has a 50MP main lens instead. Now, why the slightly higher megapixel count than the 5G model? Well, probably because the youngest usually has a trick up its sleeve.

Based on my test, the main lenses were quite similar to the 5G variant because you are looking at a mere 2MP in difference, as the other cameras at the rear and the front are the same.

And another trick up the phone’s imaginary “sleeve”, which I find really surprising, is the fact that like its siblings, it also has a 120Hz refresh rate AMOLED display. And once again, with the price, this is pretty mind-blowing and it is great to know that Xiaomi did not compromise on the refresh rate of this particular variant.

So yes, it does seem that Xiaomi is giving an equal amount of love to all of these three Redmi Note devices, from the “eldest” to the “youngest”!

 

Price

All right, now for the part that you all have been waiting for, especially if you are from Malaysia, which is the…*drumroll please*… the prices! So, the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage comes with a price of RM1,599, 

Then the Redmi Note 12 5G with the same RAM and storage variant is priced at RM1,099

And the Redmi Note 12 with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage comes with a super affordable price of ONLY RM799.

If you are interested in ordering one of these three devices, the pre-order is open now from the 6th until the 13th, and in conjunction with the Xiaomi Fan Festival 2023, you will receive a FREE Redmi Smart Band 2 with every purchase of the Redmi Note 12 series while stocks last.

There is also a customer service promotion from the 1st until the 16th of April, and don’t worry, I will leave all the details down in the description below. 

 

Conclusion

So yeah, at every level, the prices are almost second to none compared to the competition. So which one would you choose? Are you team Pro+, team Note 12 5G, or team Note 12 4G?