From the very beginning, the Redmi Note series has been a deal breaker for every customer. The Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus was an accidental upgrade over its predecessor, but it seems the company has come up with something better than the competition this time around. The Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus has a 200MP camera, a large AMOLED screen and supports 120W fast charging, all in a beautiful design. On paper it looks like a complete package, but is this phone worth buying?
Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus review: a beautiful smartphone
The Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus has a flat bezel that looks like a trendy design, courtesy of the iPhone. But this mid-range phone is much more comfortable to hold than my iPhone 14 Pro Max because it's slightly rounded at the back around the edges. I was able to reach the top of the screen with one hand, which is not possible on many phones with a screen size of 6.5 inches and above.
At the front we find a 6.6-inch screen protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. In 10 days of use, the phone fell out of my pocket once (I'm a clumsy person) and survived, so I'd say Gorilla Glass is doing a good job.
I have the Arctic White color option and I have to admit it gives a new look to white on a smartphone. The last time I liked a white phone was the OnePlus 5T Star Wars Edition. However, unlike the OnePlus smartphone, with the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus you get a smooth back without any texture. The back can get greasy, but you won't notice those pesky fingerprints. In fact, I would recommend you download it without a case.
On the back, you'll find Pikachu's famous meme-like face, camera module (when viewed horizontally). It's not the best camera module design we've seen in a while, but it goes well with the overall color and size.
The fingerprint sensor is on the right side. I'm one of those niche people who prefer to have a biometric sensor on the body of the device rather than the screen. While most people might disagree with me and prefer an in-display fingerprint sensor. However, the current implementation may require some savings and I like this cost-cutting tactic because the sensor works well and is reliable to use. It unlocks the phone 10 out of 10 times, so no complaints.
Above the biometric sensor is a volume rocker that can be easily reached with one hand. I don't have to do finger exercises to control the volume of music playback.
And what is Redmi Note, if it has no distinctive features. It's 2023 and the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus is one of the latest of its kind with a 3.5mm headphone jack. I'm all for wired music because it provides the best sound, but with the development of Bluetooth headphones, you might not notice much of a difference. Still, it was nice to be able to connect the AKG K371BT headphones to the phone via the 3.5mm jack.
Another such feature is the presence of an IR blaster. In my experience, this is very useful if you are on a date in a bar and the music is too loud. You can turn down the volume with your phone. Trust me, this is a very underrated piece of hardware that I recently found in the Huawei P50 Pro.
Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus review: the power of entertainment
The latest Redmi Note has a 6.6-inch 120Hz AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels. I found the viewing experience similar to that of the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus, meaning it's easy to read in direct sunlight and has good viewing angles. The colors are vibrant, the 120Hz refresh rate is smooth, and reading Kindle e-books was a lot of fun for me.
The screen supports HD and Dolby Vision in all OTT programs, so you can enjoy your favorite TV programs in high quality. I enjoyed watching Modern Love Season 1 on it (it's a good TV series), mostly because of the dual speaker setup. If you're watching something in your room, you can ditch the headphones and lean into the speakers as they're loud and clear enough (definitely not recommended for NSFW content. But do what you want guys).
Combine all of this with a 4980mAh battery that supports 120W fast charging and you have a powerful media hub. If your battery runs out in the morning before work, you can plug in your Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus and charge it from 10% to 100% in 25 minutes. You can get through a full day of normal use, but it can be a pain on heavy use days when you're using LTE to navigate around town while listening to music, which is understandable.
Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus review: Good overall performance
The new Redmi smartphone is powered by the Mediatek Dimensity 1080 chipset, which is identical to the Realme 10 Pro Plus. My review unit has 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. There are two other options: 8GB of RAM with 256GB of storage and 12GB of RAM with 256GB of storage.
I'm not a gamer, but for this test I played Call of Duty and Asphalt 9 on the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus and both games played fine. I played the first role with high graphics settings and a very high frame rate, and I didn't feel the phone getting so hot that I couldn't use it, which could be due to Delhi winters.
The software comes with MIUI 13 based on Android 12. I would complain that Android 13 doesn't work, but MIUI is packed with features and you don't miss much. However, Realme 10 Pro Plus comes with Android 13, so we can expect it to last a year longer than its Redmi counterpart.
In terms of optics, the 200MP main camera is a unique selling point of the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus. By default you get 50MP images, but you can change this in the settings to get full 200MP images that capture a lot of detail and they are preserved when you crop the image.
The camera performance in broad daylight was really good. It reproduces accurate colors and the shutter speed is slow enough to capture still images of a moving car. The main chamber is coated with an atomic sputtering layer. In practice, I found that it helps reduce night-time glare, similar to what the Vivo X80 Pro with the Tstar coating in collaboration with Zeiss achieved.
Even under artificial lighting, the images were above average. For the price, you get an excellent main camera, especially when you factor in the portrait performance. I was impressed with the edge detection for portraits.
Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus starts freezing when you get to other cameras. The 8 MP ultra wide angle sensor is not the best. Color accuracy differs from the main camera and is average in daylight. It's not very useful in artificial light or in low light conditions.
I also found the 2MP macro sensor to be average, with little detail. Why Redmi ditched the 5MP macro camera in the Redmi Note 10 Pro Plus will forever remain a mystery to me – it was one of the most powerful parts. If the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus had the 5MP macro sensor of the Note 10 Pro Plus, the smartphone would be a complete package in my opinion.
You can shoot 4K video at up to 30fps, but the footage wasn't smooth due to hand shake. However, add a tripod to the mix and you can easily use it to create videos and other short social media videos, as the sound of the built-in microphone is also impressive. There's a 16-megapixel selfie camera on the front, which appears to have an unchanged design from its predecessor, and it's average.
Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus in the test: conclusion
Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus is a beautiful phone with a lot of features. With a stunning 120Hz AMOLED display, 200MP main camera, 120W fast charging and all-day battery life, the latest Redmi Note smartphone is a winner despite its 8" ultra-wide-angle camera. MP and the 2 MP macro sensor.
Priced at Rs 29,999, the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus faces tough competition from the Google Pixel 6a phone and Nothing (1) in India. It's easy to recommend compared to the previous one, but Nothing Phone (1) stands out for its design, wireless charging and better selfies. However, if you are looking for a smartphone for multimedia use and an excellent main camera, the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus is an easy recommendation.
