The Redmi Note series is so popular in India that chances are you or someone close to you have already owned one of those. When the series first made its debut in the country, it took the industry by storm, offering features unseen at its price point. Eleven iterations have passed since, and popularity refuses to die. Now it’s time for the yearly refresh again. The Redmi Note 12 starts at Rs 17,999 this year, and yes, it is a more expensive Redmi Note compared to what we have seen previously. But there are changes. The phone is one of the first to land on the market with the Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 chip. It is now 5G-ready as well and looks notably different from the back when placed alongside older Notes. I’ve been using the device for a week now as my daily driver, and here’s my review.
Redmi Note 12 review: Design & display
The Redmi Note 12 seems to have diverged from the usual design language we’ve come to associate with the Notes (or at least their camera modules). Where the Redmi Note 11 had an all-black camera module packed with lenses, this one is much more minimalistic with a simplified camera module. The glossy camera island sits atop the matte rear panel, which reminded me a lot of Realme’s handsets.
I have the ‘Mystique Blue’ colour for review, which is eye-catching. The less glossy finish helps with the smudges but doesn’t eliminate them completely. The phone isn’t heavy and feels reasonably slim. There are also no squared-off edges, which helps with the grip. Users are advised to use the phone with the cover, though, as the plastic shell picks scratches easily – no Gorilla Glass here.
The Redmi Note 12 gets a 6.67-inch AMOLED display this year – a notable bump in size over last year’s 6.43 inches. The quality is virtually indistinguishable from Xiaomi’s mid-range offerings, with excellent colour accuracy and decent sunlight legibility. Most people will dig the default colour configuration, but in the rare chance it feels too dull, feel free to switch to the “Saturated” preset from the display settings. Widevine L1 is supported, so you can enjoy full HD content as it is meant to be. The refresh rate is set to 60Hz by default but can be cranked up to 120Hz for a buttery smooth scrolling experience.
The Redmi Note 12 features the Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 processor. It sails through everyday tasks. There was a time when MIUI was poorly optimised on budget devices, but that seems to have passed. Throttling was non-existent on a 20-minute stress test, and I imagine the SD 4 Gen 1 can hold up its clock speeds for a lot longer than that. There’s also no heating during extended gaming sessions, although it’s hard to test that out fairly in Delhi’s winter conditions. Just don’t expect the highest graphics in games – the 4 Gen 1 is a budget chip. On PUBG New State, the graphics kept getting forced to “Lite” when I switched to 60 FPS.
The speakers have a flattish audio signature, which is normal for the price point. They aren’t anything special, but get the job done and are reasonably loud. I noticed the maximum volume when I connected the Note 12 with my Nothing Ear 1 was noticeably lower than normal, so that’s something that needs fixing.
Source: indianexpress
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