Overall Review Summary
Expert Rating: 8.3/10
Pros
- 5G Connectivity
- Stylish Premium Design
- Long Battery Life
- IP53 Rating
Cons
- LCD Display Instead of AMOLED
- No Stereo Speakers
Expert point of view
Xiaomi has come with the latest Redmi 1ely cheap models. Bonus: The Redmi 12, which could easily be confused with the above in terms of naming but is a slightly different phone. At that tier higher lies the Redmi 12 5G and obviously it's something more than just a phone packing even faster baseband tech.
In general, the two Redmi 12s have no difference. Size is 6.79 inch's with a refresh rate of 90 Hz and the biggest for any mainline Redmi phone Both have pretty much the same design albeit with a newer look glass back. Both devices come with a 5000mAh battery and an introduction of the 50MP main camera.
Both of the phones are quite similar with one and most important difference being that Redmi 12 support a (5G chip )Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 SoC, whereas he base model i.e., gets G88. Which is absent from this phone also. The Snapdragon chips give a name for its smartphone by means enabling probably faster network. Gallery: Xiaomi expands to Spain well beyond just Mi Note premium smartphones(note that link may still show news version erroneously). Interestingly, the base Redmi 12 also comes with an ultrawide camera alongside the main 50MP - a feature that isn't present on this more expensive model.
Design
The Redmi 12 5G has a sleek and subdued design that no one would expect from this segment of the market. The 6.79-inch display is leading the charge up front, which this happens to be one of the largest displays we have seen on a Redmi series device. It does have reasonably large bezels around the display but they are not obnoxious. The ridge around the side is raised, though; you'll feel it against your thumb every time you swipe in from along the edge.
The phone's frame is plastic, but it does have a matte paint that looks like aluminum. Power button and volume rocker on right side The large power button also gets a fingerprint sensor and it works as expected given the space constraints.
The back is a glass cover that not only feels great, but gives the phone gorgeous reflections with no warps like what you see on plastics. It should also be less susceptible to scratching than the glossy plastics, which are very soft.
The device has three colors, a shiny black color, an iridescent silver and the pastel blue you see here.
The build quality of the Redmi 12 5G is strong and holds up well. That said, the Corning Gorilla Glass on both sides definitely helps make this product feel premium but so too does that IP53 splash resistance rating. However, the phone feels a bit too heavy and that becomes annoying because of its size.
Display
Xiaomi has equipped the Redmi 12 with a large, 6.79-inch-sized IPS LCD panel that runs on FHD+ (2460 x 1080) resolution and packs LTE support alongside other features around networking. 8 bits of color and a refresh rate up to 90Hz are the display outputs.
The display isn't particularly wide-gamut, so even in its default Vivid or the optional Saturated mode colors aren't much punchier than they are in Standard/sRGB. While the white point starts to look more on-point for Vivid and Standard it's almost always a little too cool in-off axis, better here though than if you go with one of those two modes.
Refresh rate on the display is adjustable to 30Hz, 48Hz and 60H as well but you can push that up to 90 Hz allowing for smooth visuals. The Default mode is designed to dynamically change between 60Hz and 90Hz as content demands, users can also force the refresh rate manually via settings or a hidden debug menu. However, manually setting the screen to 90Hz still won't stop it dropping where applicable and in no apps we tested was there a practical difference between selecting this mode or leaving the screen at Default.
Even at Default the screen refreshes mostly in 90Hz, falling down to 48Hz when idle. With video, this display drops to 30Hz for any content running less than that frame rate and then rises up to 60Hz for anything above. We never saw it refresh at 48Hz for standard 24fps or even higher framerate, and so on...
It has a smooth-moving dynamic picture, and the LCD panel is relatively quick enough to prevent long distracting trials behind moving objects.
Camera
The Redmi 12 5G comes equipped with a dual rear camera setup featuring a 50MP primary lens and a 2MP depth sensor. While it may not seem extraordinary on paper, the main camera does a solid job in daylight conditions. Photos taken during the day are sharp, well-exposed, and display natural color reproduction. The sensor manages to capture ample detail, and the dynamic range is decent enough to handle shadows and highlights in high-contrast environments. Skin tones appear accurate, and the autofocus performs reliably well in good lighting. However, there is some loss of sharpness when images are cropped or zoomed in, especially around the edges.
Front camera
The front-facing 8MP selfie camera is modest but capable. In well-lit environments, selfies look clean with decent detailing and natural colors. The built-in beauty mode is enabled by default but can be toned down or turned off depending on your preferences. Facial features are generally well-rendered, and the camera is suitable for social media selfies and video calls. However, in low-light or indoor environments, the front camera struggles with detail retention. There is noticeable softening of the image and some color washout. The dynamic range is limited as well, so brighter backgrounds tend to be overexposed in backlit shots.
Video Recording
When it comes to video recording, the Redmi 12 5G supports up to 1080p at 30 frames per second from both the front and rear cameras. The video quality is average, delivering decent sharpness and color accuracy in daylight. It lacks optical image stabilization (OIS), relying instead on basic electronic stabilization (EIS), which does an acceptable job of minimizing minor shakes during handheld recording. Audio captured through the microphones is clear and synchronized well with the video. However, performance under low-light conditions is not as favorable, with graininess and soft textures becoming more apparent. Transitions between different lighting conditions are also a bit abrupt, showing the limitations of the sensor and software processing.
Performance
The Redmi 12 5G gets its wings from the Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen2 or SM4450, which apparently integrates with a pair of Kryo Gold (Cortex-A78 derived) clocked.
Memory choice of 4GB, 6GB, or even up to an increased range of the latter through extending memory to use Benefit from expanding memory at a more extensive limit or until reaching its maximum top-level. But this is a storage-based page file without the speed of LPDDR4X memory fully available. Onboard storage comes in at either 128GB or 256GB of UFS 2.2 flavor, but as this is an ASUS phone a microSD card reader will also be present to expand the memory by up to another full terabyte if needed. If you don't want to give up your second SIM slot, the storage is also expandable using microSD cards.
This goes even further with high-end Thunderbolt driven tasks like gaming. Basic games are just about bearable at this resolution but tougher 3D titles tax the GPU too much to hit playable frame rates.
Software
Further, the Redmi 12 5G uses MIUI 14 based on Android13. The Indian unit that we got for the review also has a different version of MIUI, compared to its Chinese counterpart which comes with more features. This is similar to what was there on earlier Xiaomi devices and Samsung handsets made specially for India in their initial launching days. Additionally, the system is stripped down to some extent with certain visual effects missing - such as transparency effect that could have an impact on performance in theory.
The screen of the Redmi 12 has a pixel density of only about 267 ppi, which is not high. MIUI has remained quite the same for a while now, and it seems to be out of breath. Except the iOS inspired design hasn't aged well and either butts heads every time you see a native Android prompt appear on screen.
When you first boot up the phone, it has installed a decent amount of bloatware, The nice thing is that with very few exception much (most) can be removed. That's still a heap more than it needs to be, though: owing to Xiaomi liking its own bespoke knock-off at whatever the Google thing was supposed to do in that category, you now have two diallers (one of which doesn't sync with call history), SMS apps, media gallery apps and file managers. There's also two app stores because - of course there are.
Battery life and charging
Of course, there is also a 5000mAh battery with support for charging it at just 18W. It is bundled with a 22.5W charger in the box as well
The Redmi 12 5G's charging speeds were definitely slow by modern standards then again maybe not to a fault given the price tier. Charging up with the bundled charger took a full hour to reach 50%, and then another 2 hours and 24 minutes total for a complete charge. Most definitely something you would have to plug in overnight.
Conclusion
The Redmi 12 5G Is a Budget-Friendly Phone for Bargain Hunters With Basic Needs It has a nice slim design that gives it a much higher end feel, is big enough for easy viewing on the screen but also not so heavy to hold and use all day with its long lasting battery.
The camera system is passable for the price, able to take decently shot in well-lit areas but it's not going save any photo awards. Yet the software leaves a lot to be desired. The Redmi 12 5G isn't exactly the most powerful out of the bunch, but it's enough for day-to-day usage as long as you're fine with some bloatware while being more affordable than its pricier siblings.
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