Xiaomi’s redmi 12 5g This is the latest 5G budget offering from the brand, following the launch of 4G variant in India. The price of the smartphone starts from Rs. Rs 11,999 for 4GB RAM and 128GB storage. Looking at the specifications, keep in mind that this phone is aimed at consumers who want to get 5G on a budget. I am using the top variant which has 8GB RAM with 256GB storage, which is priced at Rs. 15,499. Is Xiaomi successful in delivering the claimed experience? Let’s find out in this review.
Redmi 12 5G: price in India
The Redmi 12 5G comes in two more variants: 4GB RAM with 128GB storage. 11,999, and 6GB RAM with 128GB storage is priced at Rs. 13,499. It is available in three color options, Moon-Stone Silver, Jade Black and Pastel Blue. It’s nice to see a 256GB storage option in a budget smartphone, although this puts it too close to redmi note 12 5g Which has Super AMOLED display, 120Hz refresh rate and fast charging speed.
Redmi 12 5G features a 6.79-inch display with 1080 x 2460 pixels resolution
Redmi 12 5G: Design
The Redmi 12 5G has a polycarbonate chassis with a glass back panel, which is quite a bonus at this price. The chrome rings around the camera lens also look good. It is equipped with a USB Type-C port for charging and the phone has a 3.5mm headphone jack. The smartphone uses dual-5G Nano SIM cards or a hybrid slot for a single SIM card and a microSD card.
The matte-finish side rails don’t catch fingerprints, but the back panel can get dirty with fingerprints and stain easily when used without a case. Despite the larger display, the Redmi 12 5G feels quite balanced. It weighs 199 grams and measures 8.17 mm thick, which is quite thin for a smartphone with a 5,000mAh battery. Due to the flat edges, holding the smartphone for a long time is a bit uncomfortable.
Redmi 12 5G: Display
The Redmi 12 5G features a large 6.79-inch full-HD+ LCD display with a refresh rate of 90Hz. It’s easy enough to use for basic tasks like scrolling through social media or just going through the UI, but as soon as you start watching content on it, you’ll miss the AMOLED screen. Performance gets the job done; It’s bright enough to use indoors with a peak brightness of up to 550 nits, and viewing content on it is decent, but as soon as you go outside, the display isn’t very legible.
Redmi 12 5G: cameras
The phone has a dual-rear camera setup that includes a primary 50-megapixel camera. It works well when there is enough light but as soon as you shoot in low light, this is when the camera cannot perform well. I was surprised that it didn’t sharpen the images too much.
Redmi 12 5G Daylight (left), low light (right) primary camera samples (tap to view full size)
Apart from this primary camera, it also uses a 2-megapixel depth camera, and there is no ultra-wide which is useless. For selfies, the smartphone has an 8-megapixel camera which captures detailed photos in daylight.
Redmi 12 5G selfie camera samples (tap to view full size)
The Redmi 12 5G can record videos at up to 1080p 30fps, which has good details. The front camera can also record video up to 1080p 30fps but captures slightly softer video.
Redmi 12 5G: Battery and charging
This is one of the strongest points of this smartphone. The 5,000mAh battery is good enough for all everyday tasks and even content consumption. The smartphone performed well in our rigorous battery testing. If battery life matters most to you, this could be a great option. The 18W charging feels slow and you’ll have to sit for a while until it charges to 100 percent. The phone lasted 17 hours, 49 minutes in our battery loop test, which is a good time.
Redmi 12 5G supports up to 18W fast charging
Redmi 12 5G: Performance
The Redmi 12 5G uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 SoC, which is capable of running most apps without any lag, but competitive gaming is not one of its strong suits. I edited a 30 second 1080p video on VN using this smartphone and it handled it fine. When I tried playing games on it, Subway Surfers worked fine, but other games like BGMI and Call of Duty lagged and did not provide an enjoyable gaming experience.
The smartphone gave average scores in benchmark tests. 5G performance was quite good, I reached fairly high downloading speeds with a Jio connection in Delhi. The Redmi 12 5G comes with MIUI 14 which is based on Android 13 and still has some preinstalled apps that can be removed for the most part. This may be annoying for some people, but the user experience was surprisingly smooth.
Decision
The Redmi 12 5G is a good budget offering from the brand that checks off most of the basic features including a large battery, 5G connectivity, a good display, and a traditional design. Remember that the starting price of this smartphone is Rs 10,000. 11,999, and that gets the job done. Those looking for an entry-level 5G smartphone can opt for this model, but if display and cameras are very important to you, then redmi note 12 5g For a little more money it would be much more worth it.