As you know, in China, Redmi has split the Note series into two versions in order to make the phone choice easier for users. The one with a T in its name is biased for more powerful performance. For example, the Note 11T Pro has the strongest SOC of any mid-range phone. Those without a T in their name focuses on being a well-balanced phone. For example, the Note 11 Pro is stronger than the 11T Pro in all aspects, except performance. Today we have the Redmi Note 12 Pro, so don’t expect too much from its performance this time, but let’s look at what else is interesting.
The Note 12 Pro is a continuation of the previous generation’s design. The straight screen, straight back panel with a flat frame, feels and looks very much like the Note 11T Pro, as the lens module is basically an enlarged version of the Note 11T Pro. We got the purple version because I wanted to show you the new colorway. This version has a light spot on the back panel, so there should be a lot of girls who will like this color.
But I still recommend white, it looks purer. The side is still the power fingerprint two-in-one button. The top has a headphone jack, IR emitter, and NFC, but the SIM card slot does not support TF card expansion. The 187g plus the less than 8mm body makes the Note 12 Pro feel not as heavy in your hand as you might expect. I would give the Note 12 Pro a good rating for its design, which is good enough for a device priced at $240.
This time the screen looks no different from the Note 11 Pro, but in fact there are still some small upgrades. 12 Pro’s screen uses a flexible OLED screen, the most obvious advantage is that the lower bezel is narrower. From the front, it already looks more beautiful than many $400+ phones. There is no problem with the screen quality, which is still diamond-like pixels. The resolution is 1080P with a 120Hz refresh rate. And it uses a 1920Hz PWM dimming at low brightness and support Dolby Vision, with peak brightness of 900 nits. Overall, the quality of this screen is superb in the same price range.
Redmi Note 12 Pro – Specs & Hardware
As I said at the beginning, the Note 12 Pro’s performance is on the weaker side. It uses the Dimensity 1080, MediaTek’s latest mid-range chip. Both Antutu and 3DMark test, all kinds of scores are telling us that it is almost no different from the previous gen Dimensity 920. So what exactly is the level of performance of this chip, when you come to see the performance of each game frame rate, you will know. Of course, for the cell phone PUBG is now not a big problem. Just follow the usual test. Then there’s Genshin Impact, which averages fps less than 40. Look at this frame rate curve, it’s like a roller coaster, not a good performance. If you lock the frame rate at 30fps, you should be able to run more stable. If you want a cheap phone that can run Genshin smoothly, I would recommend buying a Dimensity 8100 phone, such as the Note 11T Pro.
Redmi Note 12 Pro – Camera Review
The camera is one of the main focuses of the Note 12 Pro upgrade. While the Pro version doesn’t use the latest 200MP main camera, our old friend the IMX 766 is not bad, after all it is also used in OPPO’s flagship phones. Let’s take a look at the filters and Art frames that Redmi is focusing on. 7 new film filters have been added to the Note 12 series, all of which add noise to photos while changing the color tendency. Although I’m not a fan of film photography, there are some scenes that would look great using these filters. Especially with the new Art frame, people who like photography will love it.
Because the main camera has added OIS this time, the sensor area has also become larger, so the photos in dark light are better than the previous one. Especially the 2x is not blurred at night due to handshake anymore, even the 5x, the photos can be quite usable. The night mode is also more interesting this time, it doesn’t improve the dynamic range, but controls the highlights and makes the dark parts darker. This will make some night scenes look more like they were taken at night, with less noise, which looks good. But some scenes need brighter highlights and it lowers the exposure, such as a neon box, which doesn’t look as good as Auto mode. And often the color temperature is cool, so if you want to take a good photo at night with the Note 12 Pro, you need a little experience and skill.
Macro camera performance is quite poor, not recommended for frequent use.
The video recording part is a little better than the Note 11 Pro. Because the video stability will be a little better with the addition of OIS. But compared to other phones with EIS is still not stable enough. The highest shooting specs are 4K 30fps for the main camera and 1080P 30fps for the ultra-wide camera, which is unchanged from the Note 11 Pro.
Check out the full sized camera samples from the Redmi Note 12 Pro here.
Redmi Note 12 Pro – Battery & Charging
The charging power of the Pro version is still 67w and the battery is 5000mAh. It is 20g lighter than the 11 Pro and the battery is only 160mAh smaller, which I think is worth it. The large battery plus the poor performance means that its battery life must be very long-lasting. The phone consumes 5% for Tiktok and 1080P video, 4% for PUBG and 7% for Genshin. A little improvement over 11 Pro+.
Honestly, I love phones like the Note 12 Pro. Getting all aspects right is more value for most people. Because as long as you don’t play large 3D games on your phone, this is the phone for you. And at only 240 bucks, it’s affordable to change your phone even once a year. Every year with a new phone, how cool is that.
The entire Redmi Note 12 series, including the Redmi Note 12 Pro is available on Giztop right now.
