Let’s take a look of two mid-range phones that are available in the market today. We have the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G and also the Samsung Galaxy A34 here – and the reason why I’m comparing these two phones is that they have the exact same price tag – at RM1,599.
So, let’s begin. I highly recommend you watch the video instead because there are a lot of information and pictures that are better shown in video format.
Design
Let’s start with the design. The Redmi has the exact same design as the Redmi Note 12 4G that we reviewed a while back, just that it’s now using a glass sandwich design. I got it in the white color and I think this just looks clean even though it’s not my cup of tea – especially since it is a glossy glass finish.
The Galaxy A34 uses a plastic body with a matte finish at the back – which I personally prefer more even if it’s plastic.
Camera
The camera bump though, it’s a stark contrast between the two. The Redmi has a metal frame around it while the Galaxy A34 has individual protruding circles, like the S23 series. However, both these phones still include a 2MP macro camera – and they’re completely useless.
Anyway, these two phones will produce a completely different color profile – and if you want to look at all the pictures taken by these two phones, do watch our video at the top of this comparison.
Display
The displays on these two phones are very different from each other. The specs are as listed on the screen here and I also did the color accuracy test on both these phones.
The Samsung Galaxy A34, even though it is more color accurate, it’s not by much and I doubt anyone can actually notice the difference. Though, the ΔE is lower on the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G. Still, both phones have a great screen.
Performance
And now comes the fun part – the performance. Both of these phones are using the MediaTek Dimensity 1080 chipset and the performance while playing games like Genshin Impact is about the same. Honestly, nothing to fight about here.
The storage and RAM speed are as shown here. I don’t think the differences will affect the gaming performance in any significant manner, though.
Battery life
Now, both of these phones are also using single-cell 5,000mAh batteries in them. With our controlled battery life test, it’s surprising to see that the Samsung Galaxy A34 can last nearly an hour longer than the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G.
Remember, we’re testing both these phones at 100 nits brightness and 120Hz refresh rate, using PCMark battery life test. I expect their battery lives to be more or less the same since they’re also using the same MediaTek Dimensity 1080 – but this could mean that MIUI 14 is not as efficient as Samsung’s One UI.
Charging time
As for the charging time, well let’s just start off by pointing out that the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G comes with a 120W charger in the box. This might already win many people’s hearts.
The charging speed though, you can select it in two stages. By default, the Boost Charging option will be turned off and it’ll take around 23 minutes to charge from 15% to completion while maintaining below 40°C across the entire charging cycle.
If you want to charge faster, then you can get into the overly complicated settings menu and hunt for this option called Boost Charging Speed. Once enabled, you can get from 15% to completion in about 20 minutes but the phone will boil at above 45°C. Honestly, I think this is not worth it.
The Redmi is also compatible with up to 25W of USB-PD standards too, and it’ll take slightly more than 40 minutes to charge from 15% to completion.
Even though the Samsung Galaxy A34 also supports 25W of USB-PD, it’ll take about 80 minutes to complete the charging cycle. Granted, Samsung maintained a lower charging temperature overall – just that I think Samsung played it too safe.
Software
Now in terms of software – this is where I think there’s only one clear winner. I think Samsung’s One UI is consistently better than MIUI even at the latest version.
One UI just feels so much better to use and offers actually useful features. Again, my favorites are the Edge Panel, Samsung Pay – now known as Samsung Wallet, and also the Modes and Routines, formerly known as Bixby Routines. There is also a myriad of features that are only available on the Galaxy Store – like GoodLock.
Also, Samsung has outright stated that the A34 will be getting 4 generations of Android OS upgrades and 5 years of security patches. Xiaomi has no such commitment for the Redmi series.
However, Redmi phones do have their own specialty, though. That IR blaster is still something only Xiaomi phones have. It’s just convenient to have.
Few more things to mention
And since we’re here, did you realize the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G has an audio jack? The Galaxy A34 does not.
Both these phones are also using USB 2.0 ports at the bottom, but the Samsung Galaxy A34 does have IP67 dust and water resistance.
And surprisingly, the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G does not support microSD card for storage expansion. The Galaxy A34 does have a hybrid slot.
Conclusion
And that concludes our comparison between these two phones. They trade blows with each other but there is only one clear winner in certain aspects. Do head down to the comments section to let me know which of these two phones you’ll choose – or if you have another alternative to choose from.
Remember, both of these phones have the exact same price tag of RM1,599 here in Malaysia.
Where to buy? (Affiliate links)
- Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G
- Samsung Galaxy A34 5G
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