This is yet another phone within the Redmi Note 12 series. Just like last year’s Redmi Note 11 series, we now have a total of 6 different phones within that one series and it is very complicated to know the differences between the phones. Like what we have today – This is the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G which is very similar yet different from the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G that we reviewed earlier. Yes, the removal of that little plus symbol in the name means that we can save RM300 – and yes, that means this phone is priced at RM1,299 only.
But if you look at the specs sheet and put them side by side, the two have many similarities. But, there are more things we need to know beyond just the specs sheet. We’ll talk about them today.
I’m going to give you guys the bad news first – we have returned the Pro+ back, so we can’t do a side-by-side comparison between the two phones. But, that doesn’t matter much. We’ll talk about the similarities between the Pro and the Pro+ first. and we’ll start with the design.
Design
From what I can remember, both phones share the exact same shape and size, including glass back too. It’s still in a glossy finish, which is perfectly okay but I prefer a matte finish. However, the Pro does have a plastic frame instead of a metal frame.
One big difference here is the camera bump. The Pro looks like this, but the Pro+’s bump is made out of metal instead.
Screen
Since these two phones are the exact same size, it also has the exact same screen. 6.67-inch OLED screen at 2400×1080 pixels and goes up to 120Hz refresh rate – and the color accuracy values are as shown here.
Very good color accuracy and it can also go up to around 900 nits brightness in high brightness mode, and you’ll be fine if you want to use this phone outdoors.
Software
Moving to the software – it’s exactly the same as the Pro+. Once again, I’m not going to talk much about MIUI here since we have talked about it in the past. Watch our previous video for more info instead. Overall, still not a fan of MIUI especially with the get “GetApps” app market now.
I mean, I have the Google Play Store, why do I need this?
Performance
Then comes the performance. They’re both using the same MediaTek Dimensity 1080 chipset and they perform the same, honestly. So, little to talk about here – you can get above 30fps with the lowest graphical settings at the more graphically-intensive areas, and sometimes can even get 50fps too.
Overall, pretty good.
Battery life
Moving on – the battery life. It has the same 5,000mAh battery capacity and from our standardized test, it has the same as the Pro+.
Charging time
What’s different though, is the charging time. The Pro comes with a 67W charger only, and it can charge from 15% to completion in 45 minutes while maintaining below 42.5°C throughout the entire charging cycle.
However, the Pro+ comes with a 120W charger. Now, we have mentioned many times before that doubling the wattage doesn’t necessarily mean doubling the charging speed – video here – and it does. The Pro+ with Boost Charging enabled can charge from 15% to completion in about 22.75 minutes but it gets way too hot.
Then you might ask – can I buy the 120W from Xiaomi and then use it on the Pro, then? The answer is – no, unfortunately. I tried with another Xiaomi 120W charger that I have and it only draws 67W maximum. I’m not sure what’s preventing this, and even the settings menu doesn’t have the Boost Charging option.
Cameras
We’ll start with the cameras. While I do not have the Pro+ with me to do a side-by-side comparison, I can tell you that only the main camera sensor has changed. Everything else remained the same – and it still has OIS too. That makes this phone the cheapest phone to have an OIS, actually.
With that said, the main camera can take some good-looking pictures. To have a look at all of the pictures taken with the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G, watch our video at the top of this review.
Few more things to mention
Now, a few more things to mention here – just like the Pro+, the Pro also has and audio jack and IR blaster at the top, a USB 2.0 port at the bottom, and no microSD card expansion.
Should you buy the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G?
Overall, I do think that this phone shares a lot of similarities with the Pro+, especially the chipset, screen, and proper OIS system for the main camera. This makes me question – why buy the Pro+ if the Pro is already so damn good?
And it makes me ask yet another question – why are there so many phones within the Redmi Note 12 series? Why are they repeating the same thing that they did with the Redmi Note 11 series? I’m not the only one with the same complaint. GSM Arena has a fantastic article about this and they mentioned how much of a mess it is when they share the same name but has different specs across different regions of the world.
This is their first article, and this is their second article.
Hah, with all that said, I’ll still say the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G is a good phone overall. Unbeatable at this price with this spec – but comes with MIUI. Not a big fan of that.
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Does it have two space just like note 10pro
I think so