Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G review – A balance between highs and lows

The Redmi Note 12 series has just been recently launched last month, and on our side, we did review the Redmi Note 12, which is the ‘starter pack’ among all 6 models we see up till date for the South East Asian markets. And now the final 3 models has just been announced which one of the model that we received for review is the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G.

To start, the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G is just a notch lower than the Redmi Note 12 Pro + 5G but still retain most of the premium features that the plus models have with 5G connectivity and a mix of camera sensors into it, which most of the functionality can be said on par with the value you are buying, perhaps even more but you are paying quite a good deal for it.

Design

Since all 6 models are out, the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G follows the same design language across all its model launched under the Note 12 series, which if you put the whole series side by side, it is hard to even identify the models, unless you look at the specifications under the ‘about’ menu, or otherwise any average joe will just see it as any of the Redmi Note 12 series phone.

Anyways further looking on it over the back is also glass, which brings in the premium feel to it, but since it is just a normal glass, it may not survive drops however it does come with a protective case, so that you can use it, and it is translucent too. The sides remains as plastic while the display is protected with Gorilla Glass 5 along with IP53 protection against dust and water splashes, which at this specifications and built, perfectly reasonable for daily use.

Along side that, the handling for this phone is quite grippy with a carrying weight of just 187 Grams, making it quite pocketable and just slide in nicely in your bag or handbag with a 7.9mm thickness. And yes, the headphone jack is still present making it easy to plug in any of your headphones, or just use bluetooth headsets/TWS.

Display & Audio

The Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G sets everything in between, giving it an OLED 6.67 inch display which coming to the size, it can be said a standard for most smartphone while the OLED screen does actually gave some display brilliance with good color accuracy and contrast that is further backed by Dolby Vision. Brightness wise it can peak up to 900 nits making it highly suitable in most environment while the fast dynamic refresh rates up to 120Hz gives smoothness that is beneficial over certain games and applications, do take note some apps and games that does not support the refresh rates will dial down to 60Hz as usual.

While its more affordable models lacks abit in the audio department, the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G is well equipped with a set of stereo speakers located over the earpiece and downfiring loudspeaker, delivering reasonable loudness however still lack in the heavy bass music side, but that can be tweak with equalizer with a combination of Dolby Atmos that further flavor up your audio senses to suit your needs according to the genres.

With that said, this is a combo of both Dolby Vision and Atmos together that you can enjoy in your hands anytime, which is certainly a plus point to us when we are experiencing with the device on our favorite streaming which is also Widevine L1 certified.

Camera

OK, here comes the camera, so for the rear part, you do get a 50MP IMX766 camera with OIS, along with one 8MP ultrawide and 2MP macro lens setup. To some, this might not sound stellar, but honestly speaking, at such price point at least getting what is essential which exceeded most expectation is the inclusion of OIS, which enables user to be able to capture images casually with ease, since most phones even above the Redmi 12 Pro 5G price point dont even have OIS or even PDAF for that matter, so it is something that I can appreciate.

Above : 50MP Sample Shots

Above : Mixed Sample Shots

First off, the capture done is crisp and clear, especially during day time where there is enough sunlight, the results can bring in details and quite a number of clarity for a 50MP binning lens which makes it worthwhile, and of course editable as well. Slightly dimmer area still works well with good shadow identification and contrast seems fine. While most phones may not do that very well during dark and night times, this phone is still be able to put off some fights in it although a much attention needed while capturing during night time, such as keeping your focus area right, and sometimes flares may be present if there is very strong artificial lights shining in the frame you capture, however most results came out still brings in much clarity with mostly good representation of what is the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G is capable off. This is still one of the formidable camera phone at the mid range level but of course within Redmi Note 12 series, the Pro + version can even do better.

Some of the additional modes such as VLog, Slow Motion, and Long Exposures are available should you need the modes and definitely this extends the creativities for the users alike.

Back to video recording, the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G is able to record up to 4K at 30FPS and I find it quite compelling and at almost all times, it is stable even recording at 4K, though stabilization is only applicable in 1080P 60FPS mode, both mode still brings in good amount of quality altogether, which no major complains there. So we compile a short 4K 30FPS video sample so you can be the judge of it.

Performance, Benchmark, Experience

So coming over to the internals, the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G comes with a well equipped balanced MediaTek Dimensity 1080 Octa Core SOC with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and up to 256GB of internal storage. There is no expandable storage option, but 256GB is still plentiful for most of the users in combination of images, videos, applications and games. The ever loved MIUI 14 with Android 12 is here to serve as a minor improvement and updates from the predecessors but still offer a vast majority of features and support from standard Android 12 along with Themes, UI refinement, Memory extension, a better camera UI, color mode, reading scheme mode, enterprise mode, just to name a few.

Experience wise, since it is a well regarded mid tier chipset, besides offering 5G connectivity, the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G also does well when comes to multitasking most application and games will just run as it should be with up to 20 app. And if you are feeling to have more to go along, there is still RAM extension available which you can extend up to another 5GB of memory. Gaming is most smooth with games such as MLBB and CODM which is not too intensive but requires high stable framerate to sustain all time smoothness, while Genshin Impact too runs great with minor drops in frames over certain area during fights and exploration, keeping it kept at 30FPS will be just great to keep your gaming consistency going while preserving some of the battery consumption. Normal multimedia, work, email, word processing, calls, WhatsApp will work business as usual. The built in 5000MaH battery capacity is estimate to last 12 hours on moderate tasks and recharging will take less than 2 hours from empty to full with the inclusion of the 67W fast charger.

I will just include the benchmarks for those who are interested, and for the most part, the score reflected the capability on par with many of the mid higher tier phones that you can find today.

Technical Specifications

Verdict & Conclusion

The Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G is standing strong as a budgeted performance mid tier device that sets a balance between a good tiered SOC inside along with a friendly justifiable price that may attract users to actually sets a stepping stone of having a taste of a reasonable mid tier phone that carries notable good camera in it, and sets no waste in others internally and externally when comes to its classic design that you could just match it everywhere you carry it for your work or leisure that only embraces your needful communication and entertainment tool in one.

Pricing & Availability

The Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G is now widely at the price of RM1299 and more information can be found by CLICKING HERE