Redmi Note 12 Pro+ Review: More than Enough Power

Price and availability

The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ was globally launched on March 23, together with the other three models targeting Western audiences. Although very similar externally to the regular Redmi Note 12 Pro, the Plus model packs a superior memory configuration, faster wired charging, and a 200 megapixels camera sensor below the $500 price range.

•  Best Xiaomi phones of 2023: Which device suits you best?

As in past seasons, Xiaomi's mid-ranger is positioned against Samsung's Galaxy A models, namely the Galaxy A54, which has yet to be reviewed by NextPit. Both phones are slowly moving towards more premium experiences, but while Samsung emphasizes its long-term software support, Xiaomi is increasingly packing big numbers on the spec sheet.

More than 100 megapixels/watts/hertz... Not so long ago those were features marketed to sell flagship phones like the Xiaomi 11T Pro reviewed in October 2011, now they are available at a lower price range. Unless of course, you live in the US, where the phone won't be officially sold...

Design and display

With a 6.67-inch screen, the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ is a large phone, yet it feels incredibly light in my hands, especially considering its 5,000mAh battery size. Featuring a flat display and a biometric sensor integrated into the side-mounted power button, it sits securely in hand, and the buttons are easily reachable. Another highlight is the AMOLED screen with FHD+ resolution with up to a 120Hz refresh rate, all in a phone that costs under $500.

Pros:

• It feels impressively lightweight.
• Up to 120Hz refresh rate.
• It comes with a headphone jack.
• Corning Gorilla Glass 5 resistant.
• Xiaomi includes a case in the box.

Cons:

• It's only splash-proof.

The camera module on the back of the device is discreet, and the phone features a textured surface that Redmi claims is a new material created using an advanced CMF process and polished glass. We received the Sky-Blue color variant for testing, and it strikes a good balance between looking sophisticated without being overly flashy. The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G is also available in Polar White and Midnight Black.

Redmi states that the display boasts a 900-nit peak brightness and delivers over 1 billion colors. It also supports Dolby Vision. Without delving too deep into the display settings, the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ is readable outdoors with its bright AMOLED panel. As expected from a 120 Hz display, animations are fluid, but as with all mid-range phones, the panel cannot freely adapt its refresh rate.

Finally, for those on the hunt for a mid-range device that supports wired headphones, guess what: the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ comes with a headphone jack port, the same cannot be said for the Samsung alternatives.

• Check more differences between Samsung and Xiaomi best-sellers here

Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro+ performance

The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ packs the MediaTek Dimensity 1080 processor, which besides offering a good balance between performance and efficiency cores, also includes 5G support.   Similar to other phones in this price range, Xiaomi doesn't aim to break speed records, resulting in stable performance in daily tasks and games.

Pros:

• Good, stable, performance.

Cons:

• No expandable storage.

Benchmark results from the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ show a performance level on par with other phones in this price range, including the recently reviewed Galaxy A34, powered by the same Dimensity 1080 SoC. The Samsung mid-ranger managed to score consistently higher on the Geekbench test (out of 5 test runs), but the scores were still within the margin of error.   

Thankfully, the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ offers a reasonable performance uplift in relation to its predecessor, but still, nothing that makes it worth upgrading from a perfectly capable Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G.

Just like Camila mentioned in her hands-on with the device, the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ offers a stable performance under demanding tasks, highlighted by the results in the 3D Mark Wild Life Stress Test benchmark. Again, something we expect from a mid-range phone.

In practice, the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ doesn't disappoint, with good performance for daily tasks, thanks in part to its ample 8 GB of LPDDR4x RAM and 256 GB of UFS 2.2 storage supporting the MediaTek CPU.

Gamers will find the usual tradeoffs on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro+: As long as you avoid max graphical settings, you should have pretty reasonable performance, without the overheating issues associated with flagship devices.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro+ camera

Xiaomi's main selling point for the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ is clearly the main camera, with its 200 megapixels Samsung Isocell sensor, the Chinese brand is once again firing the first shots in another megapixel battle, not unlike it did a couple of years with its Mi Note 10 Steffan reviewed at the end of 2019. After being beaten to the first cameraphone with 200 megapixels (with questionable results from the Moto Edge 30 Pro), Xiaomi can now claim to have the first mid-range phone with a 200 MP camera.

Pros:

• Good performance in daylight.
• Ultra-wide pictures are not washed out like on other mid-rangers.

Cons:

• 2 MP macro camera is not that useful.
• Selfies are over-processed.

And that is basically all Xiaomi has to offer in the camera department. There is an 8 megapixels ultra-wide lens, and that ever-so-popular 2 MP macro camera. Selfies are taken care of by a 16 MP sensor. Overall, a similar selection for the mid-range market.

Overall, the pictures taken with the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ were good, especially during daylight, with a good level of detail and not much noise (this last point also on ultra-wide-angle shots). Night pictures (taken by my colleague Camila Rinaldi in the gallery below) were also pleasant, with decent results both with Night mode on or off.

As expected, the 200-megapixel sensor results are not superior to a similarly sized 50 or even a 12 MP component, like the one found on the Google Pixel 6a NextPit reviewed last year. By default, the Note 12 Pro+ camera saves pictures with a 12.5 MP resolution, using a 16-pixel-binning technique, but users can select a 50 MP mode in the Pro setting.

Different from what we usually see on other phones in this category, ultra-wide-angle pictures did not have a washed-out appearance, on the opposite actually: colors were slightly more saturated than on the main camera but still with good results, with only a small level of distortion in the corners.

The two-megapixel macro camera performed as expected, with a low level of detail thanks to the low resolution. And Xiaomi's camera app still treats macro as a second-class citizen, with the shortcut for the lens hidden in the app's settings, instead of being (rightfully) treated as a mode, like in other camera applications.

As for selfies, pictures were usually good, but Xiaomi's tendency to over-process images showed up once again, with slightly unrealistic skin tones in the test photos. Portrait mode for the front camera performer as expected with good separation between subjects, and only some loose hair strands not being properly detected.

Battery life and software

The other Redmi Note 12 Pro+ highlight is the charging department, with the 120 W HyperCharge tech inherited from the Xiaomi flagships. The technology works as advertised, though we couldn't replicate the brand's "under 20 minutes charging" claims. The software side, on the other hand is one of the low points for the device, specially because of the amount of bloatware.

Pros:

• Truly fast charging.
• Charging adapter is included in the box.
• Good battery life.

Cons:

• Lots of unnecessary preinstalled apps.

 Besides the quick charging, the 5000 mAh battery offered enough juice for more than a day of regular usage. Frugal users could easily reach two days of battery life. But even hardcore users won't see the low battery symbol for too long because of the 120 W charger included in the box.

In our testing, the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ reached a full charge in just over 30 minutes. Although far from the promised charging time, it is still less than half of the waiting time necessary for the Galaxy A34—which got very similar scores on the PC Mark battery test—as the table below illustrates:

Those looking for wireless charging support will be disappointed, but as the feature is not usually found in mid-range phones, we don't use its omission to deduct points from the overall score.

Software

What took points from the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ score was the software side. Not only does the phone includes a large number of bloatware, some of the first-party apps still include ads—most of which you can thankfully disable. Who needs three web browsers installed by default?

From the factory, the Xiaomi mid-ranger comes with the latest MIUI 14 based on Android 12. Although it is not the latest Google operating system, the number of changes made by Xiaomi, both on the features and visual aspects, make it almost a non-issue—a point sometimes raised by the brand's fans.

Still, Samsung offers a better update policy than Xiaomi, with more Android upgrades and security patches for more years. And on recent years, a shorter gap between the time Google launches a new Android version and its arrival on the Galaxy A line.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro+ technical specifications

	Specifications
Name of the device	Redmi Note 12 Pro+
Figure
Screen	6.67-inch AMOLED display 2,400 x 1,080 pixels (FHD+) 120 Hz refresh rate 900 nits peak brightness Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Dimensions	162.9 x 76 x 8.98 mm
Weight	210.5 g
SoC	MediaTek Dimensity 1080
Memory	8 GB LPDDR4X RAM 256 GB UFS2.2 ROM
Software	MIUI 14 based on Android 12
Expandable memory	No
Main camera	200 MP | f/1.8 aperture | 1/1.4 inch | f/1.65 aperture | OIS, Portrait and Night mode
Ultrawide camera	8 MP | f/2.2 aperture | 119° field of view
Macro camera	2 MP | f/2.4 aperture
Selfie	16 MP | f/2.4 aperture
Video	Main camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps, 720p@960fps Selfie camera: 1080p@30/60fps
Audio	Dual Speakers Dolby Atmos 3.5 mm headphone jack
Battery	5,000 mAh
Charging via cable	120 watts HyperCharge
Wireless charging (Qi)	No
IP certification	IP53 Splash-proof tested
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 6, dual 5G, Bluetooth 5.2 (aptX HD, aptX, LDAC, LHDC, AAC, SBC), USB Type-C NFC
Colors	Midnight Black, Polar White, Sky Blue
Other points that may interest the NextPit community: The Redmi Note 12 Po+ includes NFC support and is compatible with Google Pay for contactless payments. The review unit packaging included the 120 W charger, a USB-A to USB-C charging cable, a protective cover, and a SIM card tray tool. The software version during the test was 14.0.6.SMOEUXM (February 2023 security patch). After resetting the updated handset, the operating system indicated 31.4 GB of used space.