Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G review: First impressions

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G looks to fix some of the big complaints with its predecessor while still offering a high-quality display experience, a stylish design and the promise of long battery life from a 5000mAh cell, though the usual software hangups remain. 

Introduction

The budget-focused Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G looks to fix some of the biggest problems with the Note 11 Pro from 2022, especially in the camera department, but can great hardware make up for Xiaomi’s bloatware-filled MIUI 14?

While I’m not ready to deliver my final thoughts just yet, the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G certainly looks promising, especially when compared to the similarly-priced Samsung Galaxy A34 5G.

Here’s what I think so far after using the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G for a few hours ahead of its announcement.

Price and release date

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G, configured with 6GB of RAM and 128GB storage, is priced at £339/€399.

Xiaomi has not announced the release date just yet, but says it should be confirmed shortly.

Design and screen

• All-plastic body
• Much cleaner look this time around
• Impressive 6.67-inch 120Hz AMOLED display

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G has a similar design language to last year’s Note 11 Pro, but the overall look and feel is much cleaner this time around – especially when it comes to the rear.

Last year’s Note 11 Pro had an odd camera housing that was actually split into two; one housed the main 108MP sensor and the other housed the two additional lenses, the flash and a weird AI badge that had literally no use. 

This year, however, things are much cleaner and simpler, with a single rectangular camera bump housing the main, ultrawide and macro lenses, along with a flash. No odd AI badge here this time thankfully! 

That’s paired with a glossy rear that does look quite nice despite being made entirely from plastic, though the glossy finish of the black sample I’ve used highlights even the slightest fingerprint. If that kind of thing bugs you as much as it does me, it might be better to opt for the white or blue finish. 

The all-plastic body does have its upsides though, namely that it’s quite thin and light at just 7.9mm thick and 187g, making it easy to use one-handed despite the fairly large 6.67-inch display on offer.

That display boasts an AMOLED panel which is great for the price, though it’s taken a step further by the inclusion of a 120Hz refresh rate and support for Dolby Vision HDR. Combined with the 900nit peak brightness and inky blacks that AMOLED panels deliver, the display does look fairly nice, though the FHD+ resolution does look a little soft in places on a larger display like this. 

Cameras

• 50MP Sony IMX766 main lens
• 2MP macro lens isn’t worth your time

On paper, it looks like the Redmi Note 12 Pro has had a bit of a downgrade in the camera department, sporting a main 50MP camera in place of last year’s high-res 108MP snapper, but there’s more to it than megapixel count. 

In fact, the phone now sports the same IMX766 camera sensor as some 2022 flagships including the OnePlus 10T, so there’s certainly promise there. That’s backed up by solid specs including OIS, a fairly wide f/1.88 aperture and 2um pixels when using the built-in pixel binning tech. 

That’s flanked by an 8MP ultra-wide and a 2MP macro camera, though I don’t expect much from these lenses – particularly that macro lens. Just like with every other budget phone with a 2MP macro fixed-focus lens, it’ll likely be hard to use and results will be hit-and-miss. In my mind, it’s only there to bump up the camera count and make the phone look more attractive. 

Flip the phone over and you’ll find a 16MP front-facing camera that should suffice for selfies and video calls, but not much more than that. 

Performance

• Mid-range MediaTek Dimensity 1080
• MIUI 14.5 based on Android 12
• 5000mAh battery and 67W charging

At the heart of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G you’ll find the MediaTek Dimensity 1080, a decent mid-range chip also found in the likes of the £349 Samsung Galaxy A34, paired with either 6- or 8GB of RAM depending on whether you opt for 128- or 256GB of storage. 

It should come as no surprise that a sub-£300 smartphone won’t be able to power top-end mobile games like Genshin Impact, but it didn’t throw much of a tantrum when I played a quick game of Survivor.io.

Full benchmarks and more performance insights are coming in the full review, but so far, I’ve found the phone to be fairly responsive in general use, though app switching, lens switching and other actions aren’t always quite as instantaneous as I’d like.

The experience is powered by a fairly large 5,000mAh battery that I suspect won’t struggle to provide all-day battery life, especially considering the relatively low-powered chipset means you won’t be running high-end games or particularly power-intensive apps. 

Even if it does, the 67W fast charging tech should provide what Xiaomi describes as “a full day’s usage” in just 15 minutes – though that’s not a full charge, and it’s much slower than the 120W HyperCharge available in the top-end Note 12 Pro Plus that can get a full charge in 19 minutes. 

Still, it’s much better than most £250-300 alternatives and it should significantly decrease the amount of time you’re tethered to the wall, even when compared to some flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra which takes around 90 minutes to go from flat to full. 

For many, it’s the software that’ll likely be the biggest barrier, with the phone shipping with Xiaomi’s MIUI 14.5 based on Android 12. Aside from not being the latest version of Android, MIUI has a reputation for being a bit of an iOS clone with features like a split notification shade and quick controls.

It’s also packed full of bloatware ranging from booking.com to QEEQ car rental – a service I’ve never even heard of in the UK. You can uninstall most of the apps, but the general UI will take some getting used to, even if you’re a regular Android smartphone user. 

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