The Redmi Note 12 series goes global! Redmi Note 12 Turbo will be introduced on March 28th

The series is much more straightforward this time. However, knowing Xiaomi, there may be more unnecessary additions

Yesterday, Xiaomi unveiled the Redmi Note 12 series. There are four announced: Redmi Note 12 4G, Redmi Note 12 5G, the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G, and the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G. An upcoming member, the Redmi Note 12 Turbo, will launch in China on 28th March. Rumors tell us that this phone will launch globally as the Poco F5

The Redmi Notes are the mainstream line of the Redmi series. They used to be budget phones but are now more in line with the middle midrange. They also now carry specs that are not usually seen on other phones, such as with the Redmi Note 12 5G, which has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 chipset.

Redmi Note 12 4G

The Redmi Note 12 and Redmi Note 12 5G are twins. They have a similar design (but still some slight differences, such as the flash placement) but their chipset is different. The 4G version uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 685 chipset, a yet-to-be-released chip.

Talking more about it, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 685 is an overclocked version of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 680. Due to this, it has a similar architecture and also lacks 5G services. This means it is manufactured on the same 6nm process but the main Kryo CPU (currently unnamed) now is clocked at 2.6GHz (versus 2.4GHz of the SD680). Also, the chipset now natively supports 120Hz refresh rates.

Aside from that, it’s not much. It has the same specs as the Redmi Note 12 5G which will be discussed below.

SPECS:

• 6.67″ FullHD+ (2400x1080px) AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate
  • Corning Gorilla Glass 3
  • IP53 splash/dust resistance
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 (6nm)
• CAMERAS:
  • 50MP (Primary), f/1.8
  • 8MP (Ultrawide), f/2.2
  • 2MP (Macro), f/2.4
  • FRONT: 13MP, f/2.45
• MIUI 14 based on Android 12
• 5000mAh, 33W fast charging
• USB-C, 3.5mm jack, IR Blaster, Virtual RAM, MicroSD Card Slot, Side-mounted fingerprint scanner
• 5G services, Wi-Fi 6/6e, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, Dual Nano-SIM Slot
• Frosted Green, Matte Black, Mystique Blue
• PRICE:
  • 4/128: TBA
  • 6/128: TBA
  • 8/128: TBA

Redmi Note 12 5G

The Redmi Note 12 5G flaunts a similar design to the Redmi Note 11 5G but is slightly more pronounced. It rivals the Realme 10T 5G (or Realme 9i 5G) featuring a 6.67″ FullHD+ 120Hz AMOLED screen protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3, an all-new Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 chipset which aims to replace the Snapdragon 480 and 480+. While being on the lowest end of the series, the name shouldn’t make you underestimate the chipset as it is competitive, more so than the Qualcomm Snapdragon 680. It features four Cortex-A78 CPUs clocked at 2GHz, and four Cortex-A55 efficiency cores clocked at 1.8GHz. It also uses an Adreno 619 GPU and is manufactured on a 6nm technology.

There are three cameras, arranged in a traditional modern fashion. The main one is a 48MP sensor while the other two include an 8MP ultrawide and a 2MP macro. The usual ones. At the front is a 13MP selfie camera on a dot notch.

There is a 5000mAh battery with 33W fast charging. It is charged using a USB-C cable. There’s also an IR Blaster and 3.5mm jack included. In terms of connectivity, the phone is 5G enabled as the name suggests and has Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi 6/6e, and NFC connectivity. It has a dual nano-SIM Slot and a MicroSD Card Slot.

Sadly, these phones still run Android 12, although on the newest version of MIUI, MIUI 14. We’re hoping that Xiaomi would release an update for it soon.

Xiaomi Philippines is yet to reveal the price. Stay tuned and we’ll update you.

SPECS:

• 6.67″ FullHD+ (2400x1080px) AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate
  • Corning Gorilla Glass 3
  • IP53 splash/dust resistance
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 (6nm)
• CAMERAS:
  • 48MP (Primary), f/1.8
  • 8MP (Ultrawide), f/2.2
  • 2MP (Macro), f/2.4
  • FRONT: 13MP, f/2.45
• MIUI 14 based on Android 12
• 5000mAh, 33W fast charging
• USB-C, 3.5mm jack, IR Blaster, Virtual RAM, MicroSD Card Slot, Side-mounted fingerprint scanner
• 5G services, Wi-Fi 6/6e, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, Dual Nano-SIM Slot
• Frosted Green, Matte Black, Mystique Blue
• PRICE:
  • 4/128: TBA
  • 6/128: TBA
  • 8/128: TBA

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G

The Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G is where things start to get more interesting. It seems like a belated answer to the Realme 9 Pro+ 5G featuring the same 50MP Sony IMX766 primary camera with OIS.

Aside from that, the phone uses a higher-end AMOLED screen because now it is confirmed by the company to support HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. It also has 1 billion colours so the display truly pops out and movies and games have true-to-life colour reproduction. To make things even better, it is even Widevine L1 certified and supports DCI-P3 colour gamut. The Redmi Note 12 looks like a lost flagship that made its way to the midrange. If this is what the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G supports, imagine the Pro+.

Its triple camera system is flagship-like too. Although this only applies to the primary 50MP camera it has. The rest are commoners: 8MP ultrawide and 2MP 4cm macro. The front camera is also not much, only a 16MP camera is used.

It is powered by the new MediaTek Dimensity 1080 paired with 6 or 8GB LPDDR4X RAM and either 128 or 256GB UFS 2.2 internal storage. Of course, virtual RAM and the MicroSD Card are included.

It has 5G services, a 3.5mm jack, IR Blaster, and 67W USB-C fast charging which could charge its 5000mAh battery from empty to full in just 46 minutes. That’s less than an hour! Moreover, it uses a side-mounted fingerprint scanner probably due to budgeting purposes.

It has three colours like its siblings: Stardust Purple, Frosted Blue, and Onyx Black. The first colour features a unique pattern at the back so it stands out from the crowd.

Xiaomi Philippines is also yet to announce the price of this new handset. Stay tuned and we’ll let you know.

SPECS:

• 6.67″ FullHD+ (2400x1080px) AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, DCI-P3 colour gamut, 1 billion colours, L1 Widevine Certification, Dolby Vision
• MediaTek Dimensity 1080 (6nm)
• CAMERAS:
  • 50MP (Primary), f/1.8, 23.6mm, 84.4° FOV, OIS, Sony IMX766
  • 8MP (Ultrawide), f/2.2
  • 2MP (Macro), f/2.4
  • FRONT: 16MP, f/2.45
• MIUI 14 based on Android 12
• 5000mAh, 67W fast charging
• USB-C, 3.5mm jack, Virtual RAM, MicroSD Card Slot, IR Blaster
• 5G services, Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi 6/6e, NFC, Dual Nano-SIM Slot
• Stardust Purple, Onyx Black, Frosted Blue
• PRICE:
  • 6/128: TBA
  • 8/128: TBA
  • 8/256: TBA

Redmi Note 12 Pro+

The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ upgrades the already flagship-tier 50MP of the Pro to a 200MP unit while also retaining the Pro’s best features. In particular, the display and chipset. Not only that, the charging speeds increased from 67W to 120W. Absolutely fast charging right there.

Let’s discuss that camera more in detail. This camera is actually a modified Samsung ISOCELL HP3 called ISOCELL HPX specifically for use on Xiaomi phones. To recall, the Samsung ISOCELL HPX features a 16-to-1 pixel binning system. Moreover, it is a compact sensor despite it having 200MP resolution. Lastly, this sensor has a bright f/1.65 aperture so even night shots look very lively. Unlike the 50MP sensor though, this lacks OIS so it feels somewhat less flagship. The camera here is placed on the highest-end Redmi Note 12 for marketing purposes. Still, Xiaomi is not allowing 8K video to be recorded with it even though it’s entirely possible for the sensor to do it.

Everything else is the same apart from the 120W fast charging. This means charging time is reduced from 46 minutes to just 19 minutes. That’s from empty to full! The display is also now protected with a newer Corning Gorilla Glass 5 which provides substantial protection against drops and scratches.

As with the others, no price is announced just yet. Colours include Arctic White, Obsidian Black, and Iceberg Blue.

SPECS:

• 6.67″ FullHD+ (2400x1080px) AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, DCI-P3 colour gamut, 1 billion colours, L1 Widevine Certification, Dolby Vision
  • Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection
• MediaTek Dimensity 1080 (6nm)
• CAMERAS:
  • 200MP (Primary), f/1.65, 1/1.4″, 0.56µm (200MP mode), Samsung ISOCELL HPX
  • 8MP (Ultrawide), f/2.2
  • 2MP (Macro), f/2.4
  • FRONT: 16MP, f/2.45
• MIUI 14 based on Android 12
• 5000mAh, 120W fast charging
• USB-C, 3.5mm jack, Virtual RAM, MicroSD Card Slot, IR Blaster
• 5G services, Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi 6/6e, NFC, Dual Nano-SIM Slot
• Arctic White, Obsidian Black, Iceberg Blue
• PRICE:
  • 8/256: TBA
  • 12/256: TBA

Redmi Note 12 Turbo

A late entry, the Redmi Note 12 Turbo flaunts the newest Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 chipset and it feels like the phone’s only going to be released so that Redmi could brag about being the first to experience this new midrange chip from Qualcomm. According to teasers, the phone flaunts a triple camera system comprising of a 64MP main unit, a 120Hz AMOLED screen, 3.5mm jack, IR Blaster, and a larger 5,500mAh battery with 67W fast charging as with the Pro. The phone stands in between the Pro 5G and the Pro+ 5G.

The phone’s release date in China is 7:00PM Beijing Time, 28th March.

Source: GSMArena, Weibo (in Chinese)