The choices for a midrange phone in an extremely competitive market are aplenty. But there are a lot of things to like about Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G.
Let us count ‘em – 5,000mAh battery paired with 120W fast-charging, a 120Hz refresh rate, an AMOLED panel, a premium appearance, and yes, a 200MP main camera that is usually reserved for flagship, high-end phones.
This is bad news for the other so-called “mid-rangers”, who also do not offer the Note 12 Pro +’s 3.5mm audio jack and IR blaster.
Design and built
Users who want the build and style of Xiaomi’s flagship 13 Pro can “settle” for the highly similar Note 12 Pro+ 5G, which also blends a 3D full arc curved back with angular sides—giving off premium vibes without the high-end price tag.
The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G is quite a hefty phone, though, at 210g, with a 8.98mm thickness, but this ain’t a deal breaker.
Like the rest of the Redmi Note 12 series, the Pro+ is dust- and splash-proof resistant (not water, though), with a 6.67-inch AMOLED display, paired with Full HD+ (2,400 x 1,080 pixels resolution), a 120 hertz refresh rate to smooth out your swiping and scrolling (it dials down to 60 hertz when you stop interacting with it to save energy), and Gorilla Glass protection.
Depending on the settings that you customize, the panels look good and accurate, with a nice balance of sharp and contrast.
For audiophiles, a standard headphone jack is present, plus a pair of Dolby Atmos stereo speakers, bringing good sound quality, vocals and bass.
Another unique feature of the Note 12 Pro+ is the remote control app for your appliances, offering convenience to the user.
Battery, charging
People on the go will like its charging time of 30 minutes from zero to 100%. With the boost mode, it’s just 23 minutes. Its robust 5000mAh battery packs enough juice for all of your smartphone needs for a day.
Camera
The star of the show, undoubtedly is its 200MP main shooter (1/1.4-inch sensor size, f/1.65 aperture, 7P lens, OIS), which is part of a triple rear camera—the other two being the 8MP ultra-wide camera (f2.2, 119° field-of-view) and a 2MP macro camera (f/2.4).
This is definitely good news to users, who want their cameras big and bold, but won’t shell out a fortune for flagship models at double, even triple, the price point.
Photos from the main shooter are thoroughly impressive, with plenty of detail, free of noise, and true to life colors. The 2MP macro photos, on the other hand, are decent with enough detail, low noise and saturated colors.
When it detects low-light conditions, the Pro+ will automatically apply Night Mode processing, producing decent photos with lovely colors, but the detail level is serviceable.
In video recording, the main camera supports 4k video capture at 30 FPS, creating class-leading videos with exceptional detail, a natural balanced look, accurate colors and great contrast.
Performance
Since the phone has an IR blaster, powering the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro+ Plus 5G is a MediaTek Dimensity 1080, an upgrade over the Dimensity 920 of last year’s Redmi Note 11 Pro+.
Xiaomi continues to opt for MediaTek on many Redmi handsets and not the Qualcomm chips usually seen in flagship models. But performance isn’t a slouch with this, as web browsing, messaging, taking photos, watching videos, listening to music, among others, are such a breeze.
It comes with 256 GB of storage, but is not expandable to microSD, though, which is something you usually get on these sorts of mid-rangers.
Verdict
The Redmi Pro+ brings plenty of bang for your buck and is worth your hard-earned peso, especially if you’re looking for a very capable camera phone in the mid price range. Furthermore, its fast charging, bright display, huge battery, great imaging system and premium feel are great reasons to grab one. With the Redmi Note Pro+ 5G, Xiaomi once again proved that that a great phone doesn’t have to slash a huge chunk off your savings before you can get your hands on one.