Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 4G (23021RAAEG) Price, Review And Specifications.

Tweet

Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 4G (23021RAAEG) Quick Specs:

6.67" Full-HD+ (2400×1080) Hole-Punch AMOLED Display.

395ppi, 20:9 Aspect Ratio.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 685 Chipset.

Android 13 OS, Redmi MIUI 14.0.5.

Triple-lens (50MP+8MP+2MP) Rear Camera.

Single-lens (13MP) Front Camera.

4GB/6GB/8GB of RAM (And up to 3GB Virtual RAM).

128GB Internal Storage.

USB Type-C Port.

Side-mounted fingerprint reader.

4G (LTE) Network.

5000mAh Battery (33W Charging).

Starting Price:

₦140,000, $163, £175, GH₵ 1,890, EGP 8,800, R 5,399, KSh 22,000.

At an affordable price, Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 4G (23021RAAEG) has a pretty design, good build quality, 120hz AMOLED display, impressive cameras, IR Blaster, and a fast and power-efficient Snapdragon CPU.

Nonetheless, Xiaomi Note 12 4G still retain most of other regular features that are expected of the phones at this price point. For instance, Redmi Note 12 4G is equipped with high RAM, high storage space, and it's also support quick charging.

By the way, Redmi Note 12 4G is the base model of the recently unveiled Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 series. Others (in the series) are Redmi Note 12 5G, Redmi Note 12 Pro, and Redmi Note 12 Pro+. Though, there are couple of others, but the availability depends on your location.

Meanwhile, Redmi Note 12 4G is also the successor to the last year's Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 4G.

Basically, Note 12 4G can be refered as an upgrade to the Note 11 4G, because the phone has a lots in common with its predecessor. For instance, the latest phone also has an AMOLED screen, same amount of RAM, same camera setup, same battery capacity, same fast charging and so on.

Yet, despite sharing many things with the earlier phone, Redmi Note 12 4G wear a more premium and sleeker looks, and its AMOLED display is of bigger size too. The phone also features a slightly better chipset, higher storage space and latest software.

And compared to others in this segment, Redmi Note 12 is one of the few ones that really offer value for money.  

Talking about its design. Redmi Note 12 features a hole-punch screen and the same aspect ratio as its predecessor, but instead of having curved edges and curved back cover like the earlier phone, Redmi Note 12 has flat edges, flat back cover and prettier camera bump. And these modifications are what make the latest phone to look more premium and sleeker than the earlier one.

Apart from its prettier looks, the hole-punch display on the Redmi Note 12 is 0.24-inch bigger than the one on the Note 11. In other words, and compared to the 6.43-inch screen of the earlier phone, Redmi Note 12 has a bigger screen of 6.67-inch. The 90hz (high) screen refresh rate of the earlier display has also been increased to 120hz on the Note 12.

And, apart from having an AMOLED panel as the earlier one, the display also features the same 1080p resolution. Which also make this screen to retain the clarity and other good picture qualities of the earlier one.

For instance, the screen of the Redmi Note 12 looks more vibrant and has richer colours than most of others at this price point with IPS-LCD panels.

And on its cameras, the setup remain as that of the earlier model's. Because Redmi Note 12 4G also has a 13-megapixel front-facing camera and a 50-megapixel triple rear camera. And like the ones from the earlier phone, photos taken with this phone also look really nice. Even, the shots (especially the ones of the main rear camera) seem to look better than the ones from the earlier phone. Photos are clear, sharp and have good colour representation.

Selfies taken with the latest phone are also clear and have nice skin tone. And compared to those of other phones at this price point, especially the ones with similar camera setup, photos taken with Note 12 are slightly clearer and have more accurate colours. 

Few changes have also taken place under the hood of the Redmi Note 12, when you compare it to its predecessor.

Firstly, Redmi Note 12 is running on the latest Android 13 OS with the latest version of MIUI Skin on top. The Snapdragon 680 CPU that powered Redmi Note 11 has also been upgraded to Snapdragon 685. Though, there's no much difference between these two Snapdragon CPUs, except for the fact that SD685 is newer and has a slightly faster maximum clock speed.

Also despite that Redmi Note 12 is also available in 4GB and 6GB RAM options like the Note 11, the latest phone still offers an higher RAM option of 8GB. The 64GB internal storage space of the earlier phone has also been increased to 128GB. But, irrespective of your choice of RAM, you still get the same 128GB internal storage space.

On its processing power, Redmi Note 12 was able to maintain consistent smooth performance running Android 13 OS and the latest version of MIUI Skin. Though due to its 4GB of RAM, the performance of the base variant is sometimes limited, yet it doesn't lag. Besides, the performance can still be boosted through RAM Extension. The feature that enables you to convert certain amount of your phone's internal storage to Virtual RAM.

Furthermore, like its predecessor, and many others in this category, Redmi Note 12 is powered by a 5,000mAh battery and has USB Type-C port. Yet, this Redmi phone has a longer battery life than most of them. Which is partly due to its power efficient SD685 chipset. Even, because the phone comes with 33W fast charging like its predecessor, the battery can be charged quickly up to 50 percent in about 30 minutes when it drops to one percent.

As i mentioned in the beginning, Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 retain most of the features of its predecessor. For instance, the phone also comes with IR Blaster; which enables you to use this phone as a TV remote control. This phone also has dual microphone and side mounted fingerprint reader.

However the dual speaker on the earlier model has been downgraded to a single one on the Redmi Note 12. Yet the sound output is still good and loud enough in normal environments.

VERDICT:

When it comes to combination of design, build quality, display, CPU and battery life. It's difficult to find another phone, especially at this price point, that can compete with Redmi Note 12.

Even in the aspect of camera, the only phone which i know, that slightly outshined Note 12 is the Samsung Galaxy A14. 

Price And Design Colours:

The back of the Redmi Note 12 4G has frosty matte finish. And the phone is available in three colour options of Onyx Gray, Mint Green, and Ice Blue.

Currently, the starting price of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 4G is about 140,000 Naira.

DESIGN: Redmi Note 12 Looks More Stylish Than Its Predecessor:

By having flat back cover and flat edges, Redmi Note 12 wear the sleek and stylish looks of many recent affordable mid-range phones. And despite the fact that the phone is also made of plastics like most of them, it has a better build quality.

Unlike many of them, for instance Redmi Note 12 4G is IP63 rating. Meaning, this Redmi phone is splash and dust resistance certified. The front of the phone is also protected with Gorilla Glass 3.

Still, in spite of its bigger size, Redmi Note 12 has a lesser weight of about 184g and unusual lesser thickness of 7.9mm.

As i said earlier, this phone comes with IR Blaster; which is rare at this price point. And it's located on the top edge of the phone close to the secondary or noise cancellation microphone. The 3.5mm audio jack is also found on the top edge.

As usual, the volume keys and power button (which also doubles as a fingerprint reader) are placed on the phone's right edge. While its 4G dual Nano-SIM+microSD card slot is located on the left edge.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 single speaker is found on the bottom edge, alongside USB Type-C port and primary microphone.

Usual Camera Setup, Yet Impressive Photos:

Same as the earlier model, the 50-megapixel triple rear camera of the Note 12 is made up of a 50-megapixel main sensor, an 8-megapixel Ultra-Wide sensor (for taking wider view shots or capturing more of what's in front of you without moving backwards), and a 2-megapixel Macro sensor (for taking detailed pictures of close-up objects).

For a phone at this price point, photos from the Redmi Note 12 looks quite good. Shots from the main rear camera are clear, sharp and detailed. Colours also look good, solid and natural. But the shots could use a little bit of brightness.

Ultra-Wide shots look quite okay too, though as expected, they're not as detailed as the main rear camera. Surprisingly, the shots from the Macro lens are clear and moderately detailed.

The shots from Night Mode are not as sharp as one would expect, but they're clear and bright, without over blown.

While the shots from the main rear camera looks better than the ones from the earlier model, the selfies from the front camera of the latest phone are not as solid as the ones taken with the earlier phone. Though colours and skin tone still look good. But, you'll need a good lighting condition to get a more crisper selfies from this phone.

Yet, it should be noted that the selfies from the 13-megapixels front-facing camera of the Redmi Note 12 looks much better those of many at this price point, even the ones with higher megapixel selfie lenses.

Also while a few others, in this segment, are also capable of delivering photos with the same level of sharpness and details, Redmi Note 12 was able to deliver photos with true-to-life colours, better contrast and better clarity than most of them. Nonetheless, as said earlier, the shots from this phone seems to need a little bit brightness.

By the way, unlike many of its competitions that are capable of shooting 2K videos, Redmi Note 12 can only go up to 1080p, for both the front and rear cameras, at 30fps (frame per second).

DISPLAY: The Firstly Selling Point Of The Note 12:

Apart from being bigger than the one on the earlier model, the screen of the Redmi Note 12 also support higher screen refresh rate of 120hz (compared to 90hz of the earlier one); for smoother page scrolling and swiping.

Yet, in spite of its bigger size, the screen of the latest phone still features the same 20:9 aspect ratio and the same 2400x1080 resolution as the earlier one. As a result, the screen of the Note 12 has a lower pixel density of 395ppi, compared to the 409ppi of the earlier one.

Nonetheless, as i mentioned before, the screen is still as clear and as sharp as the earlier one. Also because it is an AMOLED panel, the screen looks more stunning than average IPS-LCD and PLS-LCD panels (in the case of Samsung's phones) that normally accompanied most of the phones at this price point.

This screen has deeper blacks, and colours appear more realistic, richer and brighter. The display is also well calibrated, and it's easy on the eyes.

Though, it's not officially stated that the screen is HDR10 certified, but it's stated that the screen support HDR and the brightness can go as high as 1200nits, which means the HDR contents will look okay.

And with manual adjustment, the maximum screen brightness is about 470nits, but with auto adjustment, it can reach 760nits, under direct sunlight. This makes Redmi Note 12 a good choice for outdoor usage.

It should be noted that unlike that of the Samsung Galaxy A04s and a few others in this segment, the high screen refresh rate of the Redmi phone is not Adaptive (Automatic). In other words, you need to manually toggle between the default 60hz refresh rate and 120hz refresh rate.

Also, as you already know, high screen refresh rate has negative impact on battery life. Yet, as a result of its CPU, Redmi Note 12 is more power efficient than most of others in this segment.

Smooth And Efficient Processing Power:

Out-of-the-box, Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 4G is preloaded with the latest Android 13 OS. Also running on top of the Android OS is the latest version of Redmi MIUI Skin, i.e. MIUI 14.0.5.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 685 that powered this phone is also an upgrade from the Snapdragon 680 that came with the Note 11.

Yet, and technically speaking, both SD685 and SD680 would've been the same chipset, if not for the fact that SD685 has an higher maximum clock speed of 2.8Ghz, compared to the 2.4Ghz of the SD680. And it's the higher clock speed that give SD685 a slight edge over SD680, when it comes to performance.

Though, for a phone at this price point, i wasn't expecting super fast processing speed from the Redmi Note 12, yet the phone was able to deliver a more satisfactory and smoother performance than most of its competitions. This phone opens multiple apps quickly and simultaneously, and going back to already opened apps doesn't require much effort. This phone was able to maintain a consistence lag-free performance.

However, because SD685 CPU has the same old Adreno 610 GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) as the earlier model, the latest phone is capable of playing most of the recent popular games at medium or low graphics settings.

Yet, gaming is still more enjoyable on this phone because it runs cool most time. Also because the SD685 is a 6nm chipset like the earlier one, Redmi Note 12 is more power efficient than most of its rivals.

Even, for an optimum performance, Redmi Note 12 features RAM Extension. Similar to Samsung RAM Plus, RAM Extension enables you to convert certain amount of your phone's internal storage space to Virtual RAM.

In details, RAM Extension enables you to convert up to 3GB of free space (out of the phone's inbuilt storage) to Virtual RAM. Thereby allowing you to increase the 4GB of RAM of the base model (of the Note 12) up to 7GB.

Meanwhile, the 128GB inbuilt storage of the Redmi Note 12 can be expanded, via microSD card, up to 1TB (One Terabyte).

5,000mAh Battery And 33W Fast Charging:

Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 4G comes with a typical 5000mah battery like most of the entry-level and mid-range phones, yet it has a better battery life than many of them. This is as a result of the phone's power efficient 6nm snapdragon chipset, optimized processing power and power efficient AMOLED panel.

But if you're using the phone with its display set to 120hz refresh rate. This will have slight negative impact on the battery life.

Yet, with its out-of-the-box 33W fast charger, Redmi Note 12 battery can be fully juiced back, if it drops to one percent, in about one hour nine minutes.

Full Specifications Of Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 4G (23021RAAEG):

GENERAL

Maker: Xiaomi Redmi.

Name: Redmi Note 12 4G (23021RAAEG or 23021RAA2Y).

Year Announced: March, 2023.

Dimensions: 165.7x75.9x7.9mm.

Build Resistance: IP53 (Dust & Water Splash) Certified.

Weight: 184g.   

Colour: Mint Green, Onyx Gray & Ice Blue.

DISPLAY
Screen Type:  AMOLED capacitive Touchscreen.

Size and Resolution: 6.67-inch, Full-HD+, 2400-by-1080 pixels, 120Hz high refresh rate.

Aspect ratio & Pixel Densities: 20:9, 395PPI.

Protection: Corning Gorilla Glass 3.

PORTS:

3.5mm Audio Jack: Yes.

USB Type-C Port: Yes.

PERFORMANCE

Chipset: Qualcomm SM6225 Snapdragon 685, (6nm) Octa-core Processor, 2.8GHz.

GPU: Adreno 610.

RAM: 4GB/6GB/8GB (up to 3GB Extra through RAM extension).

Operating System: Android 13, MIUI 14.0.5.

STORAGE

Internal Storage: 128GB.

Micro-SD card slot: Yes, up to 1TB (OneTerabyte).

SIM AND NETWORK

SIM: Nano, Dual SIM slots.

Network:  GSM, WCDMA, HSPA+, LTE.

CAMERA

Rear camera: Triple-lens; (50MP f/1.8+8MP f/2.2+2MP f/2.4) With LED-Flash.

Front camera: Single-lens, 13MP (f/2.45) Single Front Flash.

VIDEO RECORDING:

Rear Cameras: 720p, 1080p @ 30 fps.

Front Camera: 720p, 1080p, @ 30 fps.

CONNECTIVITY:

Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, HotSpots, USB-OTG.

BIOMETRIC, SENSORS & LOCATION: 

Security: Face Unlock, Side-mounted fingerprint reader.

Sensors: Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor, G-sensor, Accelerometer, Electronic compass And IR blaster.

Others: GPS, Location (Geo, Glonass), Beidou, Galileo, Compass.

BATTERY

Battery Capacity: 5,000mAh.

Qi Wireless-Charging: N/a.

Fast Charging: Yes (33W).

Tweet