Introduction and specs
Even though the Redmi sub-brand is now mostly focusing on mid-range offerings, it hasn't dropped its entry-level lineups, such as the numeric Redmi series. The Redmi 12 is this year's most affordable phone from the company and succeeds the Redmi 10 from 2021. That's because there was no Redmi 11 last year for some reason, which likely has to do with declining smartphone sales and piling up inventory.
Fast-forward to 2023 and we now have a brand new Redmi 12. Or do we? A quick skim through the specs sheet reveals surprisingly similar specs to the 2021 model with only a handful of changes. Let's examine!
The new Redmi 12 features a bigger 6.79-inch screen, which makes it one of the biggest in its class and bumps up the storage to 128GB on the base version. That's twice as much as the Redmi 10. Moreover, the Redmi 12 comes with IP53 certification for protection against dust and splashes, replaces the plastic back panel with a glass one and brings a cleaner new design to the table.
Xiaomi Redmi 12 specs at a glance:
- Body: 168.6x76.3x8.2mm, 199g; Glass front, plastic frame, glass back; IP53, dust and splash resistant.
- Display: 6.79" IPS LCD, 90Hz, 550 nits (peak), 1080x2460px resolution, 20.5:9 aspect ratio, 396ppi.
- Chipset: Mediatek Helio G88 (12nm): Octa-core (2x2.0 GHz Cortex-A75 & 6x1.8 GHz Cortex-A55); Mali-G52 MC2.
- Memory: 128GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM; eMMC 5.1; microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot).
- OS/Software: Android 13, MIUI 14.
- Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, PDAF; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2, 120˚; Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4.
- Front camera: 8 MP, f/2.1, (wide).
- Video capture: Rear camera: 1080p@30fps; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
- Battery: 5000mAh; 18W wired, PD.
- Connectivity: LTE; Hybrid Dual SIM; Wi-Fi 5; BT 5.3; NFC; FM radio; Infrared port; 3.5mm jack.
- Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted).
But before you say these are too few changes for two years of development, here's the real trick up the Redmi 12's sleeve. Despite the doubled storage the new phone starts at around €150, while the Redmi 10 was asking for €200 at launch. We guess inflation ran past the low-end Redmis.
But it's not just about beating the predecessor's value for money as there are other sub-€200 phones out there. Can the Readmi 12 beat those - we not set off to find out!
Unboxing the Xiaomi Redmi 12
The handset comes in a small retail box containing the usual user manuals and a USB-C to USB-A cable for charging and data transfer. There's no charger included in the box, so you'll have to buy one separately if you don't happen to own one. The phone can take up to 18W over Power Delivery, which is good to keep in mind if you are going to be shopping for a charger.
Xiaomi didn't skip the transparent silicone case, though, so it's still a richer retail package than what an iPhone 14 Pro or a Galaxy S23 has.
Design and ergonomics
The Redmi 12's design is a big departure from the Redmi 10's design and we feel it's for the better. It's much cleaner and swaps out the plastic back panel for a glossy glass one. Along with the larger screen and bigger footprint that has caused a notable increase in the weight, but at least the Redmi 12 manages to fit in under 200g if only just.
The extra weight might not be the best when carrying the phone around in your pocket, but it has a positive impact on handling, making the Redmi 12 feel much nicer. We also see a flat design all around, including the plastic side frame.
We like the cleaner approach to the back design as a whole. There's no camera island anymore and instead, each camera lens sits in its own ring and protrudes ever so slightly. It reminds us of Samsung's design language for 2023. The available color options are Polar Silver, Midnight Black and Sky Blue and we have the latter in our hands.
The side frame occupants are rather standard. The bottom is home to the USB-C connector and the loudspeaker grille. The SIM card tray resides on the left side, near the top edge, but unlike the Redmi 10, the 12 uses a hybrid slot so you can either have two SIM cards or a microSD card + SIM combo. The right side houses the volume rocker and power button, doubling as a fingerprint reader. The latter is easy to feel and reach and rests right under the right thumb. The top is where the 3.5mm audio jack is.
Xiaomi Redmi 12
The display is, of course, flat with normal bezels as far as budget phones go. We like that the glass panel isn't sticking out much and doesn't form an unnecessary ridge where it meets the side frame. The whole chassis feels rather smooth and is put together tightly.
Xiaomi Redmi 12
Overall, the build quality is excellent. There are no apparent pitfalls or deal-breaking issues and there's nothing to complain about. In fact, we are surprised to see a glass back on a sub-€200 phone. However you shouldn't forget that this is a large 6.79-inch phone with sharp edges, so people with small hands will find it unwieldy.
Big LCD panel on the cheap
The Redmi 12 features a 6.79-inch IPS LCD with 90Hz refresh rate and 1080 x 2460px resolution. It's a somewhat big jump from the 6.5-inch panel on the Redmi 10. There are no fancy HDR-related features, but we didn't expect those in the first place in this price range.
In our tests, the screen peaked at 540 nits, which is really close to the advertised 550 nits and there was no brightness boost in auto mode. We also didn't find a proper ambient light sensor, so we assume the brightness control relies on the front-facing camera, which is energy-consuming and unreliable way to control brightness. Also, 550 nits are not great for a comfortable viewing experience on a bright sunny day. The contrast is nice, though - 1:1507.
But although not the best display ever the panel is still more than adequate for the price range. What we can't fail to mention is the absence of a hardware proximity sensor inexcusable. It makes the voice calling experience really bad because the screen often turns on during phone calls and accidental touches are unavoidable.
We were not expecting accurate color reproduction, but we were pleasantly surprised by the Standard color preset. We got dE2000 of just 1.6 and fixes the blue-ish whites and grays from the default color mode. However, this comes at a cost of about 50 nits of brightness. The display can only reach 501 nits in the color-accurate Standard preset.
Battery life
We had some technical issues with the battery tests and we had to repeat those. We had enough information to finish the review and make educated comparisons across the price range, but not enough to publish the final battery results. We will update the review with the exact scores over the next couple of days.
Charging speed
The Redmi 12 supports 18W charging over Power Delivery, which is pretty much what you'd expect from a phone in this price range. The bad news is that the handset doesn't ship with the appropriate charger and you get only a cable inside the box. The good news is that 18W chargers, even Power Delivery-compliant, are easy to come by.
Regarding actual charging speeds, the Redmi 12 performs on par with the competition and even trims a couple of minutes from the Redmi 10.
Speaker
The Redmi 12 offers a single, bottom-firing speaker - a downgrade from the Redmi 10's dual speaker setup. Not that Redmi 10's pieces were particularly great, but they were loud enough and the stereo setup was extremely hard to come by in this price range. We are sad to see it go in the Redmi 12.
Not only is the new loudspeaker unimpressive when it comes to loudness with an "Average" score of -29.9 LUFS, but the overall quality is not great either. Then again it's unrealistic to expect excellent sound quality from a sub-€200 device and those that care about quality should probably go for a decent pair of headphones anyway.
Use the Playback controls to listen to the phone sample recordings (best use headphones). We measure the average loudness of the speakers in LUFS. A lower absolute value means a louder sound. A look at the frequency response chart will tell you how far off the ideal "0db" flat line is the reproduction of the bass, treble, and mid frequencies. You can add more phones to compare how they differ. The scores and ratings are not comparable with our older loudspeaker test. Learn more about how we test here.
MIUI 14 based on Android 13
The Redmi 12 runs on the latest available MIUI 14 based on Android 13. Unlike the Redmi 10, which is stuck on Android 11 with MIUI 12.5, the OEM promises two major updates for the Redmi 12, meaning you can expect Android 14 and Android 15 when they arrive. Additionally, Xiaomi will deliver security updates up until June 2027.
Of course, since this is a low-end smartphone with limited hardware capabilities, some core MIUI functionalities are absent. However, most of them are available, even the multi-tasking functionalities such as the Floating windows feature.
We strongly recommend checking out our MIUI 14 + Android 13 overview to get a good grasp of MIUI's current state. You will find pretty much everything you need to know about Xiaomi's proprietary mobile software.
In terms of performance, the Redmi 12 doesn't impress. The dated Helio G88 chipset is sweating hard to keep up with the software's demand, so all operations are somewhat sluggish and animations rarely run at 90fps to saturate the 90Hz display. ItThis is pretty much the norm, though - it's going to be extremely hard for you to find a snappy sub-€200 smartphone.
Performance
The MediaТek Helio G88 is a refresh of the Helio G85, but it's still a rather old SoC released back in Q3 2021. Even back then it wasn't cutting edge, though, based on a 12nm manufacturing process, which doesn't look good in 2023. We get that the Redmi 12 is an ultra-budget handset, but an upgrade to more efficient silicon would have been much appreciated even if it meant adding 10 or 20 bucks to the price.
The Helio G88 can support 90Hz at 1080p+ and can work with 64MP main cameras instead of 48MP. This wasn't possible without OEM customizations. The rest of the specs are identical to the G85, though - octa-core CPU with 2x Cortex-A75 cores ticking at 2.0 GHz and 6x Cortex-A55 clocked at 1.8 GHz. The GPU is Mali G52 MC2 working at 1 GHz.
The Redmi 12 has various memory configurations - 4GB/128GB, 8GB/128GB and 8GB/256GB. The storage is expandable via a dedicated microSD card, while the internal storage uses eMMC 5.1 chips, not of the speedy UFS memory.
As you can see, the Redmi 12 utilizes the Helio G88 to its fullest but that's still very limited potential. For about the same price, you can get a Dimensity 700-powered smartphone or a Snapdragon 685 device, both of which offer more power and lower battery consumption.
Standard triple-camera setup
The camera hasn't changed much compared to the Redmi 10 - you get one less unit, but that's the 2MP depth sensor which barely contributed anything anyway. You still get the same budget 50MP main sensor paired with a wide f/1.8 aperture.
A regular old 8MP ultrawide unit joins in with its f/2.2 aperture and an advertised 120-degree field of view. The third camera is a 2MP macro unit.
On the front, we have another 8MP shooter only this one has an f/2.1 aperture.
Camera menus
The default Camera app hasn't changed much, with the standard modes arranged in a carousel formation. There aren't many modes in general, so they all fit on main screen. The additional settings found on the viewfinder are now hidden in a pop-up menu. It opens up when you tap on the arrow and it appears close to the shutter button for easier selection. We like the change to some extent but don't like that you need to open a separate menu just to toggle HDR on and off, for example.
Camera menus
Speaking of the HDR, we are once again observing a very frustrating issue with the mode. Every time you close the app, the HDR function is turned off. So you have to turn on the HDR Auto mode every time you launch the camera app.
Camera settings
We are also puzzled by the default 5x zoom toggle. The Redmi 12 doesn't have the sensor size or the computational capabilities to capture a decent-looking 5x zoom photo. A 2x zoom toggle would have made some sense at least, but this is just useless.
You also get a Pro mode that allows you to tinker with white balance, focus, ISO, shutter speed and exposure. We doubt it will see much use on this particular phone, though.
Daylight samples
Main camera
Despite sharing the same hardware, the Redmi 12 and the Redmi 10 take completely different daylight photos. Xiaomi put some effort into optimizing the image processing and it shows. The daylight samples are solid and right the wrongs of the Redmi 10 in almost every aspect.
Main camera daylight samples
The images are decently sharp, have an impressively wide dynamic range and have plenty of fine detail. The solid contrast and punchy colors give the photos a lively vibe. Indoor conditions are a challenge, though, as the post-processing often lets some noise into the frame, but at least quality stays somewhat consistent.
Main camera daylight samples
Ultrawide camera
We didn't have
Ultrawide camera daylight samples
2x and 5x zoom
As we said Redmi decided to put a 5x zoom toggle in the viewfinder but seeing how the main camera struggles even with 2x zoom crops, we are still looking for a reason why anybody would ever use the 5x zoom. We think the samples below speak for themselves.
2x and 5x daylight samples: 2x • 5x
Macro camera
The macro camera uses a tiny 2MP sensor with a fixed focus, so taking proper macro shots is a challenge. The detail isn't sufficient, the lack of contrast makes images dull and the colors are washed off, so we can't see this camera getting much use at all.
Macro samples
Low-light samples
Main camera
Sadly, the Redmi 12 offers unsatisfactory nighttime performance and worse than the Redmi 10 did. The samples below have limited dynamic range, lack fine detail, and are generally underexposed dark. Highlights are clipped and everything looks muddy.
Main camera low-light samples
The dedicated Night mode, which takes a lot of time to take a single photo, offers a little improvement but not nearly enough. The highlights are still clipped in some of the photos and there's still a noticeable oil paiting look. On a good note, the Night mode takes care of most of the noise.
Main camera Night mode samples
Ultrawide camera
There's really no point in using the ultrawide camera after dusk. It struggles to produce usable images and there's no Night mode to at least partially make up for the tiny sensor.
Ultrawide camera low-light samples
Here's how the primary camera on the Redmi 12 stacks against the rest of the competition in the controlled environment of our Photo Compare Tool.
Xiaomi Redmi 12 against the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G and the Redmi Note 12 4G in our Photo compare tool
Portraits
Portraits in isolation are okay. This mode delivers natural colors, good detail, decent dynamic range and a convincing bokeh effect. However, when we took some standard Photo mode pictures of the same subject, we found them to be considerably sharper with plenty of fine detail. The difference grows as the ambient light drops. The additional processing that portraits require clearly sees something go wrong with the rendition of skin.
Portraits: Portrait mode • Photo mode
Selfies
The selfies are pretty decent for the price range. Even in subpar lighting conditions, the images look sharp enough. Keep your hand steady, though, as we got occasional blurry shots in lower ambient lighting. Maybe a bit more color and contrast wouldn't hurt, but we are still happy with the result. We've seen worse selfies on much pricier smartphones.
Selfies
Video recording
The Redmi 12 can only shoot 1080p@30fps videos - 4K is off limits due to chipset's limitations. The main camera has the needed resolution in theory, but there's not enough processing power for 2160p footage.
The main's camera footage is just average for its class. Maybe a bit too soft even for 1080p resolution and exposure is higher than it needs to be, leading to clipped highlights and overly-bright asphalt. A little bit of extra color wouldn't have hurt either.
The ultrawide camera captures surprisingly decent video with better exposure, similar sharpness and more lively colors.
Once you are done with the real-life scenarios, take a look at our video compare tool to see how the Redmi 12 stacks against the other phones we've reviewed.
Xiaomi Redmi 12 against the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G and the Redmi Note 12 Pro 4G in our Video compare tool
Competition
Overall, the Redmi 12 feels like a re-release of the Redmi 10 from 2021 and in theory the lowered price might have made it work. But while the handset was somewhat competitive two years ago, the market hasn't been sitting idly. Sure, if you are looking for a basic smartphone mostly for communication, the Redmi 12 is one nice and affordable solution that would get the job done.
Still, when it comes to buying a phone, everyone is looking for the best value per dollar. That's why we think the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G is a wonderful alternative at about the same price point in the mid-€100s. Compared to the Redmi, the Galaxy A14 5G has a better Dimensity 700 SoC with 5G support, better overall camera performance, louder speaker and longer battery life. Those are solid reasons to opt for Samsung's contender.
Samsung Galaxy A14 5G • Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 4G • Realme C55
The recently released Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 4G comes as homegrown competition and carries a similar price tag. However, the Redmi Note 12, by definition, is a higher-tier smartphone and it shows. It has a more capable, albeit again limited to 4G, chipset - Snapdragon 685, comparable battery life, faster charging and, of course, a bright 120Hz OLED screen. This phone, at around €150, is a far better deal than the plain 12.
Realme also has an ultra-budget solution of its own, which is so very similar to the Redmi 12 in terms of hardware. The faster 33W charging is the only thing that makes it stand out, but the user experience isn't much different. The Realme C55 has a comparable camera quality, battery life, display and is asking a little under €200 or about INR 11,000 in India where it is known under the Narzo N55 name.
Verdict
Although the Redmi 12 has most of the basics covered, it's a bit of a hard sell in 2023 with its outdated Helio G88 chipset. The device also skips the stereo loudspeakers that the Redmi 10 originally had and with that its only unique feature in the segment.
On a more positive note, the Redmi 12 offers a great glass design, solid battery life and dependable daytime camera performance, but more is needed to make you think twice before going for the similarly-priced competition with more current chipset.
Pros
- Good build quality and clean design, IP53-rated.
- One of the biggest displays in this price segment.
- Dependable main and ultrawide cameras during the day.
- Solid battery life.
- Feautre-rich MIUI 14.
- 128GB base storage.
Cons
- Disappointing low-light camera performance
- No stereo speakers (the Redmi 10 had those).
- Phones with better chipsets for the same price are available.
- No ambient light sensor and no hardware proximity sensor.
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