Xiaomi Redmi Note 12

With the 4G version of this year’s most affordable Redmi Note 12, it’s time to look at the 5G redesign. The point is that Redmi Note 12 4G and Note 12 5G use different hardware, so the user experience can be quite different. It’s not just the 5G part. The most obvious difference is in the chainset. The 4G has a Snapdragon 685 processor, while the 5G variant has a Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 processor. And contrary to our expectations, the latter seems to be more effective in every way. And it better be, because the original, 5G compatible Redmi Note 12.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 11

The device which we are reviewing today is the most recently announced international phone is Redmi Note 11. It brings some major improvements over its predecessor, the Redmi Note 10. It may have the same size and resolution Super AMOLED panel, but its refresh rate is not superior. 90 Hz. There is also a new 50-megapixel main camera. Xiaomi’s current naming of its Redmi Note range is a bit confusing, and that’s only because we’re being polite about it. From now on, you shouldn’t confuse the model we reviewed with last year’s Redmi Note 11 for China or the Redmi Note 11 4G, although the current device is mostly 4G only. It should also be distinguished from the Redmi Note 11S – the same model, but with a MediaTek chipset and a camera upgrade of 108 megapixels on the main button. Maybe that’s because not all the changes are strictly upgrades from last year’s model. This year’s Snapdragon 680 4G chipset is newer than  Redmi Note 10’s Snapdragon 678, so it’s made using a much smaller and more efficient 6nm manufacturing process.

Design

Xiaomi Redmi Note 12

The design of the Redmi Note 12 is slightly different from the 4G variant and is more in line with other members of the  Redmi Note 12  family. It is almost identical to the Pros, with the same curvature, appearance and camera island. The camera tube doesn’t stick out that much and the individual camera rings stick out a bit. The back is covered with matte plastic imitation glass. We have  Frosted Green as well as Matte Black and Mystique Blue. Fingerprints and smudges are visible at certain angles, but they are far from visible. They also clean up quickly.

Side-facing bows ensure a nice and comfortable grip without creating unwanted straps on the side frame. That said, the Redmi Note 12 is inherently slippery due to its matte finish. The side frame is also made of plastic with a matte finish. The right side houses the volume rocker and the power button, which also doubles as a fingerprint reader.

The power button is within reach of the thumb, but the volume rocker needs some stretching. However, we didn’t like that it was hard to tell the two buttons apart. They are almost identical to the touch and sometimes you can hit the wrong one. The left side only has the SIM/microSD card slot, and the bottom edge shows the USB-C connector and speaker grill. A 3.5mm audio jack is placed above the frame, which keeps the company away from infrared radiation. The front is completely identical to the 4G version, which is not surprising since both devices share the same panel. The upper and lateral edges are relatively thin, but the lower jaw is quite thick. This usually happens with budget phones. At least the selfie camera aperture is quite small and unnoticeable. Overall, in terms of design, the Redmi Note 12 is decent. It’s quite light at 188 grams, which isn’t too bad for a 6.67-inch smartphone. Perhaps a bit on the heavy side, giving the impression of a heavier handset.  IP53 certificate against dust and splashes.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 11

Redmi Note 11 has quite a  recognizable look. Xiaomi has been making a segmented and prominent camera island on many of its phones for a while now, and it’s special enough to stick around. Redmi Note 11 has the same. The same goes for the Redmi Note 11S, which has essentially the same design, and the Redmi Note 11 Pro and Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G, which are only slightly larger but have largely identical designs. The small accents and rounded patterns of the camera island form a uniform and attention-grabbing design. The Redmi Note 11 has a clever combination of square and rounded design elements, apparently a  current trend now that Samsung has done something similar for its Galaxy S22 series. Regardless, we wouldn’t go so far as to call the Redmi Note 11  iPhone-like. Its sides and central frame create an atmosphere with its almost flat surface.

The plastic centre frame has a very premium look and matte finish in our graphite grey device. Matte also seems to be the standard with pearl white and star blue. We certainly like the look, but it’s a fingerprint magnet. While the centre is just as smooth, its finish doesn’t resemble the shiny metal of recent iPhone models. There are also big differences in the front and back design of the Redmi Note 11. Its back panel is still quite curved, although many official renders and product images don’t show it that way. It descends gently on all four sides. The Redmi Note 11 Pro models are much smoother in comparison. This surface has a slightly soft and silky feel which is probably due to the AG glass material it is made of. Interestingly, despite the tight budget, Xiaomi still managed to make the Redmi Note 11 a “glass sandwich” with both the front and the back covered in glass. AG glass on the back,  a soft, silky finish and Gorilla Glass 3 on the front. While Gorilla Glass 3 is far from Corning’s latest and greatest offering, it still has excellent scratch resistance, arguably even better than some newer solutions, and pretty decent shatter protection. Speaking of protection, the Redmi Note 11 has an IP53 ingress rating, which is only basic protection against dust and splashes, but still excellent for a device of its class.

Software and Performance

Xiaomi Redmi Note 12

Surprisingly, when the Redmi Note 12 5G launches, it will be running the older Android  – Android 12. However, it will get Xiaomi’s latest and greatest  – MIUI 14. The Indian version of the phone will then launch with the older MIUI 13. , so remember that. In terms of features, this shouldn’t be a problem as most MIUI forks have the same set of features without hardware limitations. This means that both devices will receive essentially the same software, but the 4G iteration will be based on the latest Android 13. And we would prefer future control of the latest version of Android, especially since Android 13 has been around for more than half a year.  MIUI 14 is said to be built almost from scratch, engineers have redesigned the core architecture of the MIUI ROM to the basic level of Android. This includes new CPU, GPU and memory timing, smaller firmware size and reduced memory usage. As a result, Xiaomi claims a 60% smoother experience and significantly optimized processes. There is also automatic packing for applications that are not actively used. Unfortunately, these are not features we can reliably test and confirm. We found some of the advertised features of MIUI 14 in the features. The newly expanded folders are here, and the Gallery app gets native text recognition in addition to  Google Lens integration. There are also new large folders on the home screen. However, the XXL  folders are nowhere to be found, so you can choose either Normal or Extended. Other features like the smart device switcher that makes managing Xiaomi devices easier, new widgets and a switch to turn off persistent notifications are nowhere to be found. We’re also still waiting for the notification history option, which is a core Android feature. The rest is as usual and we try to focus on features that are somewhat unique to MIUI or stand out in some way.  The split between the notification area and the control centre is enabled by default, and that’s probably fine. We think it’s quite handy and a way to educate users about MIUI’s unique approach to the user interface. And if you’re not a fan, you can always return to the regular notification area with a quick toggle in one place. The home screen, recent apps and general settings remain unchanged. The app drawer is also enabled by default, and we like that Xiaomi placed the search bar at the bottom of the screen for easier access. There are custom and preset app categories for faster navigation. Moving on to privacy and security, MIUI comes with pre-installed system security software. In addition to providing an additional layer of malware protection, the program includes many settings and privacy features in one place. It can manage your blacklist, control or limit your data usage, determine battery behaviour and free up  RAM. It can also manage the permissions of installed apps, configure the battery behaviour of selected apps and apply restrictions only to specific apps. Overall, MIUI 14 has changed little in terms of overall user experience in its 13th iteration, and that’s not a bad thing. It’s as refined and customizable as ever.

Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 was released over half a year ago, but this is the first time we’ve played with it. AdThe adoption some  recent Qualcomm chipsets has been quite slow. Anyway, the Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 should follow the Snapdragon 400 series SoCs by offering better efficiency and performance. The chip is based on TSMC’s 6nm production node and uses an octa-core processor. The processor itself consists of two Cortex-A78 cores clocked at 2.0GHz, while the other 6x Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 1.8GHz. Adreno 619, on the other hand, can handle GPU-intensive tasks. In particular, this GPU  has been used in many Snapdragon 600 and 700 series chipsets, so it is more than welcome at the  Snapdragon level. The reviewed device is the finished version with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. Otherwise, the phone is sold in 4GB/128GB and 6GB/128GB models.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 11

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11, like the rest of the Redmi Note 11 quad, runs Android 11 with the latest MIUI 13. Most of the new features of MIUI  are under the hood, but should make it a smoother, smarter and more secure user experience. The Redmi Note 11 seems to lack some features that the Pro models have, but we’ll get to that. This version of MIUI 13 is based on Android 11 and does not include any  Android 12 features such as updated widgets and their new widgets page in the app drawer. There is also no advanced privacy panel with options like a secure clipboard, approximate location, and updated face unlock algorithm. The updated file manager and hibernation clock are also nowhere to be found. Other notable features missing from the Android 11 MIUI 13 mix include an improved one-handed mode (iOS-style) and an improved camera app with zero shutter lag and motion shots. Finally, the Redmi Note 11 series does not present new live wallpapers that show microscopic things like the crystallization of vitamin C and citric acid, part of the Beauty of Science collaboration. Xiaomi has a new feature under the hood called Liquid storage. The company claims that the storage capacity of most phones is halved in 36 months due to ineffective storage management. And this is where MIUI 13 comes to the rescue – it offers 60% better defragmentation power than MIUI 12 and other competitors. Thus, the drop in storage capacity over 36 months should be only 5%. That sounds impressive, so let’s hope this feature lives up to the hype.  The new MIUI core also has an updated power management that promises  10%  overall energy consumption compared to MIUI 12. And speaking of memory, MIUI 13 offers a memory expansion option that is active by default (you can disable it if you want). The Redmi Note 11 expands the 4GB of RAM with an additional 1GB of virtual RAM. The recently reviewed Redmi Note 11 Pro device had  3GB of additional virtual memory. Overall,  the Redmi Note 11 MIUI 13 runs relatively smoothly despite the added visual flair. No stuttering, but occasional slowdowns. The Snapdragon 680 seems to be pretty tight. While this is great, we do notice a  potential lag after installing and using some heavier apps. To that end, we hope that Xiaomi’s MIUI 13 under-the-hood optimization works as promised.

The budget smartphone scene is constantly improving and has done so by leaps and bounds in recent years, which is good for users. The Redmi Note 11 is a device and still offers features like a solid 90Hz AMOLED display, stereo speakers, a decent camera setup and a large 5,000mAh battery that charges at a respectable 33W,  to name a few. However, as they say, something has to give, and in this case, the Snapdragon 680 chipset is probably one of the weakest points of the Redmi Note 11. The Snapdragon 680 (SM6225) is a superficially modern chip. It was released in the last quarter of 2021 and is designed for the current and powerful TSMC 6nm node. But when you start reading some of its other specs in detail,  some big trade-offs start to emerge. First, its four “large” Kryo 265 Gold cores have been based on  ARM Cortex-A73 since 2016, while the Cortex-A53 base for the “Small” Kryo 265 Silver core was unveiled in 2012. Both have several generations and certainly can’t keep up with the more powerful and latest CPU cores. The Snapdragon 680, they are set to a 4×2.4GHz Kryo 265 Gold and 4×1.9GHz Kryo 265 Silver configuration.  Then there’s the Adreno 610 GPU, another ageing piece of kit that runs on the Redmi Note 11’s 1,080 x 2,400 resolution display at nearly the maximum supported display resolution of 2,520 x 1,080 pixels. That should be a sufficient indication of its performance. We almost wonder how it manages 90Hz, or rather almost 90fps. The Snapdragon 680 Spectra 346 camera ISP and Hexagon 686 DSP  are also not at home, and thus the Redmi Note 11 is limited to only 1080p video capture.

Display and Battery

Xiaomi Redmi Note 12

The Redmi Note 12 4G and the Note 12 5G have the same display panel – AMOLED, with a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels, a diagonal of 6.67 inches and a refresh rate of 120 Hz. There’s no HDR video capability, but we didn’t expect that either. in manual mode the maximum brightness is 447 nits, in automatic mode the panel peaked at 706 nits. These are pretty close to the 474 and 744 nits we got in the 4G version. Do not forget the difference of 30-40 nit; this is a fairly standard deviation between different units and hardly noticeable. In short, you get a fairly bright OLED display with both Redmi Note 12s, which offer excellent readability in sunlight. As for colour reproduction, we got the best result in the so-called standard colour mode. dE2000, measured against the sRGB colour space, was 1.4, which is impressive—it’s as colour-calibrated a display as we’ve ever seen. Checking the high refresh rate is quite simple. Too easy actually. The software does not slow down to 60Hz when the display interface is inactive and only does so when you launch a video player such as YouTube, Netflix or the Gallery app. In all other scenarios, you get a solid 120 Hz. This approach increases overall energy consumption, but it is not invisible – the recently reviewed Galaxy A34 behaved in the same way.

The Redmi Note 12 uses the same 5,000mAh battery as its 4G sibling, but it also uses a different chipset, supposedly more powerful. And judging by the screen tests, it’s a bit better in the browsing scenario, but it didn’t last as long in the gaming test. In any case, we’re happy with the screen’s start-up times, but the poor standby time earns the phone an impressive 101-hour endurance rating. It is a bit cheaper and a  smartphone with a big battery.  This seems to be a common theme across the  Redmi Note 12 lineup. Standby power consumption seems  higher than usual for all of them. Redmi Note 12 phones have the same battery and charging standard. We suspect that scraps change the equation, and the results prove it. The 5,000 mAh battery fully charges in one hour and 8 minutes using the included 33W charger, while you’ll see a 56% charge after 30 minutes. The difference in loading times for both devices is quite negligible and can easily be explained by statistical error.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 11

One of the clear upgrades that the Redmi Note 11 offers over its predecessor, the Redmi Note 10, is the new display panel. It keeps the same 6.43-inch diagonal as last year and  FullHD (1080 x 2400 pixels) resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio and 409 ppi. New this year is the addition of a 90 Hz refresh rate. Before we get to that, though, it’s worth checking out Xiaomi’s recently announced smartphone specs. The Redmi Note 11 is announced as capable of producing 700 nits of typical brightness with a peak of 1000 nits. That last number is technically lower than the Redmi Note 10’s advertised peak of 1,100. But in our standardized testing,  the Redmi Note 11 managed to beat its predecessor with 736 nits of automatic maximum brightness. Maximizing the manual brightness slider on  Redmi Note 11 results in a slightly lower 465 nits compared to its predecessor, but in practice the difference is imperceptible. Redmi Note 11 has a total of three colour modes – Vivid, Saturated and Standard. The first two target the DCI-P3 colour space and don’t care too much about colour accuracy, preferring “OLED pop”. Both modes produce similar colours, with Saturated offering a slightly higher maximum brightness and, as the name suggests, slightly more saturated colours. Both modes are a bit cold out of the box but can be adjusted and warmed up with the included custom white point control. While the Redmi Note 11 still talks about colour, it doesn’t advertise  HDR support. In other words, this display is not considered or certified to display HDR content for one reason or another. The phone and its Snapdragon 680 chipset still offer support for HDR 10 and HLG decoding on the software side. This means that you can technically reproduce HDR, but the colours are mapped to SDR before display. Redmi Note 11 has two refresh rate modes – 90Hz and 60Hz, and mostly they work as “stress gears”. If you enable 90Hz, the phone will run at 90Hz almost all the time. The automatic switching logic is still there, but for the most part, the refresh rate is essentially locked, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Based on experience, the difference in battery consumption between 60Hz and 90Hz is quite small on a modern panel. Setting things up this simple way avoids the annoying edge cases that often occur with a complex automatic refresh rate.

Redmi Note 11 has a large battery of 5000 mAh. The Snapdragon 680 4G may not impress too much in terms of performance, but at least in terms of battery efficiency, it will probably achieve something thanks to its modern and efficient 6-nanometer production process. The X11 LTE modem, while not very fast, doesn’t waste too much power either. The Redmi Note 11 has an excellent overall battery, with a total battery life of 126 hours. Its standby and disc numbers are particularly impressive. The same goes for on-screen gaming. The Redmi Note 11 is an excellent multimedia consumer machine. Online test numbers are still impressive, but also the least consistent.

Pros and Cons

Xiaomi Redmi Note 12

Pros

• Beautiful design, IP53 rating.
• Exceptional and bright 120 Hz OLED screen.
• Reasonable charging speed,3.5 mm jack, FM radio, IR blaster, microSD card slot.
• Decent if spotty main camera performance.

Cons

• Disappointing ultra-wide and selfie cameras, no 4K video recording at all.
• There are no stereo speakers.
• Phones with better chipsets are available for the same price.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 11

Pros

• This phone has a Stylish dual-glass design with a matte finish and a premium look IP53-rated.
• This phone is an excellent AMOLED screen, bright, 90Hz, and great colour accuracy.
• The phone comes with great battery life with fast 33W charging.
• It has Loud stereo speakers, and good audio.
• 5mm jack, FM Radio, NFC, IR blaster, microSD slot.
• It’s Solid and unimpressive main camera performance.
• It has great portraits and macro shots.

Cons

• MIUI 13 implementation is lean on the new features which is based on the old Android 11.
• The Snapdragon 680 is lacking in performance, particularly in the GPU department.
• Disappointing ultrawide camera. Underwhelming Night mode is available on the main cam.
• There is No 4K video capture with any camera

Price

Xiaomi Redmi Note 12

Xiaomi Redmi Note 12  price in India starts from Rs. 16,999.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 11

Xiaomi Redmi Note 11  price in India starts from Rs 13,499.