Xiaomi Redmi 12 Review; Easily A Daily Favorite
INTRODUCTION:
It's been a decade since Xiaomi released its sub-brand Redmi. With yet another launch under this line, it's clear as day that the smartphone giant is far from done. After all, the Redmi series is among the solid proof of why Xiaomi remains the top player in the global market up to this day – it knows how to give what the customers want.
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| Xiaomi Redmi 12 Review; Easily A Daily Favorite |
Fresh from its September 20 local rollout, we took the new Xiaomi Redmi 12 on a daily test. Here are our thoughts about this new mid-range challenger.
BUILD and DESIGN:
The Redmi branding has always been about reasonable features for a reasonable price. This stays true with the Xiaomi Redmi 12. Covered with durable glass on the front and back, the smartphone comes in colors of Midnight Black, Sky Blue, and Polar Silver. The glass-back design of the Xiaomi Redmi 12 adds a premium touch to its overall look. At around 8.17mm and 198 grams, the Xiaomi Redmi 12 is relatively thin and light.
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| Sides |
On its right cheek are where you'll find the volume rockers and the power button-slash-fingerprint sensor, situated strategically on a part that's easily and comfortably reachable with one-hand use. It's worth noting that the fingerprint sensor of the device unlocks the Xiaomi Redmi 12 quickly. There's also Face Unlock as an alternative option for smartphone access.
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| Sky Blue |
The SIM card tray located on the Xiaomi Redmi 12's left side is a hybrid one. This means that there's a dedicated slot for a nano SIM card, while the other slot is either for a secondary SIM or a MicroSD for storage expansion. At the bottom part of the device are its USB-C port, single speaker grille, and microphone. The Xiaomi Redmi 12 also has a 3.5mm headphone jack on its top, which is something that's rarely seen nowadays on most smartphones. Speaking of rare, it also has an IR blaster that can control compatible electronics like televisions.
Inside the Xiaomi Redmi 12 package are the usual user manuals, a transparent silicone case, an ejector pin, a USB-C to USB-A cable, and a power adapter. The charger included has up to 22.5W output, which is odd since the phone itself only supports 18W max.
With the Xiaomi Redmi 12, there's no need to worry about accidental splashes as it comes IP53-rated, meaning it's resistant to water and dust up to an extent.
If we are to pinpoint one caveat that we found about the design of the Xiaomi Redmi 12, it's how protruded its cameras are. It has the kind of camera positioning that entails users to be very careful when placing the device face up because the lenses could get scratched, which might affect photos and videos. So, it's highly advisable to use the free case that comes in the package.
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DISPLAY:
Albeit surrounded by prominent, thick bezels, the screen of the Xiaomi Redmi 12 ticks just the right checkboxes. The smartphone flaunts a 6.79-inch IPS LCD in 1080p resolution, which gives enough color vibrance and image sharpness. IPS displays are also generally known to perform better when used under direct sunlight compared to OLED screens. You can expect the Xiaomi Redmi 12's display to be decently visible when using the smartphone outdoors with up to 550 nits brightness. With a 90Hz refresh rate, scrolling on the Xiaomi Redmi 12 is smooth and steady.
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| 6.79-inch FHD+ 90Hz Display |
A punch-hole selfie camera can be found on the top middle part of the Xiaomi Redmi 12's screen. There is no scratch-resistant glass, but we are happy to report that there is a pre-installed screen protector.
PERFORMANCE:
Among the many reasons why the Redmi line of Xiaomi continues to get good reception among tech consumers is because it's competitive performance-wise. The Xiaomi Redmi 12, in particular, gives you what you need in a smartphone – fast and fuss-free. Even with multiple applications running simultaneously in the background, the device didn't falter. It's also a smooth experience for us to switch from one app to another.
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| MIUI 14 based on Android 13 |
The factors at play behind this include the Xiaomi Redmi 12's MediaTek Helio G88 processor, complemented with a combination of 8GB of RAM and either 128GB storage or 256GB onboard memory, expandable up to 1TB. It also supports virtual RAM of up to 8GB, giving users a total of 16GB of random access memory.
On top of Android 13, the Xiaomi Redmi 12 operates on MIUI 14, making the smartphone experience intuitive and user-friendly. There's bloatware out of the box, so you might need to do a series of apps uninstalling.
Here are the Xiaomi Redmi 12 benchmark results for reference.
- Antutu - 279,882
- Geekbench Single-Core - 775
- Geekbench Multi-Core - 2,098
- Geekbench Compute - 1,401
- PC Mark Work Performance 3.0 - 9,390
- PC Mark Work Storage 2.0 - 13,670
- 3D Mark Wild Life - 745
- 3D Mark Wild Life Stress Test - 753
- 3D Mark Wild Life Extreme - 174
- 3D Mark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test - 177
- 3D Mark Sling Shot - 1,755
- 3D Mark Sling Shot Extreme - 1,406
While conventional, mobile gaming on the Xiaomi Redmi 12 is convenient. It can handle popular gaming apps like Call of Duty Mobile and Asphalt 9 well without disturbing stutters and minus the overheating, provided that graphics settings are set midway.
CAMERA:
Think of the triple camera setup of the Pro models of the iPhones. That's how the camera module of the Xiaomi Redmi 12 looks like, except one lens is smaller than the other two.
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| 50MP Triple Camera |
Its triple rear camera setup comes as standard. There's one 50-megapixel camera at F1.8, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide shooter at F2.2, and a 2-megapixel macro lens at F2.4. Upfront is an 8-megapixel F2.1 camera for selfies. This is actually the same set as the Xiaomi Redmi 10, the predecessor of the Xiaomi Redmi 12.
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| 8MP Selfie Camera |
Photos taken using the Xiaomi Redmi 12 look good enough for social media posting. Under daylight and well-lit conditions, the pictures bring a pop of colors with respectable detail clarity. Even with the ultra-wide shooting mode, the Xiaomi Redmi 12 gave an appropriate camera performance.
The challenge, though, is with indoor and night photos, as noise is somehow evident, and details on the photos sometimes look a bit hazy, thankfully, the Night Mode helps improve output. Zoomed photos don't impress, either, so you might only want to use this mode occasionally with your Xiaomi Redmi 12. Surprisingly, the Macro shots are relatively good, especially that the Xiaomi Redmi 12 carries only a 2-megapixel dedicated shooter for this mode.
Selfies and portraits with blurred backgrounds look proper with the Xiaomi Redmi 12. It maintains accurate skin colors, provided that you don't bump up the beatification. The bokeh effect doesn't look harsh, too, and provides enough background blur to highlight the subject. However, for some reason, portrait mode doesn't work when you are wearing a facemask, no blurring of any kind happens.
Below are some Xiaomi Redmi 12 camera samples:
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| Playground |
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| Leaf |
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| Macro |
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| Selfie |
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| Buildings, Normal |
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| Buildings, Night Mode |
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| Selfie, Night |
When it comes to videos, the Xiaomi Redmi 12 shines. Both its primary camera and ultrawide camera support 1080p at 30fps.
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BATTERY:
You can trust the Xiaomi Redmi 12 to keep up with moderate to heavy usage for up to 8 hours or more with its 5,000mAh battery. The smartphone supports 18W charging using the provided charger in the package or any power delivery charger you might have lying at your house. 18W isn't top-tier these days, but for a budget-friendly device, it is still a good one.
CONCLUSION:
The Xiaomi Redmi 12 is an excellent alternative for price-conscious consumers searching for a smartphone with overall good performance and features.
How much is the Xiaomi Redmi 12 in the Philippines?
- The Xiaomi Redmi 12 Prices Philippines are Php7,999 for the 8GB+128GB version and Php8,999 for the 8GB+256GB variant. Those who will get the 128GB model until September 29 will get a 1,000 pesos discount, bringing down the price to Php6,999.
- Xiaomi Redmi 12 at Lazada Philippines
- Xiaomi Redmi 12 at Shopee PH
When will be the Xiaomi Redmi 12 available in the Philippines?
- The Xiaomi Redmi 12 is now available in the Philippines.
Xiaomi Redmi 12 Specs Philippines:
- Dual nano-SIM, dual standby, supports 4G/LTE connectivity
- 6.79-inch FHD+ (2460 x 1080 pixels) IPS LCD
- Dimensions: 168.6mm x 76.3mm x 8.2mm
- Weight: 198.5 grams
- IP53-certified, dust and splash-resistant
- MIUI 14 based on Android 13
- Octa-core (2x2.0GHz Cortex-A75 + 6x1.8GHz Cortex-A55) CPU, ARM Mali-G52 MC2 GPU, Mediatek Helio G88 12nm chipset
- 8GB physical RAM + 8GB virtual RAM
- 128GB/256GB eMMC 5.1 internal storage, expandable via MicroSD card via SIM 2 slot
- 50MP f/1.8 PDAF main + 8MP f/2.2 ultrawide + 2MP f/2.4 macro triple rear cameras with LED flash, 1080p video recording at 30fps
- 8MP f/2.1 front camera, 1080p video recording at 30fps
- Multimedia player
- FM Radio
- 3.5mm audio jack
- WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
- Bluetooth v5.3
- NFC
- IR Blaster
- GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO
- USB 2.0 Type-C with OTG function
- Sensors: fingerprint (side-mounted), accelerometer, light, proximity, gyroscope
- Battery: 5,000mAh lithium-ion polymer, non-removable, 18W wired charging
- Colors: Midnight Black, Sky Blue, Polar Silver, Moonstone Silver
- Xiaomi Redmi 12 Price Philippines: Php7,999/Php8,999