Redmi 12 4G review: The budget beast

Redmi phones enjoy immense popularity in the smartphone market due to their balanced blend of affordability and feature-rich offerings. These phones also enjoy a huge fan following due to their aggressive pricing strategy that cater to consumers who are budget-conscious but don’t want to compromise on performance and design. Keeping these points in mind, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that Redmi has managed to carve a niche for itself.

ALSO READ l Redmi Note 12 5G gets new Sunrise Gold variant in India after Redmi 12 5G launch

Xiaomi recently launched the Redmi 12 4G and 5G in India. These phones are good value for price and can help company accelerate its market share in India which happens to be its one of the major markets. The new Redmi 12 is well-positioned to compete with other budget-friendly phones in India like Moto G14, Samsung Galaxy M14 and likewise more. The smartphone is is priced at Rs 9,999 for 4GB RAM model while the 6GB RAM model will set you at Rs 11,499.

I got a chance to review the 4G model of Redmi 12. I used the phone for a week and here’s what I have to say about the smartphone.

Design and display

The Redmi 12 4G has a sleek and stylish design. The back panel of the smartphone is made of glass, which renders a premium feel to the phone.  Xiaomi calls it “crystal glass”.  Redmi 12 4G is also IP53 rated for dust and splash resistance. You also get IR blaster which means you can use your Redmi phone to control a wide range of electronic devices that rely on infrared signals, such as televisions, air conditioners, set-top boxes, and more. Overall the design of the phone is minimal and oozes a sense of sophistication when holding the phone in your hand.

The front of the phone is dominated by the 6.79-inch LCD display with a 1080p resolution and 90Hz refresh rate. The phone can top 550nits display. The display is undoubtedly one of the best things about the Redmi 12 4G.

The bezels on the side are relatively thin and the punch hole camera is not very intrusive. Over all, the design of the phone is well done and is easily one of the best-looking phones in this price segment.

I took the phone out in the sun and honestly had no difficulty accessing the display under harsh sunlight. The icons were pretty much visible after adjusting the overall brightness of phone to its max. While the refresh rate is capped at only 90Hz, the scrolling and sliding was fluid and smooth. I did not face any issue.

Performance and camera

Redmi 12 4G is powered by the MediaTek Helio G88 processor. This is a mid-range processor that was released in 2021. It is based on the 12nm process and has two Cortex-A75 cores clocked at 2.0 GHz and six Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 1.8 GHz. The GPU is the Mali-G52 MC2. The Helio G88 is a capable processor but it is an outdated processor. There are several phones in this same price segment that come with latest and a better processor.

Coming back to Redmi 12 4G, the phone handles some light gaming, but it can be struggling with more demanding games owing to its outmoded chipset. The processor is paired with up to 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage with storage expansion of up to 1TB using a microSD card. There’s also 6GB virtual RAM support.

Overall, Redmi 12 4G’s performance is good for a budget-friendly phone as it can handle daily chores of a phone pretty well. Ofcourse if you are a hardcore gamer and are into more graphically demanding games then there are almost no options for you in this price range.

Redmi 12 4G runs MIUI 14 based on Android 13. The company guarantees 2 major OS and up to 3 years of security updates on this.

The Redmi 12 has a triple-camera system on the back headlined by a 50MP main sensor, and it takes good photos in good lighting conditions. They are sharp, detailed and accurate.  However, you can see phone struggling a bit under low-light condition. The ultrawide camera is 8MP, and it takes decent photos as well but they are not as sharp as those clicked from main camera. The macro camera is 2MP, and honestly, it’s not very useful as the photos clicked are blurry.

Like the other smartphone from Redmi, Redmi 12’s camera app is easy to use and packs in a number of features such as portrait mode, night mode, AI scene detection and also supports 4K video recording at 30fps. The video quality is good, but the videos are not as fluid as the videos from some other phones.

Battery

Redmi 12 is run by a 5000mAh battery that supports 18W charging. The phone easily manages to last for a day on upon light usage and even at the end of the day you may save some battery to go for the next day. The phone comes with a charging in box.

Verdict

Overall the Redmi 12 4G is a good budget-friendly smartphone offering a good balance of features and performance. It’s a good choice for those who are looking for a budget-friendly phone with a large display and a long-lasting battery without breaking the bank. The phone’s performance is also good, and the camera is decent. To sum it up, Redmi 12 4G is a good value for the price.

Follow FE Tech Bytes on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook.