Meet Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G - Dimensity 1080 and Sony IMX766 for the masses!

We share our thoughts with the recently released Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G with Dimensity 1080 and 50MP IMX766 primary rear camera.

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G in Black

Meet Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G!

The Xiaomi sub-brand recently unveiled the Redmi Note 12 series to the Philippine market.

Today, we look at the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G. It features a 120Hz Flow AMOLED screen. Inside are the MediaTek Dimensity 1080 octa-core processor, Mali-G68 GPU, LPDDR4X RAM, UFS 2.2 storage, and 5,000mAh battery with 67W fast wired charging.

At the back are the 50MP IMX766 primary camera, 8MP ultra-wide, and the 2MP macro with an LED flash while in front is the 16MP selfie camera.

In the Philippines, the smartphone starts at PHP 16,999. This makes this one of the more affordable smartphones with the IMX766 Sony sensor yet.

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G outer packaging

Let's unbox it first.

The Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G comes in familiar white packaging with the render of the phone in front. Around the box are the branding, key features and specs, and regulatory information.

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G box inclusions

Inside the box are the phone, SIM ejector tool, USB-C cable, 67W charger, silicone case, and documentation.

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G rear design

At first glance, the phone looks and feels more premium than its actual price point. The back is a reflective black that looks similar to the ceramic black found on the Xiaomi 13 Pro.

Nice boxy design!

Upon closer inspection, the phone is made of a glass front, polycarbonate frame, and glossy glass back panel. 

The polycarbonate frame has a texture that makes it look like metal but when touched feels like high-quality plastic.

The glossy glass back is prone to fingerprint smudges and makes the phone slippery to hold. We recommend wearing the included silicone case right away.

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G's large display

As mentioned above, the front 6.6-inch Flow AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, a 900 nits peak brightness, and Dolby Vision support. It is protected by Gorilla Glass 5.

Around the phone are slim bezels with near identical measurements. On the upper part of the display is the punch hole and within the top bezel is the earpiece.

Images produced by the panel are bright, sharp, detailed, and vibrant. To maintain the high refresh rate, the panel has to be bright. Unsurprisingly, the 900 nits peak brightness makes it readable under direct sunlight.

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G top and bottom sides

On top are the microphone port, IR blaster, first speaker, and 3.5mm audio jack while at the bottom are the SIM tray, microphone port, USB-C, and second speaker grill.

SIM tray

The SIM tray accommodates two nano SIM cards. It also has a rubber gasket that indicates a form of water and dust resistance.

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G left and right sides

On the left side of the phone is the smooth surface while on the right side are the plastic volume rocker and the power button that doubles as the fingerprint scanner. Both buttons offer surprisingly solid and satisfying feedback.

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G rear cameras

At the back are the aforementioned triple rear camera set-up setup made of the 50MP f/1.88 primary camera with Sony IMX766 with OIS, 8MP f/2.2 119-degree ultra-wide camera, and 2MP f/2.4 macro camera with an LED flash.

The stock camera app features the following modes: Photo, Portrait, Night, Video, Documents, 50MP, Short Video, Panorama, VLOG, Slow Motion, Time-Lapse, and Long Exposure.

The Pro mode allows control for White Balance, Focus, Shutter Speed (30 secs - 1/4000), ISO (50-6400), and EV (+-4).

First Camera Samples

Rear camera daylight 1x

Rear camera daylight 2x crop

Rear camera daylight ultra-wide

In daylight, the primary rear camera is able to produce sharp, detailed images with vibrant color and good contrast. 

The ultra-wide also produced images with good color and contrast but lacked detail and sharpness when compared to the 50MP main camera.

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G rear close-up

When shooting close-up, the primary camera produced decently sharp images with good color with a natural bokeh.

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G rear indoor 1x

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G rear indoor 2x

Redmi Note 12 Pro rear indoor ultra-wide

What needs improvement is the ultra-wide camera where images are softer compared to similarly spec ultra-wide cameras. In addition to that, the white balance is almost always a miss. Even the night mode from the ultra-wide is washed out.

The 32MP f/2.4 front-facing camera with Sony IMX709 RGBW sensor features 0.8x, 1x, and 2x modes which make it unique. The camera app crops into the 32MP to achieve the 2x while the 0.8x uses the full width of the sensor.

Selfie camera modes include Photo, Video, Night, and Portrait.

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G Selfie daylight (Neil is facing the window with the sun out)

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G Daylight portrait mode

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G indoor selfie

The 16MP f/2.45 Selfie camera has decent sharpness and detail with good contrast but struggled with white balance and skin color. In daylight when Neil is facing the window with the sun out, the skin tone is overly pinkish while indoors where there are orange accent lights, my skin is paler than usual.

Overall, for the price, the camera's performance is somewhat decent. The detail, sharpness, and color of the primary camera are great. WE found the 8MP resolution to be just enough. The selfie camera is somewhat competent but could use a software update via firmware.

Performance

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G AnTuTu and Geekbench scores!

We ran some benchmarks like the Antutu where we got a score of 422,861. While on Geekbench we got 739 points on the single core and 2,136 on the multi-core tests.

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G 3DMark and CPDT scores

In 3DMark Wild Life Extreme the phone managed to score 2,236 overall and scored 13.4 average FPS. While si CPDT scored 570.63 MB/s in sequential write speeds and it scored 506.87 MB/s in sequential read speeds.

In real-life use, the phone runs smoothly.

In real-life use, the phone runs smoothly. There were barely any hiccups. Navigating thru the UI, and opening or switching between apps is instantaneous without a noticeable slowdown or stuttering.

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G PCMark battery benchmark score!

The 5,000mAh battery managed to last for 14 hours and 37 minutes in our usual PCMark battery test. In real life, we were clocking in 6 hours in our usual YouTube Video loop test. While the 67W charging brick charges the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G from 10 percent to 100 percent in around 60 minutes from our experience.

The top-firing and bottom-firing speakers produce a stereo experience. The stereo provides a wider sound stage and directionality. The sound produced has good clarity and separation but the maximum volume could be louder as most smartphones with similar pricepoint with stereo speakers are normally louder in volume.

The side-mounted fingerprint reader and Face Unlock are easy and quick to set up. Once set up, both detect our face and our fingerprint immediately unlock the phone. The camera struggles when the environment is dark or when we are wearing a mask. The screen brightens up to compensate for dark situations

For connectivity, 5G, VoLTE, WiFi, Bluetooth, and NFC works consistently and as expected. It is one of the few remaining phones with an IR blaster and a 3.5mm audio jack.

MIUI 13

The Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G 5G is running on Android 13-based MIUI 14.0. It is familiar and easy to use. It adds the new features of Android 13 with minor visual and UI changes. If you liked MIUI before, then you will like it. If you didn't like MIUI before, this will probably not change your mind.

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G surfing in Chrome

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G Specs

Display: 6.67-inch Gorilla Glass 5 protected Flow AMOLED screen w/ 120Hz refresh rate, Dolby Vision, FHD+ 2400 x 1080 resolution at 395 ppi

CPU: 2.6GHz 6nm MediaTek Dimensity 1080 octa-core processor

GPU: Mali-G68

RAM: 8GB LPDDR4X

ROM: 128GB/256GB UFS 2.2

Back Camera: 50MP f/1.88, IMX766 1/1.56-inch sensor with OIS + 8MP f/2.2 119-degree ultra-wide-angle + 2MP f/2.4 macro + LED flash

Selfie Camera: 16MP f/2.45 

Battery: 5,000mAh w/ 67W fast charging

OS: Android 13 w/ MIUI 13

Connectivity: WiFi 6 (2.4GHz/5GHz), 5G, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.2, OTG, NFC2, GPS, GLONASS, IR blaster, dual SIM (nano)

Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, 

Others: Side-mounted fingerprint sensor, 2x Dolby Atmos stereo speakers, USB-C, Colors: Black, Cream, Green, Violet

Dimensions: 162.9 x 76 x 7.9 mm

Weight: 187 g

Price: PHP 16,999 (8GB/128GB), PHP 17,999 (8GB/256GB)

Quick thoughts

With a starting price of PHP 16,999, Xiaomi's Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G is one of the more affordable smartphones with both the MediaTek Dimensity 1080 and the 50MP Sony IMX766 sensor combined.

The phone features both a Gorilla Glass protected glass front and a glass back which is impressive at its price point.

We love the 120Hz Flow AMOLED FHD+ screen that produces bright, vibrant, and sharp images. The panel is responsive and we never felt like the phone slowed down or misread our taps or gestures.

The phone's performance is decent across our list of benchmarks and during our daily use. 

The 5,000mAh battery is enough to last a heavy day of smartphone use and with the 67W charger, it will be topped up fairly quickly.

Let's not forget the decent performance from across the rear cameras and selfie cameras. However, we wish the macro camera was replaced with a telephoto or at least saved to give more budget to a more powerful ultra-wide camera. We also would like to see Xiaomi send a firmware update to address the color, skin tone, and white balance of the selfie camera.

Our minor concerns with the phone include the polycarbonate frame, the fingerprint smudge magnet glass panels, and the lack of microSD card expansion.

Those concerns are minor given that you also get a 3.5mm audio jack, IR blaster, NFC, and stereo speakers.

Overall, we find the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G to be a value-for-money pick for customers who prioritize specs.

What do you guys think?