If you are looking for a smartphone that offers 5G connectivity, a large display, a powerful processor, and a decent Camera, all at an affordable price, then you might want to check out the Redmi 12 5G. This is the latest offering from Xiaomi’s sub-brand Redmi, which aims to make 5G more accessible to the masses. The Redmi 12 5G was launched in India on August 1, 2023, at a starting price of just Rs 10,999, making it the most affordable 5G smartphone in the market. But does the Redmi 12 5G do anything more than bringing 5G to the masses? In this blog article, we will take a look at the key features and specifications of the Redmi 12 5G and see how it fares against its competitors.
Design and Display
The first thing that catches your eye when you look at the Redmi 12 5G is its sleek and premium design. The smartphone has a glass back with Corning Gorilla Glass protection, which gives it a nice and glossy look. The back panel also has a minimalistic design, with no separate camera module. Instead, the smartphone sports three individual rings for the dual rear camera and the LED flash. The glass back also makes the phone resistant to fingerprints and smudges.The Redmi 12 5G has a metal-like frame, which is actually made of plastic with a metallic paint finish. The frame has curved edges, which make the phone comfortable to hold and use. The phone also has an IP53 rating, which means it can withstand some water splashes and dust. The phone has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, which is integrated into the power button on the right side. The volume buttons are also on the right side, while the left side has a hybrid SIM slot that can accommodate two nano-SIM cards or one nano-SIM card and one microSD card. The bottom edge has a USB Type-C port and a speaker grille, while the top edge has a 3.5mm headphone jack and an IR blaster.The front of the Redmi 12 5G boasts a 6.79-inch IPS LCD display with a punch-hole notch for the selfie camera. The display has an FHD+ resolution of 1080×2460 pixels and a pixel density of 396 ppi, which makes it sharp and clear. The display also has a refresh rate of 90Hz, which makes it smooth and responsive. The display can dynamically switch between different refresh rates depending on the content on the screen, which helps in saving battery life. The display also has a brightness of 550 nits, which makes it readable in outdoor conditions. The display has thin bezels on the sides and top, but a noticeable chin at the bottom.Performance and SoftwareThe main highlight of the Redmi 12 5G is its processor, which is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 chipset. This is the world’s first smartphone chipset that is fabricated using a cutting-edge 4nm process, which offers better performance and power efficiency than its predecessor, Snapdragon 4 Gen 1. The Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 chipset has an octa-core CPU with two Cortex-A78 cores clocked at 2.2GHz and six Cortex-A55 cores clocked at up to1.8GHz. The chipset also has an Adreno 613 GPU for graphics processing.The Redmi 12 5G comes in three variants: 4GB RAM +128GB storage, 6GB RAM +128GB storage, and8GB RAM +256GB storage. The phone also supports virtual RAM technology, which means it can use some of its internal storage as additional RAM when needed. This can boost the performance and multitasking capabilities of the phone. The phone also supports microSD cards up to1TB for further storage expansion.The Redmi 12 5G runs on Android 13 operating system with MIUI14 custom skin on top. MIUI14 offers several features and customisations for the users, such as themes, wallpapers, gestures,app drawer,dark mode,floating windows,second space,game turbo,and more. However, MIUI14 also comes with some bloatware and ads, which can be annoying for some users.CameraThe Redmi125G has a dual rear camera setup consisting of a50MP primary camera with an f/1.8 aperture and phase detection autofocus (PDAF), and a2MP depth sensor with an f/2.4 aperture for portrait shots. The rear camera can capture detailed and vivid photos in daylight conditions, with good dynamic range and colour accuracy. The rear camera also supports HDR mode,night mode,pro mode,AI scene detection,and film filters. The rear camera can record videos up to1080p resolution at30fps.The Redmi125G has an8MP selfie camera with an f/2.0 aperture and a 1.12-micron pixel size. The selfie camera can take decent selfies in good lighting conditions, with natural skin tones and facial details. The selfie camera also supports HDR mode,portrait mode,AI beautify,and film filters. The selfie camera can record videos up to1080p resolution at30fps.Battery and ChargingThe Redmi125G is powered by a5000mAh battery, which can easily last for a full day of moderate to heavy usage. The phone also supports18W wired charging with a USB Power Delivery (PD) protocol, which can charge the phone from zero to 50 percent in about 40 minutes, and from zero to 100 percent in about 90 minutes. However, the phone does not support wireless charging or reverse charging.Final VerdictThe Redmi125G is a budget smartphone with a premium feel. It offers a lot of value for money, with its 5G connectivity, large display, powerful processor, and decent camera. The phone also has a long-lasting battery life and a sleek design. However, the phone also has some drawbacks, such as slow charging, bloatware, and dull display. The phone faces tough competition from other budget 5G smartphones, such as the Realme Narzo 35 5G, the POCO M4 Pro 5G, and the Samsung Galaxy A23 5G. However, if you are looking for a smartphone that offers a balanced performance and features at an affordable price, then the Redmi125G is worth considering.
