Xiaomi has officially launched the 12th iteration of it’s Redmi Note series in China. The Redmi Note series has traditionally been the company’s most popular smartphone series, offering great value for money in the budget segment and the 12 series is no different. The Redmi Note 12 series comes in four models, a vanilla 12, a 12 Pro, a 12 Pro Plus and the 12 Discovery Edition.
The Redmi Note 12 Discovery Edition, Redmi Note 12 Pro, and Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus all come equipped with a flat 6.67-inch FHD+, 120Hz OLED screen, the Mediatek Dimensity 1080 5G SoC, and a 16MP selfie camera. The vanilla Redmi 12 gets Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 SoC instead.
The phones also share features like a 3.5mm port, NFC, IR blaster, and Wi-Fi 6 support. But there are a few key differences:
Redmi Note 12 Discovery Edition
This is arguably the most eye-catching Redmi Note 12 model out of the four models launched. The discovery edition comes with a 200MP HPX main camera (f/1.65, OIS). This camera is capable of shooting 200MP shots, 50MP pixel-binned images (using four-in-one binning), or 12.5MP snaps (using 16-in-one binning).
The phone also comes with an 8MP ultrawide camera and the dreaded 2MP macro lens. I honestly don’t why we still have 2MP macro lens in 2022. The phone also differs from its counterparts by offering 210W wired charging. Xiaomi claims a 0 to 100% charge time of just nine minutes. This high wattage comes at the cost of battery capacity though, as you’re only getting a 4,300mAh battery here.
Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus
With the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus you get the same 200MP+8MP+2MP triple rear camera system as the Discovery Edition. However, the Pro Plus model opts for 120W wired charging and a bigger 5,000mAh battery. Expect a 0 to 100% charge time in around 19 minutes, according to Xiaomi.
The Pro Plus comes in four colors, white, black, blue and a special Yibo Edition with green and black dual tone back
Redmi Note 12 Pro
The Redmi Note 12 Pro comes with a 50MP IMX766 main camera (f/1.88, OIS) in addition to the 8MP+2MP pairing. This is the same 50MP sensor seen on flagship phones like the Oppo Find X5 Pro and Asus Zenfone 9. So we’re hopeful that it delivers decent image quality on the Note 12 Pro as well.
The Pro variant also brings a 5,000mAh battery with 67W wired speeds. Expect a 0 to 100% charge time in about 46 minutes. The Pro comes in the same colors as the Pro Plus minus the Yibo Edition Green.
Redmi Note 12
The standard Redmi Note 12 comes with a 6.67-inch OLED display with FHD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate just like its Pro siblings. You also get a massive 5,000 mAh battery with 33W fast charging.
For the cameras you get a 48MP main shooter and the 2MP depth module in addition. The selfie shooter is capped at 8MP and comes in black, white and blue colors.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 series availability and pricing in Kenya
The Redmi Note 12 Discovery Edition starts at 2,399 yuan (~$332, ~Ksh 42,487) for the base 8GB/256GB model, while the Redmi Note 12 Pro starts at 1,699 yuan (~$235, ~Ksh 31,000) for the 6GB/128GB model.
The Pro Plus has a starting price of 2,099 yuan (~$290, ~Ksh 40,000) for the 8GB/256GB model. The regular Redmi Note 12 retails for 1,199 yuan ($165, ~Ksh 22,000) in its base 4/128GB trim and goes up to CNY 1,699 ($235, ~Ksh 32,000) for the 8/256GB model.
Xiaomi has confirmed that these phones are China-only releases for now, but said we should “stay tuned” for global announcements.
