Since last year, the Redmi Note series has started a product strategy of two updates a year, one generation is “Performance King Kong”, and the other is “Experience King Kong”. The just-released Redmi Note 12 Pro+ is the latter. This time, “imaging” is one of the main selling points.
Redmi Note 12 Pro+ specs and features:
- 6.67-inch OLED display
- 2400*1080, 120Hz refresh rate
- 200MP+8MP+2MP rear camera
- 16MP front selfie camera
- Dimensity 1080 processor
- 5000mAh battery + 120W fast charge
- $339 – Check latest price on AliExpress, AliExpress (Note 12 Pro), Amazon US or other Amazon countries
In the past, few mobile phone manufacturers used “images” as the selling point of mobile phones with a price of 1,000 CNY, and mobile phone manufacturers were more willing to focus on performance and battery life. This time, the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ is equipped with a 200MP main camera, which opens a gap in imaging compared with mobile phones in the same price range.
Appearance & Display & Charging
The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ is not too brilliant in appearance, and continues the practical workmanship. The back of the 3D curved fuselage has a matte, delicate and silky touch to maintain a comfortable grip. The middle frame is made of plastic. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro+ in my hand is the blue version. Under the condition of light exposure, the back of the fuselage shows a gradual transition between bright blue and dark blue, and under different angles of light, it presents different visual perceptions.
The rear camera module adopts the more common rectangular design this year, and adopts a 1+1+1 camera placement method. Among them, the 200-megapixel main camera is located at the top, and the word “200MP” is also hot-stamped on its side. The rear camera module is placed in the middle of the side is a 2MP macro camera, and the bottom is an 8MP wide-angle camera. In addition, the flash light is also integrated into the rear camera module.
The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ uses side fingerprint unlocking and integrates the identification module into the power button. It is no different from the ordinary power button in appearance, but the measured fingerprint unlocking success rate is higher. Even if my thumb is sweaty, it can still be unlocked. Compared with the optical fingerprint unlocking under the screen, I think this side fingerprint solution is more practical. However, because the fingerprint recognition area is relatively small, it is recommended to enter more fingerprints on the edge of the finger when entering fingerprints.
The front of the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ is equipped with a 6.67-inch centered single-hole OLED display. The screen has a resolution of 2400*1080, supports 120Hz high refresh rate, 100% P3 color gamut, and 1920Hz high-frequency PWM eye protection dimming. The screen can also be seen clearly outdoors, and the dark light can also protect the eyes. The digging hole for the front camera is very small, which minimizes the screen defects caused by the digging hole, and a 16MP selfie camera is built in.
The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ has a built-in 5000mAh battery with a 120W super fast charge. This large battery and ultra-high-specification charging power greatly eases battery life anxiety, and it can be fully charged in about 20 minutes.
In other respects, the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ is equipped with stereo dual speakers, which can be played horizontally to form a stereo field, and the 3.5mm headphone jack is retained. It is also equipped with an infrared sensor that allows the phone to act as a remote control. In addition, it also has built-in NFC function, which can simulate bus cards, door keys, etc.
200MP main camera, is it practical?
The 200MP main camera on the rear of the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ is equipped with OIS optical image stabilization. It uses Samsung HPX image sensor, 1/1.4″ CMOS sensor, single pixel size is 0.56μm, supports 4 pixels in one, and synthesizes 50MP photos with 1.12μm pixel size. Up to 16-pixel integration is supported to synthesize 12.5MP photos with a 2.24μm pixel size.
The default shot sample is 12.5MP, which is a photo of 16 pixels in one. In Camera – More – Ultra HD mode, 50MP photos can be taken by default. Only by lighting up the “200MP” of the shooting interface can you shoot with 200-megapixel. The shooting speed is very fast, and the shooting can be completed in less than 1s.
Compare the 12.5MP, 50MP, and 200MP samples of the Redmi Note 12 Pro+. After enlarging the photo, it will be obvious that 200MP and 50MP have higher definition than 12.5MP. However, compared with 50MP, 200MP has no obvious improvement in definition, and the details after zooming in high-pixel proofs will feel smeared.
200 million pixel photo crop
In addition, the ultra-clear mode also provides a 2X shooting focal length, and there are still two imaging specifications of 200MP and 50MP. Compared with the normal mode, the 2X shooting quality is also clearer.
2x photos at 200MP (Ultra-Clear Mode)
However, it should be noted that when the ultra-clear mode is turned on to take photos, AI optimization or HDR mode cannot be activated, resulting in some overexposure in mobile phone photos, which will be more obvious when shooting night scenes. For example, in the photo below, in the light-emitting light strips and light-emitting fonts of the building, the ultra-clear high-pixel proofs lack the suppression of highlights, while the default shooting mode optimizes the highlights.
200MP night view photos
I think the significance of 200MP is when I see a beautiful scenery that I want to take, but I don’t know how to compose the picture for a while. So directly use the 200MP ultra-clear mode, take the next large pixel photo, and then get a better composition by cropping. Or crop out a distant scene, retaining the still clear picture quality details.
In the album, the 50MP and 200MP photos taken will have a “smart composition” option. Click on the smart composition to automatically generate cropped photos in 1:1, 4:3, 16:9 and other composition methods, choose the one you think looks good, and you can use it directly.
As for the image size, the 200MP photo is about 30MB, and the 50MP photo is about 12MB.
In sunny weather, the imaging colors of the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ tend to be richer. Especially when taking photos of the sky, the sky will be too blue, but fortunately such rich colors are more eye-catching. For most people who have no photography foundation, they can also take good-looking photos.
In most lighting conditions, the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ still has good shooting performance. The colors are rich and bright, in line with the aesthetic preferences of the public, and the details are relatively clear. Even in a backlight environment, the backlight part still has a fairly good picture quality.
When shooting night markets at night, or buildings with light, the shooting effect of Redmi Note 12 Pro+ is not bad. It is bright and not lacking in details, and the processing of light and shade complements each other, but in some scenes, the suppression of highlights is still lacking. In low-light scenes, the shooting effect of Redmi Note 12 Pro+ is relatively general, the picture brightness is not enough, and the color loss will be more obvious.
Although the Remi Note 12 Pro+ is not equipped with a telephoto camera, the default shooting interface provides a 2X zoom shooting focal length. Get a telephoto angle of view by cropping. Although the image quality has declined, it at least satisfies the telephoto shooting and provides a maximum zoom factor of 10 times.
In addition, the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ also has an 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens and a 2MP macro lens at the rear, and the shooting performance is average and barely usable.
Dimensity 1080, slightly improved performance
In terms of performance, the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ uses the Dimensity 1080 processor. The CPU consists of two 2.6GHz Cortex-A78 large cores and six 2.0GHz Cortex-A55 small cores, while the GPU is still Mali-G68 MC4, which is equivalent to the overclocked version of Dimensity 920, with slightly stronger performance.
It got 500,000 points in AnTuTu, the storage sequential read speed is 1008.9MB/s, and the sequential write speed is 822.5MB/s. The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ uses UFS2.2 flash memory and LPDDR4x memory, and the phone in my hand has a 12GB+256GB storage specification.
When playing the “Honor of King” game, the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ can set the game screen to the highest frame rate and ultra-high resolution. Runs at a maximum of 90 fps for 30 minutes. The average frame rate of the game is 87.3FPS, the game process is smooth, and there is no obvious jank.
After 30 minutes of gaming, using an infrared thermometer, the highest temperature on the front of the phone was 39.1°C and the back was 40.3°C.
Redmi Note 12 Pro+ can also play “Game For Peace”, but the maximum game frame rate can only be set to 60 frames. At this time, the game picture quality is smooth, and the game frame rate fluctuates, but the experience does not feel obvious jank, and the average game frame rate is 57.83FPS.
However, the performance of the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ is not enough to support the smooth running of the “Genshin Impact” game. From a performance point of view, the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ has no problem playing games such as “Honor of King” and “Game For Peace”, and the daily mobile phone experience is relatively smooth.
Conclusion
From the perspective of performance, photography, battery life, charging, etc., the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ is a better configuration in the same price range, and the performance is also good. The Redmi Note 12 series is an “experience-oriented” model that provides different mobile phone choices for different groups of people, filling the market shortage of camera phones in this price range.
Check the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ price:
- Check latest price on AliExpress (Note 12 Pro+)
- Check latest price on AliExpress (Note 12 Pro)
- Check latest price on Amazon US (Note 12 Pro)
- Check latest price on other Amazon countries (Note 12 Pro)
