When we look back at this moment in India’s continued smartphone journey, a few years from now it’ll be safe to say Xiaomi’s played its part yet again in defining the course. Much like it changed the face of affordable Android phones in 2014, making it clear that Android phones around the ₹15,000 price point didn’t need to be riddled with compromises. Now, after almost a year of the roll-out of 5G networks in the country, quarterly smartphone shipment data by all accounts indicates users are buying more 5G phones than ever before. Xiaomi’s pitch now leads the momentum towards 5G smartphones around the ₹10,000 price point.
Why I say Xiaomi’s playing the sort of role it did many years ago revolves around a similar pitch. Affordability, something the phone maker knows quite well. The Redmi 12 5G becomes one of the most affordable 5G phones in the country. This isn’t to be confused with a lesser priced 4G-only Redmi 12, nor the Redmi Note 12 5G that has been around for a while now. Many a competition will arrive in the coming months, but nothing takes away from having made the crucial first move. Xiaomi does that.
For the Xiaomi Redmi 12 5G, prices starting ₹11,999 for now, there is complete support for standalone (SA) and non-standalone (NSA) 5G networks. Reliance Jio has deployed the former, Airtel’s 5G services the latter.
Also read:2023 is the year for a reset, says Xiaomi India president Muralikrishnan B
This may be bringing us closer to a proper 5G smartphone experience around the ₹10,000 price mark, but little in terms of any compromises which usually underline cost-cutting. The chip in use is Qualcomm’s newest gen affordable phone chip, the Snapdragon 4 Gen 2, paired with 4GB or 6GB or 8GB RAM. This chip has the 4-nanometer architecture, good news for battery efficiency.
Not only is this chip (at some point, the more RAM you have, the better) more than capable of handling your most used apps with ease, it can also do light gaming too. The only requirement may be that you may have to dial down the resolution settings slightly to factor in for dropped frames as the phone heats up after half an hour of trying to set the fastest lap around Silverstone on F1 Mobile.
Familiarity may be good for some folks who’d likely be switching from a more affordable or ageing Xiaomi phone. Not everyone may have the same opinion. MIUI 14, which is Xiaomi’s interface wrapper around Android 13, offers a lot in terms of customisation. Though it hasn’t changed much in years. Not a criticism of the Xiaomi Redmi 12 5G in particular, but there’s very little that distinguishes MIUI 14 on phones, irrespective of price points. It may be a missed opportunity to give certain phones some unique treatment, at least visually for the interface users will interact with.
We must also point out that the phone is saddled with quite a few preloaded apps, which you may or may not use. Bloatware, in simpler terms.
Also read:5G keeps up the pace, as price wars may belatedly transform home broadband
The 6.79-inch display is a plain LCD. Do not expect a more complex display tech at this price. There is a neat balance found for the refresh rate demands too – this goes up to 90Hz, though even at 60Hz, the screen didn’t seem to have the sort of ‘tearing’ effect with fast moving visuals, as some affordable phones tend to exhibit. But leaving this set at 90Hz, would be our recommendation. It’ll certainly feel significantly better for anyone upgrading from an ageing affordable Android phone.
Another strength of this screen is illumination, which makes it very usable outdoors on a bright, summer day. Even more noticeable is the restrained colour vividness – a tad more wouldn’t have been out of place, but even in this state of tuning, it looks quite sophisticated. There is no HDR support for video streaming apps, but that was to be expected.
Affordable phones simply cannot get by with bad cameras. Neither is Xiaomi taking the risk. The Redmi 12 5G has a 50-megapixel wide camera working alongside a 2-megapixel depth camera. The results are ‘pixel-binned’, which means data from 4 pixels is joined together into one for a 12.5-megapixel image. That’s the default setting, you can choose to change it for full 50-megapixel phones. Some shots deserve those extra details.
From our photography experience with the Redmi 12 5G, it is clear this one of those implementations that have little in terms of tweaking – dictated by affordability, but the positive spin from that is simplicity. Daytime and good lighting photos have consistent detail, well separated colours and shadow areas (if any) are fairly well distinguished. In low light, a simple night mode steps in to illuminate photos more than the actual ambient lighting. Results can vary, including how stable your hands are for a few seconds after tapping the shutter button.
Also read:Xiaomi Pad 6 brings us a step closer to Android tabs as productivity hubs
From the outset, Xiaomi’s been very clear about what the Redmi 12 5G’s positioning is. Make 5G phones more affordable for potential buyers. This then is the closest we’ve gotten to reducing the entry-price for 5G smartphones, close to ₹10,000. In time, that barrier will be breached downward too. For the Redmi 12 5G, specs do provide a solid foundation and the details often overlooked otherwise haven’t been missed. The 5000mAh battery, which easily gets through a day with ease, can be charged with a bundled 22.5-watt charger (the phone’s charging speed tops out at 18-watt; having a charger in the box is a value add). The glass back makes the phone look and feel more expensive.
For what the Xiaomi Redmi 12 5G sets out to achieve, it shouldn’t pose any questions in terms of value or experience. This affordable 5G phone would inevitably face a lot of competition in the coming month. Good news for consumers.
