Almost five months after debuting in China, the Redmi Note 12 series is finally coming to Europe.
Xiaomi had only released the phones in its home country and India at the end of March, when four handsets were officially launched in Paris.
Although the names are so similar, there are many key differences between the Redmi Note 12, 12 5G, 12 Pro and 12 Pro+, which is reflected in the price.
The Redmi Note 12 series includes a basic budget smartphone, a premium mid-range and many more. Here’s everything you need to know.
When will the Redmi Note 12 be released in Europe?
Xiaomi announced the first four Redmi Note 12 series phones in China on October 27: the Redmi Note 12, 12 Pro, 12 Pro+ and 12 Explorer Edition. The Note 12 Speed Edition then arrived in late December.
Then, on January 5, Xiaomi extended the launch to India. However, only the Redmi Note 12, 12 Pro and 12 Pro+ have arrived in the country.
It then had to wait until March 23 for a European launch. The Explorer and Speed editions haven’t made it here either, but the three handsets above have been joined by a 4G-only version of the regular phone. It is said to be added to the Indian lineup soon.
The Note 12, 12 5G, and 12 Pro+ are available now on Xiaomi’s website, where you’ll receive a pair of Redmi Buds 4 Pro earbuds for free for a limited time. Other retailers (Argos and Very in the UK initially) will then be available from March 24.
However, the Note 12 Pro release date has yet to be revealed. But as usual, none of the phones will arrive in North America.
How much does the Redmi Note 12 cost?
Now that the phones have launched in Europe, we have starting prices for all five models in the regions where they are sold. Keep in mind that some devices offer more expensive configurations:
- Redmi Note 12: from £219/$249/₹15,499/¥1,199
- Redmi Note 12 5G: from £279/$299
- Redmi Note 12 Pro: from £339/$399/₹24,999/¥1,699
- Redmi Note 12 Pro+: from £449/$499 ₹25,999/¥2,199
- Redmi Note 12 Explorer Edition: from ¥2,399 (about $330/£285/$330/₹27,500)
- Redmi Note 12 Speed Edition: from ¥1,699 (about $230/£200/$230/₹19,500)
For context, here’s how much last year’s phones cost:
We can’t see the Note 12 series straying too far from these price structures anytime soon, even if more models are launched.
As always, keep in mind that these conversions are very approximate and European prices are generally higher than in China and India. Still, it gives you an idea of what to expect. You can also look at the p
What are the specs and features of the Redmi Note 12?
With a total of six different phones in the Redmi Note 12 series, it’s worth exploring each in more detail:
Redmi Note 12
The Note 12 is a pretty basic budget phone, but it doesn’t look bad by any means. It’s also the least like the other phones in the series, and the only model to have differences between its Chinese and European/Indian models, though those variations are mostly limited to the cameras.
Redmi
It’s powered by the entry-level Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 chip, with up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage in China and Europe, though it’s capped at 6+128GB in India.
Like all phones in the series, you can expect a 6.67-inch OLED display with 2400 x 1080 pixel (FHD+) resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, 240Hz touch sampling rate and support for HDR10+, HDR10 and Dolby Vision.
Despite the OLED screen, it still uses a side fingerprint sensor, but one advantage is that you still get a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Although there is a 5000mAh battery, it is paired with slightly slow 33W wired charging.
As for the cameras, on the Chinese model, the main 48Mp rear camera is only joined by a 2Mp depth sensor. Indian and European models get an extra 8Mp ultrawide at the rear.
There’s a difference on the front too: in China there’s a basic 8Mp selfie camera, while the Indian and European variants move up to a 13Mp sensor.
Like all the phones in the series, it runs Android 13 with MIUI 14. It is an upgrade from MIUI 13, which the phones were initially launched with.
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 1
- 4/6/8 GB RAM
- 128/256 GB storage
- 6.67-inch 120Hz OLED
- 5000mAh battery
- 33W wired charging
- Camera:
- 8Mp ultrawide (Indian and European models)
- 8/13Mp selfie camera (China/India & Europe)
- 5G (option for 4G only)
- WiFi 6
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- IP53
- Android 13 with MIUI 14
A 4G-only version of the Redmi Note 12 is also available in Europe. While you lose 5G support, you gain a more powerful Snapdragon 695 chipset and a 50Mp main camera instead of 48Mp.
Redmi Note 12 Pro
The Pro is the second mainline phone in the series and the most basic of the Pro variants.
Redmi
Like all the other Pro models, it’s powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 1080 chip, here paired with 6, 8, or 12GB of RAM and 128 or 256GB of storage. It contains the same screen as the input model.
The 5,000mAh battery should offer decent longevity, with fairly fast 67W wired charging too. However, that’s one of the main trade-offs you make compared to the Pro+’s 120W.
The other big difference is the camera, where the Pro uses the 50Mp Sony IMX766 sensor for its main camera, at an aperture of f/1.9 and with OIS. The other lenses are identical across the range though: an 8Mp ultra-wide camera and a 2Mp macro camera, with a 16Mp selfie camera on the other side.
- MediaTek Dimension 1080
- 6/8/12 GB RAM
- 128/256 GB storage
- 6.67-inch 120Hz OLED
- 5000mAh battery
- 67W wired charging
- Camera:
- 50Mp, f/1.9 main camera with OIS
- 5G
- WiFi 6
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- IP53
- Android 12 with MIUI 13
Redmi Note 12 Pro+
The Pro+ doesn’t change the formula too much. Performance is the same, except RAM only comes in 8 or 12GB, with storage locked at 256GB.
The battery is the same as the Pro, but charging is faster at 120W.
The camera also gets a major upgrade: the main sensor here is the 200MP Samsung ISOCELL HPX, with a much wider f/1.65 aperture. 200Mp camera sensors are still new, so it remains to be seen how well this camera will hold up, but with the ability to combine 16 pixels into one, it should offer a definite step up from the camera. photo of the Pro.
- MediaTek Dimension 1080
- 8/12 GB RAM
- 256 GB of storage
- 6.67-inch 120Hz OLED
- 5000mAh battery
- 120W wired charging
- Camera:
- 200Mp, f/1.65 main camera with OIS
- 5G
- WiFi 6
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- IP53
- Android 12 with MIUI 13
Redmi Note 12 Explorer Edition
The China-only Explorer Edition is nearly identical to the Pro+, but with two key changes.
First, it has a much smaller 4300mAh battery, so won’t last as long.
But that’s to accommodate the absurdly fast 210W wired charging support, one of the fastest you’ll find on any phone.
It also only comes in a single configuration of 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.
- MediaTek Dimension 1080
- 8 GB RAM
- 256 GB of storage
- 6.67-inch 120Hz OLED
- 4300mAh battery
- 210W wired charging
- Camera:
- 200Mp, f/1.65 main camera with OIS
- 5G
- WiFi 6
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- IP53
- Android 12 with MIUI 13
Redmi Note 12 Speed Edition
The Speed edition came after other phones in China, and while the name suggests it’s fast charging, it’s actually far from the fastest in the line.
In fact, it’s pretty close to the regular Pro model, but with chipset and camera tweaks. For one, it’s powered by the Snapdragon 778G instead of a MediaTek chip.
As for the cameras, it switches to a 108Mp main camera – albeit sadly lacking OIS – although it’s accompanied by similar 8Mp ultra-wide and 2Mp macro units.
At launch, it was also the first phone in the series to ship with Android 13 and MIUI 14 in China.
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G
- 6/8/12 GB RAM
- 128/256 GB storage
- 6.67-inch 120Hz OLED
- 5000mAh battery
- 67W wired charging
- Camera:
- 5G
- WiFi 6
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- IP53
- Android 13 with MIUI 14
We’ll update this article as more information is revealed, so be sure to check back regularly. Until then, you can also check out our roundup of the best budget phones and the best budget Chinese phones for more options.
Table of Contents
