Xiaomi Redmi 12 review

Design and ergonomics

The Redmi 12's design is a big departure from the Redmi 10's design and we feel it's for the better. It's much cleaner and swaps out the plastic back panel for a glossy glass one. Along with the larger screen and bigger footprint that has caused a notable increase in the weight, but at least the Redmi 12 manages to fit in under 200g if only just.

The extra weight might not be the best when carrying the phone around in your pocket, but it has a positive impact on handling, making the Redmi 12 feel much nicer. We also see a flat design all around, including the plastic side frame.

We like the cleaner approach to the back design as a whole. There's no camera island anymore and instead, each camera lens sits in its own ring and protrudes ever so slightly. It reminds us of Samsung's design language for 2023. The available color options are Polar Silver, Midnight Black and Sky Blue and we have the latter in our hands.

The side frame occupants are rather standard. The bottom is home to the USB-C connector and the loudspeaker grille. The SIM card tray resides on the left side, near the top edge, but unlike the Redmi 10, the 12 uses a hybrid slot so you can either have two SIM cards or a microSD card + SIM combo. The right side houses the volume rocker and power button, doubling as a fingerprint reader. The latter is easy to feel and reach and rests right under the right thumb. The top is where the 3.5mm audio jack is.

Xiaomi Redmi 12

The display is, of course, flat with normal bezels as far as budget phones go. We like that the glass panel isn't sticking out much and doesn't form an unnecessary ridge where it meets the side frame. The whole chassis feels rather smooth and is put together tightly.

Xiaomi Redmi 12

Overall, the build quality is excellent. There are no apparent pitfalls or deal-breaking issues and there's nothing to complain about. In fact, we are surprised to see a glass back on a sub-€200 phone. However you shouldn't forget that this is a large 6.79-inch phone with sharp edges, so people with small hands will find it unwieldy.