Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 5G review

MIUI 14 on top of Android 12

Surprisingly enough, the Redmi Note 12 5G gets an older Android to boot at launch - Android 12. Still, it does get the latest and greatest from Xiaomi - MIUI 14. Then again, the Indian version of the handset launches with the older MIUI 13, so keep that in mind. Feature-wise, that shouldn't be an issue as most MIUI branches share the same feature set, barring any hardware limitations, of coruse. This means that both devices get essentially the same software but the 4G iteration has the latest Android 13 as a base. And we would much rather have the future-proofing of the latest Android version, especially since Android 13 has been around for more than half a year.

Supposedly, MIUI 14 is built almost from scratch as engineers have reworked the core architecture of the MIUI ROM down on Android's Kernel level. That includes new CPU, GPU and memory scheduling, smaller firmware size and decreased memory usage overall. As a result, Xiaomi claims 60% smoother experience and considerably optimized processes. Automatic compression for apps that are not actively used is also there. Unfortunately, though, those are not features that we are able to reliably test and confirm.

Feature-wise, we found some of the advertised functionalities of MIUI 14. The new enlarged folders are here, and the Gallery app gains native text recognition in addition to the Google Lens integration. New large folders on the home screen are also available. Although, the XXL size folders is nowhere to be found so you can choose between Regular and Enlarged.

Large folders

Other features such as Smart Devices toggle for easier management of Xiaomi smart devices, new widgets and a toggle for turning off permanent notifications are nowhere to be found. We are also still waiting for the notification history option, which is an Android-intrinsic feature.

The rest is business as usual, and we will try to focus on features that are somewhat unique to MIUI or are standout functionalities in a way.

The split between a notification shade and Control Center is enabled by default, and that's probably a good thing. We found it to be quite convenient, and it's a way to educate users about MIUI's unique approach to the UI. And in case you are not a fan, you can always revert back to the standard notification shade with quick toggles in one place.

General settings

The home screen, recent apps and the general settings remain unchanged. The app drawer is also enabled by default, and we like that Xiaomi has placed the search bar at the bottom of the screen for easier reach. There are custom and preset app categories for faster navigation.

Home screen, recent apps, notification shade, Control center

Unlike the standard recent apps menu, MIUI's one lists the apps in a vertical arrangement (you can switch to the standard horizontal alignment) and provides several useful shortcuts. That's where you can open up apps in floating windows. However, you can keep up to one app open at a time. In case you want a faster shortcut to apps that support free-form windows, just enable the Sidebar.

Sidebar and Floating windows

Themes have always been a huge part of MIUI, and they are available on MIUI 14, too. You can download new ones from the Themes store, and they can change wallpapers, ringtones, system icons, and even the always-on display style.

Themes app and other customizations

Of course, Always-on display customizations are also available in addition to the presets. The Notification effect lights up the edges of the display when new notifications come in, but there's little in the way of customization other than a couple of different colors and a 'Starlight' option. This effect can work with or without the AOD.

Always-on display options

Moving on to privacy and security, MIUI has come with a pre-installed system Security app. Aside from the additional malware protection layer it provides, the app holds many of the app settings and privacy features in one place. It can manage your blacklist, manage or restrict your data usage, configure battery behavior, and free up some RAM. It can also manage the permissions of your installed apps, define the battery behavior of selected apps, and apply restrictions only to certain apps.

Security app

All in all, MIUI 14 has changed little over the 13th iteration in terms of overall user experience, and that's not bad. It's just as snappy and customizable as ever.

Xiaomi has paid special attention to the haptics on this unit, and we found the motor to be crisp, strong, accurate and responsive. It reacts to many actions across the system and when navigating. There's even a haptic feedback intensity if you find it obtrusive or not strong enough.

Benchmark performance

The Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 has been released over half a year ago, but this is the first time we get to play around with it. The adoption rate of some of the recent Qaulcomm chipsets has been rather slow. In any case, the Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 is supposed to succeed the Snapdragon 400 series SoCs offering higher efficiency and performance. The chip is based on TSMC's 6nm manufacturing node and employs an octa-core CPU.

The CPU itself consists of 2x Cortex-A78 cores runnig at 2.0 GHz while the other 6x Cortex-A55 cores are ticking at 1.8 GHz. The Adreno 619, on the other hand, takes care of the GPU-intensive tasks. This GPU in particular has been used in many Snapdragon 600 and 700 series chipsets, so it's more than welcome in the low-end Snapdragon tier.

The device we are reviewing is the stop specced version with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. Otherwise, the handset is sold in 4GB/128GB and 6GB/128GB flavors. Now without further ado, let's get to the benchmarks.

AnTuTu 9

Higher is better

• Redmi Note 12 Pro
  490526
• Realme 10 Pro
  401860
• Poco X5
  400895
• Galaxy A33 5G
  394918
• Redmi Note 12
  360745
• Redmi Note 12 4G
  319219

GeekBench 5 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Redmi Note 12 Pro
  758
• Galaxy A33 5G
  742
• Realme 10 Pro
  698
• Poco X5
  693
• Redmi Note 12
  588
• Redmi Note 12 4G
  440

GeekBench 5 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Redmi Note 12 Pro
  2229
• Poco X5
  2088
• Realme 10 Pro
  2021
• Redmi Note 12
  1998
• Galaxy A33 5G
  1900
• Redmi Note 12 4G
  1797

Unfortunately, we weren't able to run the full set of benchmarks on the Redmi Note 12 5G as some of them were restricted. Still, Geekbench and AnTuTu are enough to gauge the Snapdragon 4 Gen 1's overall performance. And besides, we already have plenty of Adreno 619 GPUs tested in our database.

In the context of other chipsets within the same price bracket, the Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 performs well. It does fall behind the competition in single-threaded workloads but manages to keep up in multi-core CPU scenarios. In combined tests, SoC falls behind the rest. It only beat the Snapdragon 685 on the Redmi Note 12 4G and the Redmi Note 11 from last year with a similar Snapdragon 680.

Other phones running the Snapdragon 695 clearly have more horsepower under the hood. Even Samsung's Exynos 1280 chip seems to be a better performer in two of the scenarios. It falls behind the SD4 Gen 1 only in the single multi-core Geekbench test.