Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro+ review

Design, build quality, handling

The entire Redmi Note 12 lineup features 6.67-inch displays and similar camera housings - meaning they are lookalikes, and if they are facing you, it will be impossible to distinguish them.

The Redmi Note 12 phones also adopt the clean camera housing seen on the Xiaomi 12 flagships, which gives the phones a nice premium touch and a nice departure from the messy island we experienced on the Redmi Note 11 devices.

Redmi Note 12 Pro and Pro+

The guest of honor, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro+, has one key difference from the standard Pro when it comes to design - it has a slightly curved glass back, unlike the perfectly flat back panel of the Note 12 Pro. And it has a matt finish instead of a glossy one as on the Pro.

Indeed, the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ is one of the two dual-glass models within the new series featuring flat Gorilla Glass 5 protection atop its screen and a slightly curved matt glass with polished finish on the back. The frame is made of plastic with a pleasant matt surface.

The Redmi Note 12 Pro+, just like all Note 12 phones, is IP53-rated for dust and light splash resistance. It's not waterproof as the Galaxy A series, but it's still better than nothing.

The Note 12 Pro+ is available in Midnight Black, Polar White and Sky Blue (ours). The blue model slightly changes its hue towards dark/light blue depending on the available light. It's not flashy, on the contrary - quite subtly, and we liked it.

The centerpiece of the Note 12 Pro+ is the 6.67-inch Flow AMOLED screen of extended 1080p resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. It supports Dolby Vision, too.

The panel has reasonably thin bezels and a small perforation centered around the top of the screen - this is the spot of the 16MP selfie camera.

And there is a barely visible outlet above the screen, just above the frame - this is the earpiece slash speaker. Like on many other Redmi phones, this speaker also has a second sound outlet on the frame.

The beautiful back panel is slightly curved as we explained. There is a jutting-out flat metal housing, which accommodates the 200MP primary and the 8MP ultrawide camera, as well as the 2MP macro cam and the LED flash. The primary and UW shooters are surrounded by additional metal rings, which adds even more height to the camera island.

As you can imagine, the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ wobbles a lot if used without a case because of its camera housing. Still, it's a stylish housing piece, like the one on the Xiaomi 12 flagships, and we appreciate the consistency and the new look.

Let's look around the sides now. There is nothing on the left.

The right side houses the volume and power/lock keys. The fingerprint scanner is on the power key as usual, and it's quite fast and reliable. You can adjust its trigger to be on Press instead of on Touch if you are waking it way too often.

The top accommodates the 3.5mm audio jack, another outlet for the top speaker, the IR blaster and a second microphone.

Finally, you can see the dual SIM tray, the primary mic, the USB-C port, and the second speaker at the bottom.

The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ measures 162.9 x 76 x 8.9 mm and weighs 208 grams - that's about a millimeter shorter than the Note 11 Pro+ and a hair thicker.

We found the grip the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ provides satisfying. It sure isn't the most secure, but it's not overly slippery, too. And the overall handling experience is good - the Redmi feels premium in hand because of its design and finish. And most of the time, we didn't feel a need for case. Luckily, if you don't agree with us, a case awaits you in the retail box.