In July 2014, India’s smartphone market changed forever. A lesser-known Chinese brand called Xiaomi was launched in the Flipkart Flash Sale, and Indian smartphone enthusiasts have never looked back. From customers to analysts to reviewers, like this writer, have gone gaga over the smartphone – the Mi 3 – which was launched in China a few months back. But what this phone represented made it especially important.
The Mi 3 was packed with cutting-edge features that were seen in the latest Samsung Galaxy flagships but at a price tag of under Rs 15,000. Of course, Xiaomi was also dumping the last vestiges of the product it was planning to kill. This limited launch of the Mi 3 was going to be the stage for an event that has come to define smartphones in India, in the same ubiquitous way that Nokia once did with its ringtones. And that product was the Redmi Note 2, which also landed in late 2014.
redmi note myth
The 4G model of the Redmi Note becomes the first 4G-enabled device launched in India by the Chinese manufacturer. Since then, according to Xiaomi, the Redmi Note line has sold Over 70 million units in India. It has become the undisputed leader in the smartphone market. But the competition has started gathering pace. With the Redmi Note 12 series, which arrived in India this week, Xiaomi is looking to pull back the gap with a phone that could become the new gold standard for anyone under Rs 30,000.
The first Redmi Note launched in India was an excellent phone, but it was only with the Redmi Note 3 in 2016 that the series became somewhat of a phenomenon. The Note 3 stood out because of its hardware and its great battery life. This was a phone that refused to lose charge. Xiaomi further refined the formula with the Redmi Note 4, with a refined build quality and a better camera. As of 2019, the Redmi Note 7 Pro doubled down on a new design language. It threw in an excellent 48-megapixel camera system and a level of polish that hasn’t been seen in phones under Rs 20,000.
But by the time the pandemic hit, Xiaomi’s pace of innovation began to falter. Its focus in India also shifted towards the more premium Mi line of gadgets. The Redmi Note 9 had a new design and a new chipset, but it was not a dramatic improvement. Similarly, in 2021, when the Redmi Note 10 Pro and Pro Max landed, Xiaomi claimed to add AMOLED screens, a type of vibrant screen technology seen on high-end phones like the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy S. Again not tasty.
By 2021, the likes of Vivo, iQOO and Realme have started to gain hold in the segment as their offerings get progressively better. The Redmi Note 11 Pro launching in 2022 was a case of Xiaomi remixing the design of the Xiaomi 11i 5G and perhaps reducing the specifications and repackaging the device. It just didn’t feel like a unique phone.
Hence, the mission of Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro/Pro Plus is to rekindle the innovation that the series has been known for.
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Redmi’s comeback phone
I have been testing the new Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus for the past few weeks and I can say that Xiaomi has tried its best for it. This is the best feel of a Redmi Note phone since the Note 7. It has sharp metal edges and a polished glass back, which makes it an attractive gadget in the hand. It has an impressive 200-megapixel camera system at the back, which can take great pictures in low-light conditions and does a reliable job when there is good lighting.
It’s also not filled with excessive gimmicks – like low-resolution telephoto cameras or depth sensors. It has a massive battery that lasts over 30 hours on a single charge, even if you max out its range. It also charges at a light speed. Performance is excellent, and the phone has MediaTek’s Helio 1080 processor, which is more than fast enough to handle normal tasks and then some more frills like a session of Fortnite. The game graphics also look good on the phone.
The software is also neat compared to previous Redmi phones. Unwanted ad alerts leak less often, But it could have been better. Xiaomi’s Mi UI software layer works on top of Android 12, which is a bit out of date and has bloat on the system. This means the phone could have been faster had it not been for the sluggish software. Xiaomi insiders tell me that the phone will be improved with the Mi UI 14 update but it may not be good enough.
As good as the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus is, it is still eclipsed by two phones that were launched six months ago – the Google Pixel 6a and the Nothing Phone (1). The Pixel has an exceptional camera and is one of the purest on Android, while nothing out of the box in terms of software, but comes with a unique and exciting design with some useful tricks. Both phones also feel faster than the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus, which makes the Xiaomi phone pale in comparison. But if that is something you fancy, with an excellent camera and great battery life, then the Redmi Note could be your pick.
Sahil Mohan Gupta is a technology journalist based in Delhi. He tweets @DigitallyBones. Thoughts are personal.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)