Redmi’s Note series has been the cornerstone of their global market success, producing countless best-sellers. Recently, the brand unveiled its Note 12 series. With the increasing prevalence of 5G technology, Redmi announced the Redmi Note 12 5G, followed by a 4G-only version of the smartphone. The Redmi Note 12 4G, which launched in India a few days ago, starts at Rs 14,999 and features a new Snapdragon 685 chipset, while other specs are similar to the Note 12 5G. This comparison will examine the differences between the Redmi Note 12 4G and the Redmi Note 12 5G in price, design, and specifications.
Redmi Note 12 4G vs Redmi Note 12 5G: Price in India, availability
To start with, the Redmi Note 12 4G has been launched in India at a starting price of Rs 14,999 for the 6GB/64GB variant and Rs 16,999 for the 6GB/128GB variant. This smartphone is available in three colors namely Sunrise Gold, Ice Blue and Lunar Black.
In contrast, the Redmi Note 12 5G is priced at Rs 17,999 for the 4GB RAM and 128GB storage base model and Rs 19,999 for the 6GB RAM and 128GB storage variant. The handset is also available in three colors namely Frosted Green, Matte Black and Mystic Blue.
Redmi Note 12 4G vs Redmi Note 12 5G: Design, Display, Performance and Camera
design
Both the Redmi Note 12 4G and Redmi Note 12 5G match up well with the Note 12 series and share similar design features. Both the smartphones have plastic frames, polycarbonate back and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection on the front. The difference between the two devices is at the back; The Note 12 4G has a flat back, while the 5G model has a slightly curved back which enhances grip. The devices have similar dimensions, but the Note 12 4G is lighter, weighing 183.5 grams, compared to the Note 12 5G which weighs 188 grams.
Both the smartphones have an IP53 water and dust rating, along with volume rockers on the right, a power button that doubles as a fingerprint scanner at the bottom, a 3.5mm audio jack at the top, along with an IR blaster, and a main speaker Along with the USB Type-C port at the bottom.
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Both the phones share similarities when it comes to the display. They both feature a 6.67-inch AMOLED panel with Full HD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. In our review of the Redmi Note 12 5G, we saw that the sunlight visibility of the display was at par with other devices in this price range, and it had a peak brightness of over 1000 nits. The OLED panel displayed excellent color accuracy and viewing angles, which are important characteristics of a high-quality display. The design of the panel is contemporary, with a small punch-hole at the center for the selfie camera. However, the big chin was the only drawback, and we hope that it will be reduced in the next version.
Processor, RAM and Storage
The Redmi Note 12 4G is equipped with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 685 SoC, which is built on the popular Snapdragon 680 chipset and is the first smartphone in the market to use this particular chip. While the exact performance figures of the Snapdragon 685 are unknown, we can expect it to perform similar to the Snapdragon 695 5G SoC given that it is built on 6nm fabrication. The Note 12 4G is paired with up to 6GB of LPDDR4X RAM and up to 128GB of UFS2.2 internal storage.
On the other hand, the Redmi Note 12 5G is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 SoC, which is also built on the 6nm process. The handset packs up to 6GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB of UFS2.2 internal storage, which can be expanded via microSD card. During our tests, the Note 12 5G scored 366,146 points on the AnTuTu benchmark test, and 635 and 1,991 points on the Geekbench single-core and multi-core tests, respectively.
software
Although both the devices belong to the same series and were launched within months of each other, they come with different operating system versions. Redmi Note 12 4G comes preloaded with the latest MIUI 14 based on Android 13. In contrast, the Redmi Note 12 5G comes with MIUI 13 based on Android 12 out of the box.
However, both the devices promise to get two future Android version updates and three years of security updates. This means that the Redmi Note 12 4G will get the update to Android 15 while the Redmi Note 12 5G will get the update to Android 14.
camera
The area where the Redmi Note 12 4G and Note 12 5G differ from each other is in their camera systems. The Redmi Note 12 4G comes with a triple camera setup that includes a 50MP main camera, an 8MP ultra-wide camera, and a 2MP macro lens. There is a 13MP camera on the front of the device for taking selfies and video calls.
On the other hand, the Redmi Note 12 5G comes equipped with a triple camera setup that includes a 48MP primary sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide camera, and a 2MP macro lens. Similar to the Redmi Note 12 4G, the Note 12 5G also sports a 13MP front-facing camera for taking selfies and video calls.
Neither device comes with optical image stabilization (OIS) support, but the camera app on both the devices offers a number of AI filters and video modes for users to use.
Battery
Both the Redmi Note 12 4G and Redmi Note 12 5G pack a massive 5,000mAh battery that can easily last more than a day of use. They are also equipped with 33W fast charging capability, so that the battery can be recharged in under an hour.
