Year after year, the Redmi Note series phones are among the best sellers in the mid-range. The reason is that they are affordable devices, with good features and a careful design, making them very attractive for those who do not want to spend a lot of money.
Recently, Xiaomi presented its Redmi Note 12, which even has a special version with the most powerful fast charge on the market. Today we will not talk about the latter, but about the simplest model of this family, which is one of the best sellers. What are we going to do? We will compare the Redmi Note 12 vs. Redmi Note 11 to find out if the change is worth it. Will there be enough improvements? Was the generation gap big enough?
Comparison table with all specifications: Redmi Note 12 versus Redmi Note 11
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specs
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Xiaomi Redmi Note 12
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Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
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|---|---|---|
| Dimensions and weight | 165.88 x 76.21 x 7.98mm. 188 grams. | 159.8 x 73.8 x 8mm. 179 grams. |
| Screen | 6.67″ Full HD+ (1080 x 2400 pixels) with OLED panel, maximum brightness of 1200 nits and refresh rate of 120 Hz . | 6.43″ Full HD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels) with OLED panel, maximum brightness of 1000 nits and refresh rate of 90 Hz . |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 with Adreno 619 graphics. | Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 with Adreno 610 graphics. |
| RAM | 4, 6 or 8 GB LPDDR4X. | 4 or 6 GB LPDDR4X. |
| Storage | 128 or 256 GB in UFS 2.2 format. | 64 or 128 GB in UFS 2.2 format. |
| Rear camera | 50 MP main with PDAF. 2 MP depth sensor with f / 2.4. Dual-LED flash. |
50 MP main with f / 1.8 and PDAF. 8 MP ultra wide angle with f / 2.2 and 118º viewing angle. 2 MP macro with f / 2.4. 2 MP depth sensor with f / 2.4. LED flash. |
| Frontal camera | 8MP with f/2.0. | 13 MP with f / 2.4. |
| connectivity | Dual band WiFi 6, Dual SIM 5G , Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, GPS, USB-C, side fingerprint reader, infrared and IP53 water resistance. | Dual band WiFi 5, Dual SIM 4G , Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, GPS, USB-C, side fingerprint reader, infrared, stereo speakers and IP53 water resistance. |
| Drums | 5000 mAh with 33W fast charge. | 5000 mAh with 33W fast charge. |
| Operating system | Android 12 with MIUI 13. | Android 11 with MIUI 12. Upgradable to Android 12 with MIUI 13. |
| Price | From €165 . | From €179 . |
| buy it here |
The minimalist design and its 120 Hz screen put the Redmi Note 12 ahead
We cannot deny that the back of the Redmi Note 11 is visually attractive, but the Redmi Note 12 goes further. Xiaomi gets rid of any extra in the appearance of the Redmi Note 12 that ends up overloading them. Thus, the result is a more minimalist design, uniform and attached to the company’s top of the range , it is also thinner. Of course, plastic is maintained as the main material for its manufacture.
On the front, Redmi does not make major changes to the frames , as they are very similar between both models, as well as the perforation for the camera. However, the screen does have different improvements, putting the Redmi Note 12 far ahead.
The first thing is that the screen of the Note 12 is larger (6.67 “vs. 6.43”) ; Then, they may share a panel with AMOLED technology and Full HD + resolution, but the screen of the Redmi Note 12 is 120 Hz . Finally, the new generation model also has better brightness, with a peak of 1,200 nits, compared to 1,000 nits for its rival.
A good leap forward in performance and 5G connectivity continue to give the Note 12 an edge
Something curious that happens with the Redmi Note 12 is that its processor is from the Qualcomm 4 series, designed for the lower-middle range. Instead, the Note 11 chip is from the 6 series (mid-range). Even so, the Note 12 uses a state-of-the-art SoC, which represents a significant leap over the performance of previous versions.
The Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 of the Redmi Note 12 achieves about 389,000 points in AnTuTu, while the Snapdragon 680 of the Note 11 stays at 248,000 points. We are talking about almost 150,000 points of difference, an equivalent to 56% more power in favor of the Redmi Note 12 .
In addition, the Note 12 has 5G connectivity , its minimum storage is 128 GB and the maximum RAM capacity is 8 GB . Instead, the Note 11 stays at 4G LTE, 64 GB (minimum) and 6 GB of RAM (maximum).
Regarding the charging system, both models are the same: 5000 mAh capacity and 33 W fast charge for both. In terms of software, the Redmi Note 12 is better positioned for carrying Android 12 under MIUI 13 from the factory. The Redmi Note 11 can be updated to the same version, but the Note 12 will have a year of support (it will receive Android 13).
The cameras of the Redmi Note 12 are a significant setback compared to the Redmi Note 11
Moving on to the cameras, we consider that the Redmi Note 12 took an important step back compared to the sensors of the previous model. The Note 12 only has two rear cameras, 48 MP + 2 MP . Meanwhile, the Note 11 had four cameras, 50 MP + 8 MP + 2 MP + 2 MP. With the front camera there is also a setback, since it goes from 13 MP (Note 11) to 8 MP (Note 12).
It is likely that the main sensor of the Note 12 offers better results, but removing 2 cameras and leaving the least useful of all (depth) is quite serious . Perhaps leaving the ultra wide angle or good macro sensor the blow would have been less.
The Redmi Note 12 is far superior to the Note 11, unless mobile photography is your thing
We have reached the end of this comparison and we only need to address one detail: the price. The Redmi Note 11 can be obtained from €179 in its base version of 4 GB + 64 GB. Meanwhile, the Redmi Note 12 starts at €165 in its 4 GB + 128 GB version .
The Redmi Note 12 is not only cheaper, it also has the rest of the advantages that we mentioned in this article. For all this, the Redmi Note 12 is definitely a much more successful purchase than the Redmi Note 11, even if you already have the latter. Although, eye, we will make an exception.
If you take a lot of photos, the Redmi Note 11 will probably be more useful to you , since its cameras are much more varied. For all other use cases, the Redmi Note 12.
