Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Turbo Smartphone Review – The Redmi Note 12 Turbo came as a shocking entry to the Note 12 Series. It came with the best possible specs in the 12 series, along with the least amount of bezels on the front of the phone. The smartphone is available in both Standard Edition and Harry Potter Edition. The Standard Edition is close to the other models in the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12, but the Harry Potter Edition is quite different.
Redmi Note 12 Turbo was launched on March 28 2023 in China and may be available anytime in the global market. It seems to have all the right hardware in the paper, but how well it can perform in real life can only be judged by a full review. With that said, let’s begin with a review of the new Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Turbo.
Table of Contents
Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Turbo Smartphone Review
Highlights
- The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Turbo has a 6.67 inches OLED display panel with 120 Hz refresh rate support.
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Turbo is powered by the newest Qualcomm Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 chipset for a flagship-like experience.
- The smartphone runs on the latest Android 13 OS with MIUI 14 interface.
- The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Turbo features a 64MP triple camera on the back and a 13MP selfie camera.
- The smartphone Turbo features a Li-Po 5000 mAh battery with 67W fast wired charging support.
Design and Display
Xiaomi has provided a great design with the Standard Edition of the Redmi Note 12 Turbo, but it’s the Harry Potter Edition that’s turning heads left and right. That’s because the Harry Potter Edition features unique art on the back many Harry Potter fans are in love with. Now, limited editions of smartphones are not a new concept. It has been done by a couple of companies in the past, but they all fade away compared to this. It’s a truly great design that has certainly impressed us.
The phone features flat sides with a slight curve at the edge, which makes it great to hold in hand for hours. The phone is certainly big, but one look at the bezel-less display and you will be bound to say it’s worth it. That’s because the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Turbo features a 6.67 inches FullHD OLED display with up to 120Hz high refresh rate, and support for over 68 Billion colors.
On top of that, it features Dolby Vision and HDR10+, which will be great news for those who watch a lot of Netflix and Disney+ content. We wished the phone had some sort of dust and water resistance, but unfortunately, there’s no official mention of that. Anyways, users will receive 1000 nits of HBM brightness to comfortably use the device outdoors.
Memory and Internal
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Turbo has been outfitted with the newest processor from the house of Qualcomm, the 4nm Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 chipset. This processor is so fast that it comes close to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor and you will have a tough time telling them apart in day-to-day scenarios.
The CPU has a max cloaking speed of up to 1×2.91GHz and it can handle anything you through at it, perfect for those who depend on multi-tasking efforts. The Adreno 725 GPU in the chipset can play any game you throw at it, including Genshin Impact, CODm, and PUBG mobile at a smooth framerate. It comes strikingly close to what the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 provided in terms of gaming performance.
But, unlike the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 which was notorious for heating and higher power consumption, the new Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 is quite efficient even during heavy gaming. Apart from the chipset, the phone also has support for 8GB/16GB of RAM along with 256GB to 1TB of internal storage. The smartphone comes with MIUI 14 running on top of the latest Android 13 OS.
Camera
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Turbo has a triple rear camera system with the main camera featuring a 64MP wide sensor. The other two cameras are the 8MP ultra-wide camera and the 2MP Macro lens. The main camera has the capability of capturing some amazing details in your photos with splendid colors and a wide dynamic range.
Even during the night, the camera doesn’t disappoint. Redmi has optimized the sensor to capture as much as light it can, which combined with the night mode algorithm, makes for some amazing night shots. These night shots tend to have a good amount of detail with little to no noise. The selfie camera with a 16MP sensor is also equally impressive. We were particularly surprised by how bright the selfies looked. It managed to capture a good amount of detail with good colors, even skin tones, and a great subject separation.
The portrait mode is also optimized to capture some great portrait shots. It manages to separate the subject from the background effortlessly. The edges of the subject look very natural with a great background bokeh. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Turbo can shoot up to 4K@30FPS from the main rear camera, but the selfie camera maxes out at 1080P@60FPS.
Battery and Others
The smartphone has a Li-Po 5000 mAh battery capacity that has the capability to easily last about 2 days on general usage. This is partly thanks to the new and efficient chipset which consumes very less energy. However, if you play a lot of games, the phone will not last a full day. When it comes to charging, the smartphone has support for 67W fast charging.
Apart from that, the smartphone comes with a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, an Infrared sensor, stereo speakers, GPS, and a USB Type C port for charging. Also, unlike most other smartphones these days, the phone has a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is a rare sight these days. The price of the smartphone starts at $292 (Rs 23,990 in India) approx. for the base model. Furthermore, you can purchase this device in multiple color options – Black, Blue, White, and Harry Potter Edition.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Turbo Pros and Cons
Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Turbo Specifications Detail
Down below you can see the full specifications of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Turbo smartphone.
| Specifications | Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Turbo |
| Network | 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G |
| Announced | March 2023 |
| SIM | Dual SIM |
| Dimensions | 6.34 x 2.95 x 0.31 inches |
| Weight | 181 g |
| Size | 6.67 inches |
| Display | OLED 68B colors 120Hz Dolby Vision HDR10+ 1000 nits brightness 20:9 ratio ~395 PPI density |
| Protection | No |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2400 pixels |
| OS | Android 13, MIUI 14 |
| Chipset | 4nm – Qualcomm SM7475-AB Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 |
| CPU | Octa-core 1×2.91 GHz Cortex-A710 3×2.49 GHz Cortex-A710 4×1.8 GHz Cortex-A510 |
| GPU | Adreno 725 |
| Card slot | No |
| RAM | 8GB, 12GB, 16GB |
| Internal | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB UFS 3.1 |
| Camera | 64 MP (wide), PDAF, OIS 8 MP (120Ëšultrawide) 2 MP (macro) LED flash, HDR, panorama Max – 4K@30fps |
| Selfie | 16 MP (wide) Max – 1080p@30fps |
| Loudspeaker | Yes (stereo speakers) |
| 3.5mm jack | Yes 24-bit/192kHz audio |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e, dual-band |
| Bluetooth | 5.3, A2DP, LE |
| GPS | GPS (L1), GLONASS (G1), BDS (B1I+B1c) GALILEO (E1), QZSS (L1) |
| NFC | Yes |
| Infrared port | Yes |
| Radio | No |
| USB | USB Type-C 2.0, OTG |
| Sensors | Side-mounted fingerprint, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass |
| Battery | Li-Po 5000 mAh 67W wired |
| Colors | Black, Blue, White, Harry Potter Edition |
| Expected Price | $292 (Rs 23,990 in India) approx |
Conclusion
If you want a flagship-like with great design and looks, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Turbo may be the phone you have been looking for. Sure, it doesn’t have water resistance or support for wireless charging, but you can’t really expect all that at this price segment. It provides a premium design and a fantastic experience at a not-so-premium price. From its aesthetical beauty to the new and powerful chipset, the phone will not disappoint.
There are other smartphones in the market with similar features but none of them comes close to the fantastic appearance of the new Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Turbo. Other than the lack of water resistance certification and lack of wireless charging, we couldn’t find any other genuine downside to this smartphone. It’s our recommendation that you give this phone a try. But, if you are not a fan of Xiaomi, but want an alternative smartphone from a different brand, then you can check the Realme 11 Pro Plus. It has a unique design, better camera, and better battery support in almost the same price range.
