2023 has brought with it an exciting battle between the smartphones of two Chinese behemoths in the Indian market. Xiaomi has just revealed the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ as a top-end offering in its most recognisable lineup while Realme has done the same via its Realme 10 Pro+. Both devices compete in the mid-range segment and offer impressive spec sheets. But which of these two is best suited for your needs? Let’s find out through this detailed comparison of the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ with the Realme 10 Pro+ (review).
Design and appearance
While understandably being a matter of perspective, Realme’s flawless ingenuity on the outside, opulent curves, and overall premium aesthetic leave little room for doubt in favour of the 10 Pro+. Don’t get me wrong, the Redmi is built like a tank and opts for smooth, flat edges that combine with a glass-on-glass construction. However, the 10 Pro+ is lighter and thinner than its competitor and has been made with such elegance that it can be mistaken for a flagship device. Add to that the device’s curved screen on the front which is also a symbol of style, and there’s no doubt that the Realme 10 Pro+ is definitely a much better-looking handset than the Redmi Note 12 Pro+.
Winner: Realme 10 Pro+
Display
Both phones harbour 6.7-inch Super AMOLED panels with FHD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. Thanks to Realme’s curved display, the screen real estate on the device is slightly more than the flat-edged Redmi Note 12 Pro+. Contrast ratio and colour reproduction are equal on the two phones at 5,000,000:1 and 1.07 billion colours respectively. The handsets also have about equal brightness levels measured at nearly 900 nits. However, as far as OTT consumption goes, the Redmi does score over Realme as the former can also display content in Dolby Vision whereas the latter can only do HDR10+. I watched a lot of videos on both smartphones and I can safely say that as far as the visual experience goes, there’s little to separate the two.
Winner: Tie
Cameras
The primary camera on the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ uses Samsung’s 200MP HPX ISOCELL sensor while Realme has a 108MP shooter. As a comparison of daylight shots, there is hardly anything to tell both phones part. They are equally capable of outputting detailed shots with oodles of dynamic range to play around with. They are snappy in terms of focus and shutter speeds while also proficient in replicating natural colours. As for full-resolution shots, of course, the Redmi has the capability of snapping 200MP images to Realme’s 108MP. Even so, the overall increase in detail in the former’s images is not anything significant.
Coming to low-light photography, the Realme 10 Pro+ can be considered a winner to a certain degree. Not that the Note 12 Pro+ shots were bad in regular nighttime scenarios but Realme’s dominance was apparent as far as clarity and details go. However, the Redmi gains even footing when the dedicated Night Mode is turned on for both devices. While the 10 Pro+ is better with the exposure adjustment to compensate for lens flare and excess ambient lighting the Note 12 Pro+ gathers better details and represents the colours more accurately. This round can be given as a tie.
Winner: Tie
Performance
Coming now to performance, MediaTek’s Dimensity 1080 SoC is employed on both devices. This means that as far as processing abilities go, there is nothing to separate the two phones whether you look at benchmark numbers or real-world usage. Even on the CPU Throttle test, in which I ran 20 threads for a period of 30 minutes, the maximum CPU performance was maintained at 88 percent on both devices. Apart from that, the phones use up to 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB of UFS 2.2 internal storage. I can safely say that there is nothing to separate either phone as far as computational prowess goes.
Winner: Tie
Audio and other features
When it comes to the audio setup, you get Dolby Atmos-tuned stereo speakers on both Realme and Redmi phones. They sound quite good and can get reasonably loud without cracking up. The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ also packs in a 3.5mm Hi-res enabled headphone jack for users who still prefer wired products, but this feature is absent on the Realme 10 Pro+. As for authentication purposes, an in-display optical fingerprint sensor is present on the 10 Pro+ while a side-mounted implementation can be seen on the Note 12 Pro+. Both can facilitate snappy unlocking of their respective device but my personal preference is inclined towards Realme’s offering. The 5G bands offered on each device are the same as well so connectivity should not really be an issue.
Winner: Redmi Note 12 Pro+
Software
Now the choice of software can again be a very subjective choice in terms of user experience. Realme uses its own skin called Realme UI 4.0 which runs on Android 13 while the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ has Xiaomi’s MIUI 13 which is still based on Android 12. Personally, I am of the opinion that Realme UI has become a lot more refined in terms of its interface. It doesn’t have separate drop-down windows for quick settings and notifications like MIUI.
I also prefer how the multi-window screen can be swiped horizontally rather than Xiaomi’s vertical implementation. The problem of bloatware still persists across both skins but both UIs have reduced the amount to a considerable degree. That being said, the 10 Pro+’s presence of Android 13 out-of-the-box as opposed to the Note 12 Pro+, gives the former a software advantage.
Winner: Realme 10 Pro+
Battery
Talking also about battery life, the Realme 10 Pro+ packs in a 5,000mAh cell inside its rather slim chassis while on the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ this number is 4,950mAh. During my time with both devices, I got about an equal screen on time which is understandable given their similarities in display, SoC and battery capacity. However, the ace-up Redmi’s sleeve is its 120W fast charging that can juice up the phone completely in 17 minutes. For the Realme 10 Pro+, this time is about 30 minutes as it has 67W charging capabilities.
Winner: Redmi Note 12 Pro+
Verdict
In conclusion, the Realme 10 Pro+ gathered two points to Redmi Note 12 Pro+’s two and there were three rounds which were tied. So which handset was bette? It depends on what kind of use case you desire from your smartphone. Performance, 5G capabilities and display metrics on both devices are quite similar. If design and image-taking prowess factor in your buying decision then Realme 10 Pro+ is your best bet. However, if you want a proper wired audio experience, Dolby Vision on OTT platforms and faster charging, then the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ is the phone for you.
