Xiaomi has officially announced the launch of the Redmi Note 12 Series, months after the devices already hit the shelves in China and India. The announcement came via Xiaomi’s official Twitter account, slating a launch date of 23 March.
Brace yourselves for the #RedmiNote12Series! This launch is going to be so out-of-this-world amazing, you’ll need a space shuttle just to catch up!
Join our live updates on March 23rd at 23:00 (GMT+8) and see what we’re talking about! #LiveVivid pic.twitter.com/SgsjJUbMJo
— Xiaomi (@Xiaomi) March 13, 2023
Judging by Xiaomi’s use of the brand’s main Twitter account, we’d hazard a guess that this is more of a ‘global’ launch than simply an ‘international’ one. As one of the brand’s biggest supporters, South Africa will most likely see the device here. Eventually.
Xiaom-wah?
Xiaomi has yet to reveal the Redmi Note 12’s line-up, savouring the modicum of hype it has managed to build until the official unveiling later this month. But the previous launches in China and India are rather telling – giving us a good idea of what we can expect to see: the more basic Redmi Note 12 5G, succeeded by the Note 12 Pro and Note 12 Pro+.
Spec-wise, however, it would be unwise to compare the global Redmi Note 12 to that of the Indian and Chinese models. Despite being the ‘same’ device, manufacturers often release models with vastly different internals to those of the global release, saving some of the best features for specific markets. Why can’t we have 210W charging, Xiaomi?
That doesn’t mean we don’t have some sort of idea of what the ‘new’ Redmi Note 12’s are packing. A leaker by the name of @_snoopytech_ seems to have gotten hold of the Italian release’s spec sheet for the three devices, giving us a look at a previously unannounced 4G model of the standard Note 12.
Redmi Note 12 Series: All Specs, Colors and Info for Global Markets pic.twitter.com/GRwH6tlKBK
— SnoopyTech (@_snoopytech_) February 27, 2023
It all looks rather official – and the specs provided have a ring of authenticity to them, with plenty matching those of the Chinese and Indian devices – with a few exceptions. Still, it’s worth taking any sort of ‘leak’ with a grain of salt. Known facts make it easy to fake a spec sheet.
Should the leaks be true, we can expect all four devices to feature a 6.67in AMOLED display capable of hitting 120Hz. The two higher-end models will throw in Dolby Vision and Atmos support.
Read More: Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro review – A disappointing sequel
Inside is where things start to differ. The standard Note 12 5G features a Snapdragon Gen 1 chipset, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage. The Pro 5G and Pro+ 5G make use of MediaTek’s Dimensity 1080 processors, with 6/128GB and 8/256GB RAM and storage to boot. We expect there’ll be more to see where these devices’ RAM and storage are concerned at the official launch.
All four models feature a 5,000mAh battery, with the non-Pro models sticking with the 33W wired charging found in the Indian model. The Note 12 Pro features 67W wired charging, while the Pro+ has 120W wired charging.
Those looking for pricing will need to wait for Xiaomi’s official announcement on 23 March. Xiaomi will share live updates at 23:00 (GMT+8) meaning that South Africans can tune in at 17:00 on 23 March.