Redmi launched a new entry-level phone in the Chinese market today, the Redmi 12C. This is the first phone under the Redmi 12 series, and we are expecting more phones under this series to be launched soon. Since it is an entry-level phone, it is pretty cheap, with a starting price of ¥699, which translates to around $100.
Redmi 12C has quite a unique design which includes the fingerprint scanner placed in the camera module and a textured back for better grip and fewer fingerprints. The display on the front has a waterdrop notch and a thick bottom bezel. The 3.5mm headphone jack is on the top, and there is a micro-USB port on the bottom. It is a shame that we are in 2023 now, and smartphones are still shipping with a micro-USB port. Yes, it is a super affordable entry-level phone, but Type-C should be the default, at least for Android smartphones.
Apart from the design, another USP of this device is performance. It is rocking the MediaTek Helio G85 SOC, which has an octa-core CPU with a max clock speed of 2.0GHz. The GPU is Mali-G52 MP2 with a maximum frequency of 1GHz. The chip was launched a couple of years ago, but considering the starting price, Redmi 12C should offer a pretty solid performance. The base variant has 4GB LPDDR4X RAM and 64GB storage (eMMC 5.1).
The camera setup on the rear includes a 50MP sensor for the primary shooter. There is no information on the website on the second rear camera, so that means it is either a depth sensor or a macro camera. For selfies, there is a 5MP sensor. Both the front and the back cameras support FHD video recording at 30fps. There is a 6.71-inch HD+ IPS LCD.
Redmi 12C has a 5,000mAh battery and supports 10W charging. MIUI 13 runs out of the box.
Finally, here is the pricing for China –
- 4GB + 64GB – ¥699 (~$101)
- 4GB + 128GB – ¥799 (~$116)
- 6GB + 128GB – ¥899 (~$130)