Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus vs Realme 12 Pro Plus: Which Phone Will Dominate The Midrange Segment?

10/01/2024

Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus Vs Realme 12 Pro Plus

The midrange smartphone segment is heating up once again with the arrival of the Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus 5G. With a brand-new design and a plethora of under-the-hood upgrades, the newest and the most powerful iteration of the Redmi Note series is surely going to sway the crowds in its favour. But what is Realme going to do about it?

After last year’s impressive Realme 11 Pro Plus, could Xiaomi’s biggest rival do any wonders with the upcoming Realme 12 Pro Plus? An in-depth Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus vs Realme 12 Pro Plus comparison is one way to solve the dilemma.

Even though Realme follows a different product launch cycle, it hasn’t shied away from hinting at everything we could expect from the next-generation Realme midrange series. Instead of the much-hyped 200-megapixel camera sensor, Realme’s next selling point will be a periscopic camera setup. Additionally, a bunch of leaks gave us a glimpse of the design as well as most of the internal specifications, and all of them point at a tempting ‘jack-of-all’ Android smartphone.

Will this throw a spanner in Redmi’s plans of dominating the midrange segment with the Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus? Let’s find out.

Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus vs Realme 12 Pro Plus specifications comparison

Design and build

For the first time, choosing between a Redmi and a Realme is tricky as far as design is concerned. Realme usually has an upper hand with trendy design and choice of cool materials as well as finishes (look at the Realme 11 Pro Plus as an example).

For the Realme 12 Pro Plus, the design is largely unchanged and efforts seem to have been made to make it look a bit more elegant. The single central character line and the large circular camera hump along with the curved edge display continue to be the key highlights of the design.

Image: Courtesy Xiaomi and TENAA

On the other hand, the Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus goes for a different design direction, one that’s more in line with the language seen on Samsung’s Galaxy S23 series. Standout camera lenses and the multi-tone colour design, whether on glass or vegan leather finish, make it one of the prettiest Redmi smartphones ever made.

Redmi has also given in to a curved edge display and used Gorilla Glass Victus for superior resistance to scratches and drops.

Winner: Tie

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Display

The Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus wins this round by a slight margin, courtesy of its 6.67-inch 1.5K pixel resolution OLED display with 120Hz refresh rate and curved edge panel. The Realme 12 Pro Plus also features a curved edge 6.7-inch 120Hz AMOLED display but offers a lower FHD+ pixel resolution. Both devices will feature an optical fingerprint sensor.

Winner: Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus

Performance

The Realme 12 Pro Plus is rumoured to launch with the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chipset, which also powers the more affordable Redmi Note 13 Pro. This is expected to be accompanied by the updated RealmeUI 5 interface based on Android 14 out-of-the-box. The handset will also come with up to 12GB LPDDR4X RAM and up to 512GB storage.

Image: Courtesy Redmi

The Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus, on the other hand, features a slightly faster MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Ultra chipset with higher CPU and GPU clock speeds. Although this phone is said to get Xiaomi’s HyperOS, the company has stuck with the older MIUI 14 interface based on Android 13. Given Xiaomi’s infamous history of releasing Android updates, it might be a while before this 2023 smartphone tastes the latest version of Android.

While the Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus has an advantage with regards to raw performance, its older software version gives the lead to Realme’s newer OS interface.

Winner: Realme 12 Pro Plus

Camera

This is another area where both of these midrange phones have gone in opposite directions. The Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus sticks to the hype of the 200-megapixel primary rear camera accompanied by an 8-megapixel ultrawide sensor and a 2-megapixel macro sensor. This 200-megapixel main sensor should offer advantages with sharpness, details and good digital zoom performance.

The Realme 12 Pro Plus ditches its pursuit of having a higher megapixel sensor and instead opts for a versatile setup. The main rear shooter has a 50-megapixel sensor accompanied by an 8-megapixel ultrawide shooter and a 64-megapixel telephoto camera setup with 3x optical zoom. This setup should allow for better quality zoom photos as well as a nicer look to portrait photos with more natural bokeh. If Realme tunes it well, the Realme 12 Pro Plus could end up being one of the best camera smartphones in this price segment.

Winner: Realme 12 Pro Plus

Battery

The Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus features an industry-standard 5,000mAh capacity battery that relies on Xiaomi’s proprietary 120W fast wired charging to get filled up from 0-100 per cent in under 30 minutes. The Realme 12 Pro Plus leaks hint at a slightly smaller 4,880mAh capacity battery and could feature Realme’s 100W SuperVOOC wired charging solution capable of doing 0 to 100 per cent full recharge in under 30 minutes, too.

Despite the disparity in on-paper figures, both smartphones should be able to last an entire day under moderate use cases.

Winner: Tie

Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus vs Realme 12 Pro Plus: Our verdict

Representational Image: Courtesy Xiaomi and Realme

Winner: Realme 12 Pro Plus

Realme has dominated the premium midrange smartphone space for the last few years and despite the best of Xiaomi’s efforts, it seems that Realme is all set to nab the win once more in 2024.

Not only does the Realme 12 Pro Plus seem to have a more versatile camera setup but the rest of the package provides for a well-balanced smartphone, especially when you consider its design, display and performance aspects. If Realme goes for a slightly aggressive pricing, the competition has to go back to the drawing board.

That’s not to say the Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus is a poor choice. After the disappointment that was the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus, Xiaomi has made big strides in build quality, design, display and the battery department. However, an unstable MediaTek chipset coupled with an older version of Android and a dated camera configuration makes it difficult to recommend it over the Realme 12 Pro Plus.

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