They are both contenders for being among the best phones you can get for under Rs 35,000. But they are about as different as chalk and cheese. One promises terrific photography and crazy fast charging, while the other comes laden with a truckload of processor power and clean software. Both are making their way up the price ladder too. So which of the two should you go for — the newly launched OnePlus Nord 3 or the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus? Let us try and figure that out for you.
OnePlus Nord 3 Vs Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus: Design & Appearance
They both sport tall displays, straight sides, and slightly curved backs, and come with a glass front and back, but there’s no way in which you could mistake a OnePlus Nord 3 for a Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus or vice versa.
The Nord 3 follows OnePlus’ minimalistic approach to design, and its Misty Green variant has a slightly glossy finish to it while the Tempest Gray has a more matte touch. The Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus is more flashy with its shiny Arctic White, Iceberg White, and Obsidian Black colourways.
The Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus has also placed its three cameras on a rectangular camera unit which juts out very strikingly, while the Nord 3 has placed its three cameras in two rather large spherical enclosures on the back.
The Nord 3 is slightly more compact, being 162.6mm tall as against 162.9mm of the Note, is noticeably slimmer (8.1mm against 8.9mm) and is also lighter at 193.5g compared to 208g, but the difference is generally not very apparent.
The Nord 3 also sports narrower bezels around its display, which is actually slightly larger than the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus. Both phones come with splash resistance, although the Nord 3 has an IP54 rating as compared to the IP53 on the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus.
The Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus comes with Gorilla Glass 5 protection on the front, while the OnePlus Nord 3 goes with Dragontrail Glass protection.
All said and done, we think the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus is the more likely of the two devices to turn heads thanks to its more flashy back and distinct camera unit, although those who prefer something understated might like the OnePlus Nord 3.
Winner: Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus
OnePlus Nord 3 Vs Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus: Display
Both phones come with AMOLED FHD+ displays with 120Hz refresh rate, which can change as per the content being displayed on them.
The OnePlus Nord 3 however, has a slightly larger display at 6.74 inches as compared to the 6.67 inch one on the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus, and also has a higher resolution — 2,772×1,240 pixels as compared to 2,400×1,080 pixels.
We also felt that the OnePlus Nord’s display was brighter, although colours seemed a little more pop-py on the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus. The higher resolution and brightness win this one for the Nord 3.
Winner: OnePlus Nord 3
OnePlus Nord 3 Vs Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus: Processor
Both phones run on MediaTek Dimensity processors. But of very different levels.
The OnePlus Nord 3 runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 processor, while the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 1080 chip. The Dimensity 1080 is a good mid-segment processor, but the Dimensity 9000 is a flagship-level chip and is seen on much more expensive devices as well. This is hands down a win for the OnePlus Nord 3.
Winner: OnePlus Nord 3
OnePlus Nord 3 Vs Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus: RAM & Storage
This is a very interesting battle. The Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus has an edge in storage with 256 GB for both its variants, with RAM being at 8 GB in both. The OnePlus Nord 3 on the other hand has 128 GB and 256 GB storage variants, with 8 GB and 16 GB RAM.
In simple terms, the base Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus has as much RAM and twice the storage as the base OnePlus Nord 3, while the high-end OnePlus Nord 3 has twice the RAM and the same storage as the high-end Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus.
The OnePlus Nord 3, however, wins on the basis of having better quality RAM and storage, LPDDR5X and UFS 3.1, as compared to LPDDR4X and UFS 2.2 on the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus.
Winner: OnePlus Nord 3
OnePlus Nord 3 Vs Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus: Camera
Both phones come with a lot of main sensor muscles. The OnePlus Nord 3 sports the same 50-megapixel Sony IMX890 with OIS that is seen on the flagship OnePlus 11, but the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus comes with a very formidable 200-megapixel Samsung HPX sensor with OIS. And it really is a battle between these two sensors, because the others on both phones are very very similar — an 8-megapixel ultrawide and 2-megapixel macro on the back, and a 16-megapixel selfie snapper at the front.
In terms of performance, both phones deliver great snaps from the main sensors, so-so ones from the ultrawide and barely usable ones from the macros. We felt that the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus generally delivered better details and slightly richer colours.
The extra megapixels on the sensor also allowed us to get very good snaps even after cropping out parts of them, giving a zoom-like experience. The Nord 3 seemed to take better selfies, but if you are focusing on photography, we think the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus is superior.
Winner: Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus
OnePlus Nord 3 Vs Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus: Gaming & Multimedia
The OnePlus Nord 3 has the gaming department all sewn up. It has a better processor, a bigger and higher resolution display, and faster storage and RAM. All of this makes it by far the better phone for those looking to do high-end gaming — you can play most titles at high settings on it.
The Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus is very good for casual gaming but get into the high-end zone and settings will have to be tweaked for them to work. That said, we felt that the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus gave it a good run when it came to viewing content — its display is a good one and the speakers seemed better in terms of audio quality.
Some might also love the fact that the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus has a 3.5mm audio jack. Overall the OnePlus Nord 3 is the better option here.
Winner: OnePlus Nord 3
OnePlus Nord 3 Vs Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus: Software
This is a clash of two very different UI cultures. On the one hand, you have the clean and minimalistic OxygenOS of OnePlus and on the other the feature-rich MIUI from Xiaomi.
Which one you prefer is going to be a very personal choice — we think those who love customising how their phone’s UI appears will prefer OxygenOS, while those who want things up and running right from the moment they take the phone out of the box would prefer MIUI.
For us, the clinching factor here is the fact that the OnePlus Nord 3 runs on Android 13, while the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus runs (rather oddly) on Android 12, although it has been updated to MIUI 14. The Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus is expected to get the Android 13 update soon, but until it does (and it has already taken some time in getting there), this round is firmly in OnePlus’ favour.
Winner: OnePlus Nord 3
OnePlus Nord 3 Vs Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus: General Usage
In everyday usage, there was not too much to separate the two phones. Whether it was browsing the Web, keeping track of social networks or swapping emails and messages, both phones performed equally well. Multi-tasking also worked very well, as both devices have 8 GB RAM as a minimum.
Both phones have 5G connectivity and also come with IR blasters so can be used as remote controls with devices like televisions and air conditioners.
We felt the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus handled calls a little better and also its side mounted fingerprint scanner worked better than the in-display fingerprint scanner on the OnePlus Nord 3 (a common occurrence with in-display scanners), but then the OnePlus Nord 3 was slightly more compact and still offered a larger display. We are calling this one a tie.
Winner: Tie
OnePlus Nord 3 Vs Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus: Battery Life & Charging
The OnePlus Nord 3 comes with a 5000 mAh battery with support for 80W charging, while the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus comes with a 4980 mAh battery with 120W charging.
In terms of battery life as well as charging speed, the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus has a clear edge over the Nord 3. It lasted comfortably past a day and a half of usage, while the Nord 3 got through about a day and a half.
The Nord 3 can be charged from zero to 100 per cent in a little over half an hour, while the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus gets charged in about 20-22 minutes. It is a clear win for the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus here.
Winner: Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus
OnePlus Nord 3 Vs Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus: Price
In terms of price, the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus has a clear edge over the OnePlus Nord 3. The Note is available at Rs 29,999 for its 8GB+256GB variant and for Rs 32,999 for its 12GB+256GB variant.
That is much lower than the Rs 33,999 for the 8GB+128GB variant and the Rs 37,999 for the 16GB+256GB variant of the OnePlus Nord 3.
If money is tight, then the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus is the better option here — you can get the high-end Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus for less than the price of the base OnePlus Nord 3.
Winner: Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus
OnePlus Nord 3 Vs Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus: Final Verdict
So which of the two should you go for? As you can see, the contest between them is a very close one — with the Nord 3 winning on five fronts, and the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus on four, with one round being tied.
We think a lot really depends on how much you value processor power and gaming. If they matter a lot, then the OnePlus Nord 3 is the one for you, as it has both a better processor and faster RAM. However, take the processor out of the picture and the Redmi Note comes back into contention.
The Xiaomi device has a very good camera (better than the OnePlus, we think) and it comes with much faster charging.
The Nord 3 has much cleaner and newer software, but the Note 12 Pro Plus’ software lets you do so much more right out of the box.
We would recommend the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus for someone who wants a great all-around device which looks more flashy but is not too much into gaming (and also wants to save a few bucks). However, if you need some processor muscle, as well as that OnePlus feel, the choice between these two phones is a no-brainer.