Xiaomi Notebook Pro 120G: A High-Performance Display Competes with Compromises in Portability and Battery Life

Xiaomi has been gradually entering the Indian laptop market, launching only a few models since the debut of the Mi Notebook in mid-2020. Unlike its approach with smartphones, where the company targets multiple price ranges and customer profiles, Xiaomi seems to have carved out a specific niche – stylish, premium laptops for users seeking something beyond basic functionality. The Xiaomi Notebook Pro 120G is designed to impress with both its aesthetics and specifications. Although it may not be as budget-friendly as some of the brand’s earlier releases, it does offer a value proposition that could appeal to you. Read on to find out more.

Xiaomi Notebook Pro 120G pricing in India

Targeting students, professionals, home users, and mobile workers, the Xiaomi Notebook Pro 120G starts at Rs. 69,999. The more expensive version is priced at Rs. 76,999, with the sole distinction being the inclusion of a discrete Nvidia GeForce MX550 GPU along with the integrated Intel graphics found in the base model. Interestingly, Xiaomi sometimes refers to the less pricey variant as the Notebook Pro 120 (without the «G» denoting graphics) – resulting in potential confusion as they may be listed as separate models. All other specifications remain identical, and it’s somewhat surprising that options for CPU, RAM, or SSD size are not available.

For this review, we have the higher-end model, which is available on Xiaomi’s official Indian website, Amazon, and various offline retailers.

The Xiaomi Notebook Pro 120G features a relatively minimalist aesthetic

 

Xiaomi Notebook Pro 120G design and features

Continuing the design language of its Mi Notebook predecessors, the Xiaomi Notebook Pro 120G presents a fairly simple appearance. The chassis lacks any pronounced angles or curves, apart from its rounded corners. A small shiny Xiaomi logo on the lid is the only element that disrupts the overall minimalist vibe. Crafted from dark grey aluminum with a sandblasted finish, it boasts an appealing look up close. While it did gather some minor smudges over several weeks, they can be easily cleaned off.

Weighing in at 1.4kg, this laptop isn’t the lightest option on the market, and its thickness of 15.9mm is quite standard. A relatively compact 100W brick-style charger is included in the box, rather than the bulkier wall adapters that are increasingly common.

The hinge feels sturdy, and the lid remains stable when typing, which is a nice touch. Xiaomi has equipped the Notebook Pro 120G with comparatively narrow display bezels, creating ample room for a webcam positioned above the screen. Fortunately, the non-reflective matte display is ideal for productivity.

The keyboard layout is satisfactory, featuring white backlighting with two brightness settings. There’s a dedicated power button that includes a fingerprint reader. The top right key functions as a programmable macro button that can launch any application or file of your choice. While the typing experience feels slightly mushy for my taste, most users should adapt easily. I appreciated the minimal flex in the keyboard and the stability of the display while typing. The trackpad is reasonably spacious, although its texture may not be optimal for gestures and swiping.

While the keyboard layout is fine, there is room for improvement in typing comfort

 

Xiaomi Notebook Pro 120G specifications

The standout feature of the Xiaomi Notebook Pro 120G is its impressive 2560×1600-pixel 16:10 120Hz display. This screen resolution and aspect ratio significantly enhance productivity by providing extra workspace compared to typical full-HD displays. Xiaomi claims 100 percent sRGB color coverage and DC dimming to ensure minimal flickering, which can help reduce eye strain.

Given that this is a premium laptop, it’s unexpected that there are no CPU options above the Core i5-12450H chosen by Xiaomi. An i7 variant could have been intriguing, considering the overall offering. Nevertheless, it utilizes the 12^th Gen chips based on the ‘ Alder Lake‘ architecture, with the H suffix suggesting it has a relatively robust 45W processor, promising improved sustained performance compared to the more typical 28W or 15W processors found in ultra-slim laptops. This CPU includes four performance cores and an additional four efficient cores, resulting in 12 threads in total.

If you opt for the version of the Xiaomi Notebook Pro 120G without the discrete Nvidia GeForce MX550 GPU, you’ll be limited to the relatively less powerful integrated Intel UHD Graphics. For this review, I have the lower-end variant.

While the port selection is limited, Thunderbolt 4 offers versatility

 

There’s 16GB RAM available, which isn’t upgradeable, but the choice of LPDDR5-5200 is a positive feature. Additionally, a 512GB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD is included. The battery capacity stands at 56Wh, with Xiaomi claiming “all-day” battery life. The 100W charger reportedly provides 50 percent charge in just 35 minutes. Audio output comes from two speakers located on the underside, projecting sound downward and outward.

On the left side, you’ll find one Thunderbolt 4 (Type-C) port, an HDMI 2.0 video output, and a 3.5mm audio jack. The right side houses one USB 3.2 Gen2 (10Gbps) Type-C port, one USB 3.1 (5Gbps) Type-A port, and a charge status indicator. Although this is a limited selection, the presence of Thunderbolt ensures that you can utilize docks or adapters for multiple external displays and peripherals. More USB ports and an SD card slot would have been beneficial, considering this laptop is not particularly thin or constrained for space. For wireless connectivity, it supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2.

The unit I reviewed came with Windows 11 Home, Office 2021 Home & Student, and several pre-installed applications including WhatsApp, Spotify, and Clipchamp Video Editor. Xiaomi also preloads its MIUI+ and Mi Support applications. The former facilitates file sharing between devices, while the latter provides support for online service and display settings adjustments.

An SD card slot would enhance convenience

 

Xiaomi Notebook Pro 120G performance

Let’s first discuss general usage and user experience. Although not the lightest device, the Xiaomi Notebook Pro 120G remains a relatively compact 14-inch laptop. The display is enjoyable for tasks like reading or managing spreadsheets, but it may not be the best choice for color-critical photo and video editing given its intended purpose. Colors appear quite vibrant and motion is fluid. While videos and games look acceptable, Xiaomi has not provided a brightness specification, and HDR support is absent.

After adjusting Windows scaling to my preference of 175 percent, I found the user interface to be much improved. Additionally, the Windows 11 Preferences panel allows you to reduce the refresh rate from 120Hz to 90Hz or 60Hz to prolong battery life. One minor frustration was that the Alt+F4 command requires you to hold the Fn key as well – many laptops automatically override the default Fn key functions when executing common Windows shortcuts, eliminating this extra step.

Full-HD movies and streaming content are sufficiently enjoyable on the 14-inch display, and the Xiaomi Notebook Pro 120G is adequate for casual entertainment. The stereo speakers deliver just acceptable audio for dialogues and game sound effects, but fall short when it comes to music playback. The webcam is functional but doesn’t stand out.

In terms of performance, I experienced no significant issues managing my daily tasks. This included using Chrome and Firefox with numerous tabs open, streaming video for about an hour, and juggling messages across multiple platforms. The Xiaomi Notebook Pro 120G managed multitasking admirably. However, the keyboard response and trackpad texture took some adjustment. The entire laptop surface, including the keyboard and wrist rest, warmed up after extended use without demanding tasks, reaching a notably high temperature during gaming sessions.

The high-resolution 16:10 120Hz display is the standout feature of the Xiaomi Notebook Pro 120G

 

The GeForce MX550 GPU offers some assistance for content creation or data visualization, and is barely sufficient for casual gaming. Far Cry 5’s built-in benchmark recorded an average of 21fps at its native 2560×1600 resolution using the Low quality preset. Lowering the resolution to 1920×1200 raised the average to a more respectable 31fps. Similarly, the less demanding World War Z ran at 33fps at the same resolution using the High quality preset.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider also performed adequately at its Low preset. At 2560×1600, the benchmark realized only 29fps, with visible tearing and stuttering. However, reducing to 1920×1200 resulted in a much improved average of 43fps, with a minimum of 33fps. Interestingly, this title supports Intel’s XeSS upscaling tech – enabling it at the native resolution with the Quality preset unfortunately led to a drop to an average of 23fps.

3DMark’s Time Spy benchmark scored 2,715, while the Unigine Superposition benchmark yielded 4,678 points at the 1080p Medium quality setting. This is a significant improvement compared to the scores achieved without a dedicated GPU.

As for general performance measurements, I first evaluated synthetic performance using PCMark. The standard run produced a score of 5,430, and the Extended run yielded 5,361. Cinebench R20’s CPU rendering test reported a single-thread score of 635, and a multi-thread score of 3,786, indicating that using both performance and efficient cores delivers almost a 6X performance boost for tasks that can utilize them. POVRay’s benchmark completed in 1 minute and 14 seconds.

Heat generation and fan noise may become bothersome

 

Transcoding a 1.3GB AVI file to H.265 took merely 46 seconds, benefiting from the additional CPU cores. The 7zip compression test for a 3.24GB folder was completed in 1 minute and 35 seconds. CrystalDiskMark displayed sequential read and write speeds of 2,866.4MBps and 3,138.1MBps respectively, with random read and write speeds of 749.4MBps and 416.4MBps.

Under heavy load, the Xiaomi Notebook Pro 120G tends to run quite hot, which correlates with increased fan noise. I was taken aback by how distracting this could be – producing a combined whoosh and whistling sound that suggests suboptimal airflow management. This noise was most prominent during intensive tasks, though even with moderately demanding activities, the sound could be distracting in quieter settings such as conference rooms or classrooms.

Battery performance was somewhat disappointing, in my experience. I managed to achieve roughly six hours of use per charge. If you lower the screen’s refresh rate and avoid heavy tasks, you might extend this duration a bit – but that would sacrifice one of the laptop’s key advantages. The intensive Battery Eater Pro test lasted just 1 hour and 41 minutes before the device shut down. Fortunately, charging is relatively brisk, with the Xiaomi Notebook Pro 120G reaching 23 percent in 15 minutes and 40 percent in 30 minutes.

While not the slimmest or lightest device, it may appeal to a specific audience

 

Conclusion

The Xiaomi Notebook Pro 120G appears to be more suited for professional use than leisure activities, making it an excellent choice for those seeking a compact computer for home or office rather than a laptop for on-the-go. It boasts an array of attractive features, especially its high-resolution, high-refresh-rate 16:10 display. The selection of core hardware is commendable as well. However, real-world usage revealed a few shortcomings – including the keyboard, trackpad, port options, fan noise, and battery longevity. While these concerns may not seem substantial, any dissatisfaction with even one of these aspects can lead to frustration over time.

At a price of Rs. 76,999 for this model, the Xiaomi Notebook Pro 120G isn’t as easily endorsed as earlier models. For the same investment, you can find a competent gaming laptop, a lighter ultraportable, or a 2-in-1 device with a touchscreen. The MacBook Air (M1) is also available at a comparable price point. Prospective buyers must weigh their desire for the specific blend of features and performance that the Notebook Pro 120G brings to the table.