Xiaomi 12s: Three hand flatterers
Colors and models: Xiaomi 12X (Blue), Xiaomi 12 (Purple) and Xiaomi 12 Pro (Black).
The Xiaomi 12X (left) still comes in a protective film, the Xiaomi 12 and the 12 Pro no longer have plastic packaging.
Xiaomi 12 Series: Great OLEDs
Xiaomi 12X, Xiaomi 12 and Xiaomi 12 Pro.
Samsung only bends the display of its top model S22 Ultra. Xiaomi bends all twelves towards the edge. That’s a matter of taste, but it looks chic in any case. The presentation is even more important. And there is nothing to complain about. All OLEDs are high-contrast, colourful, bright and sharp. The screen change frequency goes up to 120 Hertz to ensure a particularly smooth display. On a diagonal of 6.28 inches, Xiaomi 12 and 12X bring a resolution of 2400×1080 pixels under the Gorilla Glass Victus, resulting in a sharpness of 419 ppi. A comparatively large display with a housing width of only 69.9 mm! For comparison: The compact Galaxy S22 is shorter, but with a diagonal of 6.1 inches it has a housing width of 70.6 mm. The Xiaomi 12 Pro is noticeably larger at 6.7 inches and even sharper at 522ppi.
The front camera is in a punch-hole notch. At the edge you can see the edges of the applied protective film.
The front camera for selfies and face recognition is in a circular, centrally located notch. Alternatively, unlock with the fingerprint sensor integrated in the display.
Despite the 6.3-inch display, the Xiaomi 12 is very narrow and therefore handy.
Top speed with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
The Xiaomi 12X (left) does well in Geekbench 5, but cannot keep up with the Xiaomi 12 and Xiaomi 12 Pro.
Equipment of the Xiaomi 12
A jack socket is only available with an adapter. Two SIMs always work, a memory card never.
On board are 8 gigabytes (GB) of RAM (LPDDR5) and 128 or 256 GB of device memory (UFS 3.1), not expandable. The operating system is Android 12 with Xiaomi’s MIUI 13 interface, the 12X runs on Android 11 to start with. Xiaomi promises 3 Android updates and four years of security updates. NFC is not only on board for Google Pay. There is also WiFi 6 Plus (WiFi 6 on the 12X) and Bluetooth 5.2. With Bluetooth 5.1, the 12X cannot pair with two headphones or Bluetooth boxes at the same time. Dual SIM is on board and both card slots can of course support 5G. The stereo speakers were designed with audio specialist Harman Kardon.
The lettering shows it: Harman Kardon supported the sound of the speakers. Otherwise, the IR transmitter is still at the top – a Xiaomi peculiarity.
Super-fast charging – also wireless
The scope of delivery includes a powerful 67 watt fast charging power supply and a transparent protective cover.
Xiaomi 12 with 50 MP camera
From top to bottom: main camera, macro lens and ultra wide angle.
The Xiaomi 12 has three cameras on the back. The main camera (Sony IMX766; f/1.88) has optical image stabilization (OIS). In standard mode, 4 pixels are combined into one pixel with an edge length of 2 μm (4-in-1 binning), resulting in a 12.5 MP photo. The Pro has the same resolution but a slightly larger sensor.
Standard photo taken with the Xiaomi 12. The original image has a resolution of 4096×3072 pixels.
The ultra wide-angle lens (f/2.4) has a recording angle of 123 degrees and a resolution of 13 megapixels. With the Xiaomi 12 Pro, all lenses come to 50 megapixels.
Ultra wide-angle photo taken with the Xiaomi 12. The original image has a resolution of 4160×3120 pixels.
Telephoto shots are possible with up to tenfold magnification. The fact that the enlargement happens digitally cannot be overlooked. This does not replace an optical zoom. The Pro scales up to 20x magnification, but it can’t do much better. Samsung is currently doing a better job here.
Maximum zoom (10x) recorded with the Xiaomi 12. The original recording has a resolution of 4096×3072 pixels. It lacks detail, but on the standard and ultra-wide shots (above) the house was just a blob of white.
The third lens has a focal length of 50 mm and works as a macro in such a way that you can take a sharp picture even if you are only a few centimeters away from the subject. The resolution is 5 megapixels. The Pro has a portrait camera instead and doesn’t take any viable macro photos.
The Pro can’t do that: macro photo taken with the Xiaomi 12. The original picture has a resolution of 1944×2592 pixels.
The main camera has a resolution of 50 megapixels.
Recorded with the Xiaomi 12. The original recording has a resolution of 3072×4096 pixels.
The front camera has 32 megapixels. Videos are possible with the Xiaomi 12 in 4K with 30 and 60 frames per second (fps) – in HDR up to six minutes. 8K videos are saved at 24 fps. Slow motion in 1080p comes to 960 fps, in 720p to 1920 fps.
In the side view, the camera pedestals are noticeable, which are about the same thickness in all models at a good 2.5 mm.
Xiaomi 12: price, release, colors
Xiaomi’s new trio: Xiaomi 12X, Xiaomi 12 and Xiaomi 12 Pro.
Test conclusion: Xiaomi 12
The Xiaomi 12 has not yet completed the full lab test. But that’s not necessary to realize that a great display, plenty of computing power and a fast loading speed are waiting in a compact and haptically appealing case. Compared to the Samsung Galaxy S22, you have to do without an IP certification with Xiaomi. Photos are good day and night, and Samsung has the edge when it comes to zooming and selfies. The comparison of the battery life of the two compact racers is still exciting.