Xiaomi has just lifted the veil on a new series of high-end smartphones, the Xiaomi 12S, 12S Pro and 12S Ultra. The Chinese manufacturer has bet everything on the photo part, designed jointly with its new partner Leica.
During a conference in China, Xiaomi presented three new smartphones, the Xiaomi 12S, 12S Pro and 12S Ultra. The first two are direct successors to the Xiaomi 12 and 12 Pro released in December 2022, while the Ultra model comes to replace the famous Mi 11 Ultra from last year.
For this new series, Xiaomi has taken over the codes of the previous devices, while mainly improving the performance and the photo part. For this, Xiaomi has surrounded itself with the German Leica photo specialistwhose contract with Huawei had recently ended.
Xiaomi 12S: the best compact smartphone in photos?
The Xiaomi 12S comes to improve the winning formula of the Xiaomi 12 and therefore retains its small format. The smartphone is always equipped with a 6.28-inch FHD+ AMOLED E4 120Hz display protected by Gorilla Glass Victus. Its maximum brightness is 1100 nits, and its resolution is 419 dpi. It is powered by a 4500mAh battery compatible with the 67W wired and 50W wireless fast charging.
The smartphone takes advantage of the new high-end Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor that Qualcomm announced recently. Thanks to the TSMC engraving process, Xiaomi announces that the chip is much more energy efficient than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 of the Xiaomi 12. The manufacturer promises in particular a battery life gain of nearly 15% and CPU and GPU performance up 10%.
Above all, the Chinese manufacturer has made significant changes in photography compared to the Xiaomi 12. In addition to its strategic partnership with Leica, Xiaomi has equipped its new compact smartphone with the same 50 MP main sensor than the Xiaomi 12 Pro, namely an IMX707. The latter has the advantage of being larger than the IMX766 it replaces. Its big 1/1.28 inch size and its individual pixels of 1.22 μm allow it to capture shots much brighter at night. It comes with a sensor 13 MP ultra wide-angle and a sensor 5 MP macro. We also note the presence of Harman Kardon signature stereo speakers on all models.
Xiaomi 12S Pro: more discreet changes
The Xiaomi 12S Pro is the model that has had the fewest changes compared to the Xiaomi 12 Pro. In effect, the smartphone was only entitled to the new SoC Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1the rest of its technical sheet remaining similar to the previous model.
We always find a 6.73-inch E5 QHD+ 120Hz AMOLED display. The screen offers a maximum brightness of 1500 nits, but above all the technology LTPO 2.0 which allows its frequency to vary dynamically from 1 to 120 Hz depending on the content displayed. It is powered by a 4600mAh battery compatible with the 120W wired fast chargingand 50 W wireless. Xiaomi promises a 0 to 100% in just 19 minutes thanks to the Surge P1 chip with the fast mode, and 25 minutes with its stable mode which protects it from the heat.
The photo part is always ensured by a configuration with three cameras, with a 50 MP IMX707 main sensora captor 50 MP Samsung JN1 ultra wide-angle and one 50 MP Samsung JN1 telephoto lens offering 2X optical zoom. However, not everything is identical to the previous generation, since the collaboration with Leica allows smartphones to offer a more user-friendly experience in post-production. The entire series supports 10-bit RAW format calibrated by Adobe Labs, with color correction metadata embedded in the files.
Xiaomi 12S Ultra: a 1-inch sensor to dominate the competition in photos
Like the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra from 2022, the new Xiaomi 12S Ultra becomes the flagship of the Chinese manufacturer for 2022. The smartphone also relies on a chip Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and on the same 6.73-inch AMOLED E5 QHD+ LTPO 2.0 120Hz display of the Xiaomi 12S Pro, but Xiaomi has significantly improved the rest of the technical sheet.
Indeed, the Xiaomi 12S Ultra is the first model to benefit from two Surge in-house chips, since it is equipped with a P1 chip which manages charging, but also a new G1 chip who deals with autonomy. The Xiaomi Surge G1 chip offers a series of battery management algorithms developed by the company itself to protect battery operation safety and monitor discharge to accurately predict the device’s available battery life. . According to Xiaomi, this chip should increase overall battery life by around 5%.
The 4860mAh battery is compatible with the 67W wired fast chargingthe 50W fast wireless charging and 10 W reverse charging. The 225 gram device with dimensions of 163.17 x 74.92 x 9.06 mm is also IP68 certified for water and dust resistance. He abandons the ceramic back for a leather back.
The main arguments of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra are mainly on the photo side, since the smartphone is the first from the Chinese manufacturer to havea giant 1-inch main sensor. This new 50MP IMX989 that we’ve been hearing about regularly over the past few months offers 1.6 μm individual pixels, and 3.2 μm after pixel-binning. This makes it the largest sensor on the market to equip a smartphone, so we expect impressive shots in all light conditions.
This gigantic sensor adopts an 8P aspherical lens, which should solve common photography problems such as flare, ghosting, and chromatic aberration. We also note the presence of theHyperOISa capable technology providing continuous motion compensation during video recording, using the gap between two frames to return the OIS engine to its original position.
It comes with a sensor 48 MP IMX586 ultra-wide angleand one 48 MP IMX586 periscopic sensor, like the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra. However, the ultra-wide-angle sensor is now compatible with macro mode, unlike its predecessor. Selfies are ensured by a 32 MP sensor. All sensors take advantage of Leica image profiles, the “Leica Authentic Look” and “Leica Vibrant Look”, which are essentially filters that will modify the colors of your shots.
Price and availability
For now, the Xiaomi 12S, 12S and 12S Ultra have only been announced in China, and we don’t know if smartphones will come to us later. Anyway, here is a summary of the prices and colors announced:
Xiaomi 12S (black, purple, green and white)
- 8 + 128 GB: 3999 yuan (572€)
- 8 + 256 GB: 4299 yuan (614€)
- 12 + 256 GB: 4699 yuan (672€)
- 12 + 512 GB: 5199 yuan (743€)
Xiaomi 12S Pro (black, purple, green and white)
- 8 + 128 GB: 4699 (672€)
- 8 + 256 GB: 4999 (714€)
- 12 + 256 GB: 5399 (772€)
- 12 + 512 GB: 5899 (843€)
Xiaomi 12S Ultra (Classic Black, Verdant Green)
- 8 + 256 GB: 5999 yuan (858€)
- 12 + 256 GB: 6499 yuan (929€)
- 12 + 512 GB: 6999 yuan (1001€)