Verdict
Compact dimensions and flagship - grade internals make the Xiaomi 12 a rare stock . Its compounding of performance , image tone , agio invention and capable camera would usually be allow for with child handsets , but there are no such compromises here for those who choose a more palm - friendly phone . It just lacks a few characteristic – a telephoto rearward tv camera and expandable warehousing , for example – that would make it truly especial .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Compact flagship phones do n’t fare around very often , with the iPhone 14 and Samsung Galaxy S23 largely running unopposed . The Xiaomi 12 offers a comely option .
The in-between child of the three 2022 flagship Xiaomi phones , the Xiaomi 12 has now been supercede by theXiaomi 13which descend with a tawdry tv camera , flatter design and courteous display . But , as you ’ll below , the Xiaomi 12 rest a good small-scale form - factorAndroid telephone .
Design and Screen
It might only be around half an inch smaller than its closest rivals , but the Xiaomi 12 matte considerably more compact on first pick it up . Weighing 179 g , this is a phone you’re able to comfortably use with one hand .
The metal inning and frosted - glass rearward aspect suitably premium , and the latter does an excellent job of disguising fingerprint smudges . The treble rearward television camera are neatly group in a single mental faculty , which does protrude significantly – but not so much that it would get when slide in and out of a pouch .
On the front grimace , slim bezels and slightly curve side edges give the opinion the 6.28 - in display is larger than it really is . A hollow - punch nick at the centre of the screen holds the front - face camera . The Gorilla Glass Victus panel outlast a week of world-wide purpose with no seeable marking or scuffs , but the lack of an official information science rating intend there ’s no guaranty of aegis if you get caught in a pelting shower , which is dissatisfactory in a flagship speech sound at this price .
I was impressed at how promptly the under - showing fingermark electronic scanner detected my finger’s breadth , unlocking quicker than theGoogle Pixel 6 Pro – and with greater body when cover only a component of the sensing element . The rather anaemic shaking motor was a letdown , though .
By opting for a smaller screen door than the average , you do lose out in terms of overall resolution . The Xiaomi 12 fall behind premium 2022 rivals such as theSamsung Galaxy S22 Ultraand theSony Xperia 1 III , but I never felt like I was miss out : streaming video recording , social medium feed and secret plan still looked utterly crisp at Full HD+ ( 1080 x 2400 ) .
In all other respects , the display makes no yielding , with a 120Hz variable refresh rate that can lower its frequency with static message for keep open battery . scroll through web pages is super - smooth , and the 480Hz touch sampling charge per unit delivers the quick possible reaction in games .
effigy caliber is splendid across the control board , with the impeccably bass blacks only possible with an OLED panel . Colours are vivid on the nonremittal Vibrant preset without feel too lurid , but the Original preset delivers a more true - to - life presentment . HDR10+support makes compatible substance really crop up , with telling detail in areas of shadower as well as bright high spot .
A quoted 1100 - nit peak brightness is n’t quite as high as what you ’ll find on the Samsung Galaxy S22 + , but I had no complaints in terms of out-of-door visibility . The Xiaomi 12 was absolutely legible , even under bright sunlight .
Camera
Unlike the Xiaomi 12 Pro , which has three matching 50 - megapixel bum cameras , only one of the vanilla 12 ’s detector has such a high-pitched pixel count . or else , the junior-grade ultra - wide camera has a 13 - megapixel detector , and the macro lens pretend do with 5 megapixels .
Still , I had high outlook give the earpiece ’s flagship status , and the main sensor certainly bear . Images are detailed , with sharpness across the frame , and very little noise , even in downcast scant preferences . Exposure is handled well and active range is wide , with the television camera usually preserving highlights rather than see extra shadow detail , in a similar manner to the iPhone 13 .
Colours are arguably a little more saturated than is pictorial , and in worldwide double are more demarcation - heavy than you ’ll find with those use up on the Google Pixel 6 or Samsung Galaxy S22 . The AI enhancement only cranks this up further , and so is best leave disabled .
There ’s a dedicated Night way , but even without it , the main sensing element is capable of gamy - timber pictures . Highlights and shadow are balanced well , let on a fair amount of detail , and colour are a piffling more reserved here than in daylight . Night style sharpens things up considerably , but stays on the right side of naturalistic , and does n’t sum up much visible stochasticity . It ’s also tiptop - quick , need just a 2nd or two in penny-pinching - total darkness .
By default the main sensor combine multiple pel to make a 12 - megapixel double , and while you’re able to shoot at full resolution , images clear only a little superfluous detail , at the expense of much greater racket and overall womanishness .
The 2x soar fashion preserves a batch of the stock camera ’s positives , but sharpness drops off quickly . result are usable enough for societal media and the alike , but not up to equation with rivals equip with consecrate optics .
I was n’t always convinced by the faux bokeh fuzz created by the Portrait mode . It defaults to a rather gamey context ; it looked better once I ’d turned it down slenderly . bound detection is merely ok , but it does well to save facial features .
There ’s a obtrusive – although not huge – drop in quality when swap to the radical - wide camera , but colours stay largely uniform . Exposure and contrast remain on degree , too , although the dynamic range is n’t quite as good , and the lack of optical image stabilisation made it catchy to achieve sharp shots in low light . The Night mode still go here , at least , and I achieved the good effect with it enabled .
It ’s a shame there ’s no dedicated telephotograph lens , however . This puts the Xiaomi 12 at a disadvantage compare to the Samsung Galaxy S22 , but at least the third macro lens is a open performer . Unlike tacky handsets with more canonical macro sensors , I was impressed with its ability to conquer sharp , colorful image .
I was n’t blown off by selfies captured by the 32 - megapixel front - front television camera , which include plenty of contingent , but seemed far more raw to light than the rear sensors . One scene in particular looked significantly washed out , while others lacked the point of bite I ’d expect leave the pixel count .
Performance
Like a muckle of 2022 ’s forthcoming flagship phones , the Xiaomi 12 uses aSnapdragon 8 Gen 1processor , which is both more powerful and more efficient than the Snapdragon 888 that featured in last year’sXiaomi Mi 11 .
This can be paired with either 8 GiB or 12 GB of store , and 128 GB or 256 GB of memory board . My review sample distribution was the 8 GB + 256 GB version , so I ca n’t speak for whether the top - last model benefits from the supernumerary RAM . There ’s no backup for a microSD visiting card , so you ’ll desire to corrupt as much storage as you’re able to afford upfront .
by nature , the Xiaomi 12 supports all the latest wireless measure , include 5 G andWi - Fi 6E , as well as NFC – not always a have on French telephone from Chinese manufacturers – and even an IR chargeman . I found the latter a handy comprehension for those occasions when my TV did n’t wake up my soundbar right , saving me a trip off the lounge .
Not amazingly , the Xiaomi 12 proved an fantabulous performer in everyday use , porta apps and game rapidly , multitasking without regularly needing to recharge apps , and demonstrate no signs of stuttering or slowdown as I sneak between homescreens .
Performance in our test put the Xiaomi 12 towards the very top tier of Android devices , and in front of the bombastic Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus , but still behind theApple iPhone 13and itsA15 Bionic central processing unit . GPU scores , meanwhile , settle only slightly behind consecrated gaming French telephone such as the Red Magic 7 .
Typically I expect larger phones to perform well than little I , as they have more elbow room for cooling , which in go start the mainframe to keep higher clock upper for long . The Xiaomi 12 expose no bother in this regard , at least in synthetic benchmark .
I see that it struggled in recollective academic session of ultra - demanding games such as Genshin Impact , though , becoming hot to the tactual sensation and finally glower frame of reference rates slenderly . Less vivid titles are perfectly playable for extended sessions , however ; but serious gamers may be better served by a handset such as theROG Phone 5 .
The MIUI computer software sitting on top of Android 12 is quite the divergence from the vanilla extract experience offer with the Google Pixel 6 or OnePlus 10 Pro . Some elements – the notifications tray , for example – are clearly inspired by Apple ’s iOS , while others build on Google ’s canonic functionality .
I was pleased to see that many of these spear carrier can be disabled if you do n’t care them – the tabbed app drawer and thumbnail - based Recents screen are a big divergence from the Android average , if you ’re not used to them . There are a fair few pre - installed apps that duplicate the function of Google ’s own , but most can be murder from the app drawer , if not uninstalled altogether .
Xiaomi ’s promise of at least three Android operating system update and four yr of security patch indicate that the Xiaomi 12 will have a decent life-time , although anyone calculate to harbor onto their gimmick for longer may be well served by the Samsung Galaxy S22 , which is set to receive five year of security patches and “ up to ” four generations of Android .
Battery Life
The Xiaomi 12 may not have a particularly large battery capacity for a flagship sound , but it has to be put into perspective : at 4500mAh , the cellular phone is on a par with the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus , yet here it ’s powering a much smaller screen .
I found that it was quite capable of lasting a day of regular utilisation . With a commixture of web browse , medicine streaming to a pair of Bluetooth headphones , YouTube playback and taking plenty of exposure , I care around five hours of blind - on prison term with around 20 % remaining by bedtime .
However , more demanding tasks debilitate the assault and battery at a much faster rate , especially if you ram the screen refresh charge per unit to 120Hz . There are plenty of phones with better staying baron , although few can also match the Xiaomi 12 for gaming performance .
Xiaomi promises supporting for 67W fast - charging , which equates to a full charge in 39 minutes . While this is n’t as rapid as the 120W - adequate to Xiaomi 12 Pro , it ’s comfortably faster than Samsung ’s latest Galaxy handsets , which only manage 45W. Using Xiaomi ’s official USB - snow adapter , I saw the battery topped up to 50 % burster in 17 minutes , and all the way up to 100 % in 44 moment .
More impressive is the phone ’s ability to wirelessly charge at up to 50W on a compatible Qi excite launching pad . Unfortunately , the only wireless pad I had access to could manage only 5W , so I could n’t confirm Xiaomi ’s title that a full top - up take away 53 minutes . Reverse wireless charging is also a welcome addition , since it meant I could top up a brace of true wireless earbuds while aside from home .
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Should you buy it?
If you want a sensibly sized flagship phone , the Xiaomi 12 perfectly fits the bill . It takes great photos , charges rapidly and delivers speedy functioning – all for a sensible price .
With only average stamp battery lifetime and no telephoto genus Lens , this is a step down from the very best flagship , and if you may cope a larger screen door , there are cheap alternatives that pop the question similar performance .
Final Thoughts
It would be all too easy to command the Xiaomi 12 in party favor of the pricierXiaomi 12 Pro , which promises higher-ranking electric battery liveliness and charging speeds , plus a superior camera – at least on paper .
functioning , figure and display quality are up there with the good flagship phones , yet everything has been squeezed into a more compact package . By not attempt to jampack in every feature possible , the Xiaomi 12 lands in a mellifluous spot that should give anyone considering aSamsung Galaxy S22real break for thought .
The deficiency of a telephotograph rearward photographic camera and only medium battery life should n’t be overlooked , though . You ’ll need to decide whether the compact dimensions are deserving make up concessions for , or whether a larger competitor might do you better in the long - run .
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every fluid phone we review thoroughly . We employ diligence stock tests to liken features properly and we use the phone as our principal gadget over the recap full stop . We ’ll always tell you what we find and we never , ever , accept money to review a merchandise .
FAQs
Aside from a larger , higher - answer concealment , the more expensive Xiaomi 12 Pro has a 50 - megapixel telephoto rear camera , and faster 120W wired charging .
Beyond a new design , the Xiaomi 12 gets the late Qualcomm Snapdragon processor , newer camera sensors with higher pixel numeration , and the latest version of Android . filmdom size has shrink from 6.8 in on the Mi 11 to 6.28 in here .
Xiaomi is promise three Android operating organization updates and four years of security patches for the 12 .
