After months of leaks and rumors, Xiaomi’s 12 series is now official with two entries – Xiaomi 12 and Xiaomi 12 Pro. The vanilla model takes a more compact approach with its 6.28-inch screen while still fitting the very best Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip. The 12 Pro bumps up the size to 6.73-inches and also boasts the same SoC but it also adds an LTPO AMOLED display, bigger battery, faster charging and more capable camera hardware.
Xiaomi 12
Xiaomi 12 comes with the smallest screen on a Xiaomi flagship since the Xiaomi Mi 8 days which is a welcome move for compact flagship enthusiasts. The Samsung-made 6.28-inch AMOLED panel supports FHD+ resolution and refreshes at up to 120Hz. There’s an under-display fingerprint scanner while Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus is here to fend of scratches.
Xiaomi 12 in black, blue and pink (images: Xiaomi)
Xiaomi 12 brings the familiar 50MP Sony IMX 766 sensor found in several of the 2021 crop of flagships from major Android makers. It’s a 1/1.56” size with 2.0μm large pixels and OIS. The two auxiliary sensors are a 13MP ultrawide snapper and a 50mm equivalent 5MP tele-macro cam.
A triple camera setup with a Sony IMX766 (images: Xiaomi)
Xiaomi engineers managed to shrink the vanilla 12’s motherboard while still fitting an adequately sized cooling pad and all other key components. The smaller Xiaomi 12 gets a 4,500 mAh battery with 67W wired fast charging, 50W wireless charging and 10W reverse wireless top-ups. Xiaomi 12 series phones will ship with MIUI 12.5 out the box while the brand new MIUI 13 which was announced on stage will arrive as an update in January.
Xiaomi 12 back design (images: Xiaomi)
Xiaomi 12 series comes black, blue and pink colors. There’s a special green vegan leather version for both phones. The entry-level Xiaomi 12 with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage comes in at CNY 3,699 ($580). There’s a midway 8/256GB model priced at CNY 3,999 ($628) while the 12/256GB trim is CNY 4,399 ($690). First sales are scheduled for January.
Xiaomi 12 Pro
The Pro model’s 6.73-inch panel comes with 1440p resolution and uses an LTPO 2.0 backplane which allows for variable refresh rates of 1-120Hz depending on the task at hand. Xiaomi 12 Pro also comes with an in-display fingerprint scanner and Gorilla Glass Victus protection. Both Xiaomi 12 phones output 12-bit colors and can crank out up to 1,500 nits of brightness.
6.73-inch 1440p LTPO AMOLED with stereo speakers (images: Xiaomi)
Xiaomi 12 Pro brings three 50MP cameras with a Sony IMX707 sensor for the main shooter. It’s 1/1.28” in size and supports pixel-binning with one big 2.44µm pixels and OIS. The second 50MP sensor is a portrait lens while the third one brings an ultrawide module.
Xiaomi 12 Pro comes with three 50MP cameras (images: Xiaomi)
CyberFocus is Xiaomi’s self-developed fast auto-focus tech which manages to keep a lock on subjects’ faces and other background elements. Xiaomi is also boasting a new night mode algorithm that should capture more light in dimly lit areas while keeping noise levels in check.
There’s a 4,600 mAh battery split into two cells that charge at 120W via cable and up to 50W wirelessly. Xiaomi also added its own in-house Surge P1 charging chip to help handle power management.
120W wired charging and Xiaomi self-developed P1 charging chip (images: Xiaomi)
Xiaomi 12 Pro starts at an 8/128GB trim which retails for CNY 4,699 ($738), the 8/256GB model is CNY 4,999($785) and the top spec’d 12/256GB model is CNY 5,399 ($848).
Xiaomi 12 Pro in its four colors (images: Xiaomi)
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