Xiaomi 12T & 12T Pro – New smartphones official & cheaper than expected
Xiaomi presented several new products as part of a live stream. Including the new flagship smartphones of the 12T series.
Under the literary motto: “Make moments mega”, the main focus of the event was of course on the new 12T. But anyone who knows Xiaomi knows that the company now manufactures everything.
Xiaomi 12T Pro – 200 megapixels and anything else?
But let’s start with the 12T models. The more exciting device from a technical point of view is the Pro model. One number, in particular, stands out: 200 megapixels. This is likely to be a new Samsung sensor, the successor of which may also be in the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S23.
With a large sensor size (1/1.22″) and the addition of several pixels (pixel binning), the 12T Pro is said to be a real camera all-rounder.
The Pro model should also be able to shine with night shots and the merging of several images (Xiaomi ProCut).
New algorithms (Xiaomi ProFocus) should also significantly improve the autofocus for videos and images. The camera can take up to 30 photos per second so sharp.
It just seems a bit strange that no telephoto camera was installed. Instead, Xiaomi relies on a very large sensor to zoom in digitally. A principle that already provided usable results with the 2021 Xiaomi 11. However, the Xiaomi 12 Pro again relied on a real telephoto camera.
Unattractive in this price range: the 2MP macro camera. Comparable sensors are more familiar from entry-level smartphones and are usually used to beautify the datasheet. I have just that for you in the overview:
- flat 6.67-inch AMOLED panel with 120Hz
- 2712×1220 pixels display resolution
- Corning Gorilla Glass 5
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen1
- 8-12 gigabytes of LPDDR5 RAM
- In some countries only 8GB RAM
- 128-256GB fast UFS flash storage
- 200MP sensor with F/1.69 aperture
- 8MP ultra-wide angle with F/2.2 aperture
- 2MP for macro shooting
- 20MP selfie camera
- 5000mAh battery with 120W fast charging (power adapter included)
- Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, and Wi-Fi 6
- Stereo speakers optimized by Harman-Kardon
- Infrared Blaster
- Android 12 with MIUI 13
- RRP in Europe “from 749 euros”
Otherwise, the currently standard flagship specs dominate the 12T Pro. A current Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen1 fires a 6.67-inch AMOLED panel with 120Hz, which has a resolution of 2712×1220 pixels.
The battery is also generously dimensioned with 5,000 mAh and should allow a screen time of up to 13.5 hours. That would be a top value in this performance class.
Xiaomi 12T – almost identical to the Pro model
The Xiaomi 12T (without the Pro) is equipped identically, apart from the processor and the main camera.
- flat 6.67-inch AMOLED panel with 120Hz
- 2712×1220 pixels display resolution
- Corning Gorilla Glass 5
- MediaTek Dimension 8100 Ultra
- 8GB LPDDR5 memory
- 128 or 256 GB fast UFS flash memory
- 108MP main camera with F/1.65 aperture
- 8MP ultra-wide angle with F/2.2 aperture
- 2MP for macro shooting
- 20MP selfie camera
- 5000mAh battery with 120W fast charging (power adapter included)
- Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, and Wi-Fi 6
- Android 12 with MIUI 13
- RRP in Europe probably “from 599 euros”
The MediaTek processor is likely to be around 15-20% behind Qualcomm’s current top SoC
So you shouldn’t have any problems in everyday life and you should still be traveling fast enough. According to Xiaomi, the SoC is particularly efficient and should also enable a screen time of up to 13.5 hours.
The 200MP main camera is reserved for the Pro. Instead, Xiaomi is now using a 108MP sensor – which is already known from the company’s other smartphones.
Solid RRP, but also “inexpensive”?
However, both smartphones have to do without an aluminum frame. This should save costs and keep the entry price low. With “from 749 euros” for the Pro model (128GB/8GB RAM) or “from 599 euros” for the normal 12T (128GB/8GB RAM), this is also somewhat successful. Silver, black & blue are available as color variants for both. Both smartphones are still shipped with Android 12 but are said to receive three major updates and four years of security updates.
As a special extra, Xiaomi will replace the screen once for free for the first six months. In addition, non-warranty repairs are free for the first twelve months after purchase.
The first independent tests have to show how the new Xiaomi smartphones perform in practice and whether the 200MP snaps in the Pro model really “make moments mega”.
What do you think of the smartphones compared to the Xiaomi 12 (& 12 Pro)? Can larger sensors make up for the lack of telephoto cameras?