Xiaomi’s long-awaited launch event took place today, and the company presented its new flagships Xiaomi 12, 12 Pro and 12X.
After years of oversized flagships, Xiaomi appears to be returning to a more compact form factor. Today’s debut event, at which MIUI 13 was also unveiled, put a lot of effort into explaining how the Xiaomi 12’s compact body feels comfortable in the hand.
Xiaomi 12
The Xiaomi 12, with its 6.28″ AMOLED screen, is considerably smaller than most Android flagships we see today, whose screen sizes have stabilized around 6.7″ recently.
The curved screen helps the Xiaomi 12 cut even more millimeters from its width and the phone measures just 152.7 x 69.9 x 8.16 mm.
Other display specifications include Full HD+ resolution, 120Hz refresh rate (1 to 120Hz variable), 480Hz touch sampling rate, 1100nits maximum brightness, 12bit color, HDR10+ and support for Dolby Vision.
It should be noted that the Full HD+ resolution is a reduction compared to the Mi 11’s 2K screen, but it’s good considering the screen is smaller. In addition, the screen offers Gorilla Glass Victus protection.
The inclusion of the 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor is another highlight of the Xiaomi 12 and should offer a significant performance upgrade. Temperatures are kept under control with a 2600 mm² VC liquid cooling unit.
Moving on to the camera department, the Xiaomi 12 comes with a three-camera setup on the back, with the main one displaying a 50MP IMX766 sensor (1/1.56 ″, 1.0 µm).
Advanced tracking technology has been added for better snapshots of fast-moving objects, with support for the new ‘Xiaomi Image Brain’ that helps reduce processing times.
The main camera is accompanied by the 5MP macro and 13MP ultra-wide cameras. And at the front, you have a 32 MP camera for selfies.
The Xiaomi 12 battery is 4500mAh and supports 67W wired charging, 50W wireless charging and 10W reverse charging. A fingerprint reader under the screen is present for security.
The device is available in black, blue, purple and field green color options. RAM and storage variants include 8GB + 128GB, 8GB + 256GB and 12GB + 256GB, priced at CNY 3,699 (€514), CNY 3,999 (€556) and CNY 4,399 (€612) respectively .
Xiaomi 12 Pro
The Xiaomi 12 Pro, as the name suggests, is a more powerful version of the base model and offers a number of enhanced specs.
For starters, you get a larger 6.73-inch screen with 2K resolution. The charging speed has also almost doubled and is at 120W. The speakers are in a four-drive configuration which should provide better audio than the Xiaomi 12’s stereo arrangement.
A bigger screen also means a bigger body, and the Xiaomi 12 Pro measures 163.6 x 74.6 x 8.16 mm, although the thickness remains exactly the same. The weight is also slightly higher compared to the non-Pro model, with 205 grams.
Another significant difference is in the cameras, as the Xiaomi 12 Pro comes with three 50MP cameras consisting of a 50MP IMX707 primary camera (1 / 1.28″, 1.22μm), a 50MP telephoto lens and an ultra-wide angle camera of 50MP.
RAM and storage variants include 8GB + 128GB, 8GB + 256GB and 12GB + 256GB, priced at CNY 4,699 (€653), CNY 4,999 (€695) and CNY 5,399 (€751) respectively .
Xiaomi 12X
The Xiaomi 12X is aimed at those looking for the best Xiaomi experience, but without spending a lot of money. It’s exactly the same as the Xiaomi 12, except it’s powered by the more humble Snapdragon 870 chip, and doesn’t have the CyberFocus technology found in its two more expensive siblings.
The available color options are black, blue and purple and the price starts at 3,199 CNY (445 euros).
Availability
All three devices will boot with MIUI 13 based on Android 12 and are the company’s first to run a stable version of the update. The series will be available for purchase from December 31 in China, with global release scheduled for early 2022.