Xiaomi 12 review: A compact flagship-class phone, missing some key features
Introduction
Xiaomi 12 establishes a presence in today's smartphone market, especially among users who love compact designs. This 6.28-inch device is driven by Qualcomm's best Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor and features up to 256GB of internal storage—a device addressing needs of users looking for this smaller, handier device size without really sacrificing much performance.
Apart from the powerhouse chipset, Xiaomi 12 also features a 120Hz AMOLED screen, supporting 67W rapid charging, packing in everything one could demand for a good day of casual use or outing as a tech geek.
In India, it costs nearly ₹74,990 for the variant with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, while for the 8GB/256GB variant, it is approximately ₹84,990. Xiaomi 12 is a phone that has landed in a lot of markets around the world; in India, it is because of the combination of right pricing and value brought by it.
For those who need a larger display, there is the Xiaomi 12 Pro with a 6.73-inch display and hence priced slightly higher than the base variant. With this premium quality build and top-of-the-line various specifications, the Xiaomi 12 series appeals to consumers seeking only the best in satisfying their smartphone needs.
Design and Build
The language of design between the Xiaomi 12 and 12 Pro is sleek and quite modern, with the exact button placement along the sides and top edges. There only exists a very slight difference between the two, toward the end: On the Xiaomi 12, there's a speaker grille on the left, with a SIM tray on the right, while this should be reversed on the 12 Pro.
These minor differences notwithstanding, the design is the same across both models: the very distinct speaker grille design is retained in this model.
Considering the Xiaomi 12 to the 12 Pro, the camera module is slightly smaller, with a 50MP wide camera, 13MP ultra-wide, and a 5MP telemacro. The entire thing juts out from the backplate made out of Gorilla Glass 5 but still provides an overall matte and slightly textured finish, ensuring a good, non-slipping nature to the phone. Up front, it's covered with Gorilla Glass Victus.
Xiaomi Sells the Xiaomi 12 in three color options, namely blue, grey, purple, but it was sent over in a purplish look, more of a light lavender flavor, so stunning. But before we proceed, let us now feed what some of you on this screen already need—the Xiaomi 12 device does not have an IP rating for dust and water resistance, among other things, an official one, which could see it easily lose some potential clients.
Display and Audio
The Xiaomi 12 is provided with a 6.28-inch AMOLED display of a Full HD+ resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels, making a pixel density of 419ppi. It's a lively and sharp panel that should turn out to be right for media, surfing, and gaming. The screen also hosts a 120Hz refresh rate, which permits easy scrolling and generally fluid user interaction.
It also boasts a peak brightness of 1,100 nits, is capable of handling HDR10+, and there is Dolby Vision for you to feast on high-resolution content.
The display also sports a 480Hz touch sampling rate, which is great when it comes to gaming because touch response happens instantly at gaming speeds. There's a reading mode too which decreases the intensity of the colors to make them easy on the eyes, although there is no monochrome option.
As for the audio, the Xiaomi 12 has dual speakers that serve sound from both the top and bottom edges. While generally the quality is good, it comes nowhere near being the most depthy and rich, compared to better-equipped phones. Inexistence of a headphone jack perhaps poses an inconvenience for those who would need to have Bluetooth or USB-C headphones.
Performance
In short, the Xiaomi 12 boots the flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC by Qualcomm, coupled with 8GB of RAM. That matches in top performance, addressing demanding applications and multitasking with no glitch at all. In the benchmark tests done with Geekbench 5, the Xiaomi 12 scores 1266 on the single-core and 3491 on multicore tests, which were recorded on other Snapdragon 8 Gen 1-powered devices.
The Xiaomi 12 will be available in two storage configurations: 128GB and 256GB. Both will be using UFS 3.1 storage technology for a bigger read and write speed. However, no expandable storage will be allowed through a MicroSD card, so customers should get what fits their storage requirements.
It further supports dual 5G SIMs, ensuring users are connected to the very latest speeds in networks. On the security front, the Xiaomi 12 comes with an under-display fingerprint sensor that is accurate and responsive to ensure quick access to the device.
Camera
Although this should not affect the facts, since the Xiaomi 12 presents a slight change from the high-end 12 Pro to a 50MP wide-angle camera, a 13MP ultra-wide-angle camera, and a 5MP telemacro camera, things do stay the same. The main camera in use picks up very granular and richly colored still photography, whereas the ultra-wide and macro cameras add to shooting variations.
The addition of a 5MP telemacro camera is actually interesting enough and enables one to portray a lot of detail in close-up shots. The only problem with that is if you have a shaky hand, it's quite hard to nail a shot. Sadly, the macro mode has been buried quite effectively in the furthermost settings than that easily reachable in the main camera interface, something that makes some users frustrated.
Xiaomi 12 does support 8K at 24fps—for the majority of the users, 4K at 30/60fps would be a better option for silky video. Selfies from the 32MP front-facing camera are sharp and produce bold colors, hence suitable for video calls or posting on social media.
Software And End-User Experience
It operates the Xiaomi 12 with MIUI 13 overlay, based on Android 12. MIUI 13 features enhanced personalization functions and implements a number of useful additions that improve the user experience. However, it also brings along rather a lot of bloatware in the form of preinstalled applications and games that not everybody is likely to find necessary.
While some of them can be deleted, a number of apps are embedded into the system and cannot be deleted at all, making them frustrating for many users.
There are also a number of useful features in MIUI 13, including a native screen record and enhanced privacy controls. The interface is fluid and responsive, too, while users will, of course, get regular updates from Xiaomi to polish performance and security.
Battery Life
The Xiaomi 12 is powered by a 4500mAh battery, which offers an average user with very decent battery life. The phone scored 10 hours and 34 minutes in the PCMark for Android Work 3.0 battery life test, a score marginally ahead of the 10 hours and 9 minutes by the Xiaomi 12 Pro. However, real-life battery performance can fluctuate: it mostly depends on the use of the screens at different brightness's, refresh rates, and whether they are more or less loaded.
In a YouTube video streaming test, the Xiaomi 12 reduced exactly 44% of battery after three hours of continuous playback, which leaves us with a rough estimate of being around seven hours of battery with medium to heavy utilization. Once again, the phone fills in some of the disappointment with its fast-charging capability. This makes the Xiaomi 12 fully capable of being charged juiced from 9% to 100% in only 35 minutes. It also supports 50W wireless charging and 10W reverse wireless charging to keep users powered up throughout the day.
Conclusion
In fair competition with the others in the smartphone market, the Xiaomi 12 really shines, offering users a compelling mix of top-level functionality and top-class design in a very compact factor. Its processing power is banked on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, allowing it to easily take on heavy apps, multitasking, and gaming.
At its heart lies a 6.28-inch AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 120Hz, which offers ultimate vibrancy and a seamless visual experience. The display also supports HDR10+, so it's quite suited for media consumption, be it streaming videos or merely scrolling through photos.
The versatile camera device for this Xiaomi 12 is powered by a 50MP main sensor capable of taking detailed and cerulean images, while an ultra-wide and macro lens adds flexibility for users to try out more styles in their shots. Cameras are also improved with software enhancements like AI scene detection and night mode to ensure better quality photos, thus being a reliable choice for photography enthusiasts.
There are, however, a few caveats with the Xiaomi 12. First and foremost, this phone lacks an official IP rating, which means consumers should be extra cautious with water and dust compared to most of its direct competitors. Adding on, 4500mAh is decent but not very good, so that is needed for long hours for heavy users. Lastly, some bloatware may compromise the user's experience by occupying additional storage space and at worst causing lag.
For those who want a more compact form factor without really missing out on performance and features, the Xiaomi 12 does seem to be their best bet. But it strikes a balance between portability and power—making it an excellent choice for users who want a flagship experience in a more manageable size.
But if display size or battery life ranks among the most important features, then it might be worth considering alternatives like the Xiaomi 12 Pro or even something like the Pixel 6, which holds a sleeker software experience with longer support. There are very few weaknesses in the Xiaomi 12 that most people would really mind, so it's just important to weigh some of these strengths against the limitations of the device before deciding to go for it.
Current Indian Price
• Xiaomi 12, 8GB/128GB: ₹74,990
• Xiaomi 12 (8GB/256GB): ₹84,990
FAQs
1. What color options can a user find in the Xiaomi 12?
Xiaomi 12 comes in a sleek color that is variable to different aesthetic tastes. The device comes in three fundamentally stylish color options—Blue, Grey, and Purple. The color Blue is designed for the very lively and fresh person who doesn't like a dull and boring look to their mobile phone.
The Grey color is way more sophisticated and low-key, ideal for classic and refined taste: whereas Purple color of the case is unique and stylish, most suitable for consumers who would like to have a smartphone that is attractive in the crowd.
2. Is expandable storage available on the Xiaomi 12?
Sadly, the Xiaomi 12 lacks convenience with the exclusion of expandable storage through a MicroSD card slot feature.
That is to say, any prospective user will have to put the storage requirement into thought before purchasing it, since the device plainly demands that one has to confine needs within what is available, built in. The Xiaomi 12 ships with 128GB of storage for P34,990 and 256GB for P37,990.
While these storage options offer more than enough space for most users, even those who never consider potentially using extensive space on solely large files such as high-resolution videos or a vast library of apps would do well to buy the 256GB storage model.
3. About how long will it take for the Xiaomi 12 to fully recharge?
The Xiaomi 12 has remarkable features for rapid charging, which greatly minimize downtime. Only 35 minutes from 9% to 100%: the Xiaomi 12 features an included 67W charger. This quick charge is going to work wonders for a busy customer who does not have the time to waste and simply wants to always be on the go and not wait for their device to charge. Fast-charging of the Xiaomi 12: If you need a fast top-off before hitting the road or a full charge after a long day, leave it to fast-charging technologies so you never have to wait to power back up.
4. Is the Xiaomi 12 waterproof?
The Xiaomi 12 does not ship with an official IP rating for water or dust resistance, meaning that it does not guarantee protection against water and dust ingress. This water protection deficiency should critical considerations for a device that will most likely be fun using in wet or dusty conditions such as: Although the device can withstand some splashes and some substances of dust, it does not entirely suffice to go on and use the Xiaomi 12 in such conditions that the gadget may be immersed in water and expose it to too much humidity. Try using a protective case to protect against water exposure if the exposure of the phone to water is a real concern on your part, just to extend the life of your unit.
5. What is the battery capacity of the Xiaomi 12, and how does it perform in everyday use?
This model of Xiaomi 12 is powered by a 4,500 mAh battery that provides reliable performance for everyday tasks. The battery comfortably lasts over 10 hours in everyday use under a single charge, inclusive of heavy tasks like web browsing and social media, with moderate use of other apps.
Mainly, what remains clever is trying to balance the 4500 mAh capacity with practicality, hence also ensuring it's a fairly thin device when observed closely in real-life scenarios of a typical day's working time. In addition, 67W fast charge guarantees that, with your battery running down, it will still be convenient to re-charge fast and continue using the device without further ado.
