What position does the Xiaomi 12T Pro occupy in the brand’s growing lineup of smartphones? Its “T” series provides maximum power at a price that is less than that of the flagship line. Typically released a few months before the release of the following flagship, it achieves best-in-class screen refresh rates and exceptionally quick wired charging speeds at a competitive price by forgoing frills like wireless charging. This year, it improves upon that by including Xiaomi phones with Samsung’s colossal-resolution 200MP ISOCELL camera.
Xiaomi is not new to taking a chance on advanced camera technology. Sony’s 1-inch IMX 989, which later appeared in the Vivo X90 Pro 5G, was first introduced on the Xiaomi 12s Ultra. This amazing sensor is also likely to make a comeback on the future Xiaomi 13, which is anticipated to be unveiled at Mobile World Congress 2023.
Going back to the T-series, we have a lot of love for the Xiaomi 11T Pro. The greatest Xiaomi phones include 120W fast charging, which is faster than many flagship phones have almost a year later. Its camera was a standout, combining OIS with a 108MP Samsung ISOCELL sensor.
The 12T Pro updates the power and camera system with that high-resolution sensor, refines the design, adds a more diffuse, frosted coating to the glass back, and brings back this 120W charging.
Design
Despite weighing only 205g, the 12T Pro has a somewhat clumsy impression. Although it has a smaller footprint than the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, the Xiaomi 12 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro seem more svelte and upscale due to their tapered sides and curvier phones, which have flat screens and lower camera bumps.
The fact that it has a plastic frame prevents it from feeling as luxurious as an iPhone 14 and adds to the overall sensation of blandness.
Xiaomi made some clever moves to prevent the design of the 12T Pro from falling flat. The phone’s glass back, which bends into the frame on all sides, makes it feel relatively premium and allows it to fit comfortably in the hand.
The frosted surface increases the perceived quality and deters fingerprints.
Screen
With Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support, the Xiaomi 12T Pro‘s screen is an AMOLED panel with a 120Hz display. This is a nice one for people who enjoy flat screens. Xiaomi offers a ton of options for adjusting graphics, from standard choices like dark mode to a reading mode with a mottled, paper-like texture and a variety of color calibration options.
Due in large part to its usual brightness of 500 nits and a peak in auto brightness mode of 900 nits, the 12T Pro’s outdoor viewability isn’t nearly as good as some other phones like the OnePlus 10 Pro if you live somewhere sunny or use your phone outside frequently.
You get a large, clear display at 6.67 inches with a resolution of 1220 x 2712 pixels, packing 446 pixels per inch of the screen (PPI). That isn’t too far behind the 460 PPI of the iPhone 14 Pro.
The 12T Pro boasts multiple levels of protection, including a screen protector that is already installed, Gorilla Glass beneath, and a case that is included in the package.
Camera specs
The 200MP ISOCELL HP1 image sensor from Samsung, which is found on the Xiaomi 12T Pro, is larger than the 200MP ISOCELL HP2 image sensor found on Samsung’s brand-new Galaxy S23 Ultra.
While the sensor in Samsung’s flagship device has several benefits, including improved analog gain and focusing, buying the considerably less expensive 12T Pro gives you a larger primary camera sensor, so you can logically expect a shallower depth of field and potentially even better hardware-based noise control. A 0.64-micron pixel size, PDAF, and OIS are some additional key camera specifications.
But before you dismiss the fantastic S23 Ultra, let’s discuss the secondary cameras on the 12T Pro, which are a definite step down. First, there is a 2MP macro module that requires exceptional lighting to produce a usable image. Next, there is an 8MP fixed-focus ultra-wide camera.
The standard suspects like Photo, Video, Portrait, Night, and Pro mode are joined by Ultra HD (50/200MP mode), Short video, Panorama, Vlog, Slow motion, Time-lapse, Movie effects, Long exposure, Dual video, Document, and Clone modes to get the most out of the 12T Pro’s capabilities.
The 12T lacks Leica co-branding, which means it lacks the camera manufacturer’s UI color tuning, in contrast to the 12s Ultra. It’s also important to note that anyone hoping to take a 200MP RAW photo is out of luck. The only option to take a 200MP JPEG photo is in Ultra HD mode, and RAW images are only 12MP. Below is an illustration of a 200MP photo crop taken in ideal lighting.
Additional specs
As with every Xiaomi T series device, the 12T Pro comes equipped with a flagship Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, a tried-and-true performer. Although we did notice the phone getting heated when we booted up the most demanding games, the 12T Pro can absolutely deliver superb gaming performance. But it maintained its cool for less serious games like Marvel Snap.
We’re surprised it isn’t running Android 13, but its app support and features are still top-notch. It runs Android 12 with Xiaomi’s MIUI 13 interface.
On the 12T Ultra, Xiaomi crams in a few extra touches that help set it apart from the competition, like an IR blaster, for instance. In other words, the phone functions as both a TV remote and an audio system remote. Furthermore, the phone includes native support for Miracast, which makes screen casting to compatible monitors or any Amazon Fire TVs a breeze. Additionally, the phone features a “Second space,” which allows you to divide it into a professional and personal device or create a profile for a loved one or child.
The Xiaomi 12T Pro makes the most of this Second space feature because it comes with 256GB of storage as standard. Therefore, even if you retain the phone for a few years, you won’t likely run out of storage despite the lack of a microSD card port.
Whether you’re shooting lots of pictures or playing games while you’re on the road, the enormous 5000mAh battery also helps Xiaomi’s phone last all day. And thanks to its incredibly quick 120W charging speeds, you can power up in under a half-hour, which is astounding.
