If a company offers a flagship smartphone for less than $850, any normal market observer would say: check! The Xiaomi 12T Pro is referred to as this by the manufacturer, and that's exactly what I did. In that case, I am expecting too much from him. This review will reveal whether it can stand up to the hardships of everyday use.
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Xiaomi 12T Pro Specification:
- AMOLED display with a diagonal of 6.67 ", a resolution of 2712 × 1220 pixels, a refresh rate of 120 Hz and a touch refresh rate of 480 Hz, HDR10 +, Dolby Vision, Corning Gorilla Glass 5, brightness 500 nits, peak - up to 900 nits,
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 octa-core processor with Adreno 730,
- 12 GB RAM (LPDDR5),
- 256 GB internal memory (UFS 3.1),
- Android 12 z MIUI 13,
- Main camera 200 Mpix (f / 1.69, Samsung ISOCELL HP1, 1 / 1.22 ″, 0.64μm 4-in-1 binning 1.28μm, 16-in-1 Super Pixel 2.56μm, 85 ° FOV, 8P, OIS) + 8 Mpix ultra-wide angle (f / 2.2, 1.12μm, 1/4 ″, 5P, 120 ° FOV + macro (f / 2.4, 1.75μm, 1/5 ″, 3P, 81.6 ° FOV),
- Front camera 20 Mpix f / 2.24, 0.8μm, 78 ° FOV,
- 5G,
- Dual SIM,
- NFC,
- Bluetooth 5.2,
- WiFi 6 (2,4 & 5 GHz),
- GPS,
- 5000 mAh battery, 120 W HyperCharge fast charging,
- USB type C,
- Harman Kardon stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos,
- Dimensions: 163.1 x 75.9 x 8.6 mm,
- Weight: 205 g.
Design and Quality
Xiaomi 12T Pro is available in three colors: black, silver, and blue. I tested it (I wish I had such a variant - you know perfectly well what my favorite color is;)). I like two things about him. The first is that it is matte. However, in all this dullness it shimmers in a pleasant way depending on the angle of incidence of light.
The phone itself is not small - admittedly the 6.67 "diagonal is not the largest that we currently meet in smartphones (here it is worth mentioning, for example, T Phone Pro 5G - 6.82"), but for people with small hands the fact is not good news that the dimensions are 163.1 x 75.9 x 8.6 mm. Without maneuvering the phone, there is no chance to reach the first row of icons from the top.
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In addition, the Xiaomi 12T Pro is quite heavy - 205 grams is a lot (it can be felt especially during long conversations).
What else is worth paying attention to when discussing the structure itself is undoubtedly the quality of workmanship, to which I have not the slightest objection. It is compact, with nothing to complain about at all. The volume control buttons are well-felt under your fingers. The switch itself, in my opinion, is a bit weak but experience shows that you will rarely reach for it.
Xiaomi 12T Pro does not meet an official standard for splash resistance higher than IP53. The nanoSIM card slot itself is sealed. The good news - the smartphone has an infrared port, which we can easily use as a remote control for various household appliances, such as a TV set.
Display
You'd be surprised if I had something negative to say about the Xiaomi 12T Pro screen, but I don't. I don't. Its diagonal is 6.67, the resolution is 2712 × 1220 pixels, and the refresh rate is 120 Hz (you can set a fixed 60 Hz or 120 Hz, or leave the management of this parameter to automation).
Because we are dealing with an AMOLED panel, it can only be praised. Great black reproduction, perfect viewing angles, saturated colors - everything is in its place here. In addition, people who do not like curved screens will be happy - here we are dealing with a flat one.
The display brightness specified by the manufacturer is 500 nits, while the peak brightness is 900 nits. I am not able to say whether the given values are consistent with reality, but the fact is that the Xiaomi 12T Pro screen is very bright and readable regardless of the intensity of the light. It works great on sunny days, and the minimum brightness is OK - it does not hurt the eyes in the evenings. Importantly, the light sensor efficiently responds to changes in ambient lighting.
By default, a basic protective film is glued to the smartphone screen, but it does not affect the sliding of the finger on it or its reaction in any way - this one is trouble-free. I recommend keeping the foil until it is used up because it works flawlessly in its role.
Always on display in the case of Xiaomi is a function called Always onscreen. Importantly, you can set it to be displayed always or always, but at set times, and not only for a few (in this case 10) seconds. AoD displays the time, date, day of the week, battery level, and icons of applications from which notifications are waiting.
The appearance of the screen can always be modified - you can choose a caption, analog clock, digital clock, kaleidoscope, or background in the form of graphics.
Operation software
I wish all smartphones ran as fast and smooth as the Xiaomi 12T Pro. Everything is correct here - the work culture is at a great level. And the fact that we are dealing with a 120 Hz screen refresh only enhances the impression that moving around the system is very smooth, but also switching between applications is instant.
Sure, this is due to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen1 octa-core processor, but also 12 GB RAM (which can be virtually expanded by an additional 3 GB). The combination of these components means that we can talk about flagship performance - in terms of smartphone operation daily, I can hardly have any objections.
The optics change when we start playing. The device then likes to heat up - the phone housing becomes noticeably warm (not hot, does not burn in your hands, but feels warm). Anyway, it is enough to mention that the Xiaomi 12T Pro was not able to complete the highest-quality tests, i.e. performance stress tests, due to overheating ...
As I refer to gaming itself here - by default - as the action that requires immortality. After setting high resolution and very high quality, we can play at 30fps and all values are set high, loading the device to a moderate extent. We will burden the equipment to a similar extent by changing the quality to high but at 60 fps.
As for the performance tests, the results are as follows:
- Geekbench 5:
- Single core: 1296
- Multicore: 4177
- 3DMark:
- Slingshot: max
- Sling Shot Extreme: max
- Wildlife: max
- Wild Life Extreme: 2744
- Wild Life Stress Test: failed due to overheating
- Wild Life Stress Test Extreme: failed due to overheating
In the Xiaomi 11T Pro review, I happened to complain a bit about the original Xiaomi software - MIUI, and specifically mainly about the dark mode. I have the impression that this overlay has improved a lot and I haven't had any unpleasant surprises during the last three weeks. Except for one - you still have to combine the settings of individual applications to make notifications arrive on time.
Communication facilities
Here it came as no surprise: 5G, dual SIM, NFC, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS, and dual-band WiFi 6. All modules work as needed. WiFi extracts almost all the connection potential (916 Mbps / 308 Mbps), navigation gets you to your destination without any surprises, cellular data works without any problems, and headphones and watches are compatible with Bluetooth. Have nothing to complain about the quality of the calls either - I heard the interlocutors loud and clear, and it was the other way too.
All the Xiaomi 12T Pro versions available for sale have 256 GB of internal memory, of which 223 GB of space can be used for your files, multimedia, etc. We will not expand the memory with the use of a microSD card slot due to the lack of one (a pity).
We have UFS 3.1 memory in the smartphone. Its speed as measured by the CPDT is as follows:
- Continuous data writing speed: 736.99 MB / s,
- Continuous data reading speed: 932.63 MB / s,
- Random write speed: 28.58 MB / s,
- Random read speed: 25.15 MB / s
- Memory copy: 12.90 GB / s.
Loudspeakers
In phones above a certain amount, we demand perfect components in every detail. As we well know, this is not always the case, and it is the same in this case. Let me put it this way: it's good, but not perfect.
With a Dolby Atmos system, stereo speakers in 50/50 proportions, and probably soft preparation by Xiaomi, the phone sounds great, but it lacks a light finish. High and medium tones are at a very nice level, while low tones, and bass, are a bit lacking.
I compared it with the slightly more expensive iPhone 13 Pro. I did this with the full awareness that this hundred dollars of difference matters, because on Apple equipment you can hear sounds that Xiaomi is not able to bring out. However, I would like to emphasize that the 12T Pro does not sound bad - it's just not able to produce some keynotes.
And besides, it's quite a decent audio system.
Biometry
Face recognition is also instantaneous. So much so that sometimes I find myself not even wanting to unblock access to the phone, because I accidentally looked in its direction, e.g. while hiding it in my pocket, and it already managed to catch it. Secondly, I much prefer it when it works so fast rather than reacting with some delay (especially considerable).
It must be said clearly, however, that facial recognition is not the most secure biometric system here, because it is based only on the front camera - not a spatial scan. At the same time, I loyally let you know that I did not manage to confuse him with a photo displayed on the other smartphone.
Throughout the entire testing period, I liked the fingerprint reader on the screen invariably. It is fast, precise, and hassle-free - you just have to remember that your finger cannot be placed against it and taken away in the blink of an eye, but applied so that it can be read.
Battery life
Xiaomi 12T Pro is another smartphone from this manufacturer that does not display the working time of the screen. This is the second plague, just after the SoT reset after midnight, that plagues test phones. Due to this, unfortunately, I am not able to give you specific values of the hourly operating time.
However, I can write that you do not have to worry about the working time of the Xiaomi 12T Pro - or at least I did not have to. During the tests every evening, I still had a lot of energy. On WiFi it could be up to 50% (the next day the phone was discharged in the early afternoon), on LTE or in mixed mode - about 25-30% (which forced charging overnight or in the morning).
Especially since this charging is instant here! The sales set includes a 120-watt charger with which we can charge the smartphone in just over 20 minutes, provided that we turn on super fast charging in the settings (it is turned off by default).
The phone will usually charge in 35 minutes (of which 50% will be charged in 12 minutes) after it is taken out of its box. If you activate super fast charging, the phone will charge even faster, for about 23 minutes (62% in 10 minutes) like it very much, but you must be aware that the phone becomes noticeably warm during such fast charging.
Xiaomi 12T Pro does not support inductive charging.
Apparatus
Xiaomi 12T Pro is equipped with three cameras - the main one with a resolution of 200 Mpix f / 1.69, taking pictures in 12.5 Mpix by default (of course, there is also a full 200 Mpix mode, ultra wide-angle 8 Mpix f / 2.2 and a macro 2 Mpix f / 2.4.
The problem with full resolution is that the resulting photo can weigh 50-70 MB, which makes it difficult to predict when you will reach full resolution mode (Ultra HD). I am even tempted to say that you will do it a few times out of curiosity, but not anymore.
Seven different sets of photos taken at 8 Mpix, 50 Mpix, and 200 Mpix are dropped on Google Drive, but below you have some cuttings from the original resolutions:
Overall, I must admit that I am positively surprised by the quality offered, especially when we are talking about the main unit, used by everyone the most and most willingly.
What you may like most of all is a very nice reproduction of real colors, a nice depth of photos, nice bokeh, sharpness, and a nice level of detail. Photographing with the Xiaomi 12T Pro is in a way satisfying because you can shoot just nice and eye-catching photos.
The portrait mode also shows its good side, but never set it to the maximum value - then the effect is more artificial and, what's worse, unnatural, including the fact that it removes some elements (such as rods connecting different parts of the display).
The maximum zoom is 10x, with only 2x being digital and good for something. The greater the zoom value, the greater the loss of quality, sharpness, and detail is seen, and the level of graininess increases.
Photos from an ultra-wide angle are characterized by a different color reproduction compared to the main lens and a significant extent. The degradation of detail and sharpness moments is also visible, especially at the edges of the frames.
The night photos also surprised me quite positively. In this case, perhaps the optical image stabilization played a very important role because a sharp picture was easier to capture, but the truth is that I did not blur the picture - well unless I used a long exposure in the night mode (there is nothing strange about it). Sure, the less light there is, the lower the quality of the photos, but as long as there is enough of it, it's hard to complain about the quality.
Macro? You know my approach to 2 Mpix macro - I'd rather not mention it at all. However, so that it would not be that I ignored the topic, I am attaching a few sample photos.
So what is the lack of Xiaomi 12T Pro about the best (and more expensive, and how) flagships? First of all, more tonal space and even better detail - it is perfectly visible in the pictures that when there is more of a color, it can blend (for example, let's say a cat's hair or the sky), and sometimes it burns out if we are talking about a light background.
I also miss a slightly better working HDR and a greater range of functional zoom - the 2x zoom is useful, but you would like something more. There is also a noticeable difference in the reproduction of colors between the main lens and the ultra-wide angle, which is a characteristic feature of ... especially cheaper smartphones.
These are not some big tricks for the Xiaomi 12T Pro camera - especially since it is not top-shelf equipment. In the case of high-end masters of mobile photography, it pays extra for those who are less familiar with the subject. It's not to say that the camera on this device is poor, since it is not - for most people it will be more than a nuisance. But you can do better - by paying extra.
Pictures from the front camera (20 MPix f / 2.24) are fine. I do not recommend using portrait mode at full power, because - just like in the main camera - it looks artificial. The quality of selfies itself may be pleasing, although the camera has a slight tendency to burn through brighter frames.
Video
You should know about video recording:
- The maximum quality of recorded video with the main camera is 8K 24 fps (no ultra-wide, max. 6x zoom), while the front - is 1080p 60 fps.
- During recording, we can use HDR, and we automatically lower the video quality - 4K 30 fps for the main camera and 1080p 30 fps for the front camera.
- There is a super stabilization mode that works only in 1080p 30 fps and narrows the frame quite significantly compared to the standard one.
- Recording in 4K at 60ps, we can switch from the main camera to an ultra-wide angle and vice versa, and the maximum available zoom is 6x.
Qualitatively, I don't have much to say - it's fine. Colors, detail, and speed of focus all show positive signs of stabilization. Users with more creative skills can also use video blogs and film effects (such as magic zoom, slow shutter, parallel world, etc.), through which recorded videos can look exceptionally cool. It's much worse after dark.
Summary
I had the impression that reviewing the Xiaomi 11T Pro was easy. First of all, the main role was played by the price, which amounted to a hundred dollars. The price of its successor, the Xiaomi 12T Pro, is already a hundred dollars higher, which makes it difficult to compete against similarly competitive.
A quick look at the offers of electronic stores shows that for the same or even slightly less money, we can currently buy a Samsung Galaxy S22 (metal frame, IP68, induction charging, eSIM, but a smaller battery and slower charging) or OnePlus 10 Pro. What's more, the Xiaomi 11T Pro itself is an interesting alternative.
Does this mean that the Xiaomi 12T Pro is bad? In no case - I will remember the time of the tests. Works great and has a great screen, cool speakers, and super fast charging. Great the battery lasts all day without any problems.
What is missing, however, is a better ultra-wide-angle camera, because 8 Mpix (and 2 Mpix macro) refer rather to a lot of cheaper smartphones, a microSD card slot, inductive charging, or a higher standard of resistance.