Content
- Video review
- Specifications
- Appearance and equipment
- Software
- cameras
- Performance and Benchmarks
- findings
Xiaomi 12 Pro is the flagship of the twelfth Xiaomi line and one of the first smartphones of 2022 based on the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset. At first glance, everything is with it: the ergonomics are excellent, and the hardware is modern … But it’s worth starting to compare with Xiaomi 12 ( review , video review ), how a fair question arises: what is it, in fact, “Pro”?
Video review
Specifications
 |
Specifications Xiaomi 12 Pro |
|---|---|
| Network | 2G, 3G, 4G,5G |
| Firmware | MIUI 13 on Android 12 |
| Screen | 6.73″, 20:9, 3200 x 1440 pixels, 419 ppi, LTPO, 1-120 Hz, 480 Hz touch, 1500 nits, HDR10+, AMOLED, LTPO 2.0 Gorilla Glass Victus |
| Chipset | Snapdragon 8 Gen1 |
| RAM | 8/12 GB LPDDR5 |
| ROM | 128/256 GB UVS 3.1 |
| SIM and memory card | 2 × nano SIM cards |
| Camera | Primary : 50 MP, Sony IMX707, 1/1.28″, f/1.9, 1.22µm, 2.4µm binning, Xiaomi ProFocus Wide Angle : Samsung S5KJN1, 50MP, f/2.2, 115°, fixed focus Portrait : Samsung S5KJN1, 50 MP, f/1.9, 48mm, PDAF, 2x |
| Selfie | OmniVision OV32B40, 32MP, f/2.45 |
| Battery | 4600 mAh |
| Charger | USB-C, 120W, Surge P1 chip wireless 50 W, reversible 10 W |
| Wireless interfaces | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/b/n/ac/ax, 2.4/5 GHz, 2×2 MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Miracast Bluetooth 5.2 GPS, AGPS, Beidou, Galileo, GLONASS, QZSS, NavIC IR |
| NFC | There is |
| Biometrics | In-screen fingerprint scanner Face recognition |
| Sound | Stereo (2×2), Harman/Kardon, Hi-Res Audio, Hi-Res Audio Wireless, Dolby Atmos, LDAC |
| Waterproof | Not declared |
| Dimensions and weight | 163.6 x 74.6 x 8.16 mm (glass) / 8.66 mm (leather) 205 g / 204 g |
Appearance and equipment
The smartphone box includes a charger, cable, transparent silicone case, protective film (applied to the display), SIM-clip and documentation. In comparison with the kit of the related Xiaomi 12 (review, video review), I will note a more powerful power adapter – as much as 120 W for the Pro version and 67 W for the regular one.
The case cover can be made of both shock-resistant glass and plastic with leather texture. The latter, however, is exclusive to the Chinese market, which means that you will have to order if you wish. Just such a copy fell into our hands. It feels nice, but in terms of wear resistance, it potentially loses to its glass counterpart. Dust and moisture protection is absent in both options.
In terms of interfaces, pay attention to the following points:
- The SIM card tray holds two nanoSIM cards.
- The fingerprint scanner works out touches quickly and accurately. No problems were encountered during testing.
- Solid stereo sound is provided by as many as four speakers located on the upper and lower ends. With a horizontal grip, it is very difficult not to overlap at least two of them. Comparison with analogues can be found in our video review ( link with timecode ).
- The IR sensor on the top end allows you to control home appliances.
- The vibration motor works great and provides many vibration patterns.
On the front side, under the protective glass Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, a 6.73 ”AMOLED display is hidden. The panel boasts an increased refresh rate of 120Hz with support for LTPO 2.0 technology (Dynamic Refresh Rate to Conserve Power), a resolution of 3200 × 1440 pixels, a brightness of up to 1500 nits and an aspect ratio of 20:9. To call the screen uncompromisingly excellent is hindered only by a significant PWM in the absence of the DC-dimming option.
Software
Xiaomi 12 Pro runs on Android 12 in the proprietary MIUI 13 shell. Chinese models do not support the Russian language and are full of unknown applications at the first start. If you wish, you can remove everything incomprehensible, install Google Market and use the device almost as usual.
MIUI 13 on Android 12
cameras
The photo capabilities of the device fell on the shoulders of four sensors: the main Sony IMX707 (50 MP) with a matrix size of 1/28”, wide-angle Samsung S5KJN1 (50 MP), Samsung S5KJN1 telephoto (50 MP) and OmniVision OV32B40 (32 MP) as a front camera.
The main camera shows commendable detail, almost never misses colors, rarely makes mistakes with HDR, and shows excellent bokeh when shooting close-ups. The wide-angle camera also demonstrates good detail and colors, but lacks autofocus, which greatly limits its scope.
Main camera
Main and wide-angle cameras
Main and wide-angle cameras in standard and night modes
But there is no desire to praise the portrait camera. To begin with, I emphasize that 2x optical zoom can hardly be called a telephoto. A small zoom and a focal length of 48mm usually help achieve aesthetically pleasing proportions when shooting portraits. However, the sensor suffered the same trouble as the width of Xiaomi 12 ( review ) – it turns yellow. Frames come out dirty, especially with an abundance of white in the frame. In turn, the selfie camera pleases with high resolution, but offers only a fixed focus, which requires a certain habit.
Portrait camera: zoom
Main and portrait cameras in standard and portrait modes
Selfie camera in standard and portrait modes
The ability to switch between cameras while shooting is possible in 4K@30fps mode and below. The gluing between the main and wide-angle cameras looks quite smooth, which cannot be said about the transition to the yellowish portrait camera. Stabilization on the main and wide-angle sensor works decently, there is almost no doubling of light sources in the rooms. You can evaluate the quality of the video at the link below, as well as in the video review ( link with timecode ). In addition, the video review presents a comparison of the operation of cameras with analogues.
*Another important point associated with Xiaomi 12 Pro and the entire twelfth line is camera fogging. At the time of writing this text, the problem (it seems) has been resolved, but everyone who is interested can learn more about it in our video ( link ).
Performance and Benchmarks
The Xiaomi 12 Pro is powered by the latest flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, 8GB/12GB LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB/256GB UFS 3.1 storage. When choosing a configuration, you should responsibly approach the amount of necessary permanent memory, since there is no slot for memory cards in the design.
A dubious feature of Xiaomi 12 Pro (like Xiaomi 12) is the device behavior settings. In addition to setting the performance in the game launcher (Game Boost), similar options can be found in the battery settings and in the developer mode (Speed Mode).
Throttling test: perfomance (battary), + perfomance GB, + Speed Mod
Graphic stress test 3D Mark: perfomance (battary), + perfomance GB, + Speed Mod
AnTuTu reported overheating on second run
In terms of games, the behavior of the device is similar to Xiaomi 12 ( link to tests ), equipped with the same chipset. The performance is enough for moderately demanding projects, but under extreme loads, the chipset noticeably throttles. Literally after ~10 minutes in Genshin Impact at maximum graphics, you can expect a drop in maximum brightness and fps, as well as blocking the refresh rate at 60 Hz. Also, keep in mind that the claimed touch layer frequency of 480 Hz only works in a modest “white sheet” of projects, while the rest go to 240 Hz (Tacticool), and some even 120 Hz (COD)*. The last one looks especially strange. Hopefully they will fix it with updates. You can visually evaluate the gameplay in our video review ( link with timecode ).
*The situation gets a little better after unscrewing the touch sensitivity settings in the game launcher menu.
The battery with a capacity of 4600 mAh is responsible for the autonomy of the device. In a moderately active mode of use, this was enough for me for a day and a half. Apparently, tricky technologies like LTPO really help save battery. If we talk about absolute values, 60 minutes of YouTube (Wi-Fi, 1080p, 50% brightness) consumed 7% of the charge, and 30 minutes of COD Mobile (Wi-Fi, ultra settings, 50% brightness, GB+perfomance) – 10 %.
Do not forget that the standard package includes a power adapter as much as 120 W, which allows you to desperately quickly charge the device: 15 minutes – 68%, 20 – 83%, 26 – 100%. Interestingly, in order to achieve such a speed, manufacturers usually divide the battery into cells ( more on this in our article ), while Xiaomi 12 Pro has one cell. According to the manufacturer, such a feint became possible thanks to the Surge P1 chip that controls the charging process.
findings
Xiaomi 12 Pro pleased with pleasant ergonomics, high-quality vibration feedback, a solid display, excellent stereo sound, desperately fast charging and high-quality work of the main photosensor. I would be happy to call the device unequivocally successful, but, unfortunately, a number of nuances interfere with this.
The most important of them is Xiaomi 12. Perhaps due to the desire to keep as many chips as possible for the Ultra version, the manufacturer was greedy for them for the intermediate Pro. As a result, we have a slightly stronger photo block with less dramatic color rendering problems, a slightly larger display diagonal, even faster charging, four speakers instead of two, and the same throttling chipset. In not the longest list of advantages, you can also find flaws: the pumped wide is still devoid of autofocus, and instead of a full-fledged modern TV set, a portrait sensor with problematic color reproduction is installed. As a result, Xiaomi 12 Pro, being quite a good device, is desperately suffering from the lack of a bright flagship killer feature.
Which Xiaomi to choose and whether it is worth doing this this year, let everyone decide for themselves, and our reviews will help with this:
© Dmitry Pivnev. mobile phone
