Xiaomi 12S Ultra review

Finest Costs At present: Xiaomi 12S Extremely

Xiaomi could also be making inroads in worldwide markets however the firm nonetheless prefers to maintain its strongest telephones in China. So it’s with the 12S Extremely, Xiaomi’s prime 2022 flagship cellphone, which received’t launch outdoors the corporate’s homeland. 

Maybe there’s some knowledge in that. Whereas the 12S Extremely bears some similarities to Samsung’s in style Galaxy S22 Extremely, the Xiaomi cellphone’s outlandish and over-sized digicam module arguably makes it a extra area of interest prospect. 

Nonetheless, from a pure specs perspective it is a exhausting cellphone to beat. And whereas that rear digicam could look daft, it definitely delivers outcomes, aided by an infinite 1in digicam sensor able to pure bokeh that few different smartphones can rival. 

Design & construct 

• Huge, round rear digicam 
• Black vegan leather-based end 
• Huge, cumbersome, and heavy 

It’s not possible to speak in regards to the design of the 12S Extremely with out addressing the elephant-sized digicam within the room. 

The rear of the cellphone is dominated by the large round digicam set-up, which packs in three lenses and an array of different sensors. 

Jutting out of the cellphone’s physique, and highlighted by an actual gold accent, the design is a aware try and emulate the look of a bigger mirrorless or DSLR digicam, a nod to Xiaomi’s new partnership with digicam firm Leica (whose title additionally seems embossed on the again). 

It’s the very first thing anybody notices if you whip the 12S Extremely out, and I’ve to confess that the majority reactions are nearer to incredulity than admiration. It does at the least stretch out throughout the cellphone’s rear, so the Extremely sits regular when resting on its again, quite than rocking back and forth – a small perk. 

To Xiaomi’s credit score the cellphone’s additionally been fastidiously balanced so it isn’t too top-heavy, even with that vast digicam. It’s nonetheless heavy at 225g, however that weight is effectively distributed. It’s a giant cellphone total although, 9.1mm thick, and tall due to the 6.73in display. It’s not likely a lot larger than different comparable Extremely/Professional/Professional Max-branded handsets, but it surely’s definitely not svelte. 

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

The cellphone comes encased in vegan leather-based, and is on the market in a alternative of black or a darkish, grey-ish inexperienced. The pretend leather-based makes the cellphone grippier than most rivals, and fewer vulnerable to fingerprints. It additionally alleviates among the have to put the cellphone in a case, particularly with Gorilla Glass Victus on the entrance panel and an IP68 score to guard the cellphone from mud and water. 

Show & audio 

• Large 6.73in curved AMOLED show 
• LTPO 2.0 dynamic refresh price as much as 120Hz 
• Punchy stereo audio system 

The 12S Extremely’s cumbersome construct is largely due to the massive show Xiaomi has constructed into the cellphone. 

The 6.73in display isn’t the largest in any Android cellphone, but it surely’s definitely on the higher finish of the vary. Naturally, it’s fairly excessive spec, with a WQHD+ decision, spectacular peak brightness of 1500 nits (based on Xiaomi), and assist for Dolby Imaginative and prescient and HDR10+. 

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

The curved AMOLED makes use of the newest LTPO 2.0 tech, which delivers dynamic refresh price scaling as much as a max of 120Hz. 

In brief, there are few specs this display is missing – actually all you possibly can ask for is 4K, which for the second solely Sony’s Xperia 1 line actually bothers with. It is a vivid, punchy, responsive show that makes every part on it look fairly nice. I’d personally choose a smaller panel – and cellphone – but when massive telephones are your bag then this delivers. 

As for audio, the 12S Extremely packs stereo audio system tuned by Harman Kardon. These are fairly highly effective by smartphone requirements, with respectable vary and element. A cellphone speaker remains to be a cellphone speaker on the finish of the day, however these do a greater job than most. 

Specs & efficiency 

• Highly effective Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 
• As much as 12GB RAM and 512GB storage 
• No expandable microSD storage 

The 12S Extremely was one of many first telephones to be introduced utilizing the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, a mid-year refresh of Qualcomm’s flagship chip that provides improved efficiency and power-efficiency. 

With that in thoughts, it’s no shock to search out that the cellphone is quick. I’ve struggled to make it, effectively, wrestle, and it handles mainly any app or multi-tasking situation with ease. 

It’s a benchmark beast too – and actually it’s registered the very best Geekbench 5 CPU rating we’ve seen from any 8+ Gen 1 cellphone we’ve examined, even beating gaming telephones just like the Asus ROG Telephone 6 Professional. It even picked up excessive marks within the GFXBench graphical checks, regardless of driving a difficult WQHD+ decision. 

It’s value flagging that I’ve been testing a mannequin with 12GB of RAM, but it surely’s additionally out there with 8GB, which can run fractionally slower. Storage is both 256GB or 512GB, and it’s not expandable, so what you get is what you get. 

Naturally networking is strong too. 5G is supported in fact, although simply sub-6GHz, no mmWave. NFC, Bluetooth 5.2, and Wi-Fi 6E spherical out the connectivity, whereas biometrics come within the type of an in-display fingerprint scanner or easy face unlock from the selfie digicam. 

Battery & charging 

• Nearly two days of battery life 
• Quick 67W wired charging 
• Wi-fi charging too 

The opposite profit to Xiaomi adopting the 8+ Gen 1 chip is that it brings with it massive boosts to energy effectivity. 

That has an apparent influence on battery life right here, which is actually spectacular – albeit helped by the massive 4860mAh cell contained in the cellphone. Regardless of the trigger, the tip result’s a cellphone that I’ve discovered can nearly final two full days of use on the trot. 

It kind of scrapes to the tip of the second day, so I’m undecided I’d wish to be reliant on that use case – particularly a number of months or years into the cellphone’s life – but it surely’s an awesome start line for the battery to be at, and higher than the overwhelming majority of rival flagship telephones, particularly as it’s powering a 120Hz, excessive decision show. 

I ought to observe that, funnily sufficient, that energy effectivity isn’t seen in the results of the battery benchmark take a look at I ran for the cellphone, which truly got here in fractionally under final 12 months’s Xiaomi Mi 11 Extremely and worse than another current rivals. I’ve definitely discovered the 12S Extremely higher in real-world utilization although, so I’d put extra inventory in that than within the benchmark.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Charging is quick, although not the quickest, at 67W. In my testing that was sufficient to prime up half the battery – so mainly a full day’s use – in simply quarter-hour, with 88% returning in half an hour. Positive, some telephones on the market now do a full cost in lower than half an hour, however the speeds right here might be quick sufficient for many. 

Qi wi-fi charging is supported too. Technically it will cost at as much as 50W speeds, however for that you just want an official Xiaomi wi-fi charger, bought individually. Most individuals are more likely to hit a lot slower speeds on normal wi-fi chargers. 

Digicam & video 

• Huge 1-inch sensor for the principle lens 
• Excessive-resolution ultrawide and telephoto lenses 
• 32Mp selfie digicam 

So why’s this digicam so massive? 

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Effectively, at the least a part of the reply is the complete 1-inch digicam sensor used for the principle lens. That’s the largest in any smartphone, so it wants a little bit of house to do its factor. The sensor used right here comes at a 50Mp decision, and is accompanied by twin pixel and laser autofocus, together with optical picture stabilisation. 

An even bigger sensor can seize extra gentle, and lightweight is the center of images. Extra gentle means extra element, higher dynamic vary, and considerably improved pictures in dim and darkish environments. 

It’s, fortunately, wonderful – however at this dimension (and value) you’d be apprehensive if it was something much less. This digicam nails pictures in each vivid and low gentle, capturing element in dim eventualities that few different telephones might handle. The one cellphone I’d belief extra in low gentle proper now could be the Vivo X80 Professional, which edges the Xiaomi barely due to the inclusion of gimbal stabilisation. 

Nonetheless, second-best is not any imply feat. And the 12S Extremely does have one additional edge, which is that due to the sheer dimension of the sensor it’s able to a extremely engaging pure bokeh impact. That’s nice for close-ups of meals and pets, and even portraits of individuals, with out having to activate the devoted portrait mode. 

That may hinder quite than assist in close-ups, the place the brief depth-of-field means it’s doable to have solely a part of your topic in focus – I took pictures of a neighborhood cat that ended up with crisp, detailed paws and a delicate, blurry face. For probably the most half the bigger sensor’s influence is welcome, but it surely’s extra like a DSLR and fewer like a typical cellphone digicam in each good methods and dangerous – apparently an intentional nod to, and results of, the brand new partnership with Leica. 

The ultrawide and periscope lenses each impress in their very own proper. The ultrawide runs a fraction cooler in color than the principle digicam, although is surprisingly adept on the subject of dynamic vary and choosing particulars out in darker spots. 

The periscope digicam delivers nearer colors to the principle lens, and crisp outcomes on the optical 5x zoom vary. The draw back here’s a lack of versatility – rival gadgets just like the X80 Professional and S22 Extremely embody a pair of telephoto lenses so you’ll be able to take pictures of nearer topics together with these additional away, an possibility you simply don’t have right here. Samsung’s cellphone additionally stays the king of the extremely zoom – push this anyplace near the max 120x vary and the ensuing pictures are a blurry mess. 

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Selfies from the 32Mp front-facing digicam are respectable, however a particular drop from the rear lenses. My pictures really feel unusually washed out, particularly in brighter gentle, with a fraction of the dynamic vary of the principle digicam. Nonetheless, there’s no scarcity of element, and the portrait mode did an awesome job of choosing out the sides of my hair – albeit with even larger issues for publicity. 

As for capturing video, any of the three rear cameras can document in 4K@60 or 8K@24, although unusually the front-facing digicam is capped at a miserly 1080p@30. That received’t hassle most individuals an excessive amount of, however aspiring vloggers ought to take observe. 

Software program & updates 

• Runs Android 12 with MIUI on prime 
• Solely out there in China, with no Google by default 
• A great deal of bloatware 

The Xiaomi 12S Extremely ships with Android 12, however there’s a giant caveat to that: because it’s solely formally out there in China, it’s solely out there with a Chinese language ROM. 

That has two massive impacts. The primary is that the cellphone doesn’t embody the Google Play Retailer by default. Thankfully this may be remedied, however you’ll have to manually sideload the Play Retailer app with a view to get to the remainder of your common Google expertise, together with restoring any of the common apps you usually use in your cellphone. 

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

When you get that sorted, these apps and the Google expertise run with out difficulty – even the likes of Google Pockets – but it surely’s a slight ache to work by means of in case you are contemplating an import. 

The second frustration is that the cellphone is loaded to absolutely the brim with bloatware and further apps, which you’ll doubtless wish to dedicate but extra time to uninstalling. Even as soon as that’s completed, the cellphone would require some considered administration of notification settings to cease a number of of the built-in Xiaomi apps and providers (which largely can’t be uninstalled) from popping up with alerts in Chinese language. 

All of that is par for the course for a Chinese language cellphone, and largely simply displays totally different worldwide software program tastes, however do take it into consideration should you’re contemplating choosing up a 12S Extremely on-line. 

Beneath all of the guff, the software program expertise is identical MIUI 13 discovered on Xiaomi’s western gadgets. It’s removed from my favorite Android pores and skin – it’s visually busy, and unintuitive to navigate – but it surely’s as totally featured as any of its rivals. 

The principle exception to that’s that there’s no signal of the ‘Materials You’ design constructed into Android 12, which lets you tweak OS interface colors primarily based on the palette of your wallpaper. As an alternative you’re locked into Xiaomi’s color scheme right here.  

As for long-term assist, Xiaomi hasn’t introduced any particular replace dedication for the 12S Extremely. Nonetheless, it promised a decent three years of Android model updates and 4 years of safety assist for the current Xiaomi 12 flagships, so it appears doubtless that the identical assist might be given right here. 

Worth & availability 

As I’ve talked about a number of occasions, the 12S Extremely is barely formally out there in China, so readers elsewhere should import it. 

Pricing formally begins from ¥5,999, which converts to round $900/£740/€860. Should you’re set on the cellphone it’s out there on gray market import websites together with Wonda Cellular, GizTop, and Buying and selling Shenzhen, although keep in mind that costs are usually a bit of greater than the direct forex conversion from Yuan above. 

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Except you really need the 12S Extremely particularly, you could be higher served by different comparable telephones which might be out there internationally. The Galaxy S22 Extremely and Google Pixel 6 Professional are one of the best equivalents within the US, although these in Europe and elsewhere could also be extra tempted by telephones just like the Vivo X80 Professional or Oppo Discover X5 Professional. 

Take a look at our rating of one of the best telephones and greatest Android telephones for a number of extra choices. 

Verdict 

Past the outlandish design, the Xiaomi 12S Extremely is a reasonably normal effort within the ‘extremely flagship’ class. 

The large show is super-specced and appears nice, there’s prime efficiency due to the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, and the mix of that chip plus the cellphone’s sheer dimension means it delivers on battery life too. 

For a lot of the one factor that basically issues right here is the digicam, and the 12S Extremely definitely gives a novel expertise. The principle digicam is outstanding in nearly any lighting, and the massive sensor delivers a pure bokeh impact no rival cellphone can match. Photographs really feel greater than ever like they had been shot on a bigger, devoted digicam, however in flip that does rob the cellphone of a bit of of the it-just-works issue you’re used to with a smartphone. 

Past the digicam, there’s in all probability not sufficient the 12S Extremely does that’s distinctive to justify the trouble of importing a unit from China for most individuals, particularly with succesful options from Samsung and Vivo extra extensively out there. However should you’re keen to place a bit of labor in, the 12S Extremely is tough to fault when taken by itself phrases. 

Specs 

• 6.73in, 120Hz LTPO 2.0, 2K AMOLED show 
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 
• 8/12GB RAM 
• 256/512GB storage 
• 50Mp, f/1.9 OIS primary digicam 
• 48Mp, f/2.2 ultrawide digicam 
• 48Mp, f/4.1 OIS 5x periscope digicam 
• 32Mp selfie digicam 
• 4860mAh battery 
• 67W wired charging 
• 50W wi-fi charging 
• Stereo audio system 
• IP68 score 
• Gorilla Glass Victus 
• 163.2 x 75 x 9.1mm 
• 225g