The Xiaomi 12T Pro offers flagship specs at a competitive pricing (S$1,099), though it does lack some premium features such as wireless charging, and telephoto zoom. That said, it has fast 120W charging, eSIM support, and oh, a 200MP camera that takes great-looking shots.
Quick specs
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
- 200MP wide-angle, 1/1.22-inch sensor, 85 degrees FOV, 8MP ultra-wide, 2MP macro, 20MP front
- 6.67-inch 120Hz AMOLED display, 500 nits brightness, Dolby Vision and HDR10+
- 12GB RAM and 256GB storage
The camera's 200MP sensor is a little bit gimmicky. While you do get pictures that let you zoom all the way in, you're better off with the Ultra HD mode, which gives you a sharper, clearer image that you can still zoom in. This means while the Xiaomi doesn't come with optical telephoto zoom, you can still somewhat get away with digital zoom. Be warned though, file sizes for 200MP shots will eat up the 256GB storage quickly — each shot is around 50MB. Both normal and lowlight shots are great, thanks to pixel-binning, which combines 16 pixels into a larger one for normal shots. It's a great camera, for sure.
The ProCut camera feature helps you crop, if you aren't sure how to frame. As for video, the Xiaomi can do up to 8K/24fps video, steady shot, HDR recording, and slow-motion shots of up to 1,920fps at 720p. Battery life is great. In our video playback test at 100% brightness and volume, the phone lasted 14hr 15min. The 5,000mAh battery also features 120W quick charging, and went from 0 to 80% in just 30 minutes. But you will need to use the bundled Xiaomi charger, and cable to enjoy this speed.
The 6.67-inch display is great, and I liked watching shows on it. I did notice that the 12T Pro's speakers are a bit softer than other Android phones I've tested. I probably wouldn't take it out to play music at gatherings. However, it's still plenty loud for gaming. Speaking of which, the phone's Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 easily breezes through all the games that I tested with, such as Asphalt 9: Legends. Xiaomi's MIUI 13 comes with plenty of customisable features, and is one of the easiest to use.
The Xiaomi 12T Pro offers great value for what you pay. If you're on an even tighter budget, there's the S$749 Xiaomi 12T, which uses the MediaTek Dimensity 8100 Ultra chip and a 108MP camera system instead. Get the 12T Pro from Shopee or Lazada, or pick up the Xiaomi 12T at Shopee or Lazada instead.
Note: Review unit provided by Xiaomi.
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