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Xiaomi 12T Pro Review: 200MP Camera Powerhouse?

Xiaomi 12T Pro

Xiaomi’s latest flagship phone, the 12T Pro has arrived in our shores. Featuring a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset and a never-before-seen 200 megapixel camera, the Xiaomi 12T Pro seems like a great value on paper especially considering its MSRP starts at only RM2,699.

Let’s take a look at how the 12T Pro performs, and whether the camera is up to snuff.

Xiaomi 12T Pro Specifications

ModelXiaomi 12T Pro
Dimensions163.1 x 75.9 x 8.6 mm
Weight205 g
ProcessorQualcomm SM8475 Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
RAM8GB/ 12GB
Storage128GB / 256GB
Display6.67 inch AMOLED, 1220 x 2712 pixels, 900 nits (peak)
Camera (Front)20 MP, f/2.2
Camera (Rear)200 MP, f/1.7 (Wide)
8 MP, f/2.2 (Ultrawide)
2 MP, f/2.4 (Macro)
Operating SystemAndroid 12, MIUI 13
Battery and ChargingLi-Po 5000 mAh
120W charging
ConnectivityWi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6
Bluetooth 5.2
NFC
GPS
IR Blaster

What’s In The Box?

  • Xiaomi 12T Pro
  • 120W charger
  • USB Type-C cable
  • SIM tool
  • Protective case
  • Quick start guide
  • Warranty card

Design

Xiaomi 12T Pro

At first glance, the design of the 12T Pro is pragmatic, yet bland. It looks like a typical mid-range smartphone and the black colour unit we have received makes it look dull. However, the phone also comes in blue and silver, so you still have options if you want a bit more flair. The back has a matte finish to it, so at least it won’t become a fingerprint magnet if you have sweaty fingers.

Xiaomi 12T Pro

The highlight of the 12T Pro is the 200 megapixel main shooter, housed at the top left with two other secondary cameras. It bulges backward to create a bump.

At the front, it sports a 6.67 inch screen, with a hole-punch selfie cam at the top. It also houses a under-screen fingerprint scanner at the bottom part.

On the right side lies the volume rockers and lock screen button. At the bottom lies a speaker grille, SIM tray and a USB Type-C port.

Display

Xiaomi 12T Pro

The 6.67 inch AMOLED display is among the brightest screens you can get in this prices. As it goes up to 900 nits, sunlight legibility is excellent. Colours appear vivid and sharp on the 1220 x 2712 pixels resolution display. It goes up to 120Hz so it feels buttery smooth and motion blur is kept to the minimum during daily use, movies, and even gaming.

The display also adjusts dynamically all the way down to 1Hz to help you save battery. You also have the option to customise the screen refresh rate based on your preference.

Performance

Equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, the 12T Pro easily handled whatever we can throw at it. Whether it is web browsing, gaming, or video streaming, the phone feels peppy and apps load instantly.

It does get a bit warm to the touch during heavy gaming, which is common among phones with Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processors. However we have yet to reach the point where it starts to throttle.

The 128GB or 256GB storage size is a concern for me though. Apps and game files are getting larger, while 200 megapixel images are not particularly “space-saving” either. Sadly there is no option to expand the storage because the SIM tray does not support Micro SD cards, which is strange as Chinese phones often give us dual SIM or SIM + Micro SD options in the past.

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Xiaomi 12T Pro Review: 200MP Camera Powerhouse? 14

User Experience

Xiaomi 12T Pro

I have been using the Xiaomi 12T Pro as my daily driver for two weeks, and overall it is a pleasant phone to use. Sure, it lacks a lot of flagship features from other rivals like an IP rating, wireless charging and WiFi 6E to name a few. But I can easily live with those compromises especially when I can get this level of performance from a sub RM3,000 phone.

Like other Chinese mobile phone brands, MIUI by default looks similar to iOS. There is an option to look more like an Android phone with an app drawer, but I wished the option was there when I started booting the phone for the first time, rather than having me dig through the menus.

Camera

Now, on the the 12T Pro’s camera, which left me wondering if we will ever need so many megapixels? Mind you, the Sony Alpha 1 which costs 10x more only has 50 megapixels.

In truth, the 12T Pro uses “pixel-binning”, where it combines 16 pixels into 1, compressing them into a 12.5 megapixel file. If you want, you can definitely take a 200 megapixel image, but you are going for diminishing returns here, as each file is about 60MB. I can only think of one benefit of going for 200 megapixels, which is you can crop a lot without sacrificing much detail. Speaking of crop, the main camera has a 2X optical zoom which works by cropping into a 12.5 megapixel file.

Xiaomi 12T Pro Camera Samples

With all that considered, the images from this device looks great by default. It does suffer from a bit of over-sharpening with AI mode turned on, but with it turned off the colours are natural looking with tons of detail. HDR is set to automatic by default, and frankly the difference is barely noticeable.

In low-light, I was able to get some decent pictures without having to swap to night mode, and noise was well suppressed. Videos are great too, with support up to 8K 30 fps shooting. However, I would suggest keeping it to 4K shooting in order to benefit from the excellent OIS. The selfie camera renders images nicely too, and presents a pleasant and natural looking bokeh.

My only gripe with the 12T Pro would be the “side” cameras. While they are usable, they aren’t great by any means. Their performance are more in line with mid range smartphones and seem to be there just to give the phone a triple camera array.

Audio

The 12T Pro is equipped with dual speakers tuned by Harman Kardon and they sound great out of the box. The speakers loud and crystal clear despite the small size. Treble is well controlled and the mid bass has solid extension, which is ideal for video games and movies.

Battery

While 120W charging is not new to Xiaomi phones at this point, users coming from other devices will find this to be a boon. The 120W charger is included in the box, and it easily charges the phone to full within 30 minutes.

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Xiaomi 12T Pro Review: 200MP Camera Powerhouse? 14

That being said, the battery life is great but not excellent. Yes, the 12T pro has a 5000mAh battery which is no slouch, as it can easily last the whole day with moderate use. During heavy gaming though, the 120Hz screen chews through the battery like wagyu, resulting in a 5-6 hours of screen on time. Do keep in mind your mileage may vary.

Our Verdict

Xiaomi 12T Pro

While the touted 200 megapixel camera is more of a novelty gimmick, it is still a capable shooter. Combined with great performance using the latest chipset, and the attractive price point, it is safe to say the Xiaomi 12T Pro is a great flagship contender.

To learn more about the Xiaomi 12T Pro, head on to Xiaomi’s official website.

Written By

Part-time gamer, writer, & full time weird coffee person.

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