Chinese tech manufacturer Xiaomi has unveiled its latest flagship smartphones — the Xiaomi 12 and Xiaomi 12 Pro. The powerful handsets boast Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip, which promises 30% faster graphics performance and 25% improved energy efficiency.
The chipset comes paired with fast LPDDR5 RAM, enabling data transfer rates of up to 6,400Mbps. The Xiaomi 12 is the smaller option of the two new smartphones, packing a 6.28-inch OLED display with 2,400 x 1,080 resolution and 120HZ refresh rate.
The Xiaomi 12 Pro gets a 6.73-inch OLED screen with 2K resolution and the same high refresh rate.
Xiaomi has claimed the smartphones boast significant improvements in the camera department, in particular, thanks to a new imaging computing algorithm.
“Over two years, Xiaomi revamped its image processing and architecture, and its heterogeneous parallel computing greatly shortens continuous shooting interval and improves the experience when shooting in burst mode,” the company said.
“Shutter lag has also been significantly reduced, offering a speedy and responsive overall camera experience,” it added. The Xiaomi 12 boasts a Sony IMX766 50MP primary camera, 13MP ultra-wide-angle lens, and a 5MP telemacro sensor.
The Pro variant features Sony’s new IMX707 50MP lens, a 50MP ultra-wide camera with a 115-degree field of view, and a 50MP telephoto sensor for portraits.
That combination should provide up to 49% better low-light performance. For all-day use, the Xiaomi 12 comes with a 4,500mAh battery that can be charged at 67W with a wired connection or 50W via wireless charging.
Meanwhile, the Pro model offers the “industry’s first 120W single-cell 4,600mAh battery design”.
“This single-cell battery, compared to dual-cell batteries, provides 400mAh increased capacity without increasing overall size,” Xiaomi explained.
The Xiaomi 12 Series will only be available in Mainland China from 31 December. No details on a global launch have been revealed.
The entry-level Xiaomi 12 128GB is priced at 3,699 Chinese Yuan (around R9,182), while the Xiaomi 12 Pro with 128GB storage starts at 4,699 Chinese Yuan (about R11,640).
Both models will be available in black, blue, purple glass, or green vegan leather.
Xiaomi also announced a budget variant called the Xiaomi 12X, which offers a Snapdragon 870 processor. It will start at 3,199 Chinese Yuan (about R7,941).
| OS | Android 12 |
| Display | 6.28-inch 2,400 x 1,080 OLED with 120Hz refresh rate |
| Processor | Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 |
| Storage | 128GB / 256GB |
| RAM | 8GB / 12GB |
| Rear camera | 50MP + 13MP + 5MP |
| Front camera | 32MP |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2 |
| Ports | USB-C |
| Cellular | 5G |
| SIM | Dual Nano SIM |
| Biometrics | Under-display fingerprint reader |
| Battery and charging | 4,500mAh 67W wired charging 50W wireless charging 10W reverse wireless charging |
| Dimensions and weight | 152.7 x 69.9 x 8.2mm (179g)
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Source: mybroadband
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