Xiaomi 12 Pro Review: A Solid Premium Android Experience, But Not Without Its Quirks
Xiaomi’s Mi 11 Ultra set the bar high for premium Android phones last year, pushing boundaries with its impressive specs and features. However, the Xiaomi 12 Pro, while still a top-tier offering, takes a slightly different approach. Rather than focusing solely on "bigger is better", Xiaomi has prioritized consistency, striving to deliver a seamless and polished experience across the board. This shift in approach makes the 12 Pro a compelling contender in the premium smartphone market, but it does come with a few quirks that are worth considering.
Xiaomi 12 Pro: Price and Availability
The Xiaomi 12 Pro is available in India starting at Rs. 62,999 for the 8GB RAM and 256GB storage variant. The 12GB RAM and 256GB storage version, which I reviewed, retails for Rs. 66,999. You can choose from three stylish finishes: Couture Blue, Noir Black, and Opera Mauve. The phone is readily available for purchase, unlike the supply constraints faced by the Mi 11 Ultra.
Xiaomi 12 Pro: Design and Build Quality
The Xiaomi 12 Pro exudes premium vibes with its sleek and polished design. The slim metal frame seamlessly blends with the curved front and back glass, creating a refined aesthetic. The matte finish on the frame and rear Corning Gorilla Glass 5 panel, while stylish, contributes to the phone’s slippery nature. The metal camera module adds a touch of sophistication with its fine lines separating the sensors. Every detail, from the ports to the cutouts, is meticulously crafted, showcasing Xiaomi’s commitment to quality.
Despite its premium positioning, the Xiaomi 12 Pro lacks an official IP rating, which is surprising considering the increasing prevalence of IP68-rated phones even in the budget segment. Xiaomi confirmed that the phone possesses seals equivalent to an IP53 rating, but this falls short of expectations for a device at this price point.
The 6.73-inch AMOLED display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, and it is relatively resistant to fingerprints. It features a sharp curve on the sides, though the display itself has a more subtle curve. The top and bottom edges house speaker grilles, and an infrared emitter sits on the top.
Xiaomi 12 Pro: Specifications and Software
The Xiaomi 12 Pro is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC, offering top-of-the-line performance. The phone comes with non-expandable internal storage, and the SIM tray accommodates two nano-SIM cards with dual-5G standby support. Its impressive connectivity features include support for multiple 5G bands, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, and several satellite navigation systems.
The display boasts a 120Hz refresh rate and a 480Hz touch sampling rate, ensuring a smooth and responsive user experience. LTPO 2.0 technology dynamically adjusts the refresh rate to as low as 1Hz, effectively managing power consumption. The phone also includes an in-display fingerprint sensor. Its WQHD+ resolution (3200 x 1400 pixels) delivers a sharp and vibrant viewing experience with a pixel density of 522ppi.
The Xiaomi 12 Pro is equipped with a 4,600mAh battery and comes bundled with a 120W charger, capable of quickly replenishing the battery. 50W wireless charging and 10W reverse wireless charging further enhance the charging capabilities.
The phone runs MIUI 13, based on Android 12. The software incorporates essential Android 12 features such as new widgets, a permissions manager, and a privacy dashboard. While MIUI 13 offers a refined and intuitive experience, it still ships with the usual bloatware, including Xiaomi-branded apps and third-party applications. The widget picker boasts a new interface that spans the entire screen, but resizing widgets requires an additional step, which can be slightly cumbersome.
Xiaomi 12 Pro: Performance and Battery Life
The Xiaomi 12 Pro delivers exceptional performance, as expected from a device powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. The phone’s benchmark scores are top-notch, with it achieving:
- 9,82,727 points in AnTuTu
- 1,237 points in Geekbench’s single-core test
- 3,654 points in Geekbench’s multi-core test
These scores place it on par with other flagship devices, signifying its impressive processing power. Real-world performance is equally remarkable, with smooth and fluid software operation during daily use.
The display shines in outdoor conditions, achieving high brightness levels and delivering accurate colours when set to Original colour mode. The Adaptive colours toggle in the settings allows the display to dynamically adjust based on ambient lighting. The WQHD+ resolution coupled with Dolby Vision and HDR10+ certification ensures sharp and vibrant content viewing. While Netflix content looked decent, HDR videos streamed through Amazon Prime Video appeared a bit dim.
The in-display fingerprint sensor offers quick and reliable unlocking. The dynamic refresh rate effectively adapts based on content, switching smoothly between 60Hz, 120Hz, and 10Hz as needed.
The gaming experience on the Xiaomi 12 Pro is highly enjoyable. While extended gaming sessions do cause the device to heat up, it doesn’t impact performance. Games like Call of Duty: Mobile run flawlessly at the highest settings, while Asphalt 9: Legends delivers a console-like experience at 60fps. The touch sampling rate can be customized in the phone’s Game Space app for optimal gaming responsiveness.
The quad-speaker setup is a key highlight of the 12 Pro, delivering an immersive and balanced audio experience tuned by Harman Kardon. Two tweeters and two woofers positioned on each end of the device deliver well-defined bass, crisp mids, and clear highs. The phone offers various Dolby Atmos audio presets and an equaliser for tailoring the sound according to your preference.
While the speaker system impresses, the placement of the top speaker grille feels strangely positioned in the bottom-left corner, often getting covered when holding the phone horizontally, especially during gaming. The bottom grille is positioned diagonally opposite, rendering one of them obstructed regardless of the phone’s horizontal orientation. The most balanced sound output is achieved when holding the phone vertically or when it’s resting on a stand.
Battery life is impressive, with the 4,600mAh battery easily lasting a day and a half with moderate usage, including an hour of gaming, camera use, and video streaming. However, the phone’s performance in the HD video loop test was less impressive, clocking in at only 12 hours and 18 minutes. The bundled 120W charger delivers impressive charging speeds, fully topping up the battery in just 27 minutes using boost mode, although this does lead to noticeable warmth.
Xiaomi 12 Pro: Cameras
The Xiaomi 12 Pro boasts a triple rear camera setup, featuring three 50-megapixel sensors, which, according to Xiaomi, are designed to deliver consistent image quality. The primary camera boasts OIS (Optical Image Stabilization), the ultrawide-angle camera captures a 115-degree field of vision, and the telephoto camera provides 2X optical zoom (48mm). Selfies are handled by a 32-megapixel front-facing camera.
The primary camera is the first in India to feature Sony’s new 1/1.28-inch IMX707 sensor, boasting 1.22μm pixels, which theoretically promises superior detail in various lighting conditions. This sensor is significantly larger than the Sony IMX766 (1/1.56-inch) sensor, commonly found in many 2022 flagship phones.
The camera app is familiar if you’ve used recent Xiaomi phones. The 12 Pro features HDR video recording at up to 4K 30fps with both the primary and telephoto cameras. HDR10+ videos can be recorded with the primary and selfie cameras, but not the telephoto camera. The 12 Pro can shoot up to 8K 24fps videos with the primary camera.
For those seeking advanced control, the 12 Pro offers helpful Pro features, including the ability to record video with the screen off to conserve power. It even features a live in-ear monitor feature, allowing you to hear the recorded audio in real time. Pro Video mode enables you to shoot videos in Log format, providing a flat colour profile suitable for colour grading in post-production. Focus peaking and exposure verification enhance video shooting for professionals.
In daylight, the primary camera captures images with abundant detail and good dynamic range. The telephoto camera delivers sharp and detailed close-ups in Auto and Portrait modes, with impressive edge detection in the Portrait mode. The large sensor of the primary camera produces a natural and soft background blur, akin to what you’d find with a DSLR, provided your subject is properly positioned. However, skin tones often appear unnaturally warm, lending a reddish tint.
The ultrawide camera performs well for capturing landscapes, maintaining reasonable detail, though not as much as the primary camera. Software correction for barrel distortion does a good job of preserving the perspective of the scene, but objects might appear slightly stretched towards the edges. While Xiaomi strives for consistent image quality across the cameras, the disparity between shots from the main and ultrawide cameras is noticeable.
Unlike the iQoo 9 Pro, the Xiaomi 12 Pro lacks autofocus on its ultrawide-angle camera, rendering it unable to function as a macro camera. Nevertheless, you can capture decent close-ups using the primary and telephoto cameras, offering a workaround for the missing macro lens or mode.
In low-light conditions, the Auto mode utilizes slightly longer exposures, similar to the Xiaomi 11T Pro. Ignoring the on-screen notification to use Night Mode results in basic image quality with no waiting. While the primary camera delivers decent photos, the ultrawide and telephoto cameras produce only average results. Night Mode significantly reduces noise and produces clearer images.
The primary camera excels in low light, capturing not only well-balanced colours but also impressive detail and dynamic range. Night Mode proves less effective with the ultrawide camera, as details remain slightly weak despite reduced noise. The telephoto camera struggles to lock focus in low light, resulting in blurry and soft photos, regardless of whether you’re zooming in on a landscape or focusing on objects or people, both with and without Night Mode.
The selfie camera performs well in daylight, but backgrounds can be blown out in Portrait Mode when used in bright environments. Image quality in low light is merely average at best.
In terms of video recording, the Xiaomi 12 Pro delivers impressive quality across different resolutions. Stabilization is solid, and the phone excels with autofocus and exposure during panning. However, a slight yellowish tint is noticeable in all videos, and footage captured in daylight tends to be overexposed. HDR improves the exposure of brighter areas while darkening shadows, but the results don’t appear very natural.
HDR10+ videos offer a noticeable improvement in colour depth and dynamic range, especially when viewed on the 12 Pro’s display. However, it’s important to remember that such videos won’t look as good on non-HDR10+ displays or when shared through apps that don’t support this format. Motion tracking, eye tracking, and motion capture focus all function as expected. While shooting video outdoors, the phone does get quite warm, but this didn’t prevent the camera app from recording. In low light, the phone captures quality videos with low noise and good dynamic range.
Xiaomi 12 Pro: Verdict
After the Mi 11 Ultra’s availability fiasco, it’s refreshing to see the Xiaomi 12 Pro available for purchase immediately after its launch. Xiaomi’s decision to prioritize performance and quality over simply chasing bigger numbers in the 12 Pro has paid off. While the rear camera system still exhibits minor inconsistencies, these issues can hopefully be addressed through software updates. Overall, the image and video quality from these cameras is impressive, solidifying the Xiaomi 12 Pro’s position as a compelling player in the premium smartphone market. Its competitive starting price of Rs. 62,999 further enhances its value proposition. The only notable omission is the lack of an official IP rating, which feels like a missed opportunity.
For those who prefer a less-skinned Android OS, the Motorola Edge 30 Pro is worth considering, with its lower price tag of Rs. 49,999. The iQoo 9 Pro offers an alternative with its unique design and exceptional gimbal camera system for video recording, along with a notable macro mode. The OnePlus 10 Pro comes at a higher price point but delivers capable cameras, a larger battery, and faster wired charging albeit slower wired charging. If wireless charging is not a priority, the Realme GT 2 Pro is another solid option. Priced from Rs. 49,999, it offers comparable hardware to the Xiaomi 12 Pro, along with a distinctive design and an interesting micro-lens camera.
The Xiaomi 12 Pro presents a compelling option for those seeking a premium Android experience. Its exceptional performance, impressive display, and excellent audio quality are undoubtedly appealing. While the cameras exhibit some minor inconsistencies, they still deliver generally good image and video quality. If you can overlook the lack of an official IP rating, the Xiaomi 12 Pro is a highly competitive choice in the premium segment.
