Review of the Xiaomi 12T Pro: A nearly flagship gadget with an amazing 200MP camera and 120W charging

 The Xiaomi 12T Pro makes an effort to offer flagship features at a price that is nearly flagship, but it does so at the expense of some potentially contentious sacrifices.

Xiaomi is a Chinese electronics manufacturer that ranks second globally in terms of the production of smartphones, while not having the highest market share in the UK.

The 11T Pro from last year, the Xiaomi 12T Pro, is its successor. The Xiaomi 11T pro was adored by consumers all over the world for its excellent value because it provided superb specs at an affordable price.

At £699, which is about £100 more expensive than the 11T pro was, it is a little more expensive than the previous version. But, it has 256GB of storage, which is twice as much as the 11T Pro's.

The device is 163mm tall, 75.9mm broad, and 8.66mm thick, and it sports a typical Android device design. With a weight of only 205g, it's light enough to fit easily in your pocket or backpack.

The Xiaomi 12T Pro is available in three colours and resembles other Android smartphones ( Image: Xiaomi)

Crisp and clear, the 6.67-inch AMOLED DotDisplay occupies practically the entire phone with barely any bevel. It is excellent for playing games or viewing videos because it has a refresh rate of 120 Hz and a resolution of 2712 x 1220.

Also, it boasts 360-degree ambient light sensors, Gorilla Glass 5 protection, 4096-level brightness control, and excellent auto-brightness.

Especially in the way they sell the phone, Xiaomi has focused a lot of time and energy on the phone's rear camera.

Together with an 8MP ultra-wide angle camera and a 2MP macro camera, it has a 200MP wide-angle camera. It has a tonne of capabilities, including long exposure modes, timed bursts, Motion tracking focus and capture, and even a Pro option for experienced and amateur photographers.

In the sunshine, the camera takes amazing photographs with amazing detail, but I noticed that night shots and pictures produced in low light were rather underwhelming – there was graining and there was an obvious lack of depth and texture.

Much of the phone is taken up by the screen, leaving barely any bevel. (Photo by Xiaomi)

In addition, while the 200MP camera is impressive, the 8MP ultra-wide camera is only ordinary, thus any photos produced with the ultra-wide angle will not have the same level of clarity as those taken with the primary camera.

Despite this, it still has an amazing 8k at 24 frames per second or 4k at 60 frames per second video recording capability and a 50MP or 200MP Ultra-HD mode.

A 20MP selfie camera on the front can capture HD video at 60 frames per second and 120 frames per second of slow motion. It has a timed burst mode, AI Portrait mode, and the ability to capture panoramic selfies.

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Being really honest, I thought the AI Beautify made things look odd and unnatural, but the front camera is fantastic and produces beautiful selfies with minimal difficulty.

A USB-c cable provided in the box allows for 120W turbocharging of the device's 5000mAh battery.

The charger is a monster in terms of both size and power. I had to use an adapter because it didn't come with a UK plug, but once I had it plugged in, it charged from 0% to 100% in about 20 minutes.

The 200MP main camera's size is evident in the camera's size, which is enormous but distinctive. (Photo by Xiaomi)

The battery life is also quite good; with light use, I was able to get three days and with moderate use, a whole week.

Unfortunately, wireless charging is not available, which I would have expected from a phone in this price bracket given that it is becoming more and more commonplace these days.

Although the system is liquid-cooled, I noticed that it occasionally became quite warm, especially when stressed or charging.

When it comes down to it, the processor, a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, is actually quite powerful, capable of clocking up to 3.2GHz. Together with a Qualcomm Adreno GPU, it also has 8GB of Memory.

When it comes to gaming, it was really incredibly powerful, easily running the most demanding titles on high settings, including Genshin Impact, PUBG, and Call of Duty.

The technical benchmarks support this, reaching 260 frames per second on GFXBench and over 4250 multithreaded on Geekbench 5.

This outperforms the 11T Pro, the 12 Pro, and even the Google Pixel 7 Pro in comparison, with none of the aforementioned devices even approaching the 4000 mark on Geekbench 5 multithreaded.

Although I don't play many games on my phone, I do think that they are a good indicator of how the phone will perform in general. I can attest that the Xiaomi 12T Pro performs admirably in daily tasks like social media surfing, emailing, and viewing videos on Netflix, YouTube, and TikTok.

The phone supports 5G, Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth 5.2, and it has dual SIM slots. Moreover, it includes two speakers, Dolby Atmos, and all the standard sensors, including a compass, proximity sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, and accelerometer.

It is powered on MIUI 13, which is a derivative of Android 12 that draws heavily on Apple. For instance, opening Control Center settings requires swiping from the top right corner.

Many seem to dislike MIUI 13, but I actually found it to be really practical. It also comes with an app called Themes that offers an absurd amount of customization choices, including customizable icons. Also, the settings section offers a surprising number of customization options.

Xiaomi 12T Pro Verdict: 4/5

With good reason, this phone's incredible 200MP rear camera is its main selling point. It is also one of its better features.

However, the cameras are a little top-heavy, with the depth sensor only having a 2MP resolution and the Ultra-wide camera only having an 8MP resolution. There isn't even a telephoto camera, and there is simply digital zoom.

The lack of wireless charging is frustrating, but the 120W charging is also amazing.

But, the performance acts as a covert agent, transforming an otherwise dubious gadget into a gaming monster that obliterates its rivals. As I was really on the fence about this phone before testing the performance, I believe this product should have been better advertised.

Ultimately, the phone is an almost-flagship smartphone that delivers flagship performance in a cost-effective design, but lacks all the bells, whistles, and high-quality construction that you may anticipate.

The Xiaomi 12T Pro is offered on the Xiaomi website in silver, black, or blue for $500