The newest model in Xiaomi’s well-known T range of smartphones is the Xiaomi 12T Pro. The Xiaomi 12 and Xiaomi 12 Pro smartphones from earlier in the year served as the inspiration for the 12T and 12T Pro devices. The “T” has historically prioritized battery life and performance while cutting concessions on the camera and design to save costs.
There is less of a focus on eye-catching features and advancements in The Ts since they are not Xiaomi’s flagship devices. In the majority of areas, the 12T represents a little improvement over its predecessors.
That’s not a terrible thing since you get a powerful 5,000mAh battery that runs the phone to full capacity in around 20 minutes, a brilliant 6.67-inch screen with a little better quality than previously, and quick 120W charging.
XIAOMI 12T PRO DESIGN
It’s a large phone, the Xiaomi 12T Pro. Its 163.1 x 75.9 x 8.6mm frame can fit all but the largest hands, and at 205g, it is not significantly heavier than the typical phone.
The plastic body is partially to blame for the low weight. Although it doesn’t have a particularly luxury feel, this material is stronger and lighter than the glass used in high-end phones.
The camera hump, which protrudes significantly from the back of the phone and does so more than the lens plateau on other smartphones, is also described as “large”. This can’t possibly be laid flat on a surface, and throughout our testing, it regularly tangled with fabric when we tried to tuck it away in a pocket.
Although we had problems readily reaching the power button and those with tiny hands may have trouble with the volume rocker, both are located on the right edge of the phone.
The power button’s integrated fingerprint scanner is absent from the Xiaomi 12T Pro. This feature was a standout in our evaluations for previous Mi T phones since it made unlocking those devices so simple. The 12T Pro misses the mark.
The only option left is to use the in-display fingerprint scanner. Almost all high-end Android phones have this capability, however we find it more practical to tap the phone’s side rather than its screen. It’s a big shame that the side-mounted fingerprint scanner has been removed.
We apologize to fans of wired audio because there is no headphone port here, unlike the first several generations of Xiaomi T phones. There is a USB-C connector available for accessories and charging.
You should search for protection with an IP53 certification, which implies it can withstand certain small particles and water sprays but not liquid immersion or excessive dust.
XIAOMI 12T PRO DISPLAY
Fans of the company’s smartphones will be quite accustomed to the Xiaomi 12T Pro’s display. The Xiaomi 12T Pro sports a screen that measures 6.67 inches, which is unusual for a Xiaomi device.
Its OLED display has a resolution of 1220 x 2712, making it significantly greater resolution than the 11T Pro’s 1080 x 2400 resolution.
Reductions in screen brightness, with the maximum brightness being 100 nits lower than on the 11T Pro, counterbalance improvements in resolution. It has a 120Hz refresh rate display as well, despite the Xiaomi 10T Pro having a 144Hz screen and other businesses (including Xiaomi sub-brands) increasingly embracing the higher refresh rate.
These problems won’t be apparent because neither modification is significant. The viewing experience is decent for the price and is almost identical to that of earlier T Pro devices.
XIAOMI 12T PRO CAMERAS
The Xiaomi 12T Pro isn’t really a phone for photographers, for reasons we’ll go into, but the 200MP is entertaining to mess about with. While photographing a landscape, you may enlarge the image significantly to notice details that your unaided eye is unable to pick out. We found it fascinating to photograph a skyline and then crop in on far-off landmarks or zoom in close enough to see the sticker on a passing jet.
This works especially well with a brand-new function called Xiaomi ProCut, which makes use of AI to automatically trim and reframe pictures in order to improve their artistic appeal. While it’s a little tool, we regularly found ourselves utilizing it to quickly enhance photographs.
The phone’s cameras don’t provide much else but that. There is an 8MP ultra-wide for wide-angle photos, which is acceptable in some circumstances but produces images with a notably different color profile from those taken with the primary camera.
Then there is a 2MP macro camera, which is completely useless for close-up photography due to the sensor’s poor resolution. Seeing this camera on the 12T Pro is especially infuriating because the 11T Pro offered us a telemacro camera that was great for taking close-up photos. There is no such camera here.
Several fantastic and entertaining Xiaomi AI phone features have returned to make up for it. You may alter the sky in previously captured images with the Sky mode; Clone, which enables you to blend several videos or photographs to create the illusion that you’re hanging out with yourself, and Movie Effects, which uses artificial intelligence to replicate camera techniques used in film cinematography.
A option that allows you to erase undesired items from your own images and is reminiscent of Google Magic Eraser has joined the party. You can remove background people, food shadows, and shot-blocking lines. The effectiveness of this will vary from photo to photo because AI fills in the banks based on what is surrounding the erased item, thus it functions best when the target is on a plain background.
The end results’ natural appearance pleasantly pleased us. You wouldn’t realize the images had been altered if you weren’t aware of the Eraser function.
A phone’s front features a 20MP camera. If you’ve disabled the “beautify” options that overly change face characteristics, it snaps attractive selfies.
The 200MP camera is the Xiaomi 12T Pro’s standout camera feature, and Xiaomi is continuing its drive for phones with ever-increasing megapixel numbers. In 2019, it was the first firm to introduce a device with a 108MP camera.
Thanks to a function called pixel binning, which pools sensor pixels to create a better image, the Xiaomi 12T Pro camera captures photographs by default with a 12.5MP resolution. Combining pixels allows for improved low-light photography since they can “see” more light. As the resolution is substantially lower than that of ordinary photos, pixel-binned images also don’t require as much storage space.
If you like, you may choose to shoot 50MP or full-res 200MP pictures instead of pixel binning for an extraordinarily high-resolution image. This has the advantage of making it simple to digitally zoom in by cropping down an image.
XIAOMI 12T PRO PERFORMANCE AND SPECS
The Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 used in the Xiaomi 12T Pro is more potent than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 used in the Xiaomi 12 Pro since it is the top-of-the-line chipset at the time of introduction.
We found the phone ideal for gaming, as the device swiftly and readily loaded titles at their maximum graphical-fidelity settings, and was speedy at connecting to the web for online games (something that the phone’s 5G connectivity helps with when outdoors).
The Xiaomi didn’t overheat during prolonged gaming sessions, unlike some other recent Snapdragon-equipped phones we’ve tested. We have no complaints regarding it.
The phone will be available in the UK with 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage; other markets will offer the phone with 128GB storage or 12GB RAM, but Xiaomi seems to be emphasizing the 8/256GB variant the most. There is only 256GB of RAM available here since it cannot be expanded (unless you use cloud storage).
The loudspeakers on most Xiaomi phones have been adjusted by Harman Kardon, an audio manufacturer. Even while the 12T Pro is one of the better phones, it still can’t play music as loudly as, say, a real speaker. That’s especially advantageous if you enjoy viewing movies or playing video games without using headphones or a headset.
XIAOMI 12T PRO SOFTWARE
The Xiaomi 12T Pro runs Android 12, the most recent version of the operating system, with Xiaomi’s MIUI 13 skin on top.
Xiaomi supporters have in the past, and very rightfully, criticized MIUI. The navigation has been clumsy and confusing, and there are several pre-installed programs.
In recent years, MIUI has made enormous strides forward and is currently among the best Android versions in use. This is true even if there is still a bloatware problem. We would download TikTok, Facebook, Genshin Impact, Booking.com, and other apps if we desired them.
Similar to iPhones, Xiaomi phones include a swipe-down menu. You can access your notifications by swiping down from the top-left of the screen, and you can access a fast settings panel to adjust your brightness, connection, and other settings by swiping up from the top-right. It is easy to alter the option you desire because the icons are attractive and large.
Navigating the menus is seamless and speedy, with the Snapdragon internals and 120Hz display working hand-in-hand to make swift hops between menus, apps and folders.
XIAOMI 12T PRO BATTERY LIFE
A 5,000mAh battery has been added by Xiaomi to the 12T Pro. This is the maximum capacity we often see on Android phones, with the exception of a few rugged or inexpensive Moto phones.
The smartphone needs it – with its 5G connectivity, strong CPU and 120Hz display, the phone would struggle with anything less than a hefty battery pack.
The Xiaomi 12T Pro survived a day under typical use in our tests. It involves listening to music online, the occasional browse on social media, and possibly watching a 20-minute episode of anything on the commute.
The phone threatened to run out of power before the end of the day if we subjected it to excessive usage, such as extended video shoots, camera testing, or unhealthily lengthy game sessions. This was an unusual event.
When we did require a daytime top-up, the phone’s 120W charging made the process incredibly quick. The phone can be charged from empty to full with a suitable charger in only 20 minutes, so battery worries may be taken care of as you take your morning shower.
Wireless charging is not present since Xiaomi (and pretty much every other phone manufacturer) reserves it for high-end models.
