I believe that Xiaomi is the most prolific manufacturer in the smartphone sector by now it is certain: the launch of the last two new devices of the 12 series, specifically the new ones, is very recent Xiaomi 12T and Xiaomi 12T Pro, two very interesting smartphones not only for the specifications but also for the price, which is certainly lower than the Xiaomi high-end.
Be careful not to get confused though: the 12T series, and specifically the 12T Pro I am talking about today, costs less than the other high-end proposals of the company, but it fits into a particular slice of the market where the alternatives do not change: just think of the Pixel 7 Pro (here the review) and al Motorola Edge 30 Ultra.
In short, the positioning chosen by Xiaomi is filled in poco less than a month of many valid alternatives, for this reason the choice of a possible purchase must be made in the most prudent way possible.
XIAOMI 12T Pro review
Design and Materials
Ok, I don't want to hide behind a finger: if I were to tell you that it is Xiaomi 12t pro I like it aesthetically, I would tell you a lie and no, I don't want to. Let's be clear, in terms of assembly and construction, the smartphone is absolutely perfect as usual, but I find the design too anonymous and without something really attractive. A deliberate choice, probably, because just this year Xiaomi launched bombs like the Mix Fold 2 (here the review), for example, truly absurd.
Beyond that I can tell you that it is Xiaomi 12t pro it's big 163,1 x 75,9 x 8,6mm and weighs approximately 205 grams, it holds well in the hand and you manage to have a good grip, despite the rear satin finish that I found a bit slippery: speaking of back cover, it is available in three colors, black, silver and blue, but none of this stands out more than others for its beauty, as they are "smooth" colors without particular patterns or reflexes attractive. AND' made of glass and also has slightly curved edges to facilitate grip; the frame is also made of plastic.
What does not go unnoticed is certainly the bump room: given the rather important lens that has been installed, the rear protrusion is decidedly remarkable and is distributed on two levels, reaching at the thickest point about 3mm of rise, not exactly a little but absolutely justified by the photographic performances which I will talk about shortly.
For the rest, the smartphone integrates on the right side the usual power button over the volume slider, at the bottom it has the Type-C connector, the first microphone, the primary speaker and the cart for the two SIM cards, at the top finally the usual blaster IR and the second stereo speaker. It is also worth mentioning the IP53 certification which allows us to wet it, but not really to immerse it and sleep on seven pillows.
Display
Before talking to you about the display itself, I want to proudly tell you that Xiaomi has brought back the physical proximity sensor and no longer virtual also on this smartphone, so before you ask me, I myself confirm that there are no problems of any kind nor on call or when listening to voice messages: everything works perfectly, so let's go further. The screen is fine 6.67 "inches, and it is based on technology AMOLED with a resolution of 1220 x 2712 pixels, a little higher than usual, and with support for all the latest technological standards such as the Dolby Vision and HDR10 +.
The excellent work done by the company on this front is quite evident, not only technically speaking where it is also necessary to note the presence of PWM Dimming at 1920Hz and the sampling frequency of the touch up to 480Hz, but also on a practical level where Xiaomi 12T Pro clashes with the big Android so far. The screen in purely qualitative terms is exceptional, it has really beautiful colors and you can not say anything to it, especially because in case you are not satisfied, the MIUI offers dozens of color optimization possibilities that will allow you to find the square in any situation.
In terms of speed display response, Xiaomi has certified the smartphone up to 120Hz: it does not have the same LTPO technology as the other higher-end devices, but nevertheless the automatic mode for adjusting the Hz does a good job, and above all there are no differences of any kind in terms of autonomy if we use it smartphone at 120Hz rather than 60 (no, it cannot be set to 90Hz).
Hardware and Performance
Also on the front hardware there is really nothing to complain about: compared to the Xiaomi 12 presented a few months ago, this new 12T Pro brings with it the new Qualcomm chip, it Snapdragon 8+ Gen1, processor that we have already seen in the Xiaomi 12S Ultra (here the review) and that we have consecrated as, finally, an improvement of the Snapdragon 8 Gen.1, an almost perfect SoC but which has never convinced due to poor energy performance.
With the new Qualcomm processor the music changes, during the day there are no significant temperature problems or strange bottlenecks due to thermal throtteling; I will be honest, though, because to be honest, during the benchmark sessions performed consecutively, the smartphone still showed me an overheating popup and, consequently, stopped the stress tests to be able to dissipate the heat at best. I encountered this problem only once and only in performance tests, but never for example while playing games or anything else.
The rest of the hardware consists of 8 or 12GB of LPPDR5 RAM memory and 128 / 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage; the GPU remains there Adreno 730, as Qualcomm with this new chipset has not brought substantial increases in power (which in any case mark a + 10% compared to the previous generation) as much as on the improvement of energy efficiency.
Generally speaking, the performances improve and are superior to even the top of the Xiaomi home range: it is certainly noticeable in the benchmarks both in single core and in multi core, but it is also noted in games where they manage to get some FPS in more, about 5-6% difference.
Software
As for the software there is well poco to add, except that we are faced with the usual MIUI in version 13.0.9 based on Android 12 and with security patches updated to September 2022. As I often say, MIUI is a type of software that you love or hate, but personally I place myself in the middle: the graphical interface is appreciable, a little less the its overall performance compared to lighter ROMs such as the Pixel Experience or even the RealmeUI.
However on this model I have not noticed any slowdowns of any kind with MIUI doing its job more than well in all circumstances; the usual PROs remain such as the high possibility of customization of the graphical interface and the second space, but the usual CONS remain as well as the presence of the usual bloatware installed at the first start.
Camera
But guys, let's go to the juiciest part of this smartphone, the one that will surely have heated the spirits during the launch presentation (and not only, in my opinion): Xiaomi is among the first manufacturers, together with Motorola with its Edge 30 Ultra, to present a smartphone with the main 200MP photo lens.
It is a sensor Samsung HP1, rather large 1 / 1,22 ", and with a good focal aperture, equal to f / 1.69: Unlike last year with the 108MP lens, an optically stabilized sensor with a focal length of 23mm is used. In addition, if we really wanted to compare it with the sensor of the Motorola, I could tell you that they differ in some aspects that bring Xiaomi in advantage, one of all the focal aperture which on Motorola is equal to f / 1.9. Although the sensor is the same, therefore, manufacturers can customize them as needed; in addition I confirm that there is the possibility of take pictures in RAW, albeit only in PRO mode and with all manual controls.
To close the technical picture, I also add two information about the other two lenses: the ultrawide and from 8MP f / 2.2 with FOV at 120 degrees while the macro is 2MP f / 2.4; the "disappointing" trail of the secondary chambers continues, and who knows when we will reach a turning point on this front.
Broadly speaking, the performance of this smartphone is good, and this was to be expected: during the day the smartphone captures good photos, with a good level of detail, and well-balanced colors with good light conditions, while when we have an overcast sky he finds himself a little more in difficulty, but all tolerable.
As for the most interesting aspect, namely that of shots from 200MP I start from the beginning: you need to manually activate the mode ULTRAHD, which essentially allows us to choose between 50 and 200MP, in both cases the photos have a substantial weight from about 25 to 80MB (compared to the traditional 7-8MB). No, I did not notice any differences between 50 and 200MP and compared to traditional shots the most important differences can only be seen with a rather strong crop, where obviously these shots guarantee precision and a considerably higher number of details. Shoot daily with this mode it makes no sense, as the performance of the traditional camera is already good, and for photos from social networks or even shots to be framed, trust that you would not see substantial differences with the naked eye (but on the other hand you could fill the memory much faster internal, not expandable).
In the photos with little light and at night the sensor of this Xiaomi 12T Pro does an exceptional job: it will be that I have always loved Xiaomi's software processing of photos at night, but I think this smartphone is one of the most interesting in this price range for night photography performance. Unfortunately, the dilemma of the 8 megapixel ultra-wide sensor remains, which I always consider not up to par with these products: its performance is decent in all scenarios but clashes next to a lens like the primary one installed here on this smartphone. Pity.
Il selfie sensor is a 596MP Sony IMX20 with f / 2.2 aperture: the only trick, as usual, is to disable any effect that can be activated by default in this camera, and otherwise you will always have decent selfies in any circumstance. Videos are recorded up to 8K 24fps, the smartphone supports the H.265 codec (if not by default) and in principle the results are very good, with a stabilization definitely above average.
Autonomy
Also in terms of autonomy the smartphone of Xiaomi behaves like a real top: the battery with which it is equipped is a 5000 mAh unit, on a par with last year's model, which practically gets an excellent improvement because this generation of Xiaomi 12T Pro guarantees an autonomy that can reach also poco less than two full days if we use the smartphone in a not so stressful way.
With more intense use, however, the evening is reached with about 30% of autonomy still remaining; are excellent results, especially if we also consider the presence of recharge up to 120W with proprietary HyperCharge technology, which allows the smartphone to be ready for use in about 25 minutes starting from 0%.
Price and Considerations
While prices continue to rise almost everywhere, with the series 12T of Xiaomi we remained below the threshold of 1000 euros, a limit that once seemed for a few, but which has now been touched (and exceeded) by many. This new Xiaomi product officially arrives on the Italian market in starting from 849,90 € certainly not cheap, but not out of the market either: at this figure you buy a complete and updated device on the hardware front, with an exceptional display and unique cameras that can only improve further with the passage of time and future updates.
It must be said, however, that if once the Xiaomi T series represented the only good choice in this market segment, in the last period Xiaomi has been surrounded by devices such as Motorola Edge 30 Ultra and Pixel 7 Pro, smartphones that fit into the same price range and that put us in front of some rather difficult choices. If this Xiaomi 12T Pro had cost 100-150 euros less, the choice would have been much easier, but right now, recommending it with your eyes closed is a bit more difficult.
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