I’ve only had about eleven hours with the phone at the time of writing this, so this is by no means a complete review. But on paper, this phone is a beast with the overkill hardware that we have come to expect from the last two Xiaomi Ultra phones, and from my testing, it’s living up to that gaudy spec sheet so far.
The Xiaomi 12S Ultra is a camera-first smartphone. That's immediately apparent after a single glance at it. The front is the usual premium all display affair. The rear, however, is what you get when you mold a phone with a retro camera - a huge glass element atop a raised camera island surrounded by leather. Sort of like a M6. Xiaomi 12S Ultra, is so far scheduled for a China release only, although an international release could follow later. The Xiaomi 12S Ultra comes in three configurations:Oh, Xiaomi, why do you play with our emotions so? This is the Xiaomi 12S Ultra, and it may very well be the best phone in the world right now. But Xiaomi won't sell it to anyone outside of China, which is a shame.
The 12S Ultra, is up to Xiaomi's usual op retail standard - you get a 67W charger, a USB cable, and a case.
8 GB+256 GB: CNY 5,999 (~$896)
12 GB+256 GB: CNY 6,499 (~$970)
12 GB+512 GB: CNY 6,999 (~$1045)
Xiaomi has yet to share the availability details for the device. We will update this section when more information is revealed. The eco-leather makes gripping the 12S Ultra, much easier than the slippery ceramic of its predecessor. The cameras on the back of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra, are all at the pinnacle of smartphone imaging. The main imager is the biggest on a phone at 1-inch. It combines 50.3MP in a 4-to-1 pixel binning to produce 12.5MP images, it has multi-directional phase-detect autofocus, a laser aid to that AF system, optical stabilization, and a wide 23 mm lens with an f/1.9 aperture
Xiaomi 12S Ultra isn't just about the camera's hardware. Xiaomi joined forces with imaging giant to tune the camera's s on the 12S Ultra. There are many layers to this partnership, of which we'll go into detail in our full review, but upon opening the camera interface you'll need to choose between two cameras era looks - Vivid or Authentic. The first is more in line with modern smartphone cameras - punchy and contrast, while the latter brings a more toned-down true-to-life look.
Xiaomi 12S Ultra shares a lot of 'DNA'.. the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra. The front is nearly identical (the selfie camera is now centered), while the back has a different layout, but features mostly the same cameras - wide with humongous sensor, ultrawide with autofocus, and 5x telephoto periscope.
Inside, the 12S Ultra is predictably better than its predecessor. The display is a bit smaller but brighter and smarter in its refreshing, the chipset is the latest Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, and the battery is slightly smaller, but has a dedicated charging chip. There's another smart chip for battery management, which should help the 12S Ultra make better use of it
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