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In the past two weeks, we got our hands on the Xiaomi 12S Pro and the Xiaomi 12S Ultra, which probably has the best smartphone camera of the year. While it shines, I think there’s another phone that definitely shouldn’t be overlooked, and that’s the Xiaomi 12S, which is probably one of the best compact phones of 2022.

In fact, the Xiaomi 12S is simply the Xiaomi 12 upgraded with a new SoC and main camera. They have the exact same design except for the new color variant and the LEICA logo, so I don’t want to talk about the design and other regular specs in detail today. Let’s just focus on the upgrades, and I believe that these small changes make it an excellent device.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen how most compact phones have some unacceptable drawbacks. They usually don’t use the latest SoC along with a good battery solution. We had a similarly bad experience with the Xiaomi 12, but this time, we know that Qualcomm finally broke up with Samsung, and have their most reliable partner back. Well done Qualcomm! I’ve forgotten how many times I’ve trash-talked about the relationship between Qualcomm and Samsung. 

Let’s get right to the point, even in those mobile games that demand high performance, the Xiaomi 12S performs very well. It can run above 50FPS for 30-min gaming in Genshin Impact under the highest graphic settings. Here are some other games and benchmark data for your reference, and you can see that when compared to Pro and Ultra, the Xiaomi 12S doesn’t lag behind by much. 

Those users who love compact phones actually don’t play a lot of games, but no one will complain about a device having top-notch performance. And more importantly, now they have got the new 8+ chipset, which has been significantly improved with better power performance and heating.

Xiaomi 12S Display

It may sound strange that this compact flagship actually has a better battery life than the Xiaomi 12S Pro, obviously, the smaller screen with lower resolution plays a decisive role in that.

It’s no surprise that the Xiaomi 12S uses the same display as the Xiaomi 12. For most people, a slightly lower resolution doesn’t make a significant difference, and the 1080P display with a maximum brightness of 1100nit and Dolby Vision support is clearly not out of date. But at the same time, another thing you should note is that it still doesn’t support Anti-Flicker mode with activating the 120Hz refresh rate.

Now let’s talk again about LEICA and the new Sony IMX sensor. We showed you a lot of photos in our Xiaomi 12S Ultra Review and I would say that while the one-inch sensor is a big surprise, this time, Xiaomi really raises an interesting question about mobile photography: does a bigger sensor on a smartphone really make a difference? I mean, a bigger sensor does come with better image quality, especially in low light, but if you have watched a lot of our phone reviews, you’ll realize that we have to look really close at the samples to find those subtle differences.

Xiaomi 12S Cameras

Coming back to the photos taken by the 12S, it is actually hard to say how much it has improved in terms of details. The addition of LEICA has brought some very peculiar changes. In many photos, we can see that it has higher contrast, which makes it look like it loses a few bright and shadow details. But when you look closer, you would find that it’s simply a trade-off in style and those details are not really lost. And it’s so stylish that even if you remove the unique LEICA watermark, you can still recognize the photos shot on the Xiaomi 12S series.

This is what I really meant to say, Xiaomi is trying to change the rules of the game, from comparing the smallest details to creating an overall style. No one will zoom in on the photos you post on social media to observe the details, right? Well except for silly tech reviewers.

A unique color style will make your photos stand out from the traditional vivid style, in the past, you needed to spend quite a bit of time on photo editing apps to get a photo like this. And please note that most users actually are not professionals when it comes to handling colors. 

I think this is a good start, perhaps the photos shot on different smartphones will have a variety of unique styles like in the days when film cameras were popular, and consumers can truly figure out what camera phone is the best for themselves.

I’ve also seen some comments that Xiaomi took away their right to decide on photos because there isn’t a LEICA OFF option in camera settings, but the fact is that you can still maximize post-editing by taking RAW format photos on the Xiaomi 12s.

Furthermore, I would like to add one more point about the camera system. Although you can set the shortcut to let the camera launch from the lock screen, you have to press the shutter on the screen or the volume button again to complete a snap. And you can’t just take a continuous shot by long pressing the volume button. So can Xiaomi consider adding an extra physical shutter button on the side of the phone? Just like Sony did with their Xperia Phones?

Compared to other premium camera phones, the very important telephoto lens is missing on the Xiaomi 12S, but it also has its own strengths. I’m not talking about this 13 MP wide-angle lens, but the 5 MP macro lens, which allows you to get a lot of surprises from another perspective. Especially when you see camera phones like the 12S Ultra coming with a large sensor are not able to get close enough to shoot macro images. 

This is the world you can see through the main camera, while THIS is the wonder you can only explore through the macro lens, I use the macro lens a lot for special shooting, and then I got some interesting discoveries. You can even use this macro lens to create your own documentary, although it only supports up to 1080P 30FPS video recording, but films like this can’t be captured by Xiaomi 12S Pro and the Ultra.

Well, strictly speaking, this is not a full review. But I want to express some of my thoughts about the evolution of Moblie photography with the Xiaomi 12S and if you want a buying tip, I will tell you that Xiaomi 12S is one of the best compact phones you can pick in 2022, it is perfect for those who like to capture their life with smartphone.

The good battery life allows you to charge it only once a day. On the matter of designing a compact flagship, the only thing Xiaomi needs to improve is probably waterproof support.

Finally, I want to say that I don’t know if you guys realize that compact phones are being abandoned by manufacturers, Apple has already cut their iPhone mini product line even though it brings tens of millions of sales every year, which will further discourage other manufacturers to design new compact flagship phones. This is really not good news. So I really hope Xiaomi, Samsung, and Sony will stick to their choice because there are still some people who don’t like those Pro or Plus phones with their ever-increasing weight.

You can get all three Xiaomi 12S series smartphones from Giztop. In fact, the retailer is offering $100 off on the 12S Pro right now.

* Please Note: When you buy something using the links in our articles, we may earn a small commission at no cost to you.

The post Xiaomi 12S Full Review: The best compact flagship in 2022 appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi is all set to launch the Xiaomi 12S series next week. The lineup will consist of three models, namely Xiaomi 12S, Xiaomi 12S Pro, and Xiaomi 12S Ultra. 

The former two will be an upgraded version of Xiaomi 12 and Xiaomi 12 Pro, which were unveiled at the end of December. Whereas, the latter will be the successor of the Mi 11 Ultra from last year.

Here in this article, let’s take a look at the two cheaper models. We have compiled everything that’s known about them ahead of their official announcement.

Xiaomi 12S, 12S Pro Launch Date

The Xiaomi 12S and the Xiaomi 12S Pro are scheduled to launch in China on July 4. They will be accompanied by the company’s most premium slab smartphone of 2022 – Xiaomi 12S Ultra. The firm will be also announcing the Xiaomi Book Pro 2022 and the Xiaomi Band 7 Pro at this event.

The Xiaomi 12S series launch conference will be live-streamed on multiple platforms like Weibo, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Xiaomi Community, and Mi.com. It will kickstart at 7 PM GMT+8.

Xiaomi 12S, 12S Pro Design

Xiaomi has officially disclosed the design of the Xiaomi 12S Pro. The smartphone will be identical to the Xiaomi 12 Pro. Hence, the Xiaomi 12S is also expected to be a lookalike of the Xiaomi 12. The only major difference between the two lineups will be the presence of the ‘Leica’ branding on the new one.

The two phones will sport a centered punch-hole curved display on the front. The right side will house the power button and the volume rocker, while the left side will be empty.

The top part of the handsets will consist of an IR blaster, secondary microphone hole, speaker grille, and Harmon Kardon branding. Whereas, the bottom will comprise a SIM card slot, primary microphone hole, USB Type-C port, and another speaker grille.

Like any other premium smartphones, they will feature a glass sandwich design with a metal frame. The rear matte glass panel will house a rectangular island on the top left corner with one giant camera, two small cameras, an LED flashlight, and ‘Leica’ branding.

Finally, the bottom left side of the back panel will include the Xiaomi branding. The devices are expected to arrive in White and other color options.

Xiaomi 12S, 12S Pro Specifications

The Xiaomi 12S and the Xiaomi 12S Pro are said to retain the specs from Xiaomi 12 and Xiaomi 12 Pro, respectively with some minor changes.

Chipset

The new models will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset instead of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC. Xiaomi will be also offering a variant of the Xiaomi 12S Pro with a Mediatek Dimensity 9000 chip.

Cameras

Further, the handsets have been confirmed to come with a 50MP Sony IMX707 primary camera sensor. This sensor is already present on the Xiaomi 12 Pro but the Xiaomi 12 has a 50MP Sony IMX766 sensor. Hence, only the smaller model will be getting a camera hardware upgrade.

Xiaomi is yet to reveal the remaining two rear cameras and the front camera of these devices. But since the devices are near identical to Xiaomi 12 series, they may have the same secondary and front-facing cameras.

If this is true, then the Xiaomi 12S and the Xiaomi 12S pro will nest a 32MP selfie camera in the punch-hole on the front. The former will sport a 13MP ultra-wide camera and 5MP telemacro camera, while the latter will come with a 50MP ultra-wide camera and a 50MP 2x telephoto camera.

Unlike the Xiaomi 12 series, the cameras on the Xiaomi 12S series will provide image processing co-tuned by Leica and Xiaomi.

Display

Talking about the screen, the Xiaomi 12S will likely sport a 6.28-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with 1100 nits peak brightness, while the Xiaomi 12S Pro will probably flaunt a 6.73-inch QHD+ LTPO 2.0 (up to 1Hz) AMOLED display with 1500 nit peak brightness. The 10-bit panels on these phones will offer up to a 120Hz refresh rate, Dolby Vision support, an in-screen fingerprint sensor, and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection.

Miscellaneous

Both the handsets are expected to arrive with features like Harmon Kardon-tuned stereo speakers (dual on 12S and quad on 12S Pro), 5G connectivity, WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, GNSS, NFC, IR blaster, and USB Type-C port. On the software front, they will boot MIUI 13 based on Android 12.

Battery

The Xiaomi 12S is expected to get its energy from a 4,500mAh battery with support for 67W fast wired charging. On the other hand, the Xiaomi 12S Pro will likely house a larger 4,600mAh battery with 120W fast charging support. Either way, both of them will carry support for 50W fast wireless charging and 10W reverse wireless charging.

Variants

The Xiaomi 12S and the Xiaomi 12S Pro will arrive in 8GB + 128GB, 8GB + 256GB, and 12GB + 512GB memory configurations. Interestingly,  the Dimensity 9000 variant of Xiaomi 12S Pro will not be avaialble in 8GB  + 128GB combo.

Xiaomi 12S, 12S Pro Expected Price

The Xiaomi 12S series could be priced similar to the Xiaomi 12 series since the new models are merely a mid-year refresh with some minor changes. As a result, the older phones may either receive a price cut or get discontinued.

For the unaware, the Xiaomi 12 and the Xiaomi 12 Pro start at ¥3,699 ($552) and ¥4,699 ($701), respectively for the base 8GB + 128GB variant in China.

RELATED:

• Xiaomi approached by Leica for partnership, no DxOMark testing for Xiaomi 12S series: Lei Jun
• Xiaomi 12S, 12S Pro, 12S Ultra global launch seems unlikely, may remain China exclusive
• Xiaomi 12S Ultra: Lei Jun explains the story behind the name
• Xiaomi restates its commitment to protecting customer data

The post Xiaomi 12S, 12S Pro Roundup: Launch Date, Specs, Design, and Expected Price appeared first on Gizmochina.