Xiaomi T-series phones are usually several months behind the original flagships, and although they do bring a lot of first-class features, they are not intended to compete at the top level. On the contrary, the Xiaomi T model is best described as a flagship killer. So, let’s get to know the Xiaomi 12T, the successor of Xiaomi 11T.
When it comes to Xiaomi T version, I think of three key features – a high-end display, an incredible high-resolution camera and super fast charging speeds. These are also great for the new Xiaomi 12T. The
2T model is built on the basis of 11T and has a higher resolution AMOLED screen. Due to the native 12-bit color support, the colors are richer. It comes with the updated Dimensity 8100-Ultra chipset, up from the Dimensity 1200 chip in the 11T. The charging power has increased from 67W to an astonishing 120W!
Xiaomi 12T looks like any typical glass smartphone with a large screen and serious design. It has IP53-level dust and splash protection and offers Gorilla Glass 5 screen protection. The display resolution is now 1220p, higher than 1080p for 11T and 12, and has a dynamic refresh rate of 120Hz.
Dimensity 8100 is one of the best non-flagship chipsets on the market, and its implementation is customized by Xiaomi - hence the nickname of 8100-Ultra. The 12T comes with 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and you can choose between 128GB and 256GB models.
Xiaomi 12T provides enough updates than 11T to make it a worthwhile successor – better screen, faster hardware, improved cameras and OIS, and faster charging speeds. It certainly won’t get the 11T owners to upgrade immediately, but it does look like a flagship killer offer of €600 instead of the so-called cutting-edge smartphone around €1000.
also has a Pro model launched with the 12T - it has the latest Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, 200MP main camera and screen support Dolby Vision.
Unboxing Xiaomi 12T
The thick white box containing Xiaomi 12T also contains a 6A-class USB-A-to-C cable and 120W power adapter . There is a soft transparent shell in the paper compartment, and the screen of the phone itself has a thin protective film, which is pasted in the factory.
Design, construction quality, processing
Xiaomi 12T is a large smartphone; there are no two methods. It has a 6.67-inch AMOLED screen, a large 5,000mAh battery inside, and the 108MP OIS camera stands out. It is much larger than the Xiaomi 12, but it is almost the same as the previous Xiaomi 11T.
Xiaomi 12T provides a solid and familiar construction - it is a double-glass device with a flat Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and a curved frosted glass on the back. Just like before, the frame is thinner around longer sides thanks to curved glass. It's still fairly flat, with a matte finish that matches the rear panel and is made of thick plastic.
Before the series had similar shapes and constructions, but they did feel better when processed thanks to the aluminum frames. We were very sad to hear that Xiaomi chose plastic in this T iteration. While we are doing this, there is another downgrade – the screen shield is the Gorilla Glass Victus on previous phones, but the manufacturer has now returned to the older Gorilla Glass 5.
Another thing Xiaomi fans will immediately notice on 12T is the iconic camera island of Xiaomi 12 series. Its main camera has a rectangular design with large glass that has been shared on all Xiaomi 12 phones worldwide and makes it immediately recognizable in other phones.
Xiaomi 12T has a dustproof and splash-proof performance of IP53. It's not lower than that when it comes to IP ratings, but it's better than nothing - it can at least give you peace of mind when using your phone in wet weather.But we hope more phone makers will improve their gaming level and improve their waterproofing to reach IP67 rating, just like the Samsung does for every phone outside the entry level.
Now let's take a closer look at Xiaomi 12T.
front is home to the improved 6.67-inch AMOLED panel. It offers a higher resolution of 1220p, which Xiaomi calls CrystalRes AMOLED. The screen is quite fast, with a dynamic refresh rate of 120Hz and a touch response of up to 480Hz. Due to chipset limitations, HDR10+ is also supported, but Dolby Vision is not supported.
display is flat, Xiaomi's outdated 20MP selfie camera has a small hole. Many Xiaomi phone use this 20MP front camera, but it is not ideal on any phone thanks to the small sensor with a Quad-Bayer filter. We think Xiaomi has been using it to keep these small holes, but the quality of photos and videos is the price many people pay for it.
Xiaomi 12T contains two stereo speakers - one on the top of the phone and one on the bottom of the phone, both behind the dot grille. There is also a second front socket on the top (just above the screen) for the earpiece and better sound balance.
In addition to a better screen, the Xiaomi 12T series also has an under-screen fingerprint, while the previous 11T model was installed on the side above the Lock key. The UD sensor is reliable, fast and accurate, and we have no problems.
The back of Xiaomi 12T is slightly curved, all of which are matte. The camera island is equipped with a 108MP main camera, an 8MP ultra-wide camera and a 2MP macro camera, as well as an LED flash. The rectangular piece is suitable for serious narratives, and even if it highlights a lot, it fits well on the back.
The plastic frames around the phone are mostly flat and not that slippery. It has a wider top and bottom.
has a speaker, an infrared transmitter and a microphone on the top.
main microphone, second speaker, USB-C port and SIM card tray are all at the bottom.
The left side of Xiaomi 12T is completely exposed.
Power/lock and volume keys are located to the right of 12T.
Thanks to the solid frame, the Xiaomi 12T provides acceptable grip, but the rear glass panel is very slippery. While we feel safe using the 12T without the cover, sometimes we just feel the need to use the cover, such as daylight and low-light shooting. For this, we thank the bundled case.
2T Not a small phone; it is heavy and thick, but it doesn't feel like a brick. It's perfect for hand grip and fits most pockets. One-handed operation is possible, but it will certainly involve a lot of finger fucking .
Overall, Xiaomi 12T is a solid phone with a good construction and a simple design. We appreciate the screen protector, soft bag and IP53 protection provided, and we love it. We did miss the metal frame of the Xiaomi 11T, which made it feel less premium and more like a mid-range.
display
Xiaomi 12T is equipped with a 6.67-inch 120Hz CrystalRes AMOLED display, as Xiaomi says in its news material. This is an updated panel since Xiaomi 11T with a higher resolution of 2,712 x 1,220 pixels or 446ppi definition. Supports dynamic 120Hz refresh rate and touch response up to 480Hz.
panel has a small hole for selfie camera and is protected by flatbed gorilla glass 5.
Some of the most notable screen features include 12-bit color depth in over 68 billion colors, HDR10+ support, and True Display feature to correct color temperature based on ambient light (True Tone on Apple iPhone).
Xiaomi promotes that the typical brightness of Xiaomi 12T screen is 500nits and the maximum brightness is 900nits.This is the first thing we did to test.
Just like any other Xiaomi, the display performance of 12T is as promised. We measured the maximum brightness of 513 nits when using the slider and 954 nits under sun enhancement.
The minimum brightness when it shows white on the screen is only 1.9nits - very good.
Refresh rate
Xiaomi 12T has two refresh rate options - default and custom. The Custom button offers two fixed steps - 60Hz and 120Hz.
default and 120Hz mode work dynamically. The screen always displays 120fps throughout the UI and all system applications, but for power saving reasons it returns to 60Hz when the picture is static. 60Hz is also used for video playback/streaming and across applications that cannot support screens above 60Hz.
Hardware filtering application recognizes the screen as being able to step at fixed refresh rates of 30Hz, 60Hz, 90Hz and 120Hz. We found that the only occasion when MIUI is using 30Hz is always on display. Games that support up to 90Hz can also be used for 90Hz.
can perform high refresh rate games on Xiaomi 12T. We do see that many games use 120Hz refresh rate as the native refresh rate.
charging speed
One of the main functions of Xiaomi 12T is its 5,000mAh battery supports 120W HyperCharge. The phone comes with this charger and proper 6A rated cable so you can use it right out of the box.
Android 12
Xiaomi 12T Start Android 12 with the latest MIUI 13. In the MIUI camp, the version of the custom overlay is more important than the underlying operating system, but there is something new. That being said, native Android 12 features like redesigned widget interfaces and privacy dashboards are still missing.
has always online display function, it is a mature version, so you can let it display for 10 seconds after clicking, really always display, or only display within a predetermined time period. Some cheaper MIUI phones only allow the first option. Of course, there are many AOD themes you can choose from, some of which can also be customized.
Xiaomi 12T also supports notification effect. When new notifications come in, it lights up the edges of the display, but there is little way to customize it except for a few different colors and "starlight" options. This effect can work with or without AOD.
Performance and Benchmark
This year MediaTek allows manufacturers to freely customize certain aspects of their high-end chips, such as "camera processing engine, display processor and audio hardware, hybrid multiprocessing (CPU, GPU, vision processor ), Artificial Intelligence processing and connection (Bluetooth features and configuration files)."
Xiaomi 12T is powered by a custom chipset called MediaTek Dimensity 8100-Ultra - a version of the Basic Dimensity 8100 chipset, similar to Opp and OnePlus have their own custom Dimensity 8100-Max.
Xiaomi has adjusted the capabilities of onboard ISP and APUs and improved the energy efficiency of the CPU and GPUs. Some new improvements include enhanced low-light video capture, better photo noise reduction, and higher frame rate stability during gaming.
In almost all major hardware aspects, the Dimensity 8100-Ultra is the same as its class-class product, the Dimensity 8100. These include 4x [email protected] GHz and 4x [email protected] CPU settings, Mali-G610 MC6 GPU, MediaTek Imagiq 780 ISP and MediaTek APU 580 AI processing unit, and LPDDR5 memory controller , all encapsulated in 5nm TSMC nodes. This is just a hair that is more powerful than Dimensity 8000 and can usually compete with Qualcomm 's Snapdragon 888 and 888+.The typical three-in-one camera on the back of
The back of Xiaomi 12T adopts a triple camera setup, similar to the settings we saw on Xiaomi 11T. There is a 108MP main, an 8MP ultrawide and a 2MP macro - a fairly familiar arrangement. The 11T's 5MP telephoto macro was downgraded to a basic 2MP shooter, while the main camera and ultra-wide camera retain their resolution.
main camera uses a 108MP sensor, just like the 11T, but it is now the newer (and smaller) Samsung ISOCELL HM6, higher than the HM2 on the 11T. This is a 1/1.67" sensor with 0.64m pixels and a 24mm f/1.7 lens. The color filter is Nonapixel, which means 9 sensor pixels combine into a large 1.92m pixel with a default output resolution of 12MP. PDAF is available and has optical image stabilization. The sensor also has a dual native ISO. The
Ultra-wide-angle camera uses an 8MP Samsung S5K4H7 ISOCELL Slim 1/4" sensor with 1.12m pixels behind the f/2.2 lens. The focus is fixed at infinite distance. The ultra-wide-angle camera also supports night mode.
Macro camera relies on the 2MP GalaxyCore GC02 sensor behind the f/2.4 lens. The focus is fixed at about 4cm.
front camera uses a 20MP Sony IMX596 sensor designed by Quad Bayer. With a 26mm f/2.2 lens, the focus is fixed.
Camera Application is a fairly simple implementation, although it does have its quirks. First, the basic operation of changing the modes can be done by sliding sideways (on the black border!), and you can also switch directly to these modes by clicking on the modes you can see. Sliding up and down does not work for front and rear camera switching; only the toggle button next to the shutter release can do this.
You can add, delete and rearrange modes in the main rolodex by going to the More tab and navigating to the Edit button, and you can also access it from the Settings menu. Unused modes will still be in the More tab, but you can switch to the (less intuitive) pull-out pane summoned from a line next to shutter release.
Xiaomi 12T is positioned in the segment we are used to call "flagship killers". Although there is no crowd, it does have a lot of competition and you should consider it before making a decision. Realme GT Neo 3 is the first competitor to come to mind, as this phone is based on the same Dimensity 8100 chipset,
Xiaomi 12T is one of the most thoughtful high-end mid-range phones to be launched in 2022, and we do love it almost everything. The AMOLED screen is excellent for its high resolution, dynamic 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ functionality and high brightness. The cutout is very small, but that's because the selfie camera is quite outdated.
Then the excellent performance of the Dimensity 8100-Ultra chipset, which is perfect for gaming due to its excellent speed and impressive stability. We also like the overall battery life, and having one of the fastest charging solutions does come in handy.
Xiaomi 12T also includes a pair of Dolby Atmos speakers and reliable photo and video quality, both day and night.
