How many megapixels on a phone is enough? Yes. Xiaomi’s 12T lineup is focused squarely on that main camera and they certainly look like viable offerings for photography buffs who like to tweak their pictures.
Xiaomi 12T Pro
Xiaomi’s latest flagship features the top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC, which in the case of the 12T Pro offers improvements of 16.7 per cent and 11 per cent improvement in CPU and GPU performance over the previous generation SoC, as well as reducing power consumption of 33 per cent and 30.1 per cent respectively. The 12T Pro also has a vapour chamber that’s 65 per cent larger and has thermal material coverage that’s 125 per cent higher than that of the 11T Pro.
That’s all well and good, but the camera remains the centrepiece of this phone and features a large 1/1.22″, 200MP sensor. And it isn’t just for bragging rights. Xiaomi is leveraging the resolution available for some cool tricks too: ProCut utilises machine learning algorithms that automatically re-crop your photos contextually for a more aesthetic composition, though it was shot by an experienced photographer. And having that many megapixels means you can ‘zoom’ merely by cropping and not lose detail. The ‘downside’, if you can even call it that, is that it doesn’t have a dedicated telephoto camera. Instead, the 12T Pro has an ultra-wide camera (120° FOV, f/2.2) and a macro camera (f/2.4).
On paper, the main camera also looks well-specced to handle low-light photos. Aside from the Optical Image Stabiliser and 8P lens (8 lens elements), the main camera also has an f/1.69 aperture and uses 16-in-1 binning (16 pixels combined into one to capture more detail) in order to maximise image quality in dim lighting.
Other useful features include Ultra Burst, which captures up to 30 photos per second, and ProFocus, which will track your selected subject and focus on it, even if it leaves the frame and returns to the shot; this works for both photos and videos. The Xiaomi 12T Pro also supports 8K video in full resolution.
The 12T Pro also gets a high-quality screen. The 6.67″ CrystalRes AMOLED panel offers 100 per cent DCI-P3 coverage, 120Hz refresh rate and 480Hz polling rate. And to complete the premium multimedia experience, the phone is equipped with Harman Kardon speakers. Other premium features include 120W Hypercharging, which can charge the large, 5,000 mAh battery in 19 minutes, with 800 cycles guaranteed, and AdaptiveCharge, which learns your ‘ day-to-day charging routines to optimise long-term battery health.
Xiaomi 12T
If the Pro feels a little overkill for you, there’s the Xiaomi 12T. It’s a little more modest but overall, still an impressive-looking camera-centric phone. It uses a 108MP primary camera, 8MP ultra-wide camera, and 2MP macro camera.
In place of the Snapdragon SoC, we have the MediaTek Dimensity 8100-Ultra built on the 5nm TSMC manufacturing process that is up to 30 per cent more power efficient than its predecessor.
The regular 12T still gets the same CrystalRes AMOLED display as its Pro sibling, though Dolby Atmos-certified speakers take the place of the Harman Kardons. The 12T also gets the same 5,000 mAh battery and Hypercharging and AdaptiveCharge.
Pricing and Availability
The Xiaomi 12T is priced at $749 (8GB+256GB storage) while the Xiaomi 12T Pro retails for $1,099 (12GB+256GB storage). The phone is available for pre-order until 13 October at Xiaomi Stores, major Consumer Electronics Stores and partner stores, and until 12 October via Shopee and Lazada. You can also pre-order via M1, Singtel and Starhub.
Pre-orders of the Xiaomi 12T Pro will come with a Xiaomi Watch S1 Active (worth $229) and a Xiaomi Air Purifier 4 Compact (worth $159), while pre-orders of the Xiaomi 12T come with a Xiaomi Air Purifier 4 Compact (worth SGD159).
