Xiaomi 12T Pro arrives with 200MP camera and SD 8+ Gen 1, 12T gets a 108MP cam

2022-10-11

Xiaomi is now entering the 200MP era after delivering a phone with an impressive 1" sensor. The imager of this one isn’t quite as big, but still fairly impressive. As usual, the T-series is its own thing rather than a sequel or upgrade to the Xiaomi 12 series. These aren’t really related to the 12S models either, so let’s look at them with fresh eyes.

Xiaomi 12T Pro

The more exciting of the two specs-wise, the Xiaomi 12T Pro is the company’s first phone with a 200MP camera. It is built around the Samsung ISOCELL HP1, a 1/1.22” sensor with 0.64µm pixels, that can be binned to 1.28µm (4-in-1) or even 2.56µm (16-in-1) depending on lighting conditions and the user’s intentions.

There is no telephoto lens on board, but the high resolution sensor natively supports 2x lossless digital zoom. It can also shoot 8K video and record HDR10+ footage. And it has Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) for longer exposures in the dark and more stable footage, plus advanced features like eye-tracking and motion-tracking autofocus.

If you’re buying the 12T Pro for its camera, it’s got to be for the main unit. The other three on board are not nearly as impressive. We start with the neighboring 8MP ultrawide with its 1/4” sensor (1/1.12µm pixels) and an f/2.2 120° lens and take a quick glance at the 2MP macro camera.

More interesting things are happening on the front, starting with the 20MP selfie camera (1/3.47”, 0.8µm, f/2.24 and 78° lens). Also on the front is an in-display fingerprint reader.

Speaking of the display, it is a 6.67” AMOLED panel with 1,220 x 2,712px resolution (20:9, 446ppi). It can run at 120Hz or you can let it automatically switch between 30, 60, 90 and 120Hz modes. It is a 12-bit panel with HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, which promises color-perfect imagery thanks to in-factory calibration. It has 500 nits typical brightness (900 nits peak) and is guarded by Gorilla Glass 5.

One thing that this phone shares with the 12S series is the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, which will continue to offer a great balance between performance and efficiency even after the fast-approaching 8 Gen 2 arrives. Xiaomi has significantly beefed up the vapor chamber - compared to the 11T Pro the new model has a 65% larger VC and 125% more thermal material (and the 11T Pro had to keep an SD 888 running cool).

Anyway, the 8 Gen 1+ is paired with 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB UFS 3.1 storage in the base version, but we also get 8/256GB and 12/256GB configurations. The phone is launching with Android 12 (MIUI 13).

The 12T Pro is powered by a fairly large 5,000mAh battery with 120W fast charging (a power brick is included in the box). There are quite a few phones that go up to 120W, but most have smaller batteries – 5,000mAh is enough for up to 13.5 hours of screen-on time and after that the battery can be back up to 100% in just 19 minutes.

A few more things – the phone has stereo speakers (tuned by Harman Kardon, with Dolby Atmos support), there is Wi-Fi 6 (ax), Bluetooth 5.2 and NFC (in some regions). This is a dual-SIM phone with 5G connectivity.

The Xiaomi 12T Pro will be available from October 13 through the official Xiaomi channels. The 8/128GB model will come with a €750 price tag, although finding one in a store near you may be a challenge. At least for Europe the 8/256GB is the most common option (priced €800) and in some countries you can also get the 12/256GB one (for €850).

Xiaomi 12T

While it lacks the wow factor of the Pro model’s camera, the Xiaomi 12T offers a similarly amazing screen and battery, plus the capable performance of a Dimensity 8100-Ultra chipset and a solid 108MP camera.

This one is based on the ISOCELL HM6, a 1/1.67” sensor with the same size pixels, 0.64µm, though it tops out at 9-in-1 binning for 1.92µm effective pixel size. This one also has OIS and an f/1.7 aperture, though it lacks 8K video or the more advanced features like eye-tracking AF.

The remaining cameras are the same as on the Pro, including the 8MP ultra wide (1/4”, 1.12µm, f/2.2 and 120°) and 2MP macro, plus the 20MP selfie camera (1/3.47”, 0.8µm, f/2.24 and 78° FoV).

Same selfie camera, same display – 6.67” 20:9 AMOLED panel with 1220p+ resolution. It is a 12-bit panel with HDR10+ (no Dolby Vision, though) and 30/60/90/120Hz refresh rate as well as 480Hz touch sampling rate. Like on the Pro, it has 500 nits typical brightness (900 nits peak) and GG5 protection.

For multimedia you still get stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos, though without the Harman Kardon magic. Connectivity includes Wi-Fi 6 (ax), Bluetooth 5.3 and NFC (in some regions), this is a dual-SIM phone with 5G connectivity.

As we mentioned earlier, the phone is powered by the Dimensity 8100-Ultra, which can be paired with 8/128GB or 8/256GB memory (LPDDR5 and UFS 3.1, no 12GB RAM option). It runs Android 12 with MIUI 13.

Despite the different chipsets, Xiaomi claims that you can get up to 13.5 hours of screen-on time and the phone comes with the same 120W charger that can get the battery to 100% in just 19 minutes.

The Xiaomi 12T will launch alongside the Pro on October 13 and it will be cheaper - €600 for a 8/128GB unit. And unlike the Pro, you can actually find this one easily. The 8/256GB option can be yours for €650.