- Kyle Chua
Xiaomi Announces 12 Series Duo With Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Chipsets
Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun on Tuesday, 28 December, officially pulled the wrappings back on the brand’s new duo of smartphones: the Xiaomi 12 and Xiaomi 12 Pro. The flagship handsets are among the first to ship with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile chipset.
The Xiaomi 12 houses a 4,500mAh battery while the 12 Pro has a 4,600mAh pack. The latter, however, supports 120W fast-charging and, as the Chinese firm claims, is the first single-cell battery to draw that much power. Xiaomi noted that the battery supports dual-charging, protecting it from overheating.
When it comes to cameras, both also offer triple rear setups. The standard model features a 50-megapixel Sony IMX766 main sensor, a 13-megapixel ultra-wide sensor and a 5-megapixel telemacro sensor. Meanwhile, the Pro option features three 50-megapixel sensors: a Sony IMX707 main sensor, an ultra-wide sensor with up to 115-degree field of view and a periscope telephoto sensor that supports up to 2x zoom.
Xiaomi touts that both the 12 and the 12 Pro benefit from a new imaging algorithm, which supposedly improves camera performance in low-light scenes, capture speed as well as shutter lag.
Both devices similarly have a 32-megapixel selfie camera. And unlike in the 11T series, which launched not too long ago, the holepunch notch is now positioned at the top centre of the display instead of the left corner.
Speaking of the display, the base option has a 6.28-inch OLED panel with a 2,400 x 1,080 resolution and support for a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. The 12 Pro, on the other hand, flaunts a sizable 6.73-inch AMOLED panel with a 3,200 x 1,440 resolution and also supports the same 120Hz refresh rate. Both displays also come with HDR10+ and Dolby Vision support.
Other key specs for the two include LPDDR5 RAM, dual speakers and Dolby Atmos support. Both will also run MIUI 13, which is based on Android 12, out of the box. The Xiaomi 12 and 12 Pro will hit stores in China on 31 December. The 12 has a starting price of RMB 3,699 while the 12 Pro starts at RMB 4,699.
Additionally, a lower-end, Snapdragon 870-equipped variant, the Xiaomi 12X, will launch alongside the two with a starting price of RMB 3,199.
Xiaomi has yet to announce Singapore pricing and availability for the phones.
The launch event also saw the reveal of the Xiaomi Watch S1 and the Xiaomi Buds 3.
The smartwatch packs a 1.43-inch AMOLED screen covered by a sapphire glass display. Similar to other brands’ watch offerings, this also has a good number of health and fitness-tracking capabilities. The battery can reportedly last up to 12 days and up to 24 days on standby. The Xiaomi Watch S1 starts at RMB 1,099.
Meanwhile, the Xiaomi Buds 3 are the latest in the brand’s expanding lineup of truly wireless earbuds. They boast dual-magnetic dynamic drivers with up to 40dB of noise cancellation and up to seven hours of playback on a single charge. The Buds 3 costs RMB 449.