Xiaomi 12 review: specs, battery & used prices

Summary

The Xiaomi 12 is the 2021 compact flagship of the number series, running the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in a 6.28-inch 120 Hz OLED, with a 4500 mAh battery, 67 W charging, and a 180-gram body. Our catalog scores it 82 on everyday use, 27 on gaming and 91 on compactness. A 50-megapixel stabilized main camera records 8K24 video, and the 8/128 GB trim is tracked at about $580 new. The Xiaomi 12S is the corrected sibling, and the Xiaomi 12T is the pace model above.

Display and design

The 6.28-inch OLED refreshes at 120 Hz, scoring 56 on our screen axis: a small, fluid panel built for one-handed use, with an undocumented brightness specification. No ingress rating is documented, and at 180 grams the body earns the compactness score of 91 — the small-flagship brief in its purest form.

Performance

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 posts an everyday axis of 82 and a gaming axis of 27: top-tier silicon of its season, with efficiency under load the known compromise of this chip generation. Tracked trims run from 8 to 12 GB of RAM, and no software-window figure is documented.

Camera

The camera axis of 37 rests on a 50-megapixel stabilized main sensor with a 13-megapixel ultrawide and a 5-megapixel telephoto companion, recording up to 8K24. OIS keeps the main dependable; the compact body limits sensor scale, which shows in demanding light.

Battery and charging

The 4500 mAh battery scores 30 on our battery axis, a single full day with limited slack, and 67 W charging scores 48, offsetting the smaller cell with quick refills. In a 180-gram body the trade is the conscious small-flagship decision.

Verdict

At about $580 new for 8/128 GB, the Xiaomi 12 answers a simple question: flagship pace in the smallest body of the 12 series. One-handed size, 8K video and 67 W refills carry the pitch; the Xiaomi 12S corrects the chip efficiency, and the 12T moves the goalposts on pace.