Xiaomi 12S review: specs, battery & used prices

Summary

The Xiaomi 12S is the 2022 compact flagship of the number series, running the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 in a 6.28-inch 120 Hz OLED, with a 4500 mAh battery, 67 W charging, and a 182-gram body. Our catalog scores it 81 on everyday use, 32 on gaming and 90 on compactness. A 50-megapixel stabilized main camera records 8K24 video, and the 8/128 GB trim is tracked at about $600 new. The Xiaomi 12 is the global sibling, and the Xiaomi 13 is the generation that followed.

Display and design

The 6.28-inch OLED refreshes at 120 Hz, scoring 56 on our screen axis: a small, fluid panel with an undocumented brightness specification, built for one-handed use rather than HDR showcase. No ingress rating is documented, and at 182 grams the body earns the compactness score of 90.

Performance

The Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 posts an everyday axis of 81 and a gaming axis of 32: the corrected 2022 flagship chip, efficient enough for sustained pace in a small chassis. Tracked trims run from 8 to 12 GB of RAM across up to 512 GB of storage, and the software window has already closed.

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. The main camera with OIS is the dependable core; the compact body leaves less room for sensor scale, which shows after dark.

Battery and charging

The 4500 mAh battery scores 30 on our battery axis, a single day with limited slack, and 67 W charging scores 48, offsetting the smaller cell with quick refills. In a 182-gram body the capacity-for-weight trade repeats the small-flagship formula.

Verdict

At about $600 new for 8/128 GB, the 12S answers a simple question: corrected flagship silicon in the smallest body of the 12 series. One-handed size, 8K video and 67 W refills carry the pitch; the Xiaomi 13 extends the same idea with a brighter screen and submersion sealing.