Xiaomi has launched the Xiaomi 12S series which consists of three new smartphones – Xiaomi 12S, Xiaomi 12S Pro and the eagerly awaited Xiaomi 12S Ultra. While the 12S and 12S Pro offer relatively minor upgrades over their predecessor, the Xiaomi 12S Ultra is clearly where Xiaomi has focused their efforts – the phone is a major step up from the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra (opens in a new tab).
Upgrades to the Xiaomi 12S Ultra include an impressive camera system that includes Sony’s huge 1-inch IMX989 sensor, new camera hardware developed in collaboration with Leica, a better display and a faster SoC. In short, it looks like it will give the best camera phones on the market a run for their money.
The largest smartphone sensor
The Xiaomi Mi 12S Ultra now takes the record for the largest effective camera phone sensor from the older Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra. Its Sony-made one-inch sensor is also used in Sony’s own Xperia Pro-I (opens in new tab) – but only around 60% of the sensor surface is actually used in that phone.
Smartphone Sensor Size Comparison Main Sensor Size (inches) Main Sensor Size (mm) Xiaomi Mi 12S Ultra1 inch 25.4mm Sony Xperia Pro-I1 inch 25.4mmXiaomi Mi 11 Ultra1/1.12 inch 22, 7mm Huawei P40 Pro Plus1/1.28inch 19.8mm Huawei Mate 40 Pro+ 1/1.28inch 19.8mmSamsung S21 Ultra1/1.33inch 19.1mmXiaomi Mi 111/1.33inch 19.1 mmOppo X3 Pro1/1.56 inch 16.3 mmApple iPhone 13 Pro Max1/1.7 inch 14.7 mm
Xiaomi 12S Ultra: Design
(Image credit: Xiaomi) (opens in new tab)
It won’t miss the Xiaomi 12S Ultra, it’s a premium-looking phone that’s dominated by the round camera bump that takes up almost a third of the phone’s back.
Measuring 163.17 x 74.92 x 9.06mm and weighing 225g, the phone has an aluminum chassis and a curved display with a punch-hole camera in the center near the top edge. The back surface is covered with a high-quality leather-like material that comes in Verdant Green and Classic Black. It’s more than just a beauty, too, with an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance.
Xiaomi 12S Ultra: Specifications
(Image credit: Xiaomi) (opens in new tab)
Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip sits at the heart of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra, which also features a new 3D cooling system that should help improve thermal performance in games and more demanding applications.
It has a 4860mAh battery with 67W wired charging and 50W wireless charging – perhaps the only feature we’d expect more from, but it’s still very decent. RAM and storage combinations are: 8GB/256GB, 12GB/256GB and 12GB/512GB.
In terms of display, the 12S Ultra features a large 6.73-inch display that has a quadHD+ 3200×1440 panel with a pixel density of 522 pixels per inch, as seen on the Xiaomi 12 Pro (opens in a new tab) launched earlier early this year.
Xiaomi 12S Ultra: Camera system
(Image credit: Xiaomi) (opens in new tab)
The new Xiaomi 12S series is the first to benefit from the company’s strategic imaging technology partnership with Leica, which sees sophisticated optical lenses co-developed. As the top model, the Xiaomi 12S Ultra’s 50.3MP main camera adopts an eight-piece aspherical lens that will combat common smartphone issues including glare, ghosting, and chromatic aberration. The Xiaomi 12S Ultra’s camera module also features an anti-glare lens coating, lens edge ink coating, cyclic olefin copolymer material, and an infrared light filter with spin technology to ensure a clear overall picture that is consistent throughout the lens.
A 48MP ultra-wide camera features a Leica Summicron 1:1.9-4.1 / 13-120 aspherical lens with dual PD autofocus and macro mode support, and a 48MP periscope telephoto camera with dual PD autofocus and HyperOIS round out the 12S Ultra’s serious triple camera system.
The leaks turned out to be true as the Xiaomi 12S Ultra is indeed equipped with a huge 1-inch sensor, the Sony IMX989. Significantly larger than the sensors found in most other flagships, it features a Quad-Bayer pixel array with individual pixel sizes reaching 1.6μm. After pixel binning, this works out to 3.2μm and is said to reduce noise, extend dynamic range, increase light captured and achieve overall better low-light imaging.
The Xiaomi 12S series, “co-developed with Leica”, also uses Leica image profiles, offering users a choice of “Leica Authentic Look” and “Leica Vibrant Look”. The “Leica Authentic Look” is as you’d expect, a natural look, preserving the contrast of light and shadow, which adds a sense of three-dimensional depth to photos. The “Leica Vibrant Look” features input from both Xiaomi and Leica and is a more modern look that Xiaomi says allows photographers to: “capture the emotion of the moment, symbolizing Leica’s exploration into the smartphone photography space.” We can’t wait to try them out.
Xiaomi 12S Ultra: Price and Availability
The Xiaomi 12S Ultra will go on sale in China from July 8, with pre-orders open now. Unfortunately, we’ve received confirmation from Xiaomi that the 12S series won’t be coming to the US or the UK, and we’re awaiting confirmation on which other markets (if any) the series will be coming to and when.
In China, the 12S Ultra costs CNY 5,999 ($896) for the 8GB+256GB variant, CNY 6,499 ($970) for the 12GB+256GB variant, and CNY 6,999 ($1,045) for the 12GB+512GB variant.
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