Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra’s successor is finally here as the 12S Ultra with the world’s biggest camera sensor complete with Leica branding.
This is the most powerful phone from Xiaomi so far and also one of the most bizarre-looking handsets yet. It is not expected to launch outside of China, but there is no confirmation as of yet.
Design and Display
Xiaomi 12S Ultra has a 6.73-inch curved AMOLED screen with 2K resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. It is an LTPO panel (refresh rate can vary from 1Hz to 120Hz) with support for 68 billion colors, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and 1500 nits peak brightness. It is protected by Corning’s latest Gorilla Glass Victus and has an under-display fingerprint sensor.
The rear panel is made out of leather and the camera has a gold ring around it. There is also IP68 water and dust resistance.
Internals and Storage
Just like the standard Xiaomi 12S, 12S Ultra is also powered by Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC. It is simply an overclocked version of the original SD8G1, but this one is made by TSMC. Storage starts at 256GB and goes all the way up to 512GB UFS 3.1. The only two RAM options are 8GB and 12GB.
For software, you get Android 12 with MIUI 13 on top.
Cameras
The humongous main camera setup includes a 50MP primary shooter based on a new 1-inch Sony IMX989, which is a monster of a camera sensor, the largest in the smartphone industry. This is paired with a 48MP periscope camera with 5x optical zoom and OIS, a 48MP ultrawide camera, and a TOF 3D sensor. This camera is capable of 8K video recording.
The main camera is fitted with Hyper OIS, which is similar to Vivo’s gimbal stabilization that enables extreme stabilization for videos and photos.
The selfie camera is a 1/3.4″ 32MP shooter with 4K and 1080p video recording. All of this is handled by Xiaomi’s in-house Surge G1 ISP chip.
Battery and Pricing
Xiaomi 12S Ultra gets the most battery capacity out of the three phones. It is a 4,860 mAh battery with 67W fast charging and 50W wireless charging.
Xiaomi 12S Ultra costs $897, which is cheaper than both of its rivals including the Galaxy S22 Ultra and iPhone 13 Pro Max.
Xiaomi 12S Ultra Specifications
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
- CPU: Octa-core (1×3.19 GHz Cortex-X2 & 3×2.75 GHz Cortex-A710 & 4×1.80 GHz Cortex-A510)
- GPU: Adreno 730
- OS: Android 12, MIUI 13
- Supported Networks: 2G, 3G, 4G LTE, 5G
- Display:
- 6.73″ LTPO AMOLED with 1440 x 3200 pixels resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, 68 billion colors, HDR10+, 1500 nits
- Memory:
- RAM: 8GB, 12GB
- Internal: 256GB, 512GB
- Card slot: No
- Camera:
- Rear (Quad): 50 MP, f/2.0, 24mm (wide), 1.0-type, 2.4µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, Laser AF, OIS
48 MP, f/4.1, 120mm (periscope telephoto), 1/2.0″, 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS, 5x optical zoom
48 MP, f/2.2, 12mm, 128˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.0″, 0.8µm, PDAF
TOF 3D, (depth) - Front: 20MP
- Rear (Quad): 50 MP, f/2.0, 24mm (wide), 1.0-type, 2.4µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, Laser AF, OIS
- Fingerprint sensor: Under-display
- Battery: 4,860 mAh, 67W fast charging, 50W wireless charging, 10W reverse wireless charging
- Price: $897