Xiaomi 12 series gets confirmed for Europe; UK getting Xiaomi 12 and 12 Pro from April

The race is on to get those Snapdragon 8 gen 1 devices into the market, and Xiaomi’s new flagships are coming here soon.

From the minute Qualcomm announced its 2022 flagship chipset, phone makers raced to make their announcements that they’d be first. It prompted a series of launches in China around Christmas time, leaving the eager worldwide customers to wait a little longer.

Xiaomi has now announced the arrival of three models to global markets from April, comprising the Xiaomi 12, Xiaomi 12X, and the Xiaomi 12 Pro. An Ultra model is strongly rumoured to be announced around April, but that is for China and we may have to wait some months longer for a global release – if it comes at all.

Unlike last year’s Xiaomi Mi 11, the Xiaomi 12 has a smaller display and drops from 108-megapixels to a more modest 50-megapixel sensor. Instead of using Samsung image sensors, the Xiaomi 12 (and indeed all the 12 family) have switched to Sony.

The Sony IMX766 features in the Xiaomi 12, while the new Xiaomi 12 Pro gets a new Sony IMX707 – the same resolution (50MP) but a bigger overall sensor size and the promise of even better low-light performance (the Sony IMX766 used in many existing flagships is excellent, so I for one can’t wait to see how much better this is).

A Xiaomi 12X is also announced, but not yet coming to the UK, and is powered by a Snapdragon 870 SoC, a tried-and-tested chipset that blends a high performance with exceptional battery life. For many, this may well be a more favourable choice – but Xiaomi has only committed to bringing two models to UK customers for now.

One new feature on the Xiaomi 12 series is ProFocus, which intelligently tracks objects and reduces the chance of blurring. This is achieved with eye and face autofocus. Ultra Night Video allows for excellent low-light video recording, with a one-click AI Cinema feature that gives multiple creative options in video editing, including Parallel World, Freeze Frame Video and Magic Zoom modes.

The Xiaomi Mi 11 also had many great camera features, so hopefully the Xiaomi 12 should pick up from where that left off very well.

All three models feature AMOLED Dot Displays, with an A+ DisplayMate rating. There’s scratch resistant Gorilla Glass Victus screen protection, and support for Dolby Vision and HDR10+. All three models also come with 120Hz refresh rates, with the Xiaomi 12 Pro also using an LTPO display that can dynamically switch from 1Hz to 120Hz depending on need.

If the picture is good, sound needs to be good too – and like last year’s Mi 11 range, the 12 series offers Dolby Atmos spatial sound in conjunction with Harmon Kardon. The Xiaomi 12 Pro even goes one step further with quad-speakers (two tweeters and two woofers) to further enhance the audio experience.

Battery wise, all models feature fast charging but the Xiaomi 12 Pro maxes out with 120W Xiaomi HyperCharge, charging the 4,600mAh battery in as little as 18 minutes. The Xiaomi 12 and 12X have slightly smaller 4,500mAh batteries and ‘just’ 67W wired charging.

For wireless charging, the Xiaomi 12 and 12 Pro also feature 50W wireless charging and 10W reverse wireless charging.

Finally, all models will ship with MIUI 13 (based on Android 12, with the exception of the Xiaomi 12X that will ship with Android 11) and Xiaomi promises three Android OS updates and four years of security patches.

Pricing and Availability

• Xiaomi 12 Pro comes with 8+256GB or 12+256GB, with pricing starting at US$999.
• Xiaomi 12 comes with 8+128GB, 8+256GB or 12+256GB, with pricing starting at US$749.
• Xiaomi 12X comes with 8+128GB or 8+256GB, with pricing starting at US$649.

The UK will get the Xiaomi 12 and Xiaomi 12 Pro models from April, and pricing is expected to be announced (along with any early-bird discounts) at a separate launch event on March 23rd.

Xiaomi 12 Series Quick Specs 

Data provided by Xiaomi

	Xiaomi 12 Pro	Xiaomi 12	Xiaomi 12X
Display	120Hz 6.73-inch AMOLED Dot Display DisplayMate A+  WQHD+, 3200 x 1440 1,000 nits (1,500 nits peak) Dynamic 120Hz LTPO 480Hz touch sampling rate Dolby Vision & HDR 10+ 360° ambient light sensor SGS Eye Care Display Certification X-axis linear vibration motor	120Hz 6.28″ AMOLED Dot Display DisplayMate A+ FHD+, 2400 x 1080 1,100 nits peak brightness Over 68 billion colours Dolby Vision & HDR 10+ 480Hz touch sampling rate  360° ambient light sensor Low blue light certification  X-axis linear vibration motor	120Hz 6.28″ AMOLED Dot Display DisplayMate A+ FHD+, 2400 x 1080 1,100 nits peak brightness Dolby Vision & HDR 10+ Over 68 billion colours 480Hz touch sampling rate Low Blue Light Certification X-axis linear vibration motor
Rear Camera	50MP wide angle camera  – IMX707, f/1.9  – 1/1.28” 7P lens  – 2.44 μm 4-in-1 Super Pixel  – 8K recording  – 4K HDR 10+ recording  – Ultra Night Video, One-click AI cinema  – Xiaomi ProFocus (Motion tracking focus/ Motion Capture/Eye tracking focus)  – Ultra Night Photo, Portrait Night mode 50MP ultra-wide angle camera  – 115° FOV, f/2.2  • 50MP telephoto camera  – 48mm equivalent focal length, f/1.9  • Night mode (wide/ultra-wide/telephoto)	50MP wide angle camera  – f/1.88, 6P lens  – 2μm 4-in-1 Super Pixel  – 8K recording  – 4K HDR 10+ recording  – Ultra Night Video, One-click AI cinema  – Xiaomi ProFocus (Motion tracking focus/Eye tracking focus/ Motion Capture)  – Portait Night mode, Portrait HDR 13MP ultra-wide angle camera  – 123° FOV, f/2.4 5MP telemacro camera  – 50mm equivalent focal length, Auto Focus  • Night mode (wide/ultra wide)	50MP main camera  – F/1.88, 6P lens  – 2μm 4-in-1 Super Pixel 13 MP ultra-wide angle camera  – 123° FOV, f/2.4 5MP telemacro camera  – 50mm equivalent focal length, Auto Focus  • Night mode
Front Camera	32MP in-display selfie camera  f/2.45, 1.4μm 4-in-1 Super Pixel HDR 10+ recording Selfie Night mode AI portrait video	32MP in-display selfie camera  f/2.45, 1.4μm 4-in-1 Super Pixel HDR 10+ recording AI portrait video Selfie Night mode	32MP in-display selfie camera  f/2.45, 1.4μm 4-in-1 Super Pixel Selfie Night Mode AI portrait video Time-lapse selfie
Size & Weight	163.60mm x 74.60mm x 8.16mm / 205g	152.70mm x 69.90mm x 8.16mm / 180g	152.70mm x 69.90mm x 8.16mm / 176g
Processor	Snapdragon 8 Gen 1  4nm ARM-V9:  1x ARM Cortex-X2 @ 3.0GHz  3x ARM Cortex-A710 @ 2.5GHz  4x ARM Cortex-A510 @ 1.8GHz  Qualcomm Adreno LiquidCool Technology  MIUI 13 with Android 12	Snapdragon 8 Gen 1  4nm ARM-V9:  1x ARM Cortex-X2 @ 3.0GHz  3x ARM Cortex-A710 @ 2.5GHz  4x ARM Cortex-A510 @ 1.8GHz  Qualcomm Adreno  LiquidCool Technology  MIUI 13 with Android 12	Snapdragon 870  1x ARM Cortex-A77 @ 3.2GHz  3x ARM Cortex-A77 @ 2.4GHz  4x ARM Cortex-A55 @ 1.8GHz  Qualcomm Adreno 650  LiquidCool Technology  MIUI 13 with Android 11
RAM+ROM	LPDDR5 RAM (8 or 12GB) UFS 3.1 storage (128-256GB)	LPDDR5 RAM (8 or 12GB) UFS 3.1 storage (128-256GB)	LPDDR5 RAM (8GB) UFS 3.1 storage (128-256GB)
Audio	Quad speakers by Harman Kardon Dolby Atmos	Symmetrical dual speakers   by Harman Kardon Dolby Atmos	Symmetrical dual speakers   by Harman Kardon Dolby Atmos
Charging	4,600mAh battery (typ)  120W wired   Xiaomi HyperCharge  50W wireless turbo charging  10W reverse wireless charging  Xiaomi AdaptiveCharge	4,500mAh (typ) battery  67W wired turbo charging  50W wireless turbo charging  10W reverse wireless charging  Xiaomi AdaptiveCharge	4,500mAh battery  67W wired turbo charging
Connectivity	USB Type-C Dual SIM Dual 5G standby NFC Bluetooth 5.2 Wi-Fi 6/ Wi-Fi 6E	USB Type-C Dual SIM Dual 5G standby NFC Bluetooth 5.2 Wi-Fi 6/ Wi-Fi 6E	USB Type-C Dual SIM Dual 5G standby NFC Bluetooth 5.1 Wi-Fi 6
Available Colors	Gray, Purple, and Blue	Gray, Purple, and Blue	Gray, Purple, and Blue