Xiaomi’s Mi 11 Ultra (Review) was all about large numbers and bragging rights, and it managed to ship an excellent premium Android expertise with only some shortcomings.The Xiaomi 12 Pro is the corporate’s most premium providing but for 2022 and Xiaomi has taken a barely totally different method with it. Somewhat than merely pushing for the most important numbers on a specs web page prefer it did with the 11 Extremely, Xiaomi claims it has targeted extra on consistency whereas nonetheless packing sufficient premium options to justify the value. A fast have a look at the specs reveals the standard suspects when it comes to {hardware}, however the quad-speaker setup within the Xiaomi 12 Professional is actually distinctive and never one thing we have seen in any flagship cellphone in India.
The Xiaomi 12 Professional can be cheaper than final 12 months’s Mi 11 Extremely, in all probability as a result of it is not a direct substitute. Rumours suggest {that a} extra premium mannequin dubbed the 12 Extremely is probably within the works and may characteristic a sooner Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1+ SoC. At the moment, the 12 Professional is Xiaomi’s flagship cellphone, and after utilizing it for per week, I found that it is an especially good one. However is it higher than flagships from OnePlus and iQoo?
Xiaomi 12 Professional value in India
The Xiaomi 12 Professional is out there beginning at Rs. 62,999 in India for 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage. The second variant has 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and is priced at Rs. 66,999, and that is the variant I’ve for this assessment. The cellphone is out there in three finishes: Couture Blue, Noir Black, and Opera Mauve.
Xiaomi 12 Professional design
Xiaomi’s 12 Professional seems and feels very polished and premium. The steel body may be very slim on the left and proper sides of the cellphone, the place the back and front glass curve to satisfy it. The body and rear Corning Gorilla Glass 5 panel have matte finishes, making the machine fairly slippery. The digital camera module across the again is product of steel and appears trendy and glossy because of superb traces that separate the sensors. The ports and all cutouts within the steel body are polished to perfection, with no sharp edges or corners.
The Xiaomi 12 Professional has two audio system hidden beneath every grille.
Whereas the Xiaomi 12 Professional is a top-end smartphone, it lacks an official IP score for mud and water resistance. Xiaomi did affirm to Devices 360 that the cellphone has all the required seals in place to satisfy the equal of an IP53 score, however that is nonetheless inadequate at this value, for my part, since we anticipate nothing lower than an IP68 score. It is has develop into extra frequent for Android producers to skip acquiring an official IP certification of late, probably to avoid wasting a bit on value. Nonetheless, contemplating the truth that even many price range telephones such because the Redmi Note 11S (Review) have a minimum of an IP53 score, it is unusual to not have any such assurance with a flagship providing.
The cellphone’s 6.73-inch AMOLED show has Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus safety and can be good at resisting fingerprints. The quilt glass curves sharply on both aspect however the show itself has a a lot milder curve. There are speaker grilles on the highest and backside, and an infrared emitter on the highest.
Xiaomi 12 Professional specs and software program
The Xiaomi 12 Professional makes use of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC. The inner storage just isn’t expandable. The SIM tray can maintain two nano-SIMs and this cellphone helps dual-5G standby. Communication requirements embrace a number of 5G bands, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, and a number of satellite tv for pc navigation techniques.
The Xiaomi 12 Professional’s show provides a most refresh charge of 120Hz, and a 480Hz contact sampling charge. LTPO 2.0 know-how permits the refresh charge to drop as little as 1Hz with a view to save energy. It additionally has an embedded fingerprint reader. The WQHD+ decision (3200 x 1400 pixels) makes for a density of 522ppi.
The Xiaomi 12 Professional’s 6.72-inch AMOLED show is Dolby Imaginative and prescient and HDR10+ licensed
The cellphone has a 4,600mAh battery and comes with a 120W charger within the field. There’s additionally assist for 50W wi-fi charging and 10W reverse wi-fi charging.
The Xiaomi 12 Professional runs Xiaomi’s MIUI 13, which is predicated on Android 12. The software program has all of the Android 12 necessities together with the brand new widgets, a permissions supervisor, and a privateness dashboard (known as Privateness Safety). MIUI 13 nonetheless has the standard bloatware together with Xiaomi-branded apps and a few third-party ones. I additionally stored receiving annoying pop-up notifications prompting me to replace apps by way of the GetApps retailer.
The interface for the widget picker now seems totally different and takes up the entire display. Including a widget requires a long-press (or a pinch-out gesture) on the house display, after which you get three choices on the backside for the wallpaper, widgets, and residential display settings. Xiaomi’s implementation of resizing widgets is a bit annoying as you want to transfer each a bit (only a wiggle) to allow an edit mode, which is an additional step. Nonetheless, every little thing labored flawlessly as soon as arrange. Xiaomi, like different producers, has applied a theme engine which modifications the accent colors of the interface, widgets, and keyboard primarily based on the colors of your wallpaper.
Xiaomi 12 Professional efficiency
The Xiaomi 12 Professional carried out as anticipated in benchmark assessments. The cellphone scored 9,82,727 factors in AnTuTu, and 1,237 and three,654 factors in Geekbench’s single and multi-core assessments respectively, that are all on par with the competitors. Software program efficiency was additionally clean and fluid with every day utilization.
The Xiaomi 12 Professional’s MIUI 13 interface has few visible modifications in comparison with MIUI 12
The show will get fairly vivid outside and produces very correct colors when utilizing the ‘Unique color’ mode. There’s additionally an ‘Adaptive colors’ toggle within the Settings app that adjusts the show’s colors primarily based on ambient gentle. Content material seems sharp on the 12 Professional’s show, which can be Dolby Imaginative and prescient and HDR10+ licensed. Whereas supported content material on Netflix appeared superb, HDR movies streamed by way of Amazon Prime Video seemed a bit dim. Dolby Imaginative and prescient HDR assist just isn’t one thing we see on many Android telephones.
The in-display fingerprint reader is fast and dependable for unlocking the cellphone. Throughout my testing, the Xiaomi 12 Professional’s display refresh charge modified as anticipated primarily based on the totally different content material I seen. It usually stayed locked at 60Hz when taking part in video games, 120Hz when scrolling by way of feeds in apps or the interface, and 10Hz once I was not interacting with something. I anticipated the refresh charge to drop to 1Hz when utilizing the Kindle app, however that didn’t occur.
My gaming expertise on the Xiaomi 12 Professional was fairly good. The cellphone received sizzling whereas taking part in video games for lengthy intervals, however efficiency didn’t dip. I performed Name of Obligation: Cell, which ran easily on the highest potential settings. Asphalt 9: Legends felt virtually console-like, working at 60fps by default, however the cellphone did get sizzling after some time. The contact sampling charge was additionally spot on after tweaking it within the cellphone’s Sport House app.
Xiaomi has carried out a superb job of delivering immersive sound with the brand new quad-speaker setup of the 12 Professional. The audio system have been tuned by Harman Kardon and also you get a tweeter and a woofer on every finish of the cellphone. The audio high quality was fairly spectacular, because the 4 audio system delivered balanced sound with emphasis on the bass and mid-range. The cellphone additionally provides a number of Dolby Atmos audio presets and an equaliser to tweak the sound to your liking.
The Xiaomi 12 Professional has a 4,600mAh battery and helps wi-fi charging
Whereas the audio system are nice, I discovered the position of the speaker grille on high of the cellphone fairly odd. It is within the bottom-left nook of the body which is an issue when taking part in video games as I virtually all the time lined it when holding the cellphone horizontally. The underside grille is within the diagonally reverse nook so regardless of which manner you maintain the cellphone horizontally, you are sure to dam one in all them. I skilled one of the best sound output when holding the cellphone vertically, or if it was resting on a cellphone stand.
The battery lifetime of the Xiaomi 12 Professional was fairly good, regardless that it did not carry out too nicely in our HD video loop take a look at, lasting simply 12 hours and 18 minutes. The cellphone simply ran for for a day and a half with my common use, which included an hour of gaming plus some digital camera utilization and video streaming. The 120W charger managed to completely cost the 12 Professional in simply 27 minutes, when utilizing enhance mode. The cellphone does get heat when charging on this mode, and likewise exhibits a notification on the display to warn you that this may occur and that it is regular.
Xiaomi 12 Professional cameras
The Xiaomi 12 Professional has three rear-facing cameras and all of them have 50-megapixel resolutions, which in response to Xiaomi, ought to ship constant picture high quality. The first digital camera has OIS, the ultra-wide-angle digital camera has a 115-degree area of view, and the telephoto digital camera delivers 2X optical zoom (48mm). Selfies are dealt with by a front-facing 32-megapixel digital camera. The first digital camera of the 12 Professional is the primary to make use of Sony’s new 1/1.28-inch IMX707 sensor which has 1.22μm pixels. This in idea, ought to assist deliver out extra element in all types of lighting situations. It is noticeably bigger than the Sony IMX766 (1/1.56-inch) sensor, which we have seen in loads of 2022 Android flagships.
The Xiaomi 12 Professional is the primary cellphone in India to characteristic Sony’s IMX707 sensor
The digital camera app must be acquainted to anybody who has used a current Xiaomi cellphone. The 12 Professional can report HDR video with its important and telephoto cameras at as much as 4K 30fps. HDR10+ movies then again can solely be recorded with the primary and selfie cameras. The 12 Professional can shoot as much as 8K 24fps movies with the primary digital camera.
The Xiaomi 12 Professional has some helpful “Professional” options too. It may possibly report video with the display off to avoid wasting energy. There’s even a reside in-ear monitor characteristic that you should use to hearken to the sound being recorded. Professional Video mode helps you to shoot video in Log format (flat color profile) so it may be color graded in post-production. Focus peaking and publicity verification might be helpful for professionals.
Xiaomi 12 Professional daylight digital camera samples. Prime to backside: Extremely-wide-angle digital camera, main digital camera, telephoto digital camera (Faucet to see full dimension)
Photographs captured in daylight utilizing the first digital camera had loads of element and good dynamic vary. The telephoto digital camera additionally managed detailed close-ups of most topics, and images seemed sharp and loaded with element when utilizing Auto or Portrait modes. Edge detection within the Portrait mode was excellent too. In case you get the position of your topic proper, the big sensor of the first digital camera produces a comfortable, pure background blur just like what you will get with a DSLR. One factor that would have been higher was pores and skin tones, which tended to look unnaturally heat, making me seem reddish.
The ultra-wide digital camera was good for taking pictures landscapes and managed comparatively good element, though not so good as the first digital camera. Software program correction for barrel distortion did a superb job of holding the angle of the scene intact, however objects nonetheless seemed a bit stretched in the direction of the perimeters. Regardless of Xiaomi’s finest efforts to ship constant picture high quality, it is easy to inform the distinction between photographs taken with the primary and ultra-wide cameras.
In contrast to the iQoo 9 Pro (Review), the Xiaomi 12 Professional doesn’t have autofocus on its ultra-wide-angle digital camera, which suggests it doesn’t additionally operate as a macro digital camera. I did handle some good excessive close-ups utilizing the first and telephoto cameras, which had been an honest substitute for a macro digital camera or a devoted macro mode.
Xiaomi 12 Professional low-light digital camera samples. Prime to backside: Telephoto digital camera, Auto mode, Evening mode (Faucet to see full dimension)
The Auto mode in low gentle tends to take barely longer exposures, identical to on the Xiaomi 11T Pro (Review). Ignoring the on-screen notification to make use of Evening mode will lead to fundamental picture high quality (minus the ready) and whereas the first digital camera nonetheless managed good images, the ultra-wide and telephoto ones solely delivered okay outcomes. Evening mode helped reduce down on noise and delivered clearer photographs.
The first digital camera did a superb job with not simply colors but additionally element and dynamic vary in low gentle. Evening mode wasn’t very helpful with the ultra-wide-angle digital camera since apart from a discount in noise, particulars had been nonetheless barely weak. The telephoto digital camera had bother locking focus in low gentle. Whether or not I used to be merely zooming in to a panorama or specializing in individuals and objects, images (with or with out Evening mode) had been fairly blurry and comfortable.
The selfie digital camera did a superb job in daylight however tended to blow out backgrounds in Portrait mode when utilized in vivid environments. In low gentle, picture high quality was common at finest.
Switching to video, the standard was spectacular in any respect resolutions. Stabilisation was good and the Xiaomi 12 Professional did a superb job with autofocus and publicity when panning. Nonetheless, I did discover a light yellowish tone in all movies, and pictures shot in daylight was a bit overexposed. Utilizing HDR did assist right the publicity of brighter areas whereas darkening shadows in a scene, however the output wasn’t very life like.
HDR10+ movies seemed rather a lot higher. Colors seemed richer and dynamic vary was higher when seen on the 12 Professional’s show. Nonetheless, needless to say such movies will not look pretty much as good if you happen to watch them on a non-HDR10+ succesful show or share them through an app that is unable to course of such movies. Movement monitoring, eye monitoring and movement seize focus labored as anticipated. The 12 Professional received fairly sizzling whereas taking pictures video outside, however the digital camera app by no means prevented me from recording as a consequence of this. In low gentle, the cellphone managed to seize good high quality movies which had been low on noise and had good dynamic vary.
Verdict
After the entire Mi 11 Ultra (Review) availability fiasco, it is good to see the 12 Professional on open sale proper after its launch. Xiaomi’s give attention to efficiency and high quality as a substitute of numbers with the 12 Professional has actually paid off. This cellphone nonetheless falls a bit brief on the subject of consistency with the rear cameras, however I am hoping these minor points might be ironed out with software program updates. Regardless, the general picture and video high quality that you simply get with these cameras is sort of good which makes the Xiaomi 12 Professional a strong contender within the premium smartphone house. It additionally occurs to supply nice worth with a beginning value of Rs. 62,999. The one characteristic that is lacking is an official IP score.
Those that do not like a closely skinned Android OS can all the time have a look at Motorola’s Moto Edge 30 Pro (Review), which is priced decrease (at Rs. 49,999). The iQoo 9 Pro (Review) is an effective various because it has a novel design and an excellent gimbal digital camera system for video recording plus a noteworthy macro mode. Then there’s the OnePlus 10 Pro (Review), which is priced greater however provides succesful cameras and a bigger battery however slower wired charging. In case you do not want wi-fi charging, you must take a look at Realme’s GT 2 Pro (Review). Priced from Rs. 49,999, it packs related core {hardware} because the Xiaomi 12 Professional together with a novel design and an attention-grabbing micro-lens digital camera.
