Review cover Xiaomi 12T (Hardware)
Official GBAtemp Review

Product Information:

The Xiaomi 12T is the company's first 6.67-inch CrystalRes AMOLED display mobile phone, both their most colourful and smartest display ever and the ultra-crystal-clear display with dual stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos are all there to put you truly in the moment with your shots. Weighing 202g and just 75.90mm wide, the Xiaomi 12T harnesses advanced technology to provide a smooth, even, lightweight grip. Pleasurable to hold, it makes every interaction a delight. Along with an impressive 108-megapixel camera and a competitive price could the 12T be a flagship killer?

Contents & Specs

The model under review today is the £549 8GB ram 256GB Rom Black model, it comes with the following items in the box:

  • Xiaomi 12T handset
  • 120W Fast Charger
  • USB-C cable
  • Sim Tray Ejector
  • Protective Case
  • Screen Protector (preinstalled)
  • Various paperwork and information booklets

Review imageReview imageReview imageReview imageReview image

The 12T's peripherals, chunky power brick and the box DHL kindly dented for me in transit!

Hardware and Design

The Xiaomi 12T boasts a simple safe design with nothing absurd or flashy to make it stand out from the pack. It is a standard glass front and back design with a small hole punch front camera and a fairly large camera bump on the back which does not protrude too much. Like many all-glass phones, I found it super slippery to hold and also slightly sharp on the sides. However, this is all remedied with the included plastic case, I definitely would not trust myself using the phone day to day without it. Despite being all glass design the 12T does not support wireless charging which is a shame. The glass back, however, is non-glossy which helps hide fingerprints if you do decide to carry the phone around unprotected which is a bonus. The phone also has a couple of non-standard hardware components that are nice to see, an IR blaster and real dual stereo speakers that output quite decent sound. Excluded is the headphone jack which is practically extinct these days and no SD card expansion which is a real shame. 

Despite the phone's 6.67-inch size, I found it quite light at 202 grams, especially considering it boasts a larger than usual 5000mAH battery. Being a larger guy with big hands I found it comfortable to use one-handed, however, some might find it harder to manage that way. Luckily the phone supports a one-handed mode, so even people with more dainty hands can walk and text without getting thumb pain.

The screen on the 12T is superb and huge, at 6.67" it boasts a 20:9 aspect ratio with a 2712x1220 resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. Xiaomi has dubbed the 12T's AMOLED screen CrystalRes and it supports 68 billion colours with HDR10+. The screen refresh rate is adaptive at 30Hz/60Hz/90Hz/120Hz. to conserve power when using less dynamic applications. The screen is constructed from Gorilla Glass 5 so should be quite durable. Thankfully also the screen is flat and not curved, I have noticed a trend this year of many phones having curved screens which flow over the edges which I have always disliked. 

Review imageReview imageReview image

The 12T design is standard with nothing flashy to make it stand out from the crowd.

Chipset wise the 12T uses a Dimensity 8100-Ultra. An octa-core CPU that clocks up to 2.85GHz with a Mali-G610 MC6 GPU. It also has 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM with fast UFS 3.1 storage. I will go into general and gaming performance later but the chipset delivered a solid performance throughout my testing. With no obvious concerns and snappy performance, I had no concerns in that regard. 

On the biometrics side of things the 12T has both an in-screen fingerprint scanner and supports face unlock through its 20MP front camera. Both of these work really well, I do not recall any issues with the fingerprint reader throughout the entire period of my testing. It was always dead-on accurate and snappy to unlock the device regardless of any awkward angles I scanned my thumb with. The front camera was also decent even in low light for face unlock, even though the phone only relies on the camera and no other sensors for unlocking.

One of the 12T's flagship features is its super fast charging which is obviously a part of the hardware that can not be ignored. The device comes with a hefty 120-watt charging brick which promises a 0% to 100% charge in 19 minutes. The charging speeds lives up to this promise and almost feels unreal as you watch the percentage of the battery charge shoot up. The unit does get quite warm during this process but not in a way that worried me. Coupled with the phone's already decent battery life the super-fast charging means that I never had any battery life anxiety. I would happily leave it off charge at night on 30% or so, wake up in the morning and pop in back on a charge while I got ready and was always out of the door with 100%.  So if you are the type of person who tends to forget to charge your device overnight the Xiaomi 12T is a device worth considering. 

Software and Performance

The 12T ships with Android 12 one version behind the latest Android 13 and Miui version 13. Xiaomi has stated on its product page that you will get three years of OS updates on the phone so hopefully, Android 13, 14 and 15 should make an appearance at some point however these things can not be taken as a certainty. Some bloatware does come with the stock version of the phone but are mostly apps that many people would use anyway. Facebook, Amazon shopping, Spotify, TikTok and a few games. Luckily all of these can be uninstalled if you have no use for them. However the same can not be said for Xiaomi's Miui apps some of which are unremovable. However, this accounts for just a handful of apps and personally, I did not find it to be that big of a deal but regardless be warned.

Miui has a lot of features and customisation that I like but it might take a bit of getting used to if you are more familiar with a stock experience. My daily driver is an Oppo Reno that uses ColorOS which is very similar to Miui so I felt quite at home with it. Being an Android device you can always swap Miui for something else if you would prefer a different experience so I will not dwell too much on its Pros and Cons. But suffice it to say personally I would probably keep the phone as is as I found Miui snappy and intuitive to use and I never had any stability issues or anything like that to raise any eyebrows or concerns. Also unlike some other more budget Chinese phones, you do not get any intrusive adverts and pop-ups that interfere with your day to day use of the phone. 

Review imageReview imageReview image

Miui offers both some bloatware and some really great, easy-to-access features within it.

One of the features of Miui I was not expecting to find and was most impressed with was the very powerful AI-powered photo editor included in the software. I was actually blown away by how much you can do with it. Not only do you have the ability to edit photos in the traditional way, applying filters, cropping, correcting exposure and lighting and so on. It includes AI powered tools that help you remove people and objects from your pictures, adjust the skyline and make other photoshop like changes. I lost a lot of time tinkering with this feature, and although it is not always perfect, it is fast and pretty accurate. 

Review imageReview image

Some before and after shots of the 12T's powerful AI picture modification tools.

Review imageReview image

The actual day-to-day performance of the device is really solid and snappy Miui aside. I never noticed any type of lag or stability issues switching between apps. The more intensive android 12 features like floating screens, split screen mode and so on worked great too. You can flip between apps seamlessly and practically instantly, I was very impressed with just how well everything ran. It definitely hangs with top end flagships in terms of performance and I must say I have become a fan of what Miui offers in terms of features and quality of life touches. 

So I am very impressed with the software the device comes with. And I must admit I am a fan of Miui and its features. Hopefully, Xiaomi keep the updates coming as promised and future Android updates do not bog down the great performance you get in day-to-day use. 

Gaming Performance 

With its Dimensity chipset and lovely big 120Hz screen, the 12T does a great job of gaming on the go. I tested various titles such as Call of Duty, Diablo Immortal, Mario Kart and Genshin Impact and all of them performed beyond my expectations. I ran all titles on medium to high settings and had a slick, consistent experience. Even Genshin Impact which is very demanding ran like a dream so overall I was very impressed. The great high refresh screen and punchy speakers really added to the experience, with bassy bullet sounds for COD and really well-defined clear music and ambient sounds for Genshin. 

Review imageReview image

Floating windows and Gameturbo on-the-fly adjustments are easy to access without interrupting gameplay.

Battery life was also really great throughout my gaming sessions, even with the screen on high brightness and the graphics settings adjusted to beyond recommended settings. Another positive that I noticed was the coolness of the device even after prolonged periods of play. On the product page for the 12T under the system specifications, there is a dedicated little section just for cooling, describing the system as "Liquid cooling system (Super big Vapor chamber+ Multilayer graphite sheets+Boron Nitride film)". I considered this to be a bit of a gimmicky addition at first glance and somewhat dismissed it, but as my testing went on I realized that it actually had something to it. So hats off to Xiaomi for their engineering on that as I consider it to be an underappreciated feature. 

Review imageReview image

The very impressive game within a game functions of the 12T left me jaw dropped when I first discovered it. Practical? No. Cool? Very!

As well as great performance in general the 12T comes with Miui's really handy Gameturbo side widget when you are in game. You get plenty of little quality-of-life features and other options to keep you in the gaming experience without needing to minimise your screen. It offers the option of boosting gaming performance at a touch of a button, as well as clearing your device's memory or freeing up storage. You can also do nifty things like setting a DND mode, recording your gaming session, casting your gameplay to a nearby device, adjusting brightness, having an onscreen timer and even changing your voice! As well as all of that you can even have a floating window of most of the apps on your phone. Want to have chrome, spotify or something else in the corner while you play? No problem! Want to have a floating window of Diablo Immortal in the corner of your screen that is fully playable while you play warzone? While both run at a really good framerate? Sure why not! I actually found this amazing the first time I tried it not thinking it would work, and it is a true testament at what a little powerhouse the 12T is in terms of gaming and I think the screenshots below say it all. 

Review imageReview imageReview imageReview image

Review imageReview imageReview imageReview image

More demanding games like Genshin and Mario Kart run very well, the great screen and sound really add to the experience!

The 12T is an all-round great gaming phone for those on the go. A lovely high refresh screen, clear punchy sound, solid performance and gamer-centric features like the Gameturbo overlay make it a joy to game on. And for those who really love to game for extended periods of time, the cool running and long battery life will keep you glued to the 12T for hours. 

Camera System

The 12T comes with four inbuilt cameras, three on the back and a front-facing camera. The rear camera system consists of a beefy 108MP main camera, an 8MP ultrawide and a 2MP macro camera. The front camera is a fairly decent 20MP in-display selfie camera that sits within a hole punch at the top of the screen. 

I will start off with the weakest of the four cameras, the 2MP macro camera. I do not have a whole lot to say about this camera, I found it nearly impossible to get decent shots with it. I found it to have a tendency to not focus properly with its f/2.2 aperture, when shots are in focus they are often washed out and low resolution with poor details. I found it easier just to take pictures with the main camera and crop, the colours were better plus there was more detail. I am often puzzled as to why mobile phone manufacturers feel the need to add such low-pixel macro lenses to their phones, I guess it adds to the camera count to stay competitive. Suffice to say after I used it for a few days I had no desire to ever use it again.

Review imageReview imageReview image

Some of the better results I got from the Macro system, still washed out and low detail.

Next up is the 8MP ultrawide, I always enjoy having an ultrawide camera on a phone and the one on the 12T is pretty good. Almost all of the shots I took came out nice, with decent detail and good colours. It is a big shame the ultrawide does not support a night mode, low light shots come out very dark with it, almost completely lacking in detail, I found this a big shame. But for taking shots in well lit areas and for landscapes I got some decent results.

Review imageReview imageReview imageReview image

The ultra-wide camera is decent and gave lots of great results.

The 20MP selfie camera on the 12T is excellent, pretty much the best camera on the phone for its purpose. Selfie shots are clear and have great detail. The portrait mode gives a nice bouquet effect and the pictures from that are great. Unlike a lot of Chinese phones beautify modes are not forced upon you but you do have the option to add some if that is what you want. You can smooth your face, enhance your chin, hairline, lips, eyes and slender your face. You also have the ability to adjust how much of the effect you want with a slider. 

Review imageReview imageReview image

The 12T's selfie camera produces great results for both photos and videos. 

Lastly, we have the main big and beefy 108MP main lens. I was really frustrated with this lens and had high hopes for it. I found the results from it incredibly inconsistent and for a lens of that size (1/1.67") a lot of the pictures were lacking in detail and if there is movement they were very blurred. I assume this is down to the processing that the camera uses but considering it uses a 9-in-1 pixel size I was expecting a lot. Do not get me wrong though, if you are only ever going to view your pictures on the phone and share them on social media you will be very satisfied with the results. But of you plan on viewing the photos on a larger screen you will probably be disappointed. My current daily driver, an Oppo Reno 10X which is 3 years old beat the 12T with its 48MP sensor every time and I would definitely keep it over the 12T any day. 

Review imageReview imageReview imageReview image

Review imageReview imageReview imageReview imageReview imageReview imageReview image

The beefy 108MP main sensor can give some great results, but even with the best pictures, I got you can see a lack of detail and blur when zoomed in.

Other disappointments with the camera system are weak night modes, lack of optical zoom and not-so-great video. The night mode in particular I found very poor, again compared to my three year old Oppo. Pictures seriously lacked detail, colour and the contrast between light and dark areas is too great, even in places with a decent amount of ambient light. the illuminated areas completely eclipse the darker areas. I was expecting a lot more considering Miui has so many great AI features built into it. The lack of zoom is also a disappointment, you can do a 2X crop from the large sensor but the quality really suffers, and any further digital zooming is a waste of time, you might as well take a regular photo and then just crop it. 

Review imageReview imageReview image

All night mode shots I found poor and disappointing. Trees are just a fuzzy blur and dark areas can still be very dark next to more well lit areas.

I both love and was frustrated by the 12Ts camera system at the same time. The 108MP lens has the potential to be great but inconsistent results were quite an annoyance and a disappointment. One picture on it can look amazing, packed with detail, another can be fuzzy and over-sharpened, seemingly for no real reason. But when it is good it is very good. The same goes for video on the device, some 4K video looks great with gimble-like stabilization that keeps everything in frame and steady. On other occasions, it can be lacking in detail and almost looks like an AI upscaled video with jagged detail and not so true to life colour. If you are into social media and consume all of your photos and videos on the device you will be more than happy, but transfer anything to a larger display and the flaws are evident. Despite this, for the price, a lot of people will be happy with the results. But be warned the inconsistencies may betray you when you are trying to capture that once-in-a-lifetime moment. Hopefully, these things will be refined with software updates, the 12T is brand new so there is room there to mature, but time will tell on that.

Conclusion

The 12T is a solid mid-range phone with a lot of surprises packed within it.  It is undoubtedly value for money and you get a lot of value for money. I was surprised with the performance I experienced throughout my use of it, really you could not ask for more from a mobile device and it has left me questioning how phones twice the price compare. I doubt you would get twice the performance or software features from a top-end Android flagship. I think the 12T is a perfect example of diminishing returns for a higher monetary expenditure. 

I am very impressed with the 120W battery charger included. Especially so at a time when thousand-pound phones are not even including a basic charger in their package. Not having any battery anxiety really grants you a sense of freedom. And having such a high-power charger means other USB-C devices you may have will benefit from it, which adds even more value to a very competitively priced package. 

Hardware design wise the phone is nothing exceptional and takes no risks. To me, that is another plus as I would rather have an understated device rather than something that is too flashy. That is an objective thing, however. I appreciate how Xiaomi focused on giving you the best hardware for functionality and enjoyment over any major gimmicks. A great-looking high-refresh screen. very respectable stereo Dolby Atmos speakers. And a fantastic cooling solution are features that count and improve your day-to-day enjoyment of the phone. 

The only real thing that disappointed me was the camera system's inconsistency. Especially for the main 108MP lens that I had such high hopes for. The lack of detail and fuzziness I experienced seemingly at random for certain shots left me scratching my head. But when it got a good shot with it, well wow, they were great. I wish the macro camera was completely excluded as I found 70% of my shots with it were not worth keeping, and those that looked ok were just average. The main high points for me were the wide angle and selfie camera. They were by far the most consistent performers and I was very happy with the results I got. My biggest disappointment however was the night mode. Night mode shots are something I always value and enjoy and the 12T's are borderline terrible. Lacking in detail and fuzzy and not particularly good at enhancing dark areas while toning down better-lit areas of a shot I honestly do not think I would use a single shot I took with the night mode. A real shame considering the great AI features the phone packs in with Miui.

The best application for the phone is as a media consumption monster though and it is really excellent at that. I have mentioned the great sound and screen many times in this review, but they are just that good. As well as media and social media the phone is great for productivity and social media. If you are someone who shoots out a lot of emails and text messages the phone will server you well, the screen is very responsive for typing on the go. And the support of split screen and floating windows lets you jump amongst apps seamlessly. 

So would I recommend the phone as a purchase? Absolutely, a few niggles here and there aside it's superb. Unless you are really a die-hard vanilla Android fan I think Miui will win you over with its plethora of features and customisations. And the bottom line is that you just can not argue with the price. Well done Xiaomi! Good job!

Verdict

What We Liked ...
  • Great battery life
  • Super fast charging
  • Great gaming performance
  • Good sound from the dual speaker system
  • Good value all round
  • Miui is packed full of cool features
What We Didn't Like ...
  • Redundant macro camera
  • The lack of SD expansion is a shame
  • average night mode
  • Some bloatware pre-installed
  • Camera performance can be a bit inconsistent
8.5
out of 10

Overall

So the 12T is a super solid mid-ranger that is somewhat let down by its camera system. However that negative is only really applicable if you are a serious photographer. If you are looking for a really great value device with a huge lovely screen and great sound for media, social media, productivity and gaming and great selfies the 12T is a strong recommendation from me. As a package, I think this device is really impressive and superb value. If you upgraded from a 5-year-old flagship or a newer mid-ranger to this I think you will be very happy with what you are getting.
108MP with blurry details?
Thought that doubling/tripling/quadrupling pixel density in cameras was a long gone practice.
Well, at least that's my guess as why 108MP would look blurry, that, or poor light sensitivity.

But what amazed me though, is that it has Dolby Atmos.
Seriously, just for Dolby Atmos I'd consider getting this in the future.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CoolMe and p1ngpong
I can't remember the last phone I had with an SD card expansion slot - a shame phones have lost so many features over time. I still miss physical buttons

Seems like a good phone for the price, although at $700 in the US it's not too much cheaper than other flagships
 
Regardless of what Mediatek says, I'm still on the fence a/b the performance of their Dimensity chip due always being used to a Snapdragon chip ever since I owned my very first Android smartphone. The lack of microSD card expansion makes it a pass for me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: x65943
Regardless of what Mediatek says, I'm still on the fence a/b the performance of their Dimensity chip due always being used to a Snapdragon chip ever since I owned my very first Android smartphone. The lack of microSD card expansion makes it a pass for me.
same feeling regarding google tensor and exynos
 
  • Like
Reactions: urbanman2004
I have the 11T with 120W charging also, and it's absolutely amazing! You plug it in for about 10 minutes, and you're more than good for the entire day. No more overnight charging necessary.
 
  • Like
Reactions: p1ngpong
I can't remember the last phone I had with an SD card expansion slot - a shame phones have lost so many features over time. I still miss physical buttons
Still miss the headphone port on the iPhones. It's also rather annoying that they're using their own proprietary connector for charging, as most Android phones are typically using USB-C.
 
108MP with blurry details?
Thought that doubling/tripling/quadrupling pixel density in cameras was a long gone practice.
Well, at least that's my guess as why 108MP would look blurry, that, or poor light sensitivity.

But what amazed me though, is that it has Dolby Atmos.
Seriously, just for Dolby Atmos I'd consider getting this in the future.
All the manufacturers combine those MP of the cameras.
So 3 cameras with 30 MP would be advertised as 90MP camera which is bullshit.

Still, Xiaomi has made me switch from iPhone to Android and frankly I like it a lot.
Plus its not Samsung trash so
 
This is relevant even today


Its the equivalent of hitting the game/sports mode on your tv

The day I got a free trial in my laptop... if I'm not mistaken it was a 3 day trial? :unsure: was around 2018.

I heard music nonstop with a Active 5.1 Surround speakers and I heard a big, big difference between plain laptop audio vs Dolby Atmos.
Also, my headphones must be very good, although old, I also heard a huge difference between plain headphones audio vs Dolby Atmos.

I'm not sure if I'm the only one whom has experienced Dolby Atmos in this way, that is, with my audio equipment, or if Dolby Atmos dropped quality to the point where people thinks It's a cheap gimmick.
I think I'd have to test it again, which is nearly impossible as the Dolby Atmos license is over $3000.00MXN (around 150+ USD)

Also, Dolby Atmos mustn't be equal in Phones vs Laptop. As the Reddit post says:
The quality of hardware (DAC + headphones/speakers) is what matters when it comes to the fidelity of the sound.
 
I must say, this latest Chinese Spy-phone looks impressive, but I'll never buy a Xiaomi phone now that we know they data collect.
 
  • Like
Reactions: p1ngpong
108MP with blurry details?
Thought that doubling/tripling/quadrupling pixel density in cameras was a long gone practice.
Well, at least that's my guess as why 108MP would look blurry, that, or poor light sensitivity.

But what amazed me though, is that it has Dolby Atmos.
Seriously, just for Dolby Atmos I'd consider getting this in the future.
Yeah well, they say that they combine 9 pixels into one to make something super sharp. In practice, this does not work well if you look at some of the pictures especially with the ducks there is a serious blur going on not just on the main subject but everything. Maybe this is something that will get refined going forward.
I can't remember the last phone I had with an SD card expansion slot - a shame phones have lost so many features over time. I still miss physical buttons

Seems like a good phone for the price, although at $700 in the US it's not too much cheaper than other flagships
Well it has an IR blaster but no SD? Sure a lot of the media I consume lives in the cloud and not on my device, but it would still be nice to have.
Regardless of what Mediatek says, I'm still on the fence a/b the performance of their Dimensity chip due always being used to a Snapdragon chip ever since I owned my very first Android smartphone. The lack of microSD card expansion makes it a pass for me.
Like I said I was really impressed with the performance in general. Time will tell if it holds that level of performance going forward but its the same with any phone.
It comes with freaking Facebook and TikTok installed? Why? So much for data security; ugh.
There are substantial privacy options and customisations in the device, but in practice who knows if they actually protect your data? Regarding the pre-installed apps at least they are generally ones that a lot of people use and that you can remove instead of irremovable proprietary junk.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JuanMena and x65943
Review cover
Product Information:

Reviews

  1. Xiaomi has just launched its latest smartphone line, the Xiaomi 14 series. In this series, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra is the top-of-the-line model, with a focus on photography and a dedicated Photography Kit to complement this focus. Let’s take a closer look!

  2. Obsidian’s Pentiment is part of a new wave of Xbox games coming to other platforms. Should you try to solve the 16th century murder mystery it presents?

  3. The second iteration of Supernote's compact e-ink notebook, we check out the A6X2 Nomad!

  4. Acting like an NPC has never been more intense

  5. The Aurvana Ace by Creative might look like your regular pair of wireless earbuds but it's the first to pack xMEMS’ solid-state silicon drivers. These are supposed to deliver richer, lifelike...

Site & Scene News

General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
    straferz @ straferz: Anybody know why this is happening to my ACWW town...