Xiaomi 12S Ultra review

15 July 2022


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Personally, I prefer vivos X80 Pro over this. Better software and I love how the Zeiss modes make the photos and videos stand out. Not to mention, it has fewer problems with lens flares.

But I wonder, why did they make it a China exclusive model? Maybe the 11 Ultra didn't sell well?

    • M
    • Markiyan
    • atw
    • 17 Jul 2022

    What about PWM ?!! You anything have write about display flickering frequency !!??

      TheAlienNextDoor, 16 Jul 2022Stating that this phone has minimal bezels and no chin alon... moreWhen you make 8 statements in a single comment and only the first one holds true, it definitely questions your ability to make a fair assessment of any matter. Most of what you just said doesn't make any sense too - "optical camera is pure trash" "Colours and clarity are garbage" "still worse than on other flagship phones" - like, on what basis?

      All hyperbole, no actual substance. I wish my iPhone 13 Pro had cameras that are remotely comparable to the great ones on Xiaomi lol.

        Anonymous, 16 Jul 2022Phones already replace entry level cameras because they are... more"Xiaomi this time did not even bother to compared against RX100 again because it would lose"

        When comparing RX100 VII and 12S Ultra as fairly as possible (24mm equivalent wide end vs 1x main camera), RX100 would most likely lose in almost every single low light scenario because of how much further it would have to crank up the ISO to match the exposure against 12S Ultra.
        Having more pixels would definitely help RX100 resolve more details in well-lit scenes, but as the light level falls, the noise would overrun the image and diminish any resolution advantage it has over 12S Ultra, which would be consistently less noisy thanks to a larger aperture lens and individual pixel size.

          Stophen88, 16 Jul 2022I have to say the lens flare on this 12S Ultra at night are... moreLens flare seems to be well controlled, although Vivo flagships handle it slightly better.
          Saying that this is just as bad as iPhone, however, is simply a huge exaggeration.

            [deleted post]Cool story bro.

              Anonymous, 16 Jul 2022The only different is lack of default HDR. All other use a... moreXperia also uses auto HDR to trigger HDR stacking whenever the camera app recognises it to be necessary, which is similar to what essentially all smartphone manufacturers apart from Apple and Google do (= Always on HDR).

                Gautam Sohoni, 17 Jul 2022Would like to see a photo comparison with Sony Xperia Pro I... moreThe actual sensor area used to take a photo on Pro-I is roughly equivalent to 1/1.33 inch image format - 12S Ultra's 1-inch sensor is larger than this by a whooping 83%.

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • p7Y
                  • 17 Jul 2022

                  Not released outside of china. No support for many European 4G bands. Why review these phones?

                    The first pic showing 3 ultras is mixed up. Photo is 10, 12, 11. Caption is 10, 11, 12 Ultra

                      Would like to see a photo comparison with Sony Xperia Pro I. I believe it too has a big sensor and an excellent alternative to the DSLR.

                        The battery life is not impressive. Those are worse numbers than my s20 FE and my galaxy is disappointing in that department.
                        I want to fully enjoy my smartphone without caring about a second charge or carrying with a external battery.
                        Now, the new camera sensor seems to be a lot bigger than a galaxy s22 ultra (and reasonably bigger than a mi 11 ultra) what means a LOT more data to work with. But it seems that pictures are only getting better because the sensor is better. Like, the pictures are good because are being forced to be good.
                        Brands need to step up their post processing game.
                        The sensor is amazing, why still looks like a smartphone photo?
                        Can we have a new mode/profile in camera app (even if deep hidden) to have more natural photos without going to RAW images? Leica just said "hey, vibrant mode" but with that sensor I think Leica and Xiaomi can do A LOT better.

                          skimminstones, 16 Jul 2022im so bored of the camera shootout in phones. They ALL take... moreTrue

                            • K
                            • Krillo
                            • mrr
                            • 16 Jul 2022

                            skimminstones, 16 Jul 2022im so bored of the camera shootout in phones. They ALL take... moreFor example way better battery life? It's the most important thing, that does not seem to improve a lot, outside of a very few phones.

                              Looking at Xiaomi Ultras together, someone from 2018 would have thought merely by design that 12s Ultra was the first introduced Ultra. Then came the Mi 11 Ultra. And finally Mi 10 Ultra with the most flamboyant design.

                                Batterylife. No go for me. Maybe put slower processor in it. With better batterylife. Then I will consider.

                                  im so bored of the camera shootout in phones. They ALL take good photos, some may be better than others but all of them are good. Give me something else that warrants giving you my money!

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • 39y
                                    • 16 Jul 2022

                                    [deleted post]Not when the Sony phones now cost 1,300 and have worse quality with photo and video quality Vs other flagships (the mi 11 ultra still better than any Sony phone for camera and this is on par/better than that).

                                    Plus Sony's are ugly phones (my opinion, not fact) and don't really offer anything other than making their own cameras. USA they are a good choice though.

                                    Also why do you need 4k 120fps (you'd want 4k 24/30fps realistically for quality/cinematic), I mean this can do 720p at like 3800 FPS or whatever, Sony can't. Don't think Sony can record in true 10 bit dolby vision at 4k 60fps either plus haven't got the new 8+ 1 SoC.

                                      What's the point of a "smartphone" if I have to manually tweak settings to get a good photo? If I wanted a camera, I would've just gotten one.

                                        • T
                                        • TECH--BEAST
                                        • XG4
                                        • 16 Jul 2022

                                        507AMS, 16 Jul 2022this is what GSMARENA says about failures/missteps of your ... moreAbout overheating, who's in their right mind believes their marketing gimmicks , they always cheapen out on the cooling, it's a known fact lol, if you want an amazing cooling with dependable cameras just go for realme besides their software skin is more stable unlike this "memeui" mess.