Xiaomi 12 Pro long-term review

Conclusion

The Xiaomi 12 Pro is a very good phone that doesn't really excel at anything, aside from how fast it charges. There are some other devices out there that go from zero to hero similarly fast, but none that overtake the 12 Pro in any significant manner, and this is something to praise. The peace of mind that comes from knowing that a 'quick top-up' for this phone is going to be equivalent to a multi-hour charge for an iPhone is really quite something.

We don't mean to say that the Xiaomi 12 Pro is a one-trick pony, however. It's perfectly competent in other ways too - the screen is great, performance is top notch, smoothness is the second best we've ever experienced in a long-term review, the cameras are good (the main camera actually great), and battery life is very good too. But none of these things are best in class, and therein lies the problem.

There's nothing (aside from the aforementioned charging speed) to make this device stand out in a sea of almost identical looking, and almost identically-specced high-end phones from many different brands. Sure, you could argue that its camera island is among the nicest looking ones ever - and we'd agree, but how much time does one actually spend looking at that part of the phone, throughout daily use? Exactly.

The software is a known quantity at this point, with MIUI looking pretty much exactly the same for a few versions now, and that may be an advantage for some, as there's not much of a learning curve if you're coming from a previous iteration of the skin - but it could also be construed as a disadvantage in thinking that Xiaomi's software is in need of a new coat of paint, and perhaps badly so.

It would also be in need of better quality control, as we've encountered a pretty unacceptable amount of bugs for a high-end smartphone like this during our time with it. Updates should also come more often, bringing with them monthly security updates and fixing the obvious, glaring bugs as soon as possible.

The problem with the Xiaomi 12 Pro is that it's having a bit of an identity crisis. It can't possibly be the best Xiaomi device out there, because that space is reserved for the 12S Ultra. But that means things have to be intentionally made not-as-good for the Pro, otherwise the 12S Ultra has no additional selling points. In the end what we inevitably get is a 12S Ultra with a lot of selling points, and a 12 Pro with not that many.

And that's a shame, because this phone is actually among the best we've ever reviewed long-term, even with its so-so speakers and slow fingerprint sensor, it's just cursed by not being amazing at anything really, which means it's quite hard to recommend - not because of huge faults, but because of not standing out enough, if that makes sense.

Thankfully its price seems to have come down significantly since launch, around 25%, at least in Europe, which means that it's a much more interesting value proposition nowadays than it initially was. And that may just be its redeeming unique sales proposition, in lieu of others - it's a very good package for the money.

But by no means perfect, and if you are thinking of getting one, make sure you pay attention to all of the things that aren't great about it, which we've described in detail in this review. For, as with any other phone, if you can live with the downsides while appreciating the upsides, you'll be very happy with it.