All about the Xiaomi 12T

Soon after Xiaomi launched their 12T series locally, I got my grubby paws on the 12T for review – here’s more about my two weeks with this new release.

The 12T is one of the newest smartphones on the market. It has a lot of features and is well priced… but with a huge range of smartphones to choose from at the moment, I thought I’d put together a list of things I enjoyed during my time with the 12T.

The Xiaomi 12T comes in black and blue with 8GB RAM and 256GB ROM. I received the black one, and without the included cover on, the phone really is a beaut. The cover however does save you from a lot of mishaps…

Behind the scenes

There is no denying that the Xiaomi 12T is a big smartphone. It includes a massive 5,000mAh battery, a 6.67-inch AMOLED screen, and a 108MP OIS camera.

The MediaTek Dimensity 8100-Ultra chipset powers the Xiaomi 12T. It’s the ideal blend of performance and efficiency with increased CPU and GPU performance and improved power efficiency.

Look and feel

The Xiaomi 12T has a familiar design with both curved matte glass on the back and flat Gorilla Glass 5 on the front. There is an element of plastic but the matte finish, especially on the black, gives this phone a little summin’ summin’.

The Xiaomi 12T’s slightly raised camera bump houses a 108MP primary camera,  8MP ultrawide, 2MP macro, and the LED flash.

One of the speakers, the IR blaster, and one of the microphones are located on the top of the 12T, while the SIM tray, secondary speaker, USB-C connector, and primary microphone are all located at the bottom of the phone.

On the right side of the 12T are the power/lock and volume keys, while there are no design features or buttons on the left at all.

Camera

The Auto Night Mode produces great low-light photographs that are well exposed and have the recognisable brighter-than-reality appearance.

Even though some fine detail was lost in night-time images, they are still good!

With its primary camera, the Xiaomi 12T supports 4K video and 1080p video with its ultrawide and selfie cameras.

The main camera’s 4K videos are good, of course.

The primary camera records 1080p@30fps Night Mode video. It has impressive colour saturation and a bright appearance.

Display

The 12T has what Xiaomi is calling CrystalRes AMOLED, a 120Hz CrystalRes AMOLED in fact. This allows for a better motion experience and smooth transitions. The clarity, colour and accuracy standout on this phone.

Additionally, this display has AdaptiveSync that automatically adjusts refresh rates in response to the content you’re consuming at the time. Adaptive True Display also guarantees vivid colours and great contrast.

Battery and charging

With the unpredictability of loadshedding for us here in South Africa, it’s important to have a phone that will charge during a small window of opportunity and won’t let you down.

The 12T comes with a charging brick and a cable, so as soon as you open the box, you’re good to go!

The 12T offers Boost Charge mode, which enables the quickest charging possible, the screen has to be off though. This will prevent overheating. This function is disabled, but look for it on the phone’s Battery options.

According to the Xiaomi team the 12T’s 5000mAh battery’s 120W HyperCharge capability will give you 13.5hours of screen time after just 19 minutes of charging. On a quick trip to Cape Town and back, I was impressed with how well the 12T held up.

Price

The recommended retail price of the 12T is R13 999.

Additional features

The Xiaomi 12T series has an under-display (UD) fingerprint scanner. Let me just say the UD sensor is dependable, quick, and precise and there was no fidgeting with the phone.

Verdict

The Xiaomi 12T has a powerful chipset, a large battery, impressive camera skills and an affordable price tag, I really don’t think you could go wrong at all with this purchase!