Last year,Xiaomi managed to grab the second spotin the global smartphone market by pushing Apple to third.
A seriously impressive feat, even though it was just for one quarter.
But it hasnt earned its stripes in the flagship gadget arena.
Ive been using it for the last few weeks, and it was really fun.
The 12 Pro had me playing games and watching videos for hours a day because of its top-notch screen.
Plus, it comes with a stupid fast charger.
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And thats all I have to say about the structure.
The screen is definitely the star of the show.
Scrolling timelines or performing actions in games feels magical.
The phone supports HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, so supported videos have punchy color and details.
Plus, it has quad speakers tuned by Harman Kardon that actually sound good.
Its nice to have balanced and loud speaker audio that I can occasionally enjoy with videos.
However, dont expect the detailed and nuanced sound of a recent iPhone.
So no complaints about real-world performance.
On paper, the Xiaomi 12 Pros camera is enviable with triple 50-megapixel lenses.
The main sensor takes detailed photos in daylight with impressive dynamic range.
The machine offers only 2x optical zoom, but because of the 50-megapixel sensor, pictures are richly detailed.
The digital zoom feels useless beyond 5x, because of high noise in the photos.
The ultrawide sensor is pretty good, but it doesnt have autofocus, so thats a bummer.
When it comes to low-light photos, the phone automatically switches to night mode.
Thankfully, the cameras algorithm doesnt venture to artificially brighten snaps in this mode by boosting exposure.
I was able to get the phone juiced up from 3% to 72% in just five minutes.
So whats the catch?
With these features and specifications, Xiaomi seems to have nailed down the formula for a great flagship.
But I still have a few gripes with the 12 Pro.
The biggest concern for me is the battery life.
By default, the display is set at 1080p.
If I turn on the WQHD+ mode, the battery drains faster, and I cant afford that.
It confirms my observation of below-par battery life.
The problem is the size of the charger, its monstrous, and weighs 200 grams.
For comparison, the iPhone 13 Pro weighs 204 grams, and its the size of a cigarette box.
But I simply cant get behind the iPhone-like split Control Center.
Ive ended up opening the control center a lot of times when I actually wanted to look at notifications.
Whos it for?
If youre not Samsung, you would be launching your flagship product in different regions at different times.
So it all boils down to availability and marketing.
The game is on.
That’s one heck of a mixed bag.
He likes to say “Bleh.
That’s one heck of a mixed bag.
He likes to say “Bleh.”
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