Xiaomi 12S Ultra

Released July 2022

Ultra-Premium (>$800)
Xiaomi 12S Ultra

Summary


Pros

  • Excellent overall image quality in most use cases
  • Particularly good performance on color as well as exposure and level of details
  • Strong photo performance at night, with a very wide dynamic range, making it ideal for night cityscapes
  • Excellent ultra-wide and zoom performance at all distances, particularly long range, thanks to its dedicated tele lens
  • Overall good selfie video capabilities
  • High-level video quality: extended dynamic range, natural texture rendering and good exposure
  • Versatile camera, offering 2 different image signatures for each user to choose from, rendering similar image quality
  • Good playback especially when listening to music
  • Good recording capabilities overall
  • Smooth display interactions
  • Fast response time when playing video games

Cons

  • Not capturing the moment in low-light conditions and high contrasted scenes when compared with other ultra-premium flagship devices
  • Lack of image consistency, resulting in disparities among images, even sometimes between consecutive shots
  • What is previewed is not exactly what is captured: the preview does not match the final image
  • Rather low performance on color and contrast for selfie pictures
  • Inconsistent audio performance, particularly when gaming
  • Underperforming audio zoom
  • Low screen brightness when watching HDR10 video content

Scores


136
camera
2022
Overall Camera Score i
136
45
Samsung Galaxy A05s
BEST 158
Top score
Honor Magic6 Pro

Sub-scores

Photo i
137
50
Xiaomi Redmi 12C
BEST 160
Top score
Honor Magic6 Pro
Bokeh i
65
20
Xiaomi Redmi 12C
BEST 85
Top score
Honor Magic6 Pro
Preview i
63
34
Fairphone 4
BEST 91
Zoom i
136
15
Oppo A77 5G
BEST 160
Top score
Honor Magic6 Pro
Video i
129
31
Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
BEST 158

Use Cases

BEST 149

Friends & Family

Portrait and group photos and videos

BEST 135

Lowlight

Photos and videos in lowlight conditions

125
display
2022
Overall Display Score i
125
52
Realme C21
BEST 157
Top score
Honor Magic6 Pro

Sub-scores

Readability i
125
40
Realme C21
BEST 163
Color i
141
49
Xiaomi Black Shark 3 Pro
BEST 164
Video i
112
40
Realme C21
BEST 162
Motion i
127
54
Realme C21
BEST 159
Top score
Honor Magic6 Pro
Touch i
118
40
Realme C21
BEST 170
Artifacts i
122
40
Crosscall Action-X5
BEST 163
Top score
OnePlus Open
129
audio
2022
Overall Audio Score i
129
86
Vivo X60 Pro 5G (Snapdragon)
BEST 161

Sub-scores & Use Cases

Playback i
124
74
Nokia 7.2
BEST 163

Use Cases

BEST 172

Listening to music

Through the smartphone's integrated speakers

BEST 161

Watching videos

Through the smartphone's integrated speakers

BEST 156

Gaming

Through the smartphone's integrated speakers

Recording i
140
88
Fairphone 4
BEST 160
Top score
Honor Magic6 Pro

Use Cases

BEST 169

Friends & Family videos

With the smartphone's main camera

BEST 164

Selfie videos

With the smartphone's selfie camera

BEST 158

Concert videos

With the smartphone's main camera

114
selfie
2022
Overall Selfie Score i
114
25
Intex Aqua Selfie
BEST 151
Top score
Honor Magic6 Pro

Sub-scores

Photo i
103
18
ZTE Axon 20 5G
BEST 149
Top score
Honor Magic6 Pro
Video i
132
38
Intex Aqua Selfie
BEST 156

Specifications


163.17 x 74.97 x 9.06mm

Dimensions

5G
Dual SIM

Network

Water resistant
IP68

Protection

Wireless

Charging

256/512 GB

Storage

Wide, Tele, Ultra-Wide

Main camera
Show more specifications

Previous models