The Xiaomi 12T and 12T Pro released with high MP cameras, including a 200MP Samsung HP1 sensor!

Also with 8MP ultrawide and 2MP macro. Other than telephoto users, who would use that many pixels especially for social media purposes?

Samsung apparently still believes in the megapixel race even though other smartphone manufacturers already are convinced that megapixels aren’t everything. And hence they only keep that in some of their midrangers. Oh, by the way, Samsung isn’t the only one to create a 200MP sensor, Omnivision has presented theirs way before Samsung got an edge in the game.

Xiaomi has been on a roll in terms of camera hardware. They are also one of the first major smartphone companies to release a 1in. sensor that you still cannot buy (don’t worry, next year, you can). And now, aside from Motorola, Xiaomi is now joining the 200MP Samsung ISOCELL HP1 membership. Sure, it isn’t as big as the one on the 12 Ultra (and the T series is its own thing, set way apart from the S and the number series) but still is a significant sensor. Everything will feel so detailed that the cameras can now see right into your pores. Better take all the oil control now before getting this (or you can always use a filter for your cringey TikToks or Instagram pics).

We can talk all day about its cameras, but it still is a phone, so other things like the chipset and screen are also worthy of note.

The phone uses a 6.67in. FHD+ (2712x1220px) AMOLED screen with a 120Hz dynamic island refresh rate. You can set 120Hz as the default refresh rate, or let the phone do things and it will switch between 30, 60, 90, or 120Hz refresh rates, depending on what you’re doing with it. It has support for HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and 12-bit colour. This signifies that you’re not dealing with an ordinary AMOLED display, and that’s always one of the iconic flavours of the T series, its magnificent display. It holds the front camera in place, perfectly in the middle. Beneath it is the in-display fingerprint scanner.

Speaking of cameras, the front camera has a high 20MP resolution. Okay, that’s about it, now let’s go to the more interesting part of the camera department, that big boy 200MP Samsung HP1 sensor. Unlike the HM1 or 2, this one comes with OIS. The sensor size is 1/1.22″ with 0.64µm pixels that can be binned between 1.28µm (4-in-1 binning), or 2.56µm (16-in-1 binning). High MP sensors heavily rely on pixel binning to create a high-detailed image. This pixel-binning is beneficial for low light imagery as phone sensors cannot retract to retrieve light information. For the 4-in-1 binning, the sensor captures a 50MP image then copies it by four prior to post-processing. We have dedicated an entire article regarding megapixels so consider checking it out.

This sensor has OIS that can also take 8K videos as well as HDR10+ images. It definitely still has a long way to go to be comparable to an actual film camera or even drones (the 8K on some phones can look like an oversharpened mess) but it’s nice to see the development. It also has eye and motion tracking.

Oh yeah, there’s also the 8MP ultrawide and 2MP macro. Moving on, the chipset used is similar to the S series, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 paired with 8GB or 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and either 128 or 256GB UFS 3.1 internal storage. Because the chipset is not manufactured by Samsung (TSMC this time), the chipset has a perfect balance between optimization, performance, and power efficiency that can still compete well even after the 3nm SD8G2 arrives, if that’s what’s going to be called. Compared to its predecessor, the VC chamber is 65% larger this time

It has a 5000mAh battery paired with 120W fast charging. It also comes with a 120W power brick too so you’re getting all the charging potential. Xiaomi claims a 19-minute full charge from a dead battery which is very impressive indeed.

Like its predecessors, the 12T pro has kept the stereo speakers fine-tuned by Harman Kardon and also retained the Dolby Atmos surround sound certification. It still lacks a headphone jack and we don’t honestly see it coming back as much as we want to. On-board is NFC (depends on region), Wi-Fi 6/6E, 5G services, and a Dual Nano-SIM slot. No, it does not have a MicroSD card slot even though this is definitely one of those phones that crucially need it, especially if you’re taking all 200MP worth of information saved offline.

Availability globally is on October 13. We’ll let you know of Philippines availability. Colours include Black, Blue, and Silver.

SPECS:

• 6.67in. FHD+ (2712x1220px) AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, 12-bit colour, Dolby Vision, 900nits peak brightness
  • Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 (4nm)
  • VC Chamber
• CAMERAS:
  • 200MP (main), f/1.7, 1/1.22″ 4-in-1 or 16-in-1 Pixel Binning, Samsung ISOCELL HP1, OIS, 8K Video, HDR10+
  • 8MP (ultrawide), f/2.2, 120°, 1/4″
  • 2MP (macro), f/2.4
  • FRONT: 20MP, f/2.24
• MIUI 13 based on Android 12
• 5000mAh, 120W fast charging, (included 120W charger)
  • 0-100% in 19 minutes (advertised)
• USB-C, In-display fingerprint sensor, Harman-Kardon Stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos, no 3.5mm jack
• 5G services, Wi-Fi 6/6E, Bluetooth 5.2, Dolby Atmos, Qualcomm aptX, NFC, Dual Nano-SIM slot
• Black, Blue, Silver
• PRICE:
  • 8/128: TBA
  • 8/256: TBA
  • 12/256: TBA

XIAOMI 12T

While not as amusing as the Pro, the 12T is still a solid device. It is a slightly toned-down variant, with some additional worthwhile features removed. It uses a Samsung ISOCELL HM6 sensor with 108MP resolution (f/1.7, 1/1.67″, 0.64µm, 9-in-1 pixel binning, 1.92µm effective pixel size, OIS). The other two? Well they’re the forgettable ones. I’m talking about the painfully obvious gimmicks 8MP ultrawide and 2MP macro. The front camera is still in the middle of the display and still is the same 20MP shooter. The display is the same although there’s no word of Dolby Vision support.

Everything about the Pro was kept intact aside from the camera, chipset, and the lack of Harman Kardon fine-tuning. Yes, it still has stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos thankfully. The chipset used here is the customizable MediaTek Dimensity 8100-Ultra paired with 8GB RAM and either 128 or 256GB UFS 3.1 storage. No 12GB RAM option here but there’s still that Virtual RAM thing everyone is so hyped about.

Despite the slightly weaker chipset (though still a 4nm TSMC process), Xiaomi claims you can get the same amount of juice and endurance as the Pro. 19 minutes from empty to full with its 5000mAh battery and 120W fast charging. The charging brick is still there, don’t worry.

It has 5G services, Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi 6/6E, NFC, and an IR Blaster like the Pro variant. It also lacks a headphone jack, has an in-display fingerprint sensor, and a dual Nano-SIM slot with the absence of the MicroSD card slot.

Black, Blue, Silver. Availability in the Philippines is yet to be announced. Globally, October 13th. Need we say more?

SPECS:

• 6.67in. FHD+ (2712x1220px) AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, 12-bit colour, 900nits peak brightness
  • Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection
• MediaTek Dimensity 8100-Ultra (4nm)
  • VC Chamber
• CAMERAS:
  • 108MP (main), f/1.7, 1/1.67″, 0.64µm, 9-in-1 Pixel Binning (1.92µm), Samsung ISOCELL HM6, OIS
  • 8MP (ultrawide), f/2.2, 120°, 1/4″
  • 2MP (macro), f/2.4
  • FRONT: 20MP, f/2.24
• MIUI 13 based on Android 12
• 5000mAh, 120W fast charging, (included 120W charger)
  • 0-100% in 19 minutes (advertised)
• USB-C, In-display fingerprint sensor Stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos, no 3.5mm jack
• 5G services, Wi-Fi 6/6E, Bluetooth 5.2, Dolby Atmos, NFC, Dual Nano-SIM slot
• Black, Blue, Silver
• PRICE:
  • 8/128: TBA
  • 8/256: TBA

Source: GSMArena