First impressions of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra. Leica adds the differential point to the brand

The latter being the best quality-price ratio smartphones of the firm, all the phones that are included under the Xiaomi brand come to boast of premium features that place them as one of the best smartphones in the entire industry. However, the real leap in quality is in the camera of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra , which launches a partnership with Leica to give life to one of the best lenses that we have been able to test over the years.

But, despite the fact that the phone’s camera is the most striking of the equipment, the current flagship of the firm reaches the market boasting the best features that we can demand from a premium phone.

First of all, why doesn’t it come to Spain?

It makes us very angry that a terminal of the quality that we have seen in the Xiaomi offices is not going to reach our country, but it has been the firm itself that has explained to us the reason why this is so.

Within the manufacturer they are convinced that the arrival of Leica at the highest range of the manufacturer can only come in the best way, and this implies that it cannot be just one terminal that appears in our stores bragging about it. The idea is that the next generation of the firm’s phones will go on sale in Europe and other markets. But not only with the ‘Ultra’ model sporting this association with the prestigious photography firm, but with all the models of the Xiaomi 13 series , which we should know about by the end of the year, offering these camera improvements to their users.

In fact, this is something that the company’s chief executive has already confirmed just a few days ago.

The next iteration of Ultra will be available in our global markets! https://t.co/TgdDWq8724

— leijun (@leijun) August 27, 2022

Contact with the Xiaomi 12S Ultra

Before going on to explain what we thought of the mobile (spoiler, it’s spectacular , especially for lovers of classic photography), we review all the specifications of the smartphone that, remember, was presented in China a few weeks ago.

Once we know everything that the phone offers, we are not going to get lost in more technical data, we are only going to tell you the feeling that this small preview of what is about to arrive in stores at the end of December and could break the market as we know it.

A camera that gives a lot to talk about

We cannot talk about Leica without mentioning Huawei. The firm, after going through problems with the United States, has not only been deprived of being able to use a licensed version of Android on its new mobiles, but has also been unable to renew its contract with the prestigious photography firm. And it is here that Xiaomi has been the quickest to take advantage of this situation to bring to life a new partnership between the brand and a phone manufacturer.

As the first example of this symbiosis we have this Xiaomi 12S Ultra which, if it stands out for something, is for offering quality photos never seen on a phone from the firm . And dare we say almost no other phone from another brand.

The Xiaomi 12S Ultra’s main camera system consists of three sensors, led by a new 50 MP Sony IMX989 camera with a 1-inch sensor and a Leica lens. It is the first time that we see something like this on the market, a symbiosis that allows us to work with a Pixel binning technology that generates a micropixel size of 3.2 μm . The 48MP ultra-wide camera and periscope zoom camera also feature 1/2-inch Sony sensors, and also use binning technology to produce 12MP shots. This latest sensor still offers a 5X optical zoom range, like that of the Mi 11 Ultra, but in the tests we have carried out, it offers much better results than last year’s top of the range brand. Of course, there’s no shortage of Leica-exclusive shooting modes that give the scene that classic Leica look.

Images captured by this lens offer a greater amount of detail , appearing less washed out and better balanced. This is something that is maintained even by going to 10x magnification, something that the smartphone achieves in a hybrid way, effortlessly, and that does not cause the quality of the scene to decline at any time.

In fact, if you want, you can work with a digital zoom of up to 120x. It may not be very useful on paper and images captured at this level already have some focus and clarity issues, but with a tripod it can still give quite a bit of play.

The Ultra Wide sensor doesn’t lose too much detail and colors remain mostly consistent, as with the other lenses, although we haven’t been able to test it when the light goes down, when this type of photography tends to show its weaknesses.

What we have seen is how the one-inch sensor that Sony has developed for this Xiaomi mobile behaves and it is, without further ado, amazing. Simply, comparing it with the Mi 11 Ultra launched a few months ago, it seems that we are talking about terminals that have been separated in time for several years. By day the images are sharp, with excellent color rendering and no noticeable flaws .

At night, everything remains at the same levels of quality. It is enough to take a photo of a lamppost to see how there are no light leaks and the scene remains balanced at all times. And it is that this would be the best way to define the night photos that we take with the Xiaomi 12S Ultra . While other smartphones tend to force the brightness of the scene, the firm’s top of the range keeps contrast at bay, obtaining detail in both highlights and shadow areas. Really, it’s amazing, since we don’t even talk about activating the night mode. Where other smartphones take 2 or 3 seconds to collect the entire exposure of the shot, in the new flagship of the manufacturer it is immediate.

Even the selfie lens , located in the upper center of the front panel, has improved over the previous generation. The tones of the face and our features are kept in check, but the background now has a little more detail, something that is especially noticeable when taking photos against the light.

A very ‘photographic’ design

The camera modules in our phones have gotten bigger and bigger over the years, but the Xiaomi 12S Ultra wins the game. As we have been told in the company’s offices, rather than being a phone with a great camera, it looks like a camera attached to a smartphone.

And they are very right. Holding the phone with both hands gives the feeling of having a compact camera, not only because of the huge circular design of the 3 camera lenses, but also because of a leather finish reminiscent of the classic Leica cameras that favors the grip of the device . Plus, as if this camera module wasn’t flashy enough on its own, there’s also a 24k gold ring that wraps around the case giving the whole thing an even more premium feel.

Beyond these peculiarities, we are talking about a smartphone that is not as heavy as we might think, comfortable to use vertically and horizontally, with an on-screen fingerprint reader, USB Type-C connector at the bottom, a double stereo speaker and the classic buttons. power and volume in the right profile of the device.

The leather finish prevents fingerprints and dust from staying on the device, but where there is glass, such as on the camera or screen, it is difficult to prevent dust specks from sticking to the smartphone . Luckily, we are facing a phone with IP68 certification, something very difficult to see in most of the brand’s terminals.

High resolution screen

Moving to the front is a 6.73-inch OLED display that Xiaomi officially refers to as the ‘ Dolby Vision TrueColor Display ‘. It is an LTPO panel manufactured by Samsung that has a resolution of 3200 x 1440 and a refresh rate that can vary between 1 Hz and 120 Hz depending on the content we are viewing in order to save some battery life.

Both outdoors and indoors we can enjoy it without problems, as it is capable of reaching a maximum of 1,500 nits of brightness. In addition, it supports a 10-bit color depth that makes it, in short, a perfect mobile in which, not only see the photos that we capture with the camera, but also enjoy any content .

Power and battery in abundance

Being the camera the differential element of the smartphone, we do not want to repeat ourselves much in this section. The brand has not wanted to skimp on expenses and therefore provides the phone with the best Qualcomm processor manufactured in 2022 . It is true that it is a CPU with plenty of power that implies a certain overheating of the device, but the heat is not as exaggerated as the one that dominates the 8 Gen 1.

On paper, we are talking about a chipset that brings a 10% improvement to the CPU and GPU over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 present in the current Xiaomi 12 and, more importantly, a 30% increase in energy efficiency. .

This has a direct impact on an autonomy that, unfortunately, we have not been able to thoroughly test. In fact, we have only been able to spend about 10 minutes with the terminal, but it is logical to think that the mobile’s 4860 mAh battery , thanks to the good work of the company’s new processor, will offer a battery life that exceeds 24 hours under normal use.

Xiaomi has not decided to mount its fastest charge here, but it is not that the smartphone needs it either. With 67W of wired charging and 50W wirelessly, it is more than enough to power the device in less than 1 day, in either case.

Of course, and how could it be otherwise, the smartphone is put up for sale, remember, only in some markets, boasting Android 12 and MIUI 13 as a customization layer.

First impressions of the mobile

When the worst thing you can blame on a mobile phone is that the brand decides not to sell it in our country, that is because, at least as far as the equipment is concerned, the firm has done a very good job .

Using the Xiaomi 12S Ultra to take photos makes mobiles the size of the Mi 11 Ultra, let’s remember, until now the phone with the best camera of the brand, they seem to not measure up. The leap that the Chinese manufacturer’s smartphone boasts, from the hand of Leica , is absolutely impressive and we have no doubt that we are facing one of the perfect terminals for those who want to fully squeeze mobile photography .

Surely we are leaving many more things in the inkwell about Xiaomi’s brutal mobile, such as video recording, Leica portrait shooting modes, battery life, as well as the behavior of the phone when it comes to play the most demanding titles on the Play Store. It is something that we hope to be able to test thoroughly later if we are lucky enough to spend more time with the terminal.

But, without a doubt, if this first contact with the terminal has made something clear to us, it is that Xiaomi has made the leap in quality that it needed. Of course, the title of best smartphone of 2023 is going to be very competitive after the arrival of some Xiaomi 13 that, we assume, will have a camera like that of this team, making things very difficult for the rest of the manufacturers.