Summer is right here and that suggests it’s time for Xiaomi 12 Lite to turn up at AndroidHeadlines for evaluation. At first look, there appear to be numerous adjustments that Xiaomi has made this 12 months to the Lite sequence. The new adjustments come with flat edges, and sharper corners – one thing we now have observed with the Redmi 11 sequence – in conjunction with an up to date reveal and cameras.
I’m a large fan of the Lite sequence as it provides numerous options from the flagship sequence at an inexpensive mid-range worth. So let’s get the Xiaomi 12 Lite unboxed to get the evaluation rolling.
Unboxing the Xiaomi 12 Lite
Unboxing the Xiaomi 12 Lite is an excessively ho-hum affair. A slightly nondescript white retail field accommodates a transparent TPU case, 67W charging brick, and a USB-A to USB-C charging cable. I love that there’s no plastic utilized in all of the retail field so props to Xiaomi for going inexperienced the place it issues moderately than getting rid of a charging brick from the retail package deal.
Xiaomi 12 Lite design language is beautiful
First off, I’m extraordinarily glad to obtain a tool that isn’t black or grey from Xiaomi. Of the entire gadgets I’ve reviewed from them, that is simplest the fourth one who isn’t black in colour. Xiaomi 12 Lite is available in Lite Pink, and Black but even so the Lite Green colour they despatched us for evaluation.
I love the fairway colour of my evaluation unit. Of the quite a lot of inexperienced gadgets I’ve with me, I feel that is my 2d favourite after the Pixel 6. Aside from the colour, I love the entire development and weight distribution. There aren’t any glaring rattles or squeaks anyplace. Buttons have nice tactile comments and the in-hand ergonomics are very good.
There’s Gorilla Glass 5 at the entrance protective the AMOLED reveal. On the again, there’s frosted glass whilst the body is plastic – an glaring effort to stay the associated fee low. The different merchandise that Xiaomi skimped on within the title of value keep an eye on used to be getting rid of the bodily proximity sensor. And then there’s the formal ingress coverage or IP ranking which this phone doesn’t have.
There’s an under-display fingerprint scanner this is speedy and correct even supposing I want it used to be positioned about an inch upper for more uncomplicated get admission to. Haptics have advanced dramatically on Xiaomi gadgets in the previous couple of months and this tool isn’t any exception.
Camera module design is in response to the dearer Xiaomi 12
The triple digicam module at the again borrows the design language from the dearer Xiaomi 12 and appears nice in this tool. And that frosted again glass is helping stay fingerprint smudges to a minimal.
For audio, there are twin audio system, and two microphones, one on each and every of the highest and backside rails. There is an IR port at the height rail, and the amount rocker and gear button are at the proper rail while the left facet of the phone is blank. The dual-SIM slot is subsequent to the USB-C charging port at the backside.
Xiaomi 12 Lite sports activities a flagship high quality 120Hz AMOLED reveal
This 12 months’s Xiaomi 12 Lite has a 6.55″ OLED panel with 12-bit (68 billion colours) colour intensity. The reveal panel has a 120Hz adaptive refresh fee and 240Hz contact sampling fee for a smoother gaming enjoy. The 1080p reveal has a 402 ppi pixel density and a tall 20:9 side ratio which is not unusual for many smartphones nowadays.
In addition, the reveal is HDR10+ with Dolby Vision certification and the seat of the pants affect is that this can be a top-shelf AMOLED reveal. The brightness is round 500 nits for normal use and the height brightness is ready 800 nits which is just right sufficient for out of doors use. I’m satisfied that Xiaomi didn’t skimp out at the reveal for the Lite sequence.
Performance is greater than good enough for day-to-day duties together with gaming
The CPU powering the Xiaomi 12 Lite is a Snapdragon 778G 5G. The octa-core CPU is in response to TSMC’s 6nm N6 production procedure. The CPU is composed of 3 clusters, 1x 2.4 GHz Kryo 670 Prime (Cortex-A78), 3x 2.4 GHz Kryo 670 Gold (Cortex-A78), and 4x 1.8 GHz Kryo 670 Silver (Cortex-A55). It additionally has the Adreno 642L GPU for gaming and different graphics-intensive duties.
There are a couple of other variants to be had with regards to RAM and garage – 6GB/128GB, 8GB/128GB, and 8GB/256GB. The garage is UFS 2.2 and RAM is LPDDR4X. Our evaluation unit is the center of the street 8GB/128GB model.
Benchmark sensible the Xiaomi 12 Lite plays smartly with regards to unmarried and multi-core Geekbench 5 ratings. In phrases of on a regular basis use, there aren’t any problems with surfing, streaming, or multitasking. Even taking part in video games isn’t an excessive amount of of a subject at medium settings. Overall, I feel the Xiaomi 12 Lite has simply the correct amount of horsepower for the cost you might be paying to shop for it.
Software is MIUI 13 and feels acquainted
We’ve reviewed a number of gadgets from Xiaomi working MIUI this 12 months so this phase of the evaluation goes to be brief. The Xiaomi 12 Lite is working MIUI Global 13.0.3 with the May 2022 safety replace. The instrument enjoy is the same to that of the dearer Xiaomi 12 Pro.
There are inventory Google apps for the fundamentals – Phone, Messages, Chrome, and Contacts. Swiping left brings up Google Discover identical to on a Pixel tool. There is a minimum quantity of bloatware and you’ll be able to uninstall each and every unmarried app this is preloaded which is good. Although I’d argue that the general public wish to have Facebook, Netflix, Spotify, and an Office app on their smartphone.
A large carryover from the top rate tool is the truth that there aren’t any advertisements that pop up within the UI right through day-to-day use. And a small however important alternate that I realized is that Xiaomi has overhauled the Notifications and Control middle. The earlier model gave the look of a complete iOS ripoff while the more recent model is decidedly somewhat extra Android which is good.
Battery lifestyles might be higher however there may be 67W speedy charging give a boost to
Xiaomi 12 Lite has a 4,300 mAh battery which is just right sufficient for charging each and every night time. Since this is a pretty big 120Hz AMOLED reveal the battery isn’t going to last longer than an afternoon even with reasonable use. I do suppose {that a} moderately better battery would have had a unfavorable have an effect on at the another way very good ergonomics.
However, Xiaomi did up the charging pace to 67W for this 12 months’s model. A complete rate takes round 50 mins and you’ll be able to rise up to 84% battery lifestyles in part an hour of charging. Of direction, Xiaomi has even sooner charging choices to be had however the ones are for different gadgets. The 67W charging brick integrated within the field is greater than good enough for the 12 Lite in my view.
Xiaomi 12 Lite Camera efficiency
The rear cameras at the Xiaomi 12 Lite are like a deja vu. While the design language and display screen are carried over from the flagship Xiaomi 12, the rear cameras are a carryover from the mid-range Redmi Note 11 sequence.
The rear digicam setup is the same to Redmi Note 11 Pro that we reviewed previous within the 12 months so be expecting no surprises with regards to the true output. Having mentioned that, the principle digicam is a 108MP digicam with a 1/1.52” sensor dimension,0.7μm 9-in-1 pixel binning (12MP) with a ƒ/1.9 6P lens. Then there may be the 8MP ultra-wide digicam with a 118° FOV and aperture of ƒ/2.2. And in any case, there’s a 2MP Macro digicam with an f/2.4 aperture.
Pictures from the principle and ultrawide cameras are actually just right in day or night time. Just check out the samples in our Flickr Gallery and come to a decision for your self. For essentially the most section, colours are brilliant, and footage glance somewhat punchy with a whole lot of distinction. Low mild and midnight effects also are just right for a smartphone.
Xiaomi 12 Lite Camera Samples – Flickr Gallery
As standard, the digicam app has quite a lot of options – Night Mode, Short Video, Time-lapse, Dual Video, Long publicity, Super Macro, and whole guide Pro mode. And the similar caveat as opting for which digicam to report video applies right here as a result of you can’t transfer between major and ultrawide cameras while you get started taking pictures video.
Xiaomi did deal with the selfie digicam problems and upgraded the entrance shooter to that at the 12 Pro. Selfies are just right in most cases talking. However, the digicam has a set autofocus period so stay that during thoughts.
Audio and Connectivity Impressions
The Xiaomi 12 Lite includes a dual-speaker, stereo setup with the principle speaker on the backside and the highest speaker which could also be the earpiece for phone calls. The grille on the height shall we the sound out when the usage of in speaker mode or being attentive to audio.
In phrases of audio high quality, the audio system are slightly just right with transparent vocals, and just right mid and prime tones. Bass is missing which is a not unusual criticism with smartphones so take that with a grain of salt. Audio high quality by the use of USB-C port or Bluetooth audio is very good.
Connectivity sensible there are 0 shortcomings with the Xiaomi 12 Lite. There’s 5G, Wi-Fi6, NFC, Bluetooth 5.2, and an IR blaster. I had no problems with knowledge/calls/texts at the T-Mobile community in Southern California.
In phrases of connecting with different gadgets, there’s Cast, Nearby Share, Mi Share all available from the keep an eye on middle with a snappy pull down from the highest of the display screen.
Should you purchase the Xiaomi 12 Lite?
In abstract, the Xiaomi 12 Lite is an excessively succesful smartphone. It has nice design, very good ergonomics, a very good AMOLED reveal, and stellar haptics. Camera efficiency is no doubt similar to different gadgets in the cost magnificence and function is superb in conjunction with 5G connectivity.
The one major factor is middling battery lifestyles (just a 4,300 mAh cellular) however Xiaomi does come with a 67W speedy charging brick within the field. And one very obtrusive factor isn’t any professional IP ranking, this one is a head-scratcher since some lower-end Xiaomi smartphones have an IP53 ranking.
For about € 450 this is a nice smartphone and there aren’t too many different gadgets to be had at this worth level. Perhaps the brand new Pixel 6a is one thing to imagine, even supposing it has a smaller and decrease high quality reveal and a plastic again in comparison to the 12 Lite.
