Xiaomi 12S Ultra is here to take on Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, iPhone 13 Pro with its Leica cameras

After a long wait, the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra finally got its successor. It is called the Xiaomi 12S Ultra and is currently the most feature-packed smartphone Xiaomi makes. The basic formula is similar to its predecessor – the best of everything along with some of the nicest cameras you can find on a smartphone; but only better. And this time, Xiaomi has taken help of Leica for hardware and software aspects of the camera, which could put it in the same category as the iPhone 13 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.

Prior to deep diving into the specs, here is some news Xiaomi fans won’t like - the Xiaomi 12S Ultra won’t be selling outside China. Hence, those planning to buy it should not be too hopeful of this one. Prices start at CNY 5999 for the base variant with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. The phone is available in Classic Black and Verdant Green colours with a leather-like finish on the rear.

Xiaomi 12S Ultra takes on iPhone 13 Pro

The Xiaomi 12S Ultra takes on the Leica branding like Huawei phones of the past and in the process, gets a revamped camera system. The main camera gets a new 50.3MP Sony IMX989 1-inch image sensor with a 23mm wide-angle lens. The Leica lens has an 8P element that addresses flares, chromatic aberration and ghosting. The lens also has a coating, cyclic olefin copolymer material, and infrared light filter as well. All these promise a lot on paper but it remains to be seen what is the situation in reality. On the software front, there are several Leica filters along with two Leica photographic styles – Authentic and Vibrant.

This main camera is accompanied by a 48MP Sony IMX586 sensors, one each for the ultra-wide and the 5X optical zoom camera. Other highlights include the ability to capture 8-bit photos, Dolby Vision HDR video recording, and up to 4K videos at 60 fps.

As for the rest of the phone, the Xiaomi 12S Ultra comes with a 6.7-inch Quad HD+ Samsung E5 AMOLED display with a variable refresh rate of 1Hz to 120Hz. The phone relies on the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip with up to 512GB UFS 3.1 storage. The phone boots MIUI 13 with Android 12 underneath. There are Harman Kardon tuned stereo speakers that support Dolby Atmos.

The whole thing is supported by a 4860mAh battery that comes with support for the 67W wired fast charging and a 50W wireless charging solution. The Xiaomi Surge P1 chip is here to protect the battery from overcharging and enable prolonged battery life.