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Xiaomi knows how to make a good mid-range phone, and in the last year, it has had some success in this area. That’s mostly because of a more focused approach, like putting out phones for the mainstream market. Xiaomi now has two product lines in this category: the Lite series, which offers the basics at a low price, and the T series, which is often the first to get new charging and camera features.
The Mi 11 Lite did a good job of putting the best parts of the Mi 11 into a mid-range phone, and Xiaomi is now doing the same thing with this year’s flagships. The Xiaomi 12 Pro is one of the best Android phones I’ve used this year. It has great cameras, a sleek design, and the latest tech. With the Xiaomi 12 Lite, the company hopes to bring the Xiaomi 12 series’ style to the mid-range market.
Xiaomi 12 Lite Specifications
Specifications | Details |
---|---|
Dimensions | 160.7 x 75.6 x 6.8 mm |
Weight | 160 g |
Display | 6.81-inch FHD+ AMOLED display |
Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 5G processor |
Graphics | Adreno 650 GPU |
RAM | 8GB LPDDR5 RAM |
Storage | 128GB/256GB UFS 3.1 internal storage |
Design and Build
Most of the time, the Lite part of a smartphone’s name means that the specs aren’t as good, but with the Xiaomi 12 Lite, this seems to be more about the body. It weighs only 173g, which makes it easy to hold for long amounts of time. Its dimensions of 159 x 74 x 7.3mm also make it easy to hold. This is a nice change from the bulky 200g frames that have become the norm in the last year or so.
On my review model, you can choose from Pink, Black, or Green for the colour scheme. The back panel is made of graded glass, so when you tilt it in the light, the colour changes in a very nice way. The three cameras are located in a raised rectangular area in the top left corner of the screen. The glass is clear and has a light blue-green tint that looks smart again.
Xiaomi 12 Lite: Display
The Xiaomi 12 Lite has a big AMOLED screen that is 6.55 inches and has a resolution of 2400 by 1080 pixels. It’s clear, has great colours, and can be very bright or very dim, which are both good things to have when you’re outside in the sun or in bed half-awake.
The screen also has a refresh rate of 120Hz, which is twice as fast as the average smartphone, and a touch sample rate of 240Hz. And everything does look pretty smooth, whether we’re talking about the Android layout and its little changes. You can buy this phone from its official website
Xiaomi 12 Lite: Software
The Xiaomi 12 Lite comes with MIUI 13, which is based on Android 12. Xiaomi released MIUI 13 earlier this year. It doesn’t have a lot of new features, but it does have a lot of improvements behind the scenes that make a difference in daily use.
The core of MIUI hasn’t changed in a few years, so you still get the same split notification pane with toggles off to one side. You can get to it by pulling down from the right side of the screen. The Recents menu moves up and down and is set up with two cards by default. You can switch back to the normal Android notification pane, and there is a menu that scrolls horizontally.
Xiaomi 12 Lite: Cameras
The Xiaomi 12 Lite is the first phone to use a 108MP lens. It has three cameras. Xiaomi has used the Samsung HM2 sensor in many phones so far, including the 11T Pro, Xiaomi 11i, and Redmi Note 11 Pro. It has a track record of taking good shots in almost any situation. The 12 Lite also has a 2MP closeup lens and an 8MP wide-angle lens with a 120-degree field of view.
We won’t talk too much about the camera because there isn’t much different about it. Xiaomi likes to use the same sensors in many of its devices, which makes sense when you think about how many devices the company makes in a year.
Xiaomi 12 Lite: Performance
The Xiaomi 12 Lite has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G chipset, which is one of those processors that is fast enough for most people but still uses little power.
The only time we noticed the phone taking a breather was when we turned it on and it took a minute for all our apps to show up on the screen. Once it was turned on, though, the 12 Lite worked fine with a number of apps and games.
Xiaomi 12 Lite: Battery life
The phone has a 4300mAh battery, which I found could last all day without needing to be charged.
We watched HD videos at full brightness on my phone for a few hours to drain the battery. It took 37 minutes for the battery to go from 100% to 95% and just over 5 hours to go from 95% to 60%. Even more time was added to the battery’s life when it was used every day.
Price and availability
The Xiaomi 12 Lite is now on sale everywhere in the world except in North America. In the UK and Europe, there is only one version, but Xiaomi is releasing three versions with different amounts of RAM and storage around the world. Prices are given in US dollars, even though the phone hasn’t been released in the US yet:
This makes the phone compete with the OnePlus Nord 2T, the Realme GT 2, and the Poco X4 Pro 5G, which is also made by Xiaomi. All of these phones are great, and they all cost less than £/$/€500. The Xiaomi 12 Lite doesn’t look bad in this group.
Final Words
The Xiaomi 12 Lite is a budget-friendly smartphone that features a stunning iridescent appearance, a silky display, and an equally silky 67W rapid charging system. The 108-megapixel camera produces vivid photos with accurate colours, but the shots are oversharpened, and the phone is missing certain important capabilities that are present on the Xiaomi 12.
Xiaomi 12 Lite review: The good and The bad
The Good
- Mesmerising finish
- Speedy charging
The Bad
- Mid-range performance
FAQS
The Xiaomi 12 Lite comes preinstalled with the latest version of Google’s Android operating system as well as Xiaomi’s proprietary MIUI 13 user interface.
Does the Xiaomi 12 Lite have a resistance to water and dust, The Xiaomi 12 Lite does not feature protection against water or dust, unfortunately.