Xiaomi 12S Ultra: 1-inch Image Sensor, Leica Optics, And Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1

Remember the Mi 11 Ultra with a huge-ass rectangular camera bump that took up 20% of the rear? Well, Xiaomi is doing it again for the new Xiaomi 12S Ultra. However, this time it has a more sensible circular camera bump that reminisces those of a camera.

For those who aren’t in the loop, the new 12S lineup is a huge thing for Xiaomi because it is the first Xiaomi device to have a camera system “co-engineered with Leica”. The main snapper is a 50.3 MP Sony 1-inch IMX989 sensor, paired with a 23 mm wide-angle lens and with OIS.

I believe this is the largest image sensor on a smartphone to date. The main camera also benefits from an 8p element lens that addresses flare, chromatic aberration, and ghosting. Moreover, the lens edge is treated with ink coating, cyclic olefin copolymer material, and infrared light filter with spin coating technology. TBH, none of those make any sense to me.

Oh, with the 12S Ultra, you will not only find Leica branding on the camera module – in landscape orientation, no less, just on an actual camera – and Summicron branding like it is found on the German camera maker’s lenses.

Leica’s involvement is not limited to hardware; it is also involved in software where, most notably, you get two photographic styles, namely, Leica Authentic Look and Leica Vibrant Look. Plus, there are Leica filters if you want to get really fancy, the Leica way.

Accompanying the 50.3 MP camera are a 48 MP ultrawide camera, and a 48 MP periscope telephoto camera with EIS. 8K 24 fps video is possible, as is 4K 30 and 60 fps. Meanwhile, it can record slo-mo at up to 1080p 480 fps. Over at the front is a 32 MP item.

Further on the imaging, still image formats include JPEG, HEIF in 8-bit, and 10-bit DNG RAW with an embedded profile for Adobe’s Lightroom. The 12S Ultra is also the first Android Phone to support Dolby Vision HDR recording.

As a smartphone, it is outfitted with a 6.73-inch WQHD (3,200 x 1,440 pixel) Super AMOLED display with AdaptiveSync Pro (basically, variable refresh rate).

Under the hood, it gets the latest Qualcomm chip, Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and it is outfitted with a 4,860 mAh battery that supports 67W wired charging and 50W wireless charging. The battery is managed by not one but two Xiaomi custom chips.

Rounding up the basic specs are LPDDR5 memory, UFS 3.1 storage, Harman Kardon-tuned stereo speakers, support for Dolby Atmos, IP68-rated construction, and a new 3D liquid cooling solution.

The Xiaomi 12S Ultra is announced for China market where it is available to order for a starting price of 5,999 RMB (about US$895+). It has three configurations to choose from, namely, 8+256, 12+256, and 12+512.

Images: Xiaomi [CH].