It comes as no surprise – the Xiaomi 12S Ultra gets people excited. We are still working on the full review, but you can check the camera examples from the phone in our makeshift 12S Ultra vs. Mi 11 Ultra shootout.
Poll from last week shows that 2 out of 3 voters are interested in the new Ultra. Many will even consider importing the phone – that 1” Sony sensor is unique and backed by Leica’s lens-making expertise and the faster ISP in the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1.
As some commentators point out, the import route may just be a pipe dream – as Xiaomi doesn’t plan to sell the 12S Ultra outside of China, it doesn’t have support for certain 4G and 5G bands that could be vital in your region.
That said, it might just have the right bands for your region. Or maybe Xiaomi is putting together an international version (finally, the chip shortage is decreasing). Even if it isn’t, this is one of the most exciting smartphones of 2022 in terms of photography.
That’s an important qualifier, because if you don’t care so much about the camera, you’re better served by the Xiaomi 12S Pro. That extra 22 grams of weight on the Ultra, the almost full millimeter of extra thickness – not to mention the huge camera bump – really puts some people off.
At the end of the day, the 12S Pro has the same screen and chipset as the Ultra, also charges faster (120W vs 67W) and costs less, so why not. And it will be on the world market soon.
Half of voters would be interested in picking up the Pro, though half will wait for reviews before making the final decision.
On to the Xiaomi 12S, the smallest phone of the trio was also the least convincing. Most people are not interested, although there are still quite a few people who could buy one. We’ll have to wait and see if they still feel the same after Xiaomi unveils global pricing.
A recurring complaint – in this poll and previous iterations – is that some simply don’t like MIUI and Xiaomi’s software support scheme. Some enjoy Xiaomi’s software and report timely updates, but others have had a negative experience. Xiaomi is all-in on MIUI now that the Android One attempts are over, but it wouldn’t hurt to have a lighter option available.