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Xiaomi 12S Ultra: Leica camera and 1-inch sensor

5.7.2022

Translation: machine translated

The partnership between Xiaomi and Leica, which was only announced in May, is bearing fruit surprisingly quickly. However, the Xiaomi 12S Ultra with its damn large camera module will only be released in China for the time being.

The Xiaomi 12S Ultra is equipped with the IMX989. The special feature of the 50-megapixel sensor that Sony introduced less than a week ago: It has an extremely large sensor area of one inch for a smartphone and thus matches Sony's Xperia Pro-I in terms of size, for example. However, Xiaomi offers a slightly larger aperture of f/1.9.

Leica contributes software and a lens

The large, round camera hump of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra houses two additional cameras: An ultra-wide-angle and a telephoto camera, each of which is backed by the 48-megapixel IMX586 sensor. This was the sensor of the main camera in the OnePlus 8T, for example. While the telephoto camera advertises up to 120x digital zoom, the wide-angle camera could convince with its lens.

All three cameras on the back belong to a "Leica Summicron 1:1.9-4.1 / 13-120 ASPH camera system". The entire camera coverage is said to have "anti-glare coating, lens edge coating, cyclic olefin copolymer material and infrared light filter" to prevent flare, ghosting and color aberration, among other things.

In addition, Leica is contributing two image profiles, "Leica Authentic Look" and "Leica Vibrant Look." With Authentic Look, for example, the focus is on "aesthetically pleasing and neutrally natural color reproduction". In addition, a reduced vignetting correction is supposed to ensure that the images look as if they were taken with a classic Summicron lens from Leica.

Top equipment

With the rest of the equipment, the Xiaomi 12S is in good company of current top smartphones. You look at a 6.73-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 3200 × 1440 pixels and a refresh rate of 120 hertz. Inside is the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1, which is supported by eight or twelve gigabytes of working memory. The internal storage comprises 256 or 512 gigabytes.

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You can charge the 4860 mAh battery of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra with 67 watts via cable and with 50 watts wirelessly. Other devices - such as headphones - can be charged wirelessly via the smartphone with up to 10 watts. The entire 12S series features the new Surge P1 chipsets, which should make fast charging even better and battery management even more efficient.

Price and availability

So far, Xiaomi has not brought any S variants of its top models to Europe. Only T models have appeared here so far. However, a small loophole is left open when the manufacturer writes in the press release: "All products will be available in China first." However, the statement from Leica dims the hope for regular sales in Europe again: "All products of the Xiaomi 12S Series "co-engineered with Leica" are exclusively available in China."

Price-wise, the Xiaomi 12S Ultra starts at 5999 yuan in China. That is the equivalent of a bit more than 850 euros or francs.

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Jan Johannsen

Senior Editor

Jan.Johannsen@galaxus.de

When I was but a young student, I'd sit in my friend's living room with all my classmates and play on his SuperNES. Since then I've had the opportunity to test out all the newest technology for you. I've done reviews at Curved, Computer Bild and Netzwelt, and have now arrived at Galaxus.de.

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