Xiaomi's new Mi 12S Ultra flagship smartphone features a massive camera sensor

Xiaomi is launching three new smartphones yesterday, one of which includes a somewhat large new feature: a 1-inch camera sensor, which is relatively large for a smartphone. The Mi 12S Ultra, Xiaomi's new top smartphone, is massive in every way. It has a 6.73-inch OLED display, a top-tier Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 system on a chip, and a camera-lens-shaped bulge on the back that takes up roughly one-third of the phone's rear side.

The phone's three cameras are housed within that faux-lens: a 48 megapixel ultrawide, a 48 megapixel telephoto with 5x optical zoom (and "120x" digital zoom that will most likely not look very good), and the 50 megapixel main camera, which employs the 1-inch sensor.A few firms have put 1-inch sensors in their phones before, but it hasn't been very widespread – 1-inch sensors are more likely to be found in higher-end point-and-shoot cameras like Sony's RX100 series. Because of its increased size, the sensor can gather more light and produce more detailed photos. It won't turn a phone into a DSLR, but it could be an improvement above the average smartphone camera; the iPhone 13 Pro, for example, has a sensor size of 1/1.65-inch, according to DPReview. (However, the actual size of a sensor's imaging area is smaller than its reported measurement suggests.)

The phone's camera system was "co-engineered with Leica," according to Xiaomi, and the business shared the expense of building the 1-inch image sensor with Sony, according to Engadget. Sony did introduce a phone with a 1-inch sensor late last year, but it only caught a portion of it, whereas Xiaomi's phone will supposedly use the entire thing.

Aside from the camera, the Mi 12S Ultra has all of the markings of a flagship phone. It is water and dust resistant to IP68 standards, features a big 4,860 mAh battery, 67W wired fast charging, and a 120Hz refresh rate display. The phone is also said to be the first Android device to support Dolby Vision HDR video recording.

The 12S Ultra will first be available in China. A variant with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage will cost RMB 5,999 (about $900 USD), while a high-end model with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage would cost RMB 6,999 (approximately $1,050 USD).

Along with the 12S Ultra, Xiaomi is releasing two lower-end models: the 12S and 12S Pro. These two phones include a 1/1.28-inch main camera sensor, which is smaller than the Ultra but still larger than the normal smartphone sensor. The 12S has a smaller 6.28-inch 120Hz display, whilst the 12S Pro, like the Ultra, has a 6.73-inch 120Hz OLED display. The Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chip is shared by both devices. The 12S starts at RMB 3,999 ($600 USD), while the 12S Pro starts at RMB 4,699 ($700 USD)