Xiaomi 12S Ultra review: The 1-inch-sensor Leica original that started the camera-phone arms race.
The phone that made 1-inch sensors normal.
12S Ultra was the proof of concept the whole industry copied: a true 1-inch Sony IMX989 with real Leica processing, in a phone. Three years on its photos still hold up against newer flagships, which is the highest praise a camera phone can earn. Collectors and photographers seek it out; everyone else moved to a supported successor.
01Display
88/10088/100 — right at the average for flagship phones of 2022.
02Camera
92/100At 92/100 this is one of the strongest camera showings among flagship phones of 2022 — 13 points above the cohort average.
03Performance
84/10084/100 — right at the average for flagship phones of 2022.
04Battery
80/10080/100 — right at the average for flagship phones of 2022.
05Build
86/10086/100 puts it above the 82-point average for flagship phones of 2022.
06Value
74/10074/100 trails the 76-point cohort average for flagship phones of 2022.
- First mainstream 1-inch sensor — still a benchmark for depth and low light.
- Genuine Leica co-engineering, dual film looks.
- 5× periscope + 3.2× tele.
- TSMC-built 8+ Gen 1 runs cool.
- Discontinued — China-only at launch, no global model.
- Heavy 225 g with a big camera hump.
- Software support has ended.
- QHD+ at 120 Hz drains the modest battery.
How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 210-phone cohort of flagship devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .