Xiaomi 12S Ultra teardown video highlights the scale of the Sony IMX989 and reduced Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 power consumption under load
Xiaomi has only just unveiled the Xiaomi 12S Ultra, as well as the Xiaomi 12S and Xiaomi 12S Pro. While Xiaomi has since confirmed that the Xiaomi 12S series will not be available outside mainland China, third-party retailers are offering the likes of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra, if you are happy importing a smartphone from China. Somehow, WekiHome has obtained a Xiaomi 12S Ultra and has already disassembled it, highlighting the smartphone's elaborate design.
As the embedded video below shows, the handset's Sony IMX989 primary camera is huge, with WekiHome measuring its thickness at 11.06 mm. Additionally, WekiHome compares the Sony IMX989 with the Samsung ISOCELL GNV from the Vivo X80 Pro, a 50 MP sensor with a 1/1.31-inch optical format. The Sony IMX989 dwarves the Samsung ISOGELL GNV though, which Xiaomi has complemented with a wide periscope camera and a large ultra-wide-angle sensor.
Unsurprisingly, the Xiaomi 12S Ultra has a substantial cooling solution, in part to help dissipate excess heat from the new Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1. Incidentally, WekiHome has highlighted the device's vapour chamber cooling system, which Xiaomi appears to have reworked from its previous flagship smartphones. The elaborate cooling solution appears to work too, with the Xiaomi 12S Ultra able to keep itself cooler than competing flagship smartphones, such as the iQOO 9 Pro and the Vivo X80 Pro.
Presumably, the switch to the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 helps minimise temperatures, though. For reference, the Xiaomi 12S Ultra managed to sip just 3.5 W in demanding tasks, compared to approximately 5 W for the flagships against which WekiHome compared Xiaomi's new smartphone. Unfortunately, the Xiaomi 12S Ultra is fairly complicated to take apart, with Xiaomi resorting to using numerous screws and glue to keep the device together.
