Xiaomi 12 fails to impress in DxOMark camera tests as it trades blows with the Apple iPhone 12

Xiaomi heralded the Xiaomi 12 and Xiaomi 12 Pro as having excellent cameras when it revealed them late last year and last month outside China. However, DxOMark has other ideas, as did we when we reviewed the Xiaomi 12 a few days ago. The same was true with the Xiaomi 12 Pro, which could not crack DxOMark's top 10.

In DxOMark's view, the Xiaomi 12 is only slightly ahead of the iPhone 12 when it comes to camera quality. In saying that, the former's score of 123 points puts it 33rd in the website's Global Ranking leaderboard. Surprisingly, the Xiaomi 12 cannot even outperform the Galaxy Z Fold3, which relies on outdated camera hardware. For reference, the Xiaomi 12 features the Sony IMX766, a 50 MP and optically-stabilised sensor.

By contrast, the likes of the iPhone 13 and the Pixel 6 managed 130 and 132 points, respectively. Ultimately, one of the Xiaomi 12's biggest camera weaknesses is its telephoto lens, which only outputs at up to 5 MP with an f/2.4 aperture, a 50 mm equivalent focal length and no OIS. Likewise, its 13 MP ultra-wide-angle camera is nothing to write home about, mainly because of its persistent image noise. Still, the Xiaomi 12 proved an excellent overall smartphone in our tests, which we discussed at length in last month's review.

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