XIAOMI 12 LITE SMARTPHONE

Xiaomi's flagship line has always shone. Recently, the Xiaomi 12-series received accolades for outstanding camera performance. Understandably, it was also priced at flagship levels. Enter the Xiaomi 12 Lite, a mid-ranger that brings the 12-series performance to those on a budget.

- GABRIEL PE

DESIGN 4.5/5

The Xiaomi 12 Lite is similar to its predecessors in more ways than one. It carries the Xiaomi 12-series' gorgeous camera layout and retains the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE's boxy design.

You'll immediately notice how sleek and lightweight the phone is. It comes at a mere 173g and is 7.29mm thin. I have to say that while I am not a fan of boxy phones (they're a pain to hold for a long time), the sleek and light body of the Xiaomi 12 Lite makes it a joy to use.

The Xiaomi 12 Lite is available in three color variants: Lite Pink, Lite Green, and Black. Our review unit came in the black colorway, which I loved because of its simple yet classy look.

Once you open the phone, you'll immediately notice the 6.55-inch AMOLED display. The display has HDR10+ and Dolby Vision support as well as up to 120Hz refresh rate. There's also an in-display fingerprint reader beneath the glass.

You'll see the secondary speaker, a microphone hole, and the IR blaster on top of the phone. Beneath is the main speaker, the microphone hole, and the sim card tray. On the right are the volume rocker and the power button. Lastly, the back has the pièce de résistance, the triple-camera setup with the 108-megapixel shooter.

HARDWARE 4.5/5

The Xiaomi 12 Lite is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G 5G processor, similar to the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G. Our review unit had 8GB of RAM (6GB + 2GB extra) and 128GB of Storage.

I had doubts about the 778G, as it is the exact same chip in the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE. The chip is already a year old. But I was pleasantly surprised at how well it performed. It wasn't the fastest, but it still had the power to get the job done and with room to spare, especially in gaming (more on that later).