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Good news for local Xiaomi fans (or simply lovers of high-end smartphones) - the Xiaomi 12 flagship is now available in South Africa. 

Having used the device for a few days, it's not only fast but the look and feel of the device is of considerable appeal. Firstly, the 12's 6.28" AMOLED display (made from Gorilla Glass Victus) is slighly curved on the edges and is specced accordingly. It offers a 120 Hz refresh rate,1100 nits brightness, 68 billion colours, with a 5 million:1 contrast ratio making up this 1080x2400 pixel screen (about 419 ppi). 

The display is housed in a compact body that weighs 180g for a solid feel in hand, and our unit came offered a subdued sparkling purple metal design, although the local versions will only be grey and blue. In all aspects, the Xiaomi 12 feels like a high-end device. 

Indeed, it is a high performance 5G phone, being one of the first ones in South Africa to boast Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 (3.0 GHz) processor onboard. Built on a 4 nm process, this processor boosts GPU graphic rendering capabilities by 30% and energy efficiency by 25% when compared to the previous generation, at least according to Qualcomm. Support is provided by a decent serving of 8 GB LPDDR5 RAM, with storage standing at 256 GB, but unfortunately no MicroSD card expansion slot. 

As with most top end phones, there's a lot of focus on the camera, with the Xiaomi 12 being no different. Onboard is a 50 MP main camera with a large 1/1.56" sensor, with aperture coming in at f1.8 on its widest. It's supported by a 13 MP ultra-wide and 5 MP telemacro camera. 

Xiaomi put in a lot of effort on the video side too, recording at 8K (7680x4320) at 24fps. It is however the Xiaomi's motion tracking, called ProFocus that should draw attention, alongside Ultra Night Video which provides clearer video clarity in darker surroundings. 

If there is a concern it's the protruding bump formed by the camera segment, which is extended further with the main camera. With the provided case it's clear there's a decently sized ridge there, while the lens also feels slightly exposed.  

Noting the battery saving capabilities of the new processor, the 4500 mAh battery lasts throughout a 24 hour cycle. Once empty, there's also quick charge capabilities, with the wired charger coming in at 67 W, and Xiaomi claiming a mere 39 minutes is needed to push the Xiaomi 12 to full capacity. 

Finally, and certainly not to be forgotten, is the dual speaker Dolby Atmos sound, which is loud and decently reproduced by Harmon/Kardon. The Xiaomi 12 provides Android 12 out the box, as well as MIUI 13, Xiaomi's UI that feels unobtrusive and intuitive to use. 

All this comes in at a South African retail price of a suggested R17 999, which puts the Xiaomi 12 in straight competition against other flagships such as the Samsung Galaxy S22 and Huawei P50. If you buy one, Xiaomi notes you will receive up to three months of YouTube Premium. 

From our short time with the device, the Xiaomi 12 is very impressive in a deceivingly compact body. It certainly feels like a flagship which provides all the specs needed to last much longer than a two-year contract cycle.