We put the Xiaomi 12 Pro through our rigorous DXOMARK Battery test suite to measure its performance in autonomy, charging, and efficiency. In these test results, we will break down how it fared in a variety of tests and several common use cases.
Overview
Key specifications:
- Battery capacity: 4600 mAh
- 120W charger (included)
- 6.73-inch, 1440 x 3200, 120 Hz, OLED display
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 (4 nm)
- Tested ROM / RAM combination: 256 GB + 12 GB
Scoring
Sub-scores and attributes included in the calculations of the global score.
Xiaomi 12 Pro
Key performances
These key points are derived from the lab measurements during testing and do not figure into the overall score. The lab measurements, however, are used for the overall score.
Pros
- Excellent charging experience, whether wired or wireless
- Decent charge and adapter efficiency
- Best wireless charge efficiency in our database to date
- 6 hours of autonomy recovered on average after charging for 5 minutes
Cons
- Very low autonomy, especially when streaming video and music
- Poor performance during on-the-go tests, especially when scrolling on social apps
- Very high discharge current during the day in a typical usage scenario
- Very high discharge current during calibrated tests
- Very high residual power drain when the device is fully charged and still on the wireless stand
The Xiaomi 12 Pro’s battery experience is one of extremes. It stands among the best devices in our database when it comes to charging, with excellent results — especially in wireless. But the device took a hit when it came to autonomy and efficiency.
The Xiaomi 12 Pro struggled a lot with autonomy in all our test cases, such as video and music streaming, calibrated tests, and social apps on the go. Even with moderate usage, autonomy was very low, when compared with other phones in the database.
Efficiency was very poor, too, because of very high discharge currents.
But what the device lacks in autonomy and efficiency, it makes up for in charging. The device took 21 minutes to reach 80% of capacity in default settings, which we use for the protocol. But Xiaomi has a hidden “Charging Boost” option that allows charging at higher power, and we were eager to test it. The results showed that by activating this option, the device took only 14 minutes, 50 seconds, to reach 80% of capacity, 6 minutes, 33 seconds faster than the default mode, which would have made the device’s charging the third best performer in our entire database. The “Charging Boost” option, however, did slightly affect the charge efficiency and pushed it down to 82.6%, compared with 84.6% in default mode.
In conclusion, as an ultra-premium device, the Xiaomi 12 Pro, underperformed others in the segment in the areas of autonomy and efficiency. But the 12 Pro easily earned the charging top score, with the fastest charging time and the high charge efficiency for a device in this price range.
Test Summary
About DXOMARK Battery tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone battery reviews, DXOMARK engineers perform a variety of objective tests over a week-long period both indoors and outdoors. (See our introductory and how we test articles for more details about our smartphone Battery protocol.)
The following section gathers key elements of our exhaustive tests and analyses performed in DXOMARK laboratories. Detailed performance evaluations under the form of reports are available upon request. Do not hesitate to contact us.
Battery | Charger | Wireless | Display | Processor | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Xiaomi 12 Pro | 4600mAh | 120W (included) |
50W | LTPO AMOLED 1440 x 3200 |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 |
Oppo Find X5 Pro | 5000mAh | 80W (included) |
50W | (LTPO) OLED 1440 x 3216 |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 |
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon) | 5000mAh | 45W (not included) |
15W | AMOLED 2X 1440 x 3088 |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 |
Apple iPhone 13 Pro | 3095mAh | 20W (not included) |
15W | OLED 1170 x 2532 |
Apple A15 Bionic |
Autonomy
Xiaomi 12 Pro
195
Autonomy score is composed of three performance sub-scores: Stationary, On the go, and Calibrated use cases. Each sub-score comprises the results of a comprehensive range of tests for measuring autonomy in all kinds of real-life scenarios.
Battery Life (moderate)
Battery Life (moderate)
Home/Office
Xiaomi 12 Pro
221
A robot housed in a Faraday cage performs a set of touch-based user actions during what we call our “typical usage scenario” (TUS) — making calls, video streaming, etc. — 4 hours of active use over the course of a 16-hour period, plus 8 hours of “sleep.” The robot repeats this set of actions every day until the device runs out of power.
On the go
Xiaomi 12 Pro
195
Using a smartphone on the go takes a toll on autonomy because of extra “hidden” demands, such as the continuous signaling associated with cellphone network selection, for example. DXOMARK Battery experts take the phone outdoors and perform a precisely defined set of activities while following the same three-hour travel itinerary (walking, taking the bus, the subway…) for each device
Calibrated
Xiaomi 12 Pro
198
For this series of tests, the smartphone returns to the Faraday cage and our robots repeatedly perform actions linked to one specific use case (such as gaming, video streaming, etc.) at a time. Starting from an 80% charge, all devices are tested until they have expended at least 5% of their battery power.
Charging
Xiaomi 12 Pro
218
Charging is fully part of the overall battery experience. In some situations where autonomy is at a minimum, knowing how fast you can charge becomes a concern. The DXOMARK Battery charging score is composed of two sub-scores, (1) Full charge and (2) Quick boost.
Full charge
Xiaomi 12 Pro
224
Full charge tests assess the reliability of the battery power gauge; measure how long and how much power the battery takes to charge from zero to 80% capacity, from 80 to 100% as shown by the UI, and until an actual full charge.
The charging curves, in wired and wireless (if available) showing the evolution of the battery level indicator as well as the power consumption in watts during the stages of charging toward full capacity.
The time to full charge chart breaks down the necessary time to reach 80%, 100% and full charge.
Quick boost
Xiaomi 12 Pro
212
With the phone at different charge levels (20%, 40%, 60%, 80%), Quick boost tests measure the amount of charge the battery receives after being plugged in for 5 minutes. The chart here compares the average autonomy gain from a quick 5-minute charge.
Efficiency
Xiaomi 12 Pro
154
The DXOMARK power efficiency score consists of two sub-scores, Charge up and Discharge rate, both of which combine data obtained during robot-based typical usage scenario, calibrated tests and charging evaluation, taking into consideration the device’s battery capacity. DXOMARK calculate the annual power consumption of the product, shown on below graph, which is representative of the overall efficiency during a charge and when in use.
Charge up
Xiaomi 12 Pro
205
The charge up sub-score is a combination of four factors: the overall efficiency of a full charge, related to how much energy you need to fill up the battery compared to the energy that the battery can provide; the efficiency of the travel adapter when it comes to transferring power from an outlet to your phone; the residual consumption when your phone is fully charged and still plugged into the charger; and the residual consumption of the charger itself, when the smartphone is disconnected from it. The chart here below shows the overall efficiency of a full charge in %.
Discharge
Xiaomi 12 Pro
194
The discharge subscore rates the speed of a battery’s discharge during a test, which is independent of the battery’s capacity. It is the ratio of a battery’s capacity divided by its autonomy. A small-capacity battery could have the same autonomy as a large-capacity battery, indicating that the device is well-optimized, with a low discharge rate.
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