Xiaomi 12S Ultra crushes iPhone 13 Pro Max in gaming test
Most high-end smartphones are sufficiently fast for most users, but from the perspective of performance numbers, Apple's A-series chips that power its iPhones are ahead of SoCs that fuel Android phones. iPhones have traditionally offered better performance and graphics than Android phones, but Qualcomm may be close to taking that crown away.
Xiaomi 12S Ultra outshines all other phones in gaming test
Xiaomi 12S Ultra vs other phones in Genshin Impact test
Golden Reviewer, who conducts in-depth smartphone reviews and tests, has discovered that Xiaomi's latest flagship, the Xiaomi 12S Ultra, has better gaming graphics than any other smartphone out there, including those made by Apple.
The phone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1, which is a huge improvement over the Gen 1, thanks to TSMC's 4nm manufacturing process. Per Qualcomm, the chip offers 10 percent improved CPU performance and 10 percent faster GPU clocks than its predecessor and is 30 percent more power efficient.
When running the resource-intensive game Genshin Impact, the Xiaomi 12S Ultra ran at higher frame rates than the other best smartphones of 2022. To be more specific, it offered an average FPS of 57.7. What's even more impressive is that it achieved that without heating up significantly, which was a problem with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
In fact, the Xiaomi 12S Ultra remained cooler than most other smartphones on the list, such as the iPhone SE 2022, which is underpinned by Apple's latest smartphone chip, the A15 Bionic, the iPhone 13 Pro Max, which also runs on the A15, and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 version of the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
Interestingly, Xiaomi's phone also appears to have better thermals than the Apple M1-powered iPad Air 2022.
The only device that gave a higher frame rate than the Xiaomi 12S Ultra was the A15-fueled iPad Mini 6.
Although we don't have the CPU benchmark for the Xiaomi 12S Ultra, an Asus device running on Qualcomm's latest chip that my colleague Preslav Kateliev tested achieved 1,313 in the Geekbench 5 single-core test, and 4,147 in the multi-core test.
For reference, Snapdragon 8 Gen 1-powered Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra got 1,242 points in the single-core test, and 3,538 in the multi-core test, and the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max got 1,734 and 4,818 in the same test.
So while Apple still has a lead, Qualcomm is catching up to the Cupertino giant. Per rumors, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 will deliver even better performance and power efficiency.
Back to the 12S Ultra, it is equipped with a 1-inch main camera sensor, which will let it capture more details than phones with smaller sensors. Other specs include a large 6.73-inch OLED panel and a 4,860 mAh battery with support for fast 67W charging.
The phone will unfortunately only be sold in China. Its price starts at RMB 5,999 (~$900 ).
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