We subjected the Xiaomi 12 Pro to our rigorous SBMARK battery test suite to measure its performance in terms of range, charging and efficiency. In these test results, we will analyze how it fared in a variety of tests and several common use cases.
Overview
Key specs:
- Battery capacity: 4600mAh
- 120W charger (included)
- 6.73-inch, 1440 x 3200, 120Hz OLED display
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 (4 nm)
- ROM / RAM combination tested: 256GB + 12GB
Pros
- Excellent charging experience, both wired and wireless
- Decent charge and adapter efficiency
- Best wireless charging efficiency in our database to date
- 6 hours of battery life recovered on average after a 5 minute charge
Cons
- Very low battery life, especially when streaming videos and music
- Poor performance when testing on the go, especially when scrolling through social apps
- Very high discharge current during the day in a typical use scenario
- Very high discharge current during calibrated tests
- Very high residual power consumption when the device is fully charged and still on the wireless holder
The Xiaomi 12 Pro battery experience is one of the extremes. It is among the best devices in our database when it comes to charging, with excellent results, especially in wireless. But the device was successful in terms of autonomy and efficiency.
Xiaomi 12 Pro struggled a lot with autonomy in all of our test cases, such as video and music streaming, calibrated tests and social apps on the go. Even with moderate use, the battery life was very low compared to other phones in the database.
The efficiency was also very poor, due to the very high discharge currents.
But what the device lacks in terms of autonomy and efficiency, it makes up for in charging. It took the device 21 minutes to reach 80% capacity in the default settings, which we use for the protocol. But Xiaomi has a hidden “Charging Boost” option that allows charging at higher power and we couldn’t wait to test it. The results showed that by activating this option, it took the device just 14 minutes and 50 seconds to reach 80% capacity, 6 minutes and 33 seconds faster than the default mode, which would have made charging the device the third best. performance across our entire database. The “Charging Boost” option, however, slightly affected the charging efficiency and reduced it to 82.6%, compared to 84.6% in default mode.
In conclusion, as an ultra premium device, the Xiaomi 12 Pro underperformed the others in the segment in terms of autonomy and efficiency. But the 12 Pro easily scored highest in charging, with the fastest charging time and high charging efficiency for a device in this price range.
Test summary
About SBMARK Battery Tests: For the score and analysis in our smartphone battery reviews, SBMARK engineers perform a series of objective tests over a period of one week both indoors and outdoors. (See our introductory article and how we test articles for more details on our Smartphone Battery Protocol.)
The following section collects the key elements of our exhaustive tests and analyzes performed in SBMARK laboratories. Detailed performance evaluations in the form of reports are available upon request. Do not hesitate to contact us.
| Drums | Battery charger | wireless | Screen | Processor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xiaomi 12 Pro | 4600 mAh | 120 W (not included) |
50 W | LTPO AMOLED 1440 x 3200 |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 |
| Oppo Find X5 Pro | 5000 mAh | 80 W (not included) |
50 W | (LTPO) OLED 1440 x 3216 |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 |
| Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon) | 5000 mAh | 45 W (not included) |
15W | AMOLED 2X 1440 x 3088 |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 |
| Apple iPhone 13 Pro | 3095 mAh | 20 W (not included) |
15W | OLED 1170 x 2532 |
Apple A15 Bionic |
Autonomy
31
Wiko Power U30
Wiko Power U30
How the autonomy score is composed
The range score is made up of three performance sub-scores: stationary, moving, and calibrated use cases. Each sub-score includes the results of a full range of tests to measure autonomy in all kinds of real-life scenarios.
49 hours
Light use
Active: 2h30 / day
34 hours
Moderate use
Active: 4 hours a day
21h
Intense use
Active: 7 hours a day
Stationary
29
Viva Y72 5G
Viva Y72 5G
A robot housed in a Faraday cage performs a series of touch-based user actions during what we call our “typical use scenario” (TUS) – making calls, streaming video, etc. – 4 hours of active use over a 16-hour period, plus 8 hours of “sleep”. The robot repeats this series of actions every day until the device is discharged.
In movement
51
Samsung Galaxy M51
Samsung Galaxy M51
Using a smartphone on the go puts a strain on autonomy due to additional “hidden” needs, such as the continuous signaling associated with the selection of the cellular network. SBMARK Battery experts take the phone outdoors and perform a well-defined set of activities while following the same three-hour travel itinerary (on foot, by bus, by subway …) for each device
Calibrated
41
Samsung Galaxy M51
Samsung Galaxy M51
For this series of tests, the smartphone returns to the Faraday cage and ours robots repeatedly perform actions related to a specific use case (such as games, video streaming, etc.) at a time. Starting at an 80% charge, all devices are tested until they have consumed at least 5% of the battery charge.
Reload
103
Realme GT Neo 3
Realme GT Neo 3
How the Charge score is composed
Charging is completely part of the overall battery experience. In some situations where battery life is minimal, knowing how fast you can charge becomes a problem. The SBMARK battery charge score consists of two secondary scores, (1) Full charge and (2) Quick boost.
Full charge
109
Realme GT Neo 3
Realme GT Neo 3
Full charge tests evaluate the reliability of the battery charge indicator; measure how long and how much energy the battery takes to charge from zero to 80% capacity, 80 to 100% as shown by the user interface, and up to an actual full charge.
The charging curves, in wired and wireless mode (if available) show the evolution of the battery level indicator as well as the energy consumption in watts during the charging phases towards full capacity.
The full charge time graph breaks down the time it takes to reach 80%, 100% and full charge.
Fast thrust
90
Realme GT Neo 3
Realme GT Neo 3
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 graph here compares the average runtime gain from a 5 minute quick charge.
Efficiency
35
Apple iPhone 13 Pro
Apple iPhone 13 Pro
How the efficiency score is composed
The SBMARK energy efficiency score consists of two secondary scores, Charge up and Discharge rate, which combine both data obtained during a typical use scenario based on robots, calibrated tests and charge evaluation, taking into account the battery capacity of the device . SBMARK calculates the annual energy consumption of the product, shown in the graph below, which is representative of the overall efficiency during charging and in use.
The secondary charge score is a combination of four factors: the overall efficiency of a full charge, relative to the amount of energy needed to fill the battery versus the energy the battery can provide; the efficiency of the travel adapter when it comes to transferring power from an outlet to the phone; the residual consumption when the phone is fully charged and still connected to the charger; and the residual consumption of the charger itself, when the smartphone is disconnected from it. The graph below shows the overall efficiency of a full charge in%.
Discharge
30
Apple iPhone 13 Pro
Apple iPhone 13 Pro
The discharge secondary score evaluates the discharge rate of a battery during a test, which is independent of the battery capacity. It is the ratio of the capacity of a battery divided by its autonomy. A small capacity battery may have the same runtime as a large capacity battery, indicating that the device is well optimized, with a low discharge rate.
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