Xiaomi Mi 12 Mobile Phone (Snapdragon 8 Gen 1) from ~NZ$420 Delivered @ Various Sellers at AliExpress

danvelopment on 30/01/2025 - 08:48
Last edited 30/01/2025 - 14:24 by 2 other users

Moved to Forum: Original Link
Reason: No specific link to item / seller. Many of the listings on the link are sold by a seller with low feedback scores (does not meet Aliexpress Deal Posting Guidelines)

Haven't posted to any specific sellers on AliExpress, find the best deal and one you're most comfortable with, basically my partner is due for an upgrade (Snapdragon 845) and I have a Snapdragon 8 Gen1 phone [Motorola Edge X30], which was a significant boost in performance on both CPU and GPU side over previous generations.

It's the chipset found in the Samsung S22 and derivative phones.
https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=11285&idPhone…

It's way more powerful than I need, so I've been carefully watching prices for phones that have them.

The Xiaomi 12 is now cheap compared to other new phones with this chipset or later, everything else starts around $650 up to over a grand, and roughly parity with used phones from other brands.

I'd say it's the best deal for under $500 on a new phone right now, and even cheaper than GSMArena lists them ($300USD):
https://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_12-11285.php

Just make sure it's the Xiaomi 12, and not the 12S, or the Xiaomi Redmi 12 etc [modern phone naming sucks] which all have lesser chipsets. 12 Pro counts but it's more expensive.

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Comments

  • justaddwater on 30/01/2025 - 08:53

    i need somethng with a lot of battery life and only use phone to stream videos/ youtube

    is there a site that shows the phones with best battery life?

    • danvelopment on 30/01/2025 - 08:55
      +2

      GSMArena shows everything about phones, including search by size and if they've reviewed it, they have endurance ratings on there that they've tested themselves.
      https://www.gsmarena.com/search.php3

      I used to have a rugged phone with a 10Ah battery that lasted a week without charging, and you can get them with like 22Ah batteries but they're huge and they always have garbage, slow chipsets (hence me now using the Motorola, you never realise how important the chipset is until you get a crap one and the phone just becomes frustrating to use).

      • justaddwater on 30/01/2025 - 09:44

        yeah i want newer chipset due to more efficient die, but not sure which chipset are the more efficient ones?

        and the battery is all the same because the chemistry is similar?

        • danvelopment on 30/01/2025 - 09:48

          The battery power density is the same because the chemistry is similar, but physically larger phones usually have physically larger batteries.

          For example I had one of these in the past, and it genuinely was indestructible, but I would NOT recommend it because the chipset was trash and very slow, even for my meagre needs like web browsing:
          https://www.gsmarena.com/ulefone_power_armor_14-11170.php

          However the 10Ah battery did last a full week without charging. My current phone has ~5Ah battery and lasts 2 days.

          My dream phone would be a huge, rugged phone, with a 20+Ah battery, a Snapdragon 8 or equivalent…and under $500, but that doesn't exist right now. Oh and ideally it would have/get LineageOS support so I can use it from now until the end of time.

          Honestly, if you just brute forced it with a huge battery, then chipset efficiency won't matter. But there's an inverse relationship between performance and efficiency, and newer chipsets are almost always more efficient. The screen uses a lot of power as well.

    • Fantail on 30/01/2025 - 10:54

      https://www.kimovil.com/en/compare-smartphones Kimovil lets you filter phones by minimum battery. You'd want a minimum of 6000 mAh for all day usage.

  • Gwigglesnz on 30/01/2025 - 09:05

    As a Aliexpress newbie, what listing would you suggest?

    My kid needs a new phone and this will fit the bill. Had Xiaomi phones in the past and been happy.

    • danvelopment on 30/01/2025 - 09:39
      +1

      The official stores are P1, after that stores that have high reviews on many sales.

      I've had both good and bad experiences dealing with AliExpress support on disputes, so the other stores aren't a write-off, but need to cast a wary eye over them if it's a larger purchase.

      I'm not sure if everyone's ordering is the same but for me, the one at the top has like 100 sales and 4.5 stars. There's a slightly cheaper one further down at $360 with 8 sales and 3 stars, I wouldn't touch that. Then later there's one for $350 with 6 sold and no reviews. For a reasonably large expense, I wouldn't touch the latter two to save $10.

  • Zyo on 30/01/2025 - 09:15

    This phone was released in 2021. Based on Xiaomi track record it is not going to get receive a lot of up to date security updates in the future.

    I'd buy a more mid ranger (snapdragon 7) for similar price. Like the Poco phones.

    • ChoiceChips on 30/01/2025 - 14:07

      If you are getting a phone from AliExpress you might also need a Chinese to NZ adapter to be able to change it…..

      • Zyo on 30/01/2025 - 16:12

        They usually include a cheapo adapter out of the box.
        Most sellers at least.

        • ChoiceChips on 31/01/2025 - 08:33

          Good to know. Never bought a phone on there.

  • Stephen289 on 30/01/2025 - 09:15
    +1

    Just be aware that the Snapdragon 8 gen 1 has been noted to have overheating and battery issues by some. It is the same processor used for the S22

    • danvelopment on 30/01/2025 - 09:36

      I haven't heard this, but regardless I'd recommend an exoskeleton case like I use for any phone. Heat kills batteries, and phone batteries are a nightmare to replace these days.

      This is my one
      https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005916578103.html?spm=a2…

      The metal exoskeleton is raised on all dimensions, so it has survived countless drops, while the open back lets the phone cool itself (it also raises the back from my hand, so it technically improves cooling when it's in use).

      Everyone [including my wife] uses those rubber/plastic cases which effectively point all the heat from the chipset back at the phone.

    • SamDash on 30/01/2025 - 10:05

      Fully agree. I bought a S22, not realising that AU & NZ had the SD 8 Gen 1 and I had to return it since the battery was so bad. Though it only had 3700 mAh. The 4500 mAh on the Xiaomi might be OK though if it can last a day.

  • Encounter Ekambaram on 30/01/2025 - 09:51
    +1

    I'd rather get a poco X6 Pro / Poco X7 than this. This is an old phone and you wont get OS updates on their MIUI. Xiaomi started rolling out Hyper OS on their new devices.

    • danvelopment on 30/01/2025 - 09:54

      Shruggie, the X7 looks worse on every front on the hardware side:
      https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=11285&idPhone…

      And Android 14 is available (and 15 is expected) for the Xiaomi 12:
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiaomi_12

      The Poco X7 also seems to cost more (>$500)

      The Dimensity 7300 Ultra gets an Antutu score of 650k, while the Snapdragon 8 Gen1 gets 1.1 million.
      https://www.antutu.com/en/ranking/rank11.htm

      Mi 12 (S-8 Gen 1 8+256)
      296706
      385352
      197073
      230860
      1109991

      iQOO Z9s (M-7300-Ultra 8+128)
      206277
      145267
      144983
      162015
      658542

      • Encounter Ekambaram on 30/01/2025 - 10:03

        If it'll be upgraded to android 15 then it's all good.
        Ultimately it'll come down to software updates given how hard it has become to unlock bootloader on latest Xiaomi devices running Hyper OS. Xiaomi doesn't want users to run their phones on custom ROMs.

    • ChoiceChips on 30/01/2025 - 14:08

      Is Poco = Redmi?

      • Latex Fist on 30/01/2025 - 14:10

        Poco and redmi are kinda like sub brands of Xiaomi that kiiinda compete against each other. Kind of a weird deal tbh

  • sigma on 30/01/2025 - 10:18
    +3

    be aware that the cheap ones are actually used phones, probably refurbs. see the end of the titles, and in the pics they dont have the original boxes.

    id be wary if the batteries were replaced, but hard to say what has been repaired in them.

    • danvelopment on 30/01/2025 - 10:22

      Oh wow that's good spotting I didn't even realised they sold used phones on AliExpress now.

      That's changed the value proposition, I might just get a used phone from TradeMe then.

      Refurbs I don't mind, but it's not clear on the listing.

      • CheapAzChips on 30/01/2025 - 12:45

        Yeah, they have done this for years, and you're right, it's not always clear.

  • Nil Einne on 30/01/2025 - 13:34

    If you're willing to deal with the tradein hassles you can probably get a Samsung S24FE for around $500-$550 including cost of buying the tradein from Trademe with all the discounts during one of their flash sales. S24 might be around $600 although remains to be seen how S25 will affect that etc. And we're still seeing what they're doing with the prices, coupons, stacking etc as it's changed a bit. Still the S24FE is at that price on EPP on current flash sale according to Stiflz so wouldn't be surprised if it happens again, and I also got it at around that price on the final December flash sale on the regular store which was after they'd already reduced discounts.

    • Firremann on 04/02/2025 - 18:07

      How do you get s24 for $600?

  • Latex Fist on 30/01/2025 - 13:55

    As someone with a (Xiaomi) Redmi Note 11T - I'm staying aware from Xiaomi in the future. The hardware specs are amazing for the price, however the software in it is garbage.

    It's improved over time, however there are still so many things about this phone when other people pick it up, they remind me how buggy it can be.

    Coming from Huawei, this is definitely a downgrade for software, but upgrade for specs (specs don't make a good phone though).

    • ChoiceChips on 30/01/2025 - 14:15

      Xiaomi is Xiaomi, Redmi is Redmi. Just like Huawei and Honor. Two diff things

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