LEADING tech maker Xiaomi released its latest suite of products including the Xiaomi 12 Lite smartphone and several home Artificial intelligence of things (AIoT) devices including a pet feeder and a separate pet water dispenser, smart doorbell, and air purifier last week in Malaysia.
The Xiaomi 12 Lite smartphone is filled with innovative features within a midrange flagship segment. The new phone was released with a special introductory price of P20,999 for 6GB+128GB specification and P21,999 for 8GB+128GB variant. This special pricing ends on August 26. Customers who purchase within the period also get free limited-editing premium gifts worth P3,500, which includes Xiaomi Tyvek bag, a cute plushie named Pinoy Bunny, the Nightlight, Ceramic Mug, shirt, notebook, and pen.

Meanwhile, its new AIoT ecosystem products, including the Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 4 Compact (P4,799 with free Smart Air Purifier 4 Compact filter), Smart Doorbell 3 (P5,199 with free Mi Motion-Activated Night Light 2), Smart Pet Feeder (P 5,199 with free Mi 360° Camera 1080P) and Xiaomi Smart Pet Fountain (P3,299). These innovative products offer smarter ways for individuals to enhance their lifestyles indoors. All of these devices can be accessed through the Xiaomi/Mi Home App on the Xiaomi 12 Lite.
Regional launch: Malaysia
Xiaomi generously hauled over 30 journalists, influencers, and bloggers to Kuala Lumpur to witness the regional launch of the 12 Lite. Three things mattered in doing the launch in Malaysia.
First, the brand is number one in unit sales for the brand according to the latest report by Canalys. Last year Xiaomi owned a 25 percent market share in Malaysia in 2021. Second, Not only is the brand popular because of its value-for-money devices (phones and others) it also recorded a 93 percent annual growth for smartphones. Third, after the brand launched in Europe last month, Xiaomi hinted that two countries–the Philippines and Malaysia–would be the first ones to receive the new phone in Southeast Asia.
“The Philippine market is very important to Xiaomi. The market is sizeable but is also influential. The Filipino smartphone market is very demanding and is constantly growing and replenishing, meaning consumers are always looking for a good deal. That’s why Xiaomi keeps releasing devices that reflect these key factors,” Tomi Miguel Adrias, Xiaomi Philippines head of marketing.
Xiaomi 12 Lite is equipped with a Snapdragon 778G chipset to deliver flagship-level 5G performance. Built on a 6nm process, the octa-core SoC maximizes 5G1 while keeping a balance between performance and power consumption. The multi-tier cooling system ensures efficient heat dissipation in order to deliver a smooth all-around experience.
In many reviews, the use of the 778G on the 12 Lite was called a repeat performance as it is about 2 generations down. Though known for its performance, some reviewers (mostly from India) questioned the chipset’s age but never looked at its overall performance.
“That is a good point,” Tomi told Malaya Business Insight. “As technology moves forward, incremental changes are made even with a current processor, or video card that improve overall performance. In the 12 Lite, the processor manages performance–on a 5G level–because of hardware and software enhancements that complement it. Some reviewers only look at the listed specs without looking at the final performance numbers,” Tomi added.
The Xiaomi 12 Lite is a well-balanced kind of smartphone.
With a sleek 7.29mm thin design and weighing a mere 173g, Xiaomi 12 Lite offers an incredibly comfortable in-hand grip. The most stunning feature is the back cover which is fitted with a matte color gradient that “dances with light” that reflects on its surface. The color further stretches across the flat edges for a simple yet refined aesthetic.
Colors are Lite Green, Lite Pink and Black.

Using a triple camera setup, Xiaomi 12 Lite features a 108MP main camera powered by a large HM2 sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera and a 2MP macro camera for high-definition images from any angle. When combined with Eye tracking focus and enabled Motion capture, the camera setup gives better clarity and quality to pictures and opens up a whole new realm of possibilities for impromptu cover shots.
The 32MP front camera features a GD2 sensor and autofocus capabilities, enabling ultra-clear selfies with refined clarity and color. Powered by Xiaomi’s self-developed algorithm that leverages depth estimation and portrait matting to simulate a true-to-life bokeh effect, the Selfie portrait mode with auto HDR manages to deliver flattering fashion selfie results. It also sports the unique Xiaomi Selfie Glow–two soft LED for the front camera which greatly improve night or low-light selfies.
Since it is targeted for a market that loves social media posting, video and selfies, it comes with a professional editor called Magic cutout, that automatically identifies and outlines people, cats and dogs for image editing, Vlog mode with 19 templates for creating vlogs in various styles in an instant, and other exciting features such as One-click AI cinema and a range of easy-to-use cinematic filters.
Built on a 6nm process, the octa-core SoC maximizes 5G1 while keeping a balance between performance and power consumption. The multi-tier cooling system ensures efficient heat dissipation in order to deliver a smooth all-around experience.
A 4,300mAh battery supports full-day of usage, while the 67W turbo charging powers up to 100 percent of battery in just 41 minutes. It also has a proprietary charging management system called the Xiaomi AdaptiveCharge, which learns users’ night-time charging patterns to optimize a charging strategy throughout the night, allowing the device to be charged fully right before the user wakes up.
Xiaomi 12 Lite has a 6.55” AMOLED display called “The TrueColor” which is capable of displaying 68 billion colors, delivers rich and accurate color. Screen refresh rate of up to 120Hz and a touch sampling rate of 240Hz for a smoother experience. Featuring all-day eye care including Sunlight mode 3.0, Reading mode 3.0 and True Display, the new phone provides a comfortable viewing experience and works to minimize eye strain. It also features both HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. It also incorporates a pair of stereo speakers and Dolby Atmos spatial audio technology for an immersive sound experience.