Flagships are almost perfect smartphones, which have one serious drawback - a high price. Knowing full well that not every person needs a phone in the style of a gadget inspector with a wireless opener, a wireless defibrillator and a combat laser, many manufacturers release light versions of their main hits that retain the signature features of their ancestors, but due to some minor improvements they cost significantly cheaper. In 2022, the Chinese giant Xiomi remains one of the few brands that has streamlined the release of such smartphones.


At the same time, the equipment of flagship-light devices is growing day by day, and in a handset for a nominal $350 you can get almost the same set that a couple of years ago was used in top-end smartphones of the company costing 1.5 - 2 times more expensive. In particular, it can be powerful wired or conventional wireless charging, an improved camera with an optical stabilization module, a display with an increased refresh rate, a 5G module, a virtual SIM tray, etc. The difference is that flagships literally stuff such things without looking back at the price, and Lite format devices are improved in a dosed manner and based on the situation.

At the end of 2022 (note: this is when this material was written), the most interesting representative of the Xiaomi Lite series is the Xiaomi 12 Lite smartphone. This $ 450 device, in the arsenal of which you can find a bright AMOLED screen, productive hardware (Snapdragon 778G processor + 6 GB of RAM), 5G modules and Wi-Fi 6. The display of the device supports a refresh rate of 120 Hz and can display HDR10 + content. As befits a smartphone of this class, its body is assembled using lightweight metal and other premium materials, and the camera capabilities are significantly superior to mid-range smartphones.