Asus Zenfone 8 vs Xiaomi 12
A spec-by-spec comparison of the Asus Zenfone 8 and the Xiaomi 12, taken from their full specification sheets. Green marks the better value in each measured row.
Head to head
| Asus Zenfone 8 | Xiaomi 12 |
|---|
| Price | $399 | $272 |
| Our rating | 8/10 | 7/10 |
| Battery | 4,000 mAh | 4,500 mAh |
| Wired charging | 30W | 67W |
| RAM (max) | — | 12 GB |
| Storage (max) | 256 GB | 256 GB |
| Screen size | 5.9 in | 6.28 in |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Main camera | 64 MP | 50 MP |
| Weight (lower is lighter) | 169 g | 179 g |
| Released | May 2021 | Dec 2021 |
Summary: Asus Zenfone 8 is ahead on our rating, main camera, weight (lower is lighter). Xiaomi 12 is ahead on battery, wired charging, screen size.
★ Which should you buy? Specs are close to an even split here, so Xiaomi 12 is the better buy — the extra cost of the other one isn't matched by a clear spec advantage.
Reviewed by the infozme.com Editorial Team — see how we research & rate phones.
Display
| Asus Zenfone 8 | Xiaomi 12 |
|---|
| Type | Super AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1100 nits (peak) | AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, 1100 nits (peak) |
| Size | 5.9 inches, 84.6 cm2 (~82.9% screen-to-body ratio) | 6.28 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2400 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~446 ppi density) | 1080 x 2400 pixels |
| Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus |
| Features | 1ms response time, 240Hz touch sampling rate | — |
Platform
| Asus Zenfone 8 | Xiaomi 12 |
|---|
| Chipset | Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 5G (5 nm) | Qualcomm SM8450 Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 (4 nm) |
| CPU | Octa-core (1x2.84 GHz Cortex-X1 & 3x2.42 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4x1.80 GHz Cortex-A55) | Octa-core (1x3.00 GHz Cortex-X2 & 3x2.50 GHz Cortex-A710 & 4x1.80 GHz Cortex-A510) |
| GPU | Adreno 660 | Adreno 730 |
| OS | — | Android 12, MIUI 13 (upgradable) |
Memory
| Asus Zenfone 8 | Xiaomi 12 |
|---|
| RAM Options | 6GB, 8GB, 16GB LPDDR5 | — |
| Storage Options | 128GB, 256GB UFS 3.1 | — |
| Card Slot | No | — |
| Card slot | — | No |
| Internal | — | 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM (UFS 3.1) |
Main Camera
| Asus Zenfone 8 | Xiaomi 12 |
|---|
| Dual | 64 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.73", 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS (Sony IMX686); 12 MP, f/2.2, 14mm, 112˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF (Sony IMX363) | — |
| Features | LED flash, HDR, panorama | Dual-LED dual-tone flash, HDR, panorama |
| Video | 8K@24fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, EIS | 8K@24fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240/960fps, gyro-EIS |
| Triple | — | 50 MP, f/1.9, 26mm (wide), 1/1.56", 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS; 13 MP, f/2.4, 12mm, 123˚ (ultrawide), 1/3.06", 1.12µm; 5 MP, f/2.4, 50mm (telephoto macro), AF |
Selfie Camera
| Asus Zenfone 8 | Xiaomi 12 |
|---|
| Single | 12 MP, f/2.5, 28mm (standard), 1/2.93", 1.22µm, dual pixel PDAF (Sony IMX663) | 32 MP, f/2.5, 26mm (wide), 0.7µm |
| Features | HDR | HDR, panorama |
| Video | 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps, EIS | 1080p@30/60fps, 720p@120fps |
Battery
| Asus Zenfone 8 | Xiaomi 12 |
|---|
| Type | Li-Po 4000 mAh, non-removable | Li-Po 4500 mAh, non-removable |
| Charging | 30W wired, PD3.0, QC4 (60% in 25 min, 100% in 80 min advertised), 10W reverse wired | 67W wired, 50W wireless, 10W reverse wireless, Power Delivery 3.0, Quick Charge 4+ |
Body
| Asus Zenfone 8 | Xiaomi 12 |
|---|
| Dimensions | 148 x 68.5 x 8.9 mm (5.83 x 2.70 x 0.35 in) | 152.7 x 69.9 x 8.2 mm |
| Weight | 169 g (5.96 oz) | 179g (glass) or 180g (eco-leather) |
| Build | Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus), glass back (Gorilla Glass 3), aluminum frame | Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus), glass back (Gorilla Glass 5 or frosted glass) or eco-leather back, aluminum frame |
| SIM | Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) | Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) |
| Water & Dust Resistance | IP68 dust/water resistant | — |
| Water Resistance | — | No official IP rating |
Comms
| Asus Zenfone 8 | Xiaomi 12 |
|---|
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6/6e, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct |
| Bluetooth | 5.2, A2DP, LE, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive | 5.2, A2DP, LE |
| Positioning | GPS (L1+L5), GLONASS (L1), BDS (B1/B1c/B2a), GALILEO (E1+E5a), QZSS (L1+L5), NavIC (L5) | GPS (L1+L5), GLONASS (G1), BDS (B1I+B1c+B2a), GALILEO (E1+E5a), QZSS (L1+L5), NavIC (L5) |
| NFC | Yes | Yes (market/region dependent) |
| Radio | No | No |
| USB | USB Type-C 2.0, OTG | USB Type-C 2.0, OTG |
| Infrared port | — | Yes |
Launch
| Asus Zenfone 8 | Xiaomi 12 |
|---|
| Announced | May 12, 2021 | 2021, December 28 |
| Status | Released May 13, 2021 | Available. Released 2021, December 31 |
| OS | Android 11, upgradable to Android 13, ZenUI 8 | — |
Frequently asked questions
Which has the better battery, Asus Zenfone 8 or Xiaomi 12?
Xiaomi 12 — 4,000 mAh for the Asus Zenfone 8 versus 4,500 mAh for the Xiaomi 12.
Which is lighter, Asus Zenfone 8 or Xiaomi 12?
Asus Zenfone 8 — 169 g for the Asus Zenfone 8 versus 179 g for the Xiaomi 12.
Which is newer, Asus Zenfone 8 or Xiaomi 12?
Xiaomi 12 — May 2021 for the Asus Zenfone 8 versus Dec 2021 for the Xiaomi 12.
Is the Asus Zenfone 8 or the Xiaomi 12 rated higher?
We rate the Asus Zenfone 8 8/10 and the Xiaomi 12 7/10.
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