The Xiaomi 12 could be the dark horse of the 2021 or early 2022 Android flagship phones. Even if it doesn’t come to the U.S. (and there’s no sign it will), this will offer other users around the world a well-specced rival to premium phones from Samsung, OnePlus and others.
While the launch could take place within weeks, we probably won’t see it outside of China for a little while longer. Until that happens, or Xiaomi at least confirms the phone’s existence and its specs, you can read our summary of what’s been tipped for the Xiaomi 12 below.
Nevertheless, it looks like the Xiaomi 12 could be arriving either late 2021 (it’s December at the time of writing) or early 2022, very likely in the first quarter, potentially ready to nip at the heels of the rumored Samsung Galaxy S22. So with that in mind, read on for everything we know so far about the Xiaomi 12.
Xiaomi 12 potential release date
As mentioned, the Xiaomi 12 should be arriving by the end of the year, or early 2022 at the latest.
Its predecessor, the Xiaomi Mi 11, was released at the end of December 2020, so we should expect similar timing for the 12 this year. However, it may not go on sale outside of China until March 2022, since Xiaomi did this with the Mi 11. The company has a habit of launching its phones for its home market first, then globally quite a bit later.
Xiaomi 12 price
We anticipate the Xiaomi 12 to come with a flagship-grade price. The Xiaomi Mi 11 sells for £749, which while a little cheaper than a Samsung Galaxy S21 or iPhone 13, but doesn’t make much of a difference when paid for monthly as part of a phone contract.
The Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra on the other hand sells for £1,199, which is a little more expensive than the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra or iPhone 13 Pro Max.
Xiaomi 12 design
One of the most notable potential changes to the Xiaomi 12 is that it could use an under-display selfie camera. This is still a rare feature found on only a couple of phones, but it’s not unreasonable to believe this is about to hit mainstream flagship phones.
However, we’ve also had other leaks say there’s going to be a punch-hole notch like the Mi 11 had. If Xiaomi wants to focus on overall photo quality, keeping the punch-hole is a good decision.
We’d expect the display to stay large — the Mi 11 series all used 6.8-inch AMOLED panels. However, what could be new is the introduction of an LTPO display (via MyDrivers), which would give the 12 series a fully variable 120Hz refresh rate like the Galaxy S21 Ultra or OnePlus 9 Pro, rather than the adaptive pre-set refresh rates the Mi 11 series used.
On the back of the phone, there’s the possibility of Xiaomi fitting the 12, with a huge 200MP camera, at least according to Weibo leaker Digital Chat Station. This sensor may even be the Samsung ISOCELL HP1 that was recently announced. This could end up reserved just for the 12 Ultra (as DCS later claimed), or for the basic or Pro models while the Ultra gets something entirely different.
The reason we’re expecting a two-tier system is because another rumor from the same source claims there could be a 12 series model with three 50MP sensors, one of which will be a periscope telephoto camera. This roughly matches the camera specs of the Mi 11 Ultra, so we might expect this model to be the 12 Ultra.
The 12 Ultra may lose out on the second rear display that defined the 11 Ultra though. Or at least so says leaker Digital Chat Station. However it could instead gain Leica-tuned lenses, given Xiaomi and Leica have announced a partnership together (via Digital Chat Station and GSMArena).
You’ll see this, along with the new circular-shaped camera bump with all its many sensors, in these renders. It’s not certain what all the cameras will do yet, but the Xiaomi 12 Ultra is certainly going to be stuffed to the brim with camera options one way or another.
A new batch of claimed leaked renders show off how the standard Xiaomi 12 will look more understated than its Ultra sibling. But that’s no bad thing as the refined look is definitely very appealing to our eyes. There’s a lot to be said about a stylish phone that doesn’t want to shout about its design quirks.
Xiaomi 12 rumored specs
One the inside, the Xiaomi 12 has been confirmed as one of the first smartphones that’ll use the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, formally thought to be called the Snapdragon 888. Built on a 4-nanometer process node, compared to the Snapdragon 888’s 5nmn process, we expect to see improvements in performance and efficiency. But more significantly, we’re expecting to see enhanced features facilitated by the new slice of silicon, such as 80W charging, 8K HDR video capture, and better gaming mode attributes.
Joining that chip could be the latest in smartphone memory: LPDDR5X RAM. A report from MyDrivers claims this faster memory will be fitted in the 12 series.
We should expect rapid charging of some kind for the Xiaomi 12, although exactly how fast remains to be seen. The current Mi 11 line charges at 55W wired and 50W wireless, while the Mi 11 Ultra charges at 67W wired and wirelessly. This is already pretty fast, but it could get faster.
The one rumor we’ve heard about it says that Xiaomi will be sticking with 67W wired charging, rather than using the 120W charging that debuted on the Xiaomi 11T Pro. That’s a pity since that’s the fastest charging phone we’ve ever tested, so it would have made quite a selling point.
The battery, according to this rumor, will start at a fairly small 4,500 mAh, a reduction from the Xiaomi Mi 11. We can only hope the Xiaomi 12 still provides strong battery life even without the extra capacity.
Xiaomi 12 outlook
Going by the tidbits of information so far the Xiaomi 12 could be a rather impressive piece of phone hardware. The Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra impressed up, so we’d expect it’s successor to do the same.
And it’ll have to. As we’ve seen with the likes of the Galaxy S21 and iPhone 12, some flagship phones are back to below the $1,000 mark, meaning those that want to compete with the tow big brands will need to offer some serious hardware or smart features. But so far it looks like the Xiaomi 12 has a lot of potential.
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