Xiaomi is known for launching smartphones at regular intervals. This means that the Chinese smartphone maker might have to work on various devices at the same time and gradually launch them in markets that those are intended for. In some cases, those phones are rebranded and launched with different names in different markets.
This is precisely what we saw recently when the company was preparing for its flagship Xiaomi 12 series. We not only came across a compact Xiaomi 12, a vanilla Xiaomi 12, Xiaomi 12 Lite, Xiaomi 12 Pro, even a Xiaomi 12 Ultra and probably a few more.
While the company did introduce three of these phones – Xiaomi 12, Xiaomi 12 Pro and Xiaomi 12X right before the year ended, there was no sign of the Xiaomi 12 Ultra. This is probably the most anticipated variant which is expected to launch with powerful camera-centric features and is rumored to succeed the now discontinued Mi 11 Ultra.
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It might launch with a different name
Now a report suggests that we might have got it all wrong and Xiaomi might not even launch the Xiaomi 12 Ultra or worse there is no such device at all.
If this report is to be trusted, Xiaomi’s most powerful device could be the Xiaomi Mix 5 Pro, not the Ultra variant. Backing its claim, the publication says that the company might not have certified a device that could be launched as Xiaomi 12 Ultra and the codenames assigned to other devices of the Xiaomi 12 lineup do not have a scope for this device.
The Xiaomi 12 had a code name L3 while the Xiaomi 12 Pro was listed as L2. Going by this logic, the Xiaomi 12 Ultra should be listed at L1, however, that’s not the case. Instead, it’s the Xiaomi Mix 5 Pro that’s listed as L1. That’s not all, a base variant of Xiaomi Mix 5 is also listed as L1A – which probably corroborated this theory.
These codes not only help the brand identify between multiple devices but also help it differentiate phones intended for a specific market. In most cases, the variant set for a China launch may have C as a suffix. So, if the code ends with a C, it would mean that it’s the Chinese variant of Xiaomi 12 Pro. While the global variant may have a letter G in the end.
We all got it wrong, probably
Apart from this, the leaked design of Xiaomi Mix 5 Pro looks extremely similar to the device that we were all thinking of as the Xiaomi 12 Ultra. The massive camera bump is present there as well.
Historically, Xiaomi’s most premium devices have been launched under the Mix lineup, including the foldable phone. A known Chinese tipster Digital Chat Station has also confirmed that same theory in his latest tweet where he says that, “Of course, the L1 series is also positioned higher, with a 50mp super-outsole main camera, as well as high-resolution super-wide-angle and super-telephoto and other image-oriented stacking materials. The overall situation is stronger than the previous generation.”
These were the specifications that we thought belonged to the Xiaomi 12 Ultra. In fact, another tipster has also confirmed that it’s the Xiaomi Mix 5 Pro that will have the Leica branded camera system.
That said, Xiaomi will neither confirm nor deny any of these rumors till the time it is ready to launch the smartphone. Hence, we have to wait.
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