Xiaomi went official with its long-awaited 2022 flagship series comprising the Xiaomi 12 and the Xiaomi 12 Pro on the night on December 28. Since a spate of leaks had taken away most of the surprises from the launch event, our interests were limited to when these would launch globally and in India.
Now, a reliable tipster claims that the Xiaomi 12 and Xiaomi 12 Pro may get a global launch by end-February or early March, with the India launch happening right after. The leaker, collaborating with MySmartPrice says the base model and the Pro version could launch by early-March.
Meanwhile, another leaker DigitalChatStation claims that the ultra premium Xiaomi 12 Ultra equipped with a periscope telephone lens would go official in China around the first week of February when country celebrates the Spring Festival. So, there will be another global launch of the ultra premium device some time in March or April.
Xiaomi 12, Xiaomi 12 Pro - specifications and price
As readers would recall, the Xiaomi 12 and Xiaomi 12 Pro are powered by the 4nm-based Snapdragon 8 Gen-1 SoC, putting them alongside the likes of the Galaxy S22, Oppo Find X4, and OnePlus 10 Pro. These two handsets also get Harman Kardon tuned speakers with Dolby Atmos support to give them some extra gravitas.
The Xiaomi 12 is priced at CNY 3,699 (~Rs. 43,357) for 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. The one with 8GB RAM and 256GB cost CNY 3,999 (~Rs. 46,874) and the top-model with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage will cost CNY 4,399 (~Rs. 51,562).
The Xiaomi 12 Pro variant with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage costs CNY 4,699 (~Rs. 55,000) while the variant with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage comes at CNY 4,999 (~Rs. 58,500). The top-end model with a whopping 12GB RAM and 256GB storage costs CNY 5,399 (~Rs. 63,200).
The company had also unveiled a cheaper Xiaomi 12X variant that came with the Snapdragon 870 SoC. It is priced at CNY 3,199 (~Rs. 37,400) for the base model 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. The one with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage costs CNY 3,499 (~Rs. 41,000), and the higher-end model with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage costs CNY 3,799 (~Rs. 44,500).
Xiaomi 12 Ultra and the ultra-focus on camera specs
Coming to the Xiaomi 12 Ultra, the leaker says the device carries the codename L1 and would have top-notch cameras. The device could arrive with a periscope super-telephoto lens and Leica-powered camera sensors.
Earlier reports had suggested a quad-camera set-up on the rear with a 50MP main shooter carrying a Samsung GN5 primary lens and a 48MP 2x zoom lens alongside a 48MP lens with 5x zoom capability and another 48MP sensor with 10x zoom. All of this was supposed to reside in a rectangular camera island.
However, a report on Gizmochina had shared leaks of the rear case of the phone to indicate that the camera island would be circular on the Xiaomi 12 Ultra. Readers will recall that the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra had a secondary display within a mega camera bump that had appeared to suggest "you want more, here's more" to us. Xiaomi seems to be getting rid of the secondary display in the direct successor, going instead with a rather tame circular camera island.
Apart from the shooters, the Xiaomi 12 Ultra appears to get standard updates such as the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, a display that could be around 6.5-to-6.6-inch and a 2K screen resolution 120W rapid charge support. In other words, it mirrors the features of the Xiaomi 12 Pro.
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