Skip to main content

Xiaomi 12 Ultra leak shows another ridiculous camera bump

Renders of Xiaomi’s upcoming 12 Ultra have leaked online, showcasing the flagship’s overly large camera bump. The images, shared by Steve Hemmerstoffer (aka OnLeaks), also demonstrate one of the first phones to result from the company’s partnership with Leica.

The leak showcases a typical Xiaomi design: A glass and metal sandwich with a full-screen display only broken up by a camera cutout. In the case of the Ultra, the phone sets itself apart with its enormous camera system on the rear. Offset against a black glass panel, a circular camera bump is expected to house four high-resolution cameras. These include a 50-megapixel main camera, a 48MP ultrawide lens, and a 48MP periscope lens with an unknown fourth one.

Xiaomi's upcoming 12 Ultra.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Xiaomi’s 12 Ultra isn’t just a camera phone, though. It’s expected to arrive with top-end specs, including a Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset, a 6.6-inch 1440p display with a 120Hz refresh rate, and a relatively solid-feeling body at 234 grams. The iPhone 13 Pro Max, by comparison, weighs 240 grams. In terms of materials, yes, there is lots of glass and metal as we’ve mentioned, but the rear is supposedly ceramic to set it apart from other phones.

Recommended Videos

Xiaomi’s 11 Ultra was one of the best camera phones of last year, albeit with severely untapped potential caused by focusing issues. But Xiaomi has been pushing forward. The 12 Pro has revived critical acclaim, and the 12 Ultra will surely follow along those lines. The recent partnership with Leica is something that could bear similar fruit, as was the case with Zeiss and Vivo, as well as Hasselblad and OnePlus.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

“We are convinced that the first jointly developed imaging flagship smartphone makes the pioneering progress of both companies visible. We will provide consumers in the field of mobile photography exceptional image quality, classic Leica aesthetics, unrestricted creativity, and will open a new era of mobile imaging,” Matthias Harsch, CEO of Leica Camera AG said last month.

Xiaomi has had pretty good cameras for the last couple of years, but the 12 Ultra is one of its most promising yet. The company has yet to make any announcements about it, but the new phone is expected to debut in the summer. When it does, the camera bump will surely make it difficult to miss.

Michael Allison
Former Digital Trends Contributor
A UK-based tech journalist for Digital Trends, helping keep track and make sense of the fast-paced world of tech with a…
Galaxy S22 Ultra vs. Xiaomi 12S Ultra camera battle is one for the ages
Xiaomi 12S Ultra in gray color on a red and white armchair.

It’s a harsh truth, but rarely any company other than Samsung, Apple, or Google makes it to the top spot in the best smartphone camera leaderboard. Chinese phone makers have often attempted to breach this triopoly with special partnerships, such as in the case of Huawei-Leica, Vivo-Zeiss, and OnePlus-Hasselblad. Now, after ending its partnership with Huawei, Leica joins hands with Xiaomi for the Xiaomi 12S Ultra.

The Xiaomi 12S Ultra is one of the few smartphones with a large 1-inch camera sensor. Sharp’s Aquos R6 and the Sony Xperia Pro-I also feature 1-inch sensors, but Xiaomi claims it is the first to use the large sensor without any cropping. Besides the large sensor, the Xiaomi 12S Ultra benefits from the company’s newfound union with camera giant Leica, which has designed special lenses for the phone and tech that tunes the colors. Do these attributes give it enough dexterity to outstrip the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra? We attempt to find out in a series of direct comparisons between the two Ultra stalwarts.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra vs. Xiaomi 12S Ultra camera specs

Read more
Ultimate Leica vs. Hasselblad phone camera test has a decisive winner
The OnePlus 10 Pro and the Xiaomi 12S Ultra's camera modules.

Leica and Hasselblad are the two big-name camera brands making a huge impact on smartphones. Leica, having recently split from its successful relationship with Huawei, has now partnered with Xiaomi, while Hasselblad works closely with both OnePlus and Oppo. There are other camera brand partnerships in the smartphone world, such as Zeiss and Vivo, but none have the same level of global brand awareness.

Which pairing is creating the best camera? To find out, we tested the new Xiaomi 12S Ultra with its Leica-tuned camera alongside the Hasselblad-tuned OnePlus 10 Pro.
The phones and cameras
Released at the end of March, the OnePlus 10 Pro is the brand’s second phone with Hasselblad’s tuning after the OnePlus 9 Pro. We’ve seen how Hasselblad has changed OnePlus’ cameras already, and also know its influence extends only to the software and not the hardware.

Read more
Xiaomi’s new phone has a 200MP camera — and its photos are stunning
Holding the Xiaomi 12T Pro to take a photo.

There was a time when phones with 48-megapixel cameras sounded impressive, and when some of our favorite camera phones still “only” have 12 megapixels today. But for the new 12T Pro, Xiaomi has decided 12, 48, or even 108 megapixels isn’t the headline number it wants — and has therefore used Samsung’s ISOCELL HP1 200-megapixel camera instead.
Taking photos with a 200MP camera
Samsung announced the ISOCELL HP1 sensor in 2021, and the Xiaomi 12T Pro is the first phone to use it. There’s also plenty of speculation it may also be a major feature on the future Galaxy S23 smartphone range. Until now, we’ve only seen a massive photo of a cat teasing the camera’s ability, so what’s it like in real life?

Before we talk about the photos, you need to know the size of the 200MP photos taken by the Xiaomi 12T Pro. Yes, it is possible to shoot in maximum resolution, but by default, the camera takes 12MP photos using 4-into-1 pixel binning technology. Beware, though — the 200MP mode photos are massive. We’re talking 16,384 pixels by 12,288 pixels and, on average, about 55MB each. Tap the shutter button, and there is a slight pause while the photo is processed, but it’s not all that different from using the regular camera mode. The 200MP photos I’ve taken have a lovely balance, with vibrant colors and great exposure, and are sometimes even better looking than the equivalent 12MP photos taken by the phone.

Read more