Xiaomi 12 release date: Company confirms flagship series launch next week

Like many expected, the Xiaomi 12 will become one of the first flagship phones to launch with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset. The company has officially announced a launch event happening next week, where the upcoming smartphone series is set to be unveiled.

The Xiaomi 12 event was announced in a post on the company’s official Weibo page, adding that the device should be “faster and more stable” compared to its predecessors. While the new phones will be presented with a few days left in 2021, they are not expected to become more widely available, especially outside China, until next year.

Xiaomi’s launch event is also aimed at its customers in China, which heavily suggests that the Xiaomi 12 series would be available first in the region. The Xiaomi 12 showcase will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 28.

However, tech fans might not have to wait for the event next week to see Xiaomi 12’s design. The official announcement comes less than a week after OnLeaks revealed the alleged renders of the upcoming device. Going by the leaked images, it appears that significant changes in the camera bump are in order, but it still houses a triple camera array.

Leaker Digital Chat Station reported earlier this year that it would be composed of a 50MP primary sensor, 50MP ultra-wide-angle camera, and 50MP telephoto lens. But the front looks identical to the Xiaomi Mi 11 series as it features a hole-punch cutout in the top center of the screen for the selfie camera.

Technical specifications reported by Zouton corroborate the presence of three 50MP cameras on the back. While Xiaomi is not expected to change much of the phone’s design, the same report suggests the Xiaomi 12 would have a smaller, but slightly thicker, form factor. The upcoming device’s alleged dimensions are 152.7 x 70.0 x 8.6mm, while the standard Xiaomi Mi 11’s measurements were 164.3 x 74.6 x 8.1mm.

There is also a slight improvement in the reported battery capacity from Xiaomi Mi 11’s 4600mAh to Xiaomi 12’s 5000mAh. The company is also expected to double the fast charging rate for the upcoming devices to 100W.

Photo by Đức Trịnh on Unsplash