(Pocket-lint) – While the Xiaomi 12 series might be fully unveiled and starting to get into people’s hands, the top-end flagship in the line, the 12 Ultra, is still unofficial, apart from being subject to a deluge of rumours and leaks about its specs and features.
If and when the Ultra is unveiled, it’s likely to be the bleeding-edge showcase of everything Xiaomi can cram into a modern phone, with upgraded camera options and the highest-end specs as far as its display and chipset are concerned.
Xiaomi 12 Ultra availability and price
- Possibly July, August 2022
- From £1,199?
We don’t have a firm date on the phone’s likely launch from any official source as yet, but there are whispers circulating about when the 12 Ultra might make its debut. Most recently, a new entry spotted on Xiaomi’s internal database has potentially corroborated some of those claims.
The working assumption at this point is that the phone is bound for Q3 of 2022, sometime in July or August based on when Xiaomi has released previous Ultra variants of its smartphones.
Turning to the question of price, you can safely assume that the phone will command a high price tag, given its flagship status, and going by the example of the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, which landed at £1,199 when it was released.
Without any official word on the price, there’s no reason to assume the next phone will be substantially more affordable, so if you’re a big Xiaomi fan waiting for it you might want to brace yourself for another big number.
Design
- New design
- Large, circular camera unit?
The most consistent leaks that we’ve seen around the Xiaomi 12 Ultra have all focussed on one big aspect of the phone – its camera bump. This is something that increasingly feels like the biggest factor in how a phone looks, given one side is a display and the rear is the bit that can be changed up.
And the 12 Ultra seems like it’s not interested in playing things safe – the indications are that it’s going to have a massive, complex camera system that takes up a large portion of the phone’s back in a circular shape.
The image above is purportedly from a case for the phone that leaked back in December 2021, and it matches up with renders and written impressions that have come out before and since then.
On the one hand, it’s undeniably a seriously big camera unit, but we’ve also seen plenty of phones in the last few years give over as much as half their backs to cameras, and if the specs that Xiaomi can cram into the design are worth it, we can’t see anyone being too bothered by how it looks.
Display
- 120Hz refresh rate expected
- 2K resolution based on precedent
We also don’t have a firm indication of what display the 12 Ultra will employ, but we can situate you roughly thanks to the precedent set by the standard Xiaomi 12 line, which will act as the baseline for the fancier phone.
Those handsets boast 120Hz refresh rate displays, and the Pro version sits at 6.7 inches and 2K resolution, making for some really impressive pin-sharp elements. Now, whether the 12 Ultra can actually upgrade on this is an open-ended question, but we’d be very surprised if it came in with less impressive specs.
Cameras
- 12 Pro has three 50MP cameras
It’s clear from the leaked design of the phone’s camera bump, if that impression is accurate, that the 12 Ultra will have a serious amount of cameras to leverage as you take photos and videos.
Again using the Xiaomi 12 Pro as a benchmark, that phone brings three 50MP cameras to the table, a standard shooter along with an ultrawide and telephoto option each. We’d expect those three options to remain, although they could be upgraded since the phone is coming out a while later than its sibling.
The number of cutouts in the case pictured above indicates that there could be even more going on though – these could mean there’s a depth sensor or macro lens, or simply more complicated flash systems. We’ll likely have to wait for more information to be sure.
Xiaomi 12 Ultra rumours: What’s happened so far?
Here’s everything we know so far about the Xiaomi 12 Ultra.
6 January 2022: There might not be a Xiaomi 12 Ultra at all
A report indicates that there’s a chance Xiaomi won’t release a 12 Ultra at all this year, based on model numbers in its database.
14 December 2021: Xiaomi 12 Ultra case leak shows-off complex rear camera setup
A leaked case image indicates that the 12 Ultra will have a massive circular camera unit, with plenty of cutouts for different lenses and parts.
16 November 2021: Xiaomi 12 Ultra to ditch rear screen, could be first with Snapdragon 898?
An apparent leak suggests that the 12 Ultra will no longer feature a rear screen, like the 11 Ultra, and speculates on its potential chipset.
16 November 2021: There might be a Xiaomi 12 Ultra Enhanced model
A report by fansite Xiaomiui indicates that there might be two Ultra models, one even more high-end than the normal Ultra and called Ultra Enhanced.
Writing by Max Freeman-Mills.
