When the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip was officially unveiled, Xiaomi wasted no time in announcing that it would be amongst the first manufacturers using the new SoC in upcoming flagship smartphones.
We’ve already seen what the Xiaomi 12 Ultra could look like, and now thanks to the prolific leaker OnLeaks and Zoutons, we have our first potential look at the regular Xiaomi 12.
So this is the #Xiaomi12! (360° video + gorgeous 5K renders + dimensions)On behalf of @Zoutons -> https://t.co/hdpKoA8k4j pic.twitter.com/0YgObw2ewNDecember 16, 2021
Suffice it to say, while the massive circular camera bump made the Ultra model stand out from the crowd, the Xiaomi 12 render shows a much more pedestrian affair — albeit one that’s very stylish to look at.
The renders showcase a phone with a gently curved design and a slightly raised rectangular camera bump housing three lenses, which will reportedly include a 50MP sensor.
On the front, there’s a hole-punch selfie camera in the top middle edge of the display. The power button and volume rocker are to the right-hand side, and the bottom of the phone houses a USB-C port and a speaker grille as you’d expect.
The phone will apparently have dimensions of 152.7 x 70 x 8.6mm (or 11.5mm including the camera bump) which, if true, would make it significantly smaller than the Xiaomi Mi 11, which measured 164.3 x 74.6 x 8.1mm. Indeed, the report says that the phone will pack a 6.2-inch 1080p display, which is a fair bit smaller than the 6.8-inch panel on its predecessor.
The leakers also claim that their sources have confirmed a 5,000 mAh battery for the phone, which should be plenty for most people’s needs — especially when 100W charging is also mentioned. For reference, our current fastest charging phone — the OnePlus 9 Pro — manages to fill its entire 4,500 mAh battery from empty in just over half an hour from a 65W charger. And while diminishing returns are certainly expected, this could be hugely impressive all the same.
We should know more soon enough: the Xiaomi 12 and 12 Ultra are expected any day now. With the phones’ predecessors arriving last December, it seems to be a question of whether the successors will arrive before the year is out, or whether they’ll slip into January 2022.
Either way, as our first look at the power of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, they should be on everyone’s radar, whether you intend to import one or not.
