First renders of the Xiaomi 12 reveal compact design, triple rear cameras

By Rahul Srinivas December 16, 2021

Xiaomi is expected to announce its 2022 flagship lineup — the Xiaomi 12 series — on December 28. Save for a couple of unverified renders and some guesses, we knew very little about these devices — until now, that is. Earlier today, popular leakster Steve Hemmerstofer, who goes by @OnLeaks on Twitter, released what he claims to be the first-ever CAD-based renders of the Xiaomi 12.

The renders that appeared on e-commerce platform Zoutons reveal a compact smartphone called the Xiaomi 12. Going by the overall size and dimensions of the device, chances are you are looking at the entry-level model from the 12 series lineup. Apart from this Vanilla model, Xiaomi is likely to announce the higher-priced Xiaomi 12 Ultra on the day of the launch, with superior cameras and a much better display.

1 of 4

First renders of the Xiaomi 12 smartphone showing the front and rear panels. — @OnLeaks/Zoutons

First renders of the Xiaomi 12 smartphone showing the front and rear panels. — @OnLeaks/Zoutons

First renders of the Xiaomi 12 smartphone showing the front and rear panels. — @OnLeaks/Zoutons

First renders of the Xiaomi 12 smartphone showing the front and rear panels. — @OnLeaks/Zoutons

The phone seen in the renders features a rectangular camera module that houses triple cameras, consisting of one large (presumably primary) sensor and two smaller sensors. The phone also gets a dual-LED flash located next to the camera lens. Evident from the images is a flat rear panel with rounded edges and a curved display that also gets a punch-hole cutout at the center for the front-facing camera. Steve also revealed that the Xiaomi 12 measures 152.7 x 70 x 8.6mm.

The latest leak also indicates that the Xiaomi 12 would get an FHD+ display instead of a QHD+ panel we saw on its predecessor, the Mi 11. In addition, the overall design language of the phone gives it a classy, understated look. Other rumored specs of the Xiaomi 12 include a 50MP primary camera, up to 8GB of RAM, and a 5,000mAh battery. And lest we forget, the Xiaomi 12 is likely to use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset from Qualcomm, which Xiaomi has already confirmed in the past.

We still do not know if Xiaomi will announce the Xiaomi 12 lineup on December 28, but even if they do, chances are high these devices, at least during the initial weeks, will only be available in China.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Rahul is a smartphone buff turned tech journalist who has been tinkering with all things mobile since the early 2000s. He has…

Mobile

Xiaomi 12 Pro hands-on review: Seriously fast charging

Xiaomi 12 Pro held in hand and seen from the back.

If you’re familiar at all with the Xiaomi range of flagship phones, you may have expected its latest models to be called Mi 12, but Xiaomi dropped the Mi name in 2021, leaving the latest phones to only be identified by a rather bland number. It’s a pretty safe design too, particularly in terms of the gray color seen in our photos, so it seems intent on being as serious as possible.

Does this restraint also represent the tech inside? Certainly not when it comes to the incredibly fast battery charging, but what about the rest? Here's what using the Xiaomi 12 Pro has been like for the last week.
Xiaomi 12 Pro specifications
Before getting into detail, it should be noted that due to a technical issue with my review sample, I have not used the phone with a SIM card so cannot comment on its day-to-day performance as of yet. I have contacted Xiaomi to better understand what has caused the problem. However, I have used the phone over a period of time with Wi-Fi at home, and unconnected when out and about.

Mobile

Android 12’s best feature is coming to Xiaomi phones

Xiaomi's custom Android UI MIUI 13 based on Android 12.

MIUI 13, the next version of Xiaomi's custom Android skin, is expected to arrive internationally with the global announcement of the company's latest flagship series — the Xiaomi 12. Ahead of this launch event, a new finding suggests MIUI 13 will embrace Android 12's "monet" theming feature, which automatically changes the accent colors in the entire user interface based on the wallpaper applied to the home screen.

Google introduced a major visual reform with Android 12, including an entirely new quick settings panel, modernized widgets, and systemwide theming overhaul as part of the Material You design philosophy. Material You, according to Google, is meant to allow users to express themselves through their phones. Therefore, one of the key benefits that Android gets with this visual overhaul is the ability to change accent colors in the user interface based on the wallpaper applied by the user.

Mobile

Xiaomi 12 series kicks off 2022 flagship race in style with bargain pricing

Xiaomi 12 Pro

Xiaomi has just introduced two high-end smartphones that draw power from Qualcomm’s latest and greatest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip, setting the ball rolling for 2022 Android flagships. Say hello to the Xiaomi 12 and its Pro sibling. The two phones are packed to the gills with top-of-the-line hardware, and despite the Pro model winning the specs race, the vanilla Xiaomi 12 is the more interesting package.

The standard Xiaomi 12 makes an impression courtesy of its compact factor and aesthetics, with the green leather variant truly standing out for its looks. Over at the front is a 6.3-inch FHD+ OLED display offering a smooth 120Hz refresh rate, 1,100 nits of peak brightness, and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus on top for protection. Accompanying the top-tier Qualcomm chip is up to 12GB of fast LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of onboard UFS 3.1 storage.