Xiaomi 18 Ultra set for December debut with camera upgrades

Xiaomi is likely to launch its latest flagship smartphone, the Xiaomi 18 Ultra, earlier than expected this year. According to reports from technology leaker Smart Pikachu, rather than debuting in the early year as previous Ultra models have done, the Xiaomi 18 Ultra is set to launch in China around December 2026.

The leak also suggests that Xiaomi is testing a quad-camera configuration for the Xiaomi 18 Ultra, a departure from the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, which abandoned the conventional four-camera layout and instead introduced a mechanical zoom solution.

If the leak is accurate, Xiaomi is likely returning to a four-lens configuration to provide greater focal length options whilst improving the overall flexibility of its camera system. If the company does not introduce a new camera concept, a similar configuration is expected to be reused on the Xiaomi 18 Ultra to offer more diverse focal length choices.

Xiaomi is said to be enhancing camera capabilities whilst also bringing improvements to the chipset and battery capacity through the Xiaomi 18 Ultra. Other specification details are likely to be revealed ahead of the launch date.

In December last year, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra launched in China with a 6.9-inch 2K LTPO OLED display featuring a refresh rate ranging from 1Hz to 120Hz. In terms of power, the device is equipped with a silicon-carbon battery with a capacity of 6,000mAh, supporting 90W wired fast charging and 50W wireless charging. The device also carries IP68 dust and water resistance certification.

On the photography front, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra features a 50MP main camera with a 1-inch sensor and f/1.67 aperture, a 50MP ultra-wide camera with a 115-degree field of view, and a 200MP telephoto camera paired with a Leica APO zoom lens delivering 3.2x to 4.3x optical zoom.