While the Xiaomi 12 launch will probably happen in the depths of December, we’re already thinking about the phone.
The Xiaomi 12 is the next big phone coming from the giant Chinese tech company – or series of phones, if there’s a Lite and Pro or Ultra version like usual. These will probably end up being some of the biggest Android phones of 2022. With the launch of the Xiaomi 11T Pro, the Mi 11 series is (probably) full, and we wouldn’t expect any more devices in the family. No, the Xiaomi 12 is probably the brand’s next flagship of note. We gave 2021’s Xiaomi Mi 11 a very good score, but there’s always something a brand can do to improve, especially when you look at the Mi 11 Lite 5G and Mi 11 Ultra which also had their issues (though were good overall). Recently, Xiaomi confirmed it was dropping the ‘Mi’ name from its main series of phones, which is why this article is about the Xiaomi 12, not the Xiaomi Mi 12, though we’re still shortening ‘Xiaomi’ to ‘Mi’ at times. Xiaomi 12 leaks were quiet for a good long while, but they’ve started dropping faster and faster, and we’ve collected all the ones worth knowing about below. After that, we’ve listed all the new things we want to see in the Xiaomi 12 below, based on what we liked (and didn’t) about the Mi 11 series, and looking at other Xiaomi phones as well as handsets made by other companies. Xiaomi’s a weird company for release dates, at least judging by the Mi 11 series, and the Mi 12 probably won’t be any different. The Mi 11 was first unveiled in December 2020, in a China-only launch. It took until February 2021 for a global re-launch and another month until it went on sale. That’s a bizarre and stretched-out timetable that negates lots of the phone’s hype by the time it reaches the global market, so hopefully Xiaomi won’t repeat it for the Mi 12. One rumor suggests that, not only will it repeat that cycle, but it’ll double down on it. According to a report, the Xiaomi 12 series could debut in China as early as November, four months before we’d expect a global unveiling. Regarding a Xiaomi 12 price, we can once again only go on the Mi 11 as guidance. The phone cost £749 / AU$1,099 (around $1,040), which put it roughly in line with the Samsung Galaxy S21 and OnePlus 9 in terms of price – expect a similar competition again next year. We’ve seen some fan-made renders of the Xiaomi 12.
