Earlier this week Xiaomi officially announced its strategic partnership with Leica. Not long after, Xiaomi phones with the Leica branding appeared, indicating the results of their first collaboration will be launched in the near future.
The phone with the Leica branding is suspected to be the Xiaomi 12S. This leak from Weibo shows a silver phone with the Leica logo on the rear camera module.
The back panel and camera module of the phone looks similar to the recently launched Xiaomi 12. The difference is, the Leica logo replaces the words '50 MP' on the rear camera module. It is not yet known what kind of improvement the Xiaomi 12S camera will bring.
The Xiaomi 12S itself actually appeared in the IMEI database last month, so its appearance is not so surprising. The candidate for the latest flagship phone from Xiaomi is not alone, there is also the Xiaomi 12S Pro which both appear in the IMEI database.
Because it has appeared in the IMEI database, both are expected to launch in the near future. In announcing its collaboration with Leica, Xiaomi said its first phone featuring Leica technology would debut in July 2022.
Xiaomi 12S is rumored to be coming with a curved screen design that carries a Full HD + resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. This phone is expected to use the recently announced Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset, as quoted from Gizmochina, Thursday (26/5/2022).
In accordance with its revealed form, the Xiaomi 12S will have three rear cameras with a 50 MP main camera.
Meanwhile the Xiaomi 12S will have a 2K display and come in two SoC options. It is likely that Xiaomi 12S will offer two variants that use Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 and Dimensity 9000.